The evening breeze gently stirs the forest of hemlock, pushing smoke from the alder wood fires toward our group. The aroma of freshly caught, grilling salmon spiced with a brown sugar glaze waifs in the air. The sky is bright and it will be for several more hours even though itâs already after 9 p.m. Yes, weâre in the land of the midnight sun, Alaska, and enjoying every minute of it. And, with 20 plus hours of daylight, you can see a lot during a single day.
It was Cruising 101 for us. We had researched a lot and talked to a number of other Del Webb travelers who had taken cruises in general and the Alaska one specifically. We also received a lot of help from Steve with Cruises International. In the end, we decided on an 11-night package with Princess Cruise Line.
Initially, it was cruise first and then complete the land package, but were convinced by those we spoke with that it would be better to reverse the process. So, we booked our flights, shore excursions, and added insurance for a late May, early June 2018 cruise. Both our flights and land activities were all via Princess. Why, you ask? Well, since we were novices, we opted for the safest options. We knew that by booking everything this way, we were assured we would get to our destinations and back to the boat on time. We had watched a documentary regarding another cruise line recently and they had to delay sailing for 3.5 hours because one of their excursions ran into trouble and couldnât make it back on time. If itâs not their excursion, youâre generally on your own. Tough in Alaska as most of the cities visited do NOT have any land connections to your next stop. So with everything planned, we packed and headed to the airport for our flight to Fairbanks, Alaska, the beginning of our adventure.
Hi, weâre Mike and Eileen, N17, and if you read this column regularly, you know weâve penned a few words regarding travel. So, weâre heading to Fairbanks where the sun is now sitting around 11:30 p.m. and then back in the sky at 3:30 a.m. Each day of sunshine is also getting a few minutes longer so you have to take this into consideration if you have a problem sleeping when itâs still light outside. Yes, all of the hotels and the ship had black-out curtains, but sometimes that isnât enough, so take a sleeping mask just to be safe.
(Photos provided)
We had been told we wouldnât need an extra day to adjust to the three time zone changes, but after 11 hours of travel (with a 3-hour layover while changing planes), we were totally out of sync and could have used an extra day. It will be added on the next trip. Fortunately, our hotel, the Bear Lodge was very nice; similar to a higher end Marriott or Hilton. So, after a short night, day one began, Gold Dredge #8.
The bus driver was very informative and we stopped along the way to the Alaska Pipeline site for coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. He explained about Alaskan conditions in the winter. With MINUS 40 to 60 degrees, you have to be very careful. Schools never close due to weather, except if it gets below 60 degrees. Above minus 40, school is on and you still have recess, below that, no recess! You also have to plug your car up in the winter to keep the engine block and battery warm. Parking spots have electrical outlets otherwise if your car does freeze up, you might not get to use it again until some time in the summer! We were also entertained during the ride with the reciting of âThe Cremation of Sam McGee,â a famous Alaskan poem outlining the hardships of the area.
The Alaska Pipeline tour was interesting especially considering the environmental impact it could have had on the area. Over 800 miles long, planning was crucial: migrating herds needed to go under it, burying it raised issues with the permafrost, then thereâs the earthquake factor. Alaska is the most earthquake active state in the US, forget about California. We did not experience any while we were there! On to the gold collecting. We boarded a train that took us to the gold dredge as they explained the gold mining history in the area.
To recover the gold, water was used to remove the overburden soil and then the dredge, a huge machine with scoops or buckets picked up the rocks and gold above the bedrock and fed it into the separator. Rocks came out one end, gold another. We got our chance to do it the old fashion way, panning. Youâre given a bag of dirt and a pan. Swirl the dirt in the pan with water, remove the large rocks, wash out the silt, and wah-lah, gold! After about 15 minutes of work, we had about $30 of gold. On to the bank; not really.
Next stop, a paddle wheel boat journey down the river to see sled dogs, a native American village and then lunch. We were given an example of how fast the dogs would pull the sled at a home where they raised them for the various races, including the Iditarod. During the winter with 100-200 inches of snow and the cold rendering snowmobiles and other vehicles somewhat useless, sled dogs were and still are the safest and most reliable form of transportation. We also saw how a salmon wheel worked using the flow of the river to catch fish, and how it was then prepared for smoking in the recreated native village. It contained a herd of domesticated caribou, examples of teepees, hunting tents, cabins, and canoes made of birch bark.
Needless to say, day 1 was very busy and we were glad to get back to the hotel. The next day would begin our adventure to Denali National Park. In planning our trip we had 2 options. Stay 2 nights at one hotel in the Denali National Park or 1 night at 2 different hotels in the park. Why? We were told the 2nd hotel gave you a different view of the mountains. We opted to stay at one of the hotels for both nights. The bus ride from Fairbanks was 3 hours and we got our first view of the Denali mountain range. While the hotel location was spectacular, the rooms were very average, but then youâre not there for the rooms but for the outdoors. One thing to consider also if youâre planning on a land tour with your cruise, meals are not included in the price so youâre on your own. And, yes, food is more expensive in Alaska. A gallon of milk – $7, gas for your car, also around $7.
Our hotel had plenty of food options (another reason why we decided to stay both days at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge). Our biggest treat was at the Denali Park Salmon Bake restaurant across the street. Our waitress was from Florida and shared a lot of information about the Denali area. We opted to have the Yak-a-dilla, a dish with locally raised Yaks. It turned out to be very tasty. For great views, go to the top of the ridge via a free shuttle to the Grande Denali Lodge. The next morning we started our tour of Denali National Park with the hope of actually seeing the mountain. They sell t-shirts for those few 30%ers that actually get to see the mountain. Denali creates its own weather due to its height and is generally hidden by clouds. Our driver for the Denali History Tour was extremely knowledgeable and proving a lot of insight regarding the mountain range and animals in the area. Just as he finished telling us why sighting bears was a low probability, a large grizzly crossed the road right in front of our bus! Due to the scarcity of food at the altitude of the mountain range, theyâve primarily become vegetarians unless they can find a slow tourist! We also spotted wild caribou, a large bull moose and several of the state birds, the Willow Ptarmigan.
Before we exited the bus to examine more of the area, we were given safety instructions should we encounter a bear or moose and yes, they were serious. The most dangerous, the moose. They are huge and very territorial. We saw droppings on our walk indicating they had been around recently. Then it began to rain and sleet! Fortunately, we were at a cabin and could escape the downpour. Due to the cloud cover, we didnât make the 30% cut that day.
Eagles – there were bald eagles almost everywhere the whole trip; in trees, flying overhead, sitting on the river banks, everywhere. While we are very familiar with seeing eagles when we visit the Quad Cities (one of their winter homes) we now had a chance to see them in a summer one.
The next day was another travel day; a train ride from Denali to our ship. Our luggage had disappeared early that morning from in front of our room with assurances we would be rejoined at some point. While another 9 1/2 hour day, we rode in the comfort of a glass-domed sightseeing train and our payoff was spectacular views of Mt. Denali. The sky was bright blue, the clouds had been blown away and we got several different views of the mountain as the train route basically did a 270-degree turn around the mountain. We saw moose both crossing the roads and in the woods beside the tracks, and a black bear sitting on the bank of the river. You could enjoy all this while sitting down to a meal in the dining car.
At this point, I want to state how pleased we were with the organization shown by Princess. It may happen with other lines, but this was our first. The train stopped at the dock, we exited the train, walked onto the ship and straight to our rooms where our luggage awaited us. Easy!
Part II, the actual cruise portion of the trip to follow. We visited glaciers and 3 different Alaskan towns during the cruise. We also took excursions up into Canada for more spectacular scenery. Stay tuned.
