Alaskan Interior Land Adventure

CLICK HERE to see more photos in our Client Experience Video.

This marks 40 for my wife Teresia and me. Every 10, we plan out an epic trip worthy of the wait. Though it’s not until November, we’re celebrating all year long.

We’re semi-retired and have traveled widely. Covid only slowed that down, it didn’t stop us in part because I am a veteran DIY travel planner. We’ve done a lot of the US, Greece, Costa Rica, and more. The world’s our oyster, so where should we head for our 40th?

On our bucket list remained Alaska. Step one, fire up Google. Before long, it dawned on me this would be more challenging to plan. Alaska is huge! Its land mass 3% covered in glaciers and  15% the size of the continental US. Alaska has more shoreline than the lower 48, combined. Timing matters, we know that, but not because of steering clear of snow and artic freeze, but more so because of daylight. The three summer months never see darkness and the rest never see the light of day.

So many ways to plan this out! Not to worry though, I have a friend who can shed some light – your friend too, Eileen Murphy at Land and Sea Travel, LLC. For weeks we exchanged Q&As about one city vs another, routes, trains, planes, automobiles, hotels, sights, just about everything. Then it hit me, why not just let Eileen plan it out? What we wanted was something that hit key highlights and did not involve big crowds.

After a couple of calls with both of us, Eileen sent her proposal. We tuned it and booked it.

Day 1 put us in Anchorage, a day prior to when our Ultimate Adventurer tour with https://alaskantour.com was to begin. Over the next 12 days we’d visit Denali (aka Mt. McKinley), Homer, Seward, Talkeetna, and more. We’d see wildlife from at road stops, while on the train, and when hiking and biking around. Our itinerary had us spend a couple of more nights in Anchorage, after. We really enjoyed walking through the neighborhoods there and in fact, never needed a rental car.

You may not know but Alaska is a foodie state. They serve farm raised versions of what we had seen running wild… we ate well. If you’re into craft breweries or quilting, then Alaska is for you. There is one or two each in most every town and village.

We were impressed at the stories from Vern Halter and Cindy Abbot with Dream-a-Dream Dog Iditarod sled dog mission. https://dreamsleddogtours.com. He used to be a judge in the county known for the TV series Deadliest Catch, and she opted to summit Mt. Everest when diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. (When asked which was harder, she said the Iditarod was because of the effort involved in caring for the sled dogs.)

We were amazed at the scenery. If you’ve ever been to Oregon’s Crater Lake, you know the sense of wonder at the 360 degree view. Alaska is like that, except for countless miles in all directions. 

We loved seeing God’s creation as well as the creatures big and small, furry or scaly, just about everywhere we went. Our tour had extra excursions but opted out since I’m vulnerable to sea sickness. One couple flew in and landed on a glacier atop Mt. Denali, and another flew in and landed in a field surrounded by Grizzlies! A huge bear walked within feet of their sitting position. Only in Alaska!