By Lauren Price

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 It was called "Alyaeska," an Aleut word meaning "Great Land." At almost twice the size of Texas, Alaska accounts for one-fifth of all U.S. territory. Lying within its borders are over 100,000 glaciers and icefields, 17 of the country's highest mountain peaks, and a wildlife population that dwarfs its human counterparts. Today, our 49th state remains one of the most pristine places on earth.

Harbor seals spend their entire lives along the same stretch of coastline. They're most vulnerable when out of the water and will quickly swim off if you get too close. photo by: Juneau CVB View Slideshow

The United States purchased Alaska for $7.2 million in 1867 through the unrelenting efforts of Secretary of State William H. Seward (hence, "Seward's Folly" for the region's supposed uselessness) some 90 years before it achieved statehood.

Gold was discovered in the latter part of that century, bringing about the Klondike gold rush, when roughly 100,000 stampeders set out for the Yukon Territory via Skagway. Alaska quickly became the new hot spot for rags-to-riches dreams.

Over 15 percent of Alaska's population (a bit less than 664,000 residents) is of American Native or Alaska Native descent, so there is a vast selection of cultural stops and festivals, such as my favorite, Ketchikan's annual Blueberry Festival in August, when art meets yummy blueberry dishes. 

The state's unique culture gives visitors up-close-and-personal indigenous Alaska experiences ranging from visits to totem pole parks, where originally carved poles are beautifully displayed, to Native dancing at historic stops such as the Saxman Native Village outside Ketchikan, home to over 400 Tlingit, Tsimshian and Haida tribespeople.  

Russian trappers and fur traders began showing up in the late 18th century to establish the first permanent Russian colony on Kodiak Island in 1784, about 250 miles south of Anchorage. There's plenty to see when it comes to colorful Russian iconography and onion-domed churches. A stop in Juneau allows you an opportunity to visit the 1893 St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, the oldest original church in Alaska. Inside the gold-domed "cottage," you can enjoy services amid 19th-century icons (six panels contain the original icons received from Russia in 1894) and listen to hymns sung in English, Tlingit and Old Slavonic on weekends.

Helicopter tours over an ice field in Juneau, Alaska. photo by: Juneau CVB

Cruise ships are the transportation of choice when it comes to spotting brown bears, polar bears, salmon, otters and bald eagles as they swim, romp and swoop along the thousands of miles of coastline waters you'll pass on your journey.

Unique and inspiring shore excursions are plentiful, so it's no surprise that over one million cruisers annually sail through Alaska from mid-May to mid-September. These once-in-a-lifetime adventures include landing on massive glaciers in helicopters to team up with a dog sledding team in order to whoosh and swoosh over ancient ice fields.

Ships that stop in Anchorage allow onboard guests to visit Whittier and other towns of Prince William Sound, long admired for its million-dollar vistas, thundering waterfalls, narrow but towering fjords and icy-blue glaciers. While in the state's largest city, be sure to visit Chugach State Park, the third largest national park in the nation. Here, you can meander forest trails framed in candy-colored wildflowers, spot moose (Anchorage is not only home to nearly half of Alaska's residents, but also is host to the largest moose population in Alaska), and if you're lucky, catch a quick glimpse of a grizzly bear.

From the ship, there's a great chance you'll see humpback whales, known for their melodic songs, or one of the strikingly beautiful orcas (killer whales), which are actually members of the porpoise family. The perpetually curious gray whale is most likely to stop by. Known for their propensity to "check out" ships, it provides a great photo op for onboard guests as they surface from the cool sapphire waters. 

The Mendenhall Glacier is the crown jewel of Juneau and an absolute must-see for visitors. It's one of many towering glaciers of the Juneau Ice Field and its frosty expanse is a feast for the eyes. You can get a great view from its visitor center's vantage point. For the more adventurous, sign up for a whirlybird flight over its towering spires and deep crevasses, or even better, land for crunchy walks along it.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Skagway is a somewhat touristy stroll through gold rush history. American gold seekers carried a year's worth of supplies (nearly a ton, including food) for the perilous and somewhat crime-ridden trip to Dawson City's gold fields hundreds of miles away. Less than one-third of the 100,000 prospectors survived this dangerous journey. Visiting the 15 restored buildings in the Historic District is a popular sightseeing choice, as is a hike and picnic along the two-mile Icy Lake Trail that begins in town.

Alaska cruise passengers are treated to sights such as this one, where pristine fjords are home to a variety of sea life and floating chunks of ice.  photo by: Alaska Travel Industry Association

The winding, 20-mile train ride on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad is precisely the same route taken by those seeking their fortune in the 1890s, but your time in Skagway might be best served with a more adventuresome trek, such as dog sledding. Generally combined with helicopter flights over immense ice fields, the heart-stopping exhilaration of dog mushing past herds of caribou, otters and the like is hard to beat.

There are a number of Alaskan cruise vacations to choose from—and plenty of convenient departure cities—which begs the question: where to go and what are must-sees? The two basic (and the most popular) itineraries are:

Inside Passage: 8- to 12-night roundtrips that depart from San Francisco, Seattle or Vancouver. Typical ports of call are Skagway, Ketchikan, Juneau and Sitka.

Gulf of Alaska: 7-night, one-ways from Seattle, Vancouver or Anchorage. (This itinerary also includes Inside Passage ports such as Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan).

Typical shore excursions include visits to the Mendenhall Glacier, rides on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, hikes, mountain biking, fishing and salmon bakes. Many of the cruise ship offerings include helicopter rides, Zodiac excursions and dog sled rides.

Cruise companies such as Holland America (the Alaska cruise leader with eight ships and 159 departures in 2006) began beefing up their shore excursion menus for the 2006 season.

Among Holland America's 30 new excursions in 2006 (and again in 2007), were a few standouts: Land & Sea Photo Safaris in Juneau led by a professional photographer; the Remote Bush Exploration & Grizzly Bear Search at Icy Strait Point (which also happens to be home to huge communities of humpback whales, otters, seals, bald eagles and all five species of Pacific salmon); and the Anaktuvuk Pass Adventure over the Arctic Circle near Coldfoot to a remote Nunamiut Eskimo village.

Perfect Add-Ons:

About 100 miles north of Anchorage, Denali National Park is brimming with amazing opportunities for visitors. Home to Mt. McKinley and the 4.4-mile McKinley Bar Trail—the park also is chock-full of moose, grizzlies and lynx. The park is a popular choice for even the most modest of hikers, and if you're traveling with kids, they offer a terrific Junior Ranger Program.

Pre- and post-stays here provide an opportunity to at least attempt a trek up the 20,320-foot-high Mt. McKinley. The easiest and most popular way to reach the park is by domed railway cars out of Anchorage.

Often called America's Last Frontier, the great state of Alaska has thousands of acres of unspoiled land, magnificent glaciers, mountains and fjords. Cruising is a superb way to visit as passengers are treated to heroic, historic and romantic scenery, plus sightings of Alaska's most majestic wildlife.

To learn more about Alaska's colorful native culture and wildlife, read Alaska, Part II in the next issue of Going Places.

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>On stage Alaska
>Excursion Alternatives

POLAR BEARS

If you hope to spot a polar bear, head for the coastal plain of the Beaufort Sea in northern Alaska, or along the Chukchi/Bering seas in western Alaska, home to as many as half of Alaska's 4,000 polar bears. (Really marine animals, their feet are partially webbed for swimming.) These nomadic bears are completely covered in water-repellent fur (even the bottom of their paws, which helps them stay steady on ice) and they rival the Kodiak bear as the largest four-footed carnivore on earth.

Males can top out at 11 feet, weighing anywhere from 500 to as much as 1,500 pounds, while females top out at 8 feet, weighing from 350 to 600-plus pounds.

Their primary prey is the ringed seal, but they are known to dine on bearded, harp and hooded seals, as well as an occasional walrus or white whale...and they will wait patiently for hours next to a seal's air hole waiting for the seal to take a breath.

Only pregnant females dig dens and hibernate in the traditional sense for extended periods. Males are known for their "walking hibernation," where they remain active and continue to hunt and feed, even though some of their metabolic processes may slow (decreased heart rates, respiration, lowered temperatures, etc.).

Day trips (albeit pricey ones) from Anchorage to Inupiat Eskimo Villages along the Beaufort (250 miles north of the Arctic Circle) are available from several companies.
Talk to your AAA Travel Professional.

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ON STAGE ALASKA

EVER DREAM OF
CRUISING ALASKA?

Discover the possibilities at On Stage Alaska, a free, exciting stage show performance demonstrating the history, culture and beauty of Alaska and the Yukon. Hosted by Holland America and AAA Travel, performers pass on insight and intriguing travel tips. Enjoy special member savings and benefits, door prizes and refreshments. Experts also will be on hand to answer questions.
You can view a list of scheduled events here.

Call today, this popular event gets booked quickly.

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Excursion Alternatives

There are a handful of truly fabulous tour/adventure companies that can offer you a bit more off the beaten path—fetching you from your cruise ship and returning you in plenty of time for your ship’s departure or as a pre- or post-tour. 

Alaska Bush Safari features highly customized excursions from all the cruise ship ports of call.  I love their seaplane ride from Whittier for a landing at the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, where literally thousands of vents have been spewing steamy vapors from its fissured floor since Mt. Katmai erupted in 1912 (the world’s largest eruption of the 20th century). Talk to your AAA Travel Professional.

Coastal Helicopters will pick you up at your dock for a ride to Herbert Glacier, followed by heart-stopping sled rides pulled by highly trained Alaskan huskies (many of whom ran for Iditarod race winners) along ancient snow fields.
Talk to your AAA Travel Professional.

American Safari Cruises can arrange intimate yacht sails that include just about any add-on you desire. Specializing in smaller groups, they truly customize their cruises and arrange for flights and accommodations for Barrow, above the Arctic Circle (considered North America’s northernmost tip), and from Anchorage, where the sun never sets from early May to early August (the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon between mid-November and late January). Talk to your AAA Travel Professional.

Alaska Unusual “guarantees” their clients will see brown bears when they sign up for a trip from Anchorage to Katmai National Park.

To find out much more about Alaska’s very colorful cultural and wildlife side in more detail, check out Alaska, Part II in the next issue.
Talk to your AAA Travel Professional.

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