Wrap your head around this: There are 14 species of whales in Alaskan waters; residents of Fairbanks can see the Northern Lights an average of 240 nights per year; approximately 1 in 66 Alaskans is an active pilot; and Alaska is larger than all but 18 sovereign countries. This is NOT your average vacation spot. With over 650,000 square miles of mountains, rivers, and glaciers, the 49th state is open for adventure.
This year, trade the city break for the Last Frontier faster than you can say ‘former governor’ and discover Alaska beyond the cruise ports - there’s plenty of it.
Earlier this summer, my husband, Hank, and I piggy-backed a wilderness voyage with Un-Cruise Adventures in southeast Alaska with a tour of the southwest and southcentral regions. Here are our recommendations for making the most of your explorations.
photography by Ellen and Hank Barone
[before you go]
What NOT to Wear: Forget dress to impress. In Alaska, the focus is not on fashion, but rather the outdoors. Local wisdom has it that “there is no bad weather, just bad gear.” Key items should include fleece, waterproof rain gear, good walking shoes, a hat, lightweight gloves and quick-dry everything. Other items you’ll want to bring: sunglasses, sun block (yes, even in Alaska, especially on the water and ice), a swimsuit (many lodges feature hot tubs and/or saunas), camera, and lots of memory cards!
[Anchorage]
For guaranteed wildlife sightings, load up your camera and make the scenic drive south to Portage for a visit to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. With consent from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the center takes in orphaned or injured animals for treatment and rehabilitation. We could easily have spent the day there watching the resident bears romp and swim, but bring bug spray. The June day we visited the mosquitoes were fierce.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
In the wake of InnerSea Discoveries’ inaugural ‘un-cruise’, southeast Alaska - with its mountains, glaciers and watery wilderness - is open for adventure and it’s up-close-and-personal.
Like many adventurous travelers, there was a time when I dismissed cruising as the domain of gawkers and grandparents. A no-go zone for real travelers. Shame on me.
Truth told, there were a few gray hairs among us and whole lot of oohin’ and aahin’ going on last week as we plied the wild reaches of southeast Alaska aboard the first-ever InnerSea Discoveries adventure cruise. But that’s where any cruising clichés ended. There was a wild streak than ran thru the passenger ranks that defied age - from the 20-something rebel rousers thru the mid-life explorers and right on up to the no-adventure-left-behind AARP members.
My husband, Hank, and I had been enlisted, along with 14 other intrepid explorers, by InnerSea Discoveries to travel-test their new small-group wilderness adventure voyage. From snorkeling shallow tide pools teaming with marine life and paddle boarding glacial ice flows to kayaking with humpbacks and meeting outback oyster farmers and native totem carvers, the 8-day, 7-night voyage cranked up cruising to a whole new level.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".