North To Alaska

On to the greater north, home to the Iditarod, the northern lights and a vacation waiting for you. Alaska or also known as the last frontier, is a journey's end for the passionate travelers both domestically and internationally. Cruises from all over the world come to port in Alaska each year and for good reason. Alaska offers some of the most untamed landscape in North America and throughout parts of the world.  

Starting from the most well know tourist attractions in Alaska, to the lesser known excursions, that await you is Katmai National Park at number one. Boasting the highest bear population in the world, Katmai Park sees tens of thousands of visitors each year. Among the top reasons tourist choose Alaska when vacationing is to catch a glimpse of the great grizzly bear. Bears are very wary of people and you can often time travel throughout the state and not spot a single bear on your trip. With Katmai's unusually high concentration of bears it’s a pretty good chance you can snap their picture here in Katmai National Park.

One of these most well known and visited places in Alaska is Denali National Park, famous for many memorable sights but the of the most significant of those are Mt. McKinley. Rising to a height greater than 20,000 ft (6096 meters) it's a sight to be remembered and the tallest mountain in North America. You can explore Denali on your own or charter a bus where you will be likely to see many different types of wildlife including grizzly bears, caribou and many others along the way. Always make sure to have your camera ready to go! 

This next place is a little cold but still seems to attract nearly 300,000 visitors each year. Glacier Bay, Alaska sees a lot of visitors by cruise lines such as Yankee Trails and Carnival Cruise to name a few. You can also charter a day boat from Gustavus where you can also find lodging and park facilities available. Here you can view large tide water glaciers and an assortment of different wildlife species from the comfort of a charter boat. The charter will take you in through the little coves and inlets that surrounds these massive glaciers. 

A not necessarily overwhelming amount of people come to visit this next place but should be duly noted. The Museum of the North features historical artifacts of Alaskan history, culture, and art. The museum is located on the Fairbanks State University grounds and has a interesting display on the mammoth and mastodons. Including a large display of gold nuggets found in Alaska during the gold Rush of the late 1800's. It's definitely worth taking the time to stop in and see the displays at the Museum of the North.

Finally, many people worry when visiting Alaska about the road conditions and prices. In the past traveling around on your own using a rental car was pretty rough. Especially for those of us who enjoy going off the beaten path and in a way this is still true today. Today Alaska has nearly half of all it's roads and highways paved but it still stands true that many back country roads are still dirt. It's not uncommon to find yourself turning around a few times either from a fallen tree or a large bolder blocking the road. The back country roads are still left to be taken care of by the small town which they lie within and most of those towns leave it to the property owners that live on those roads to maintain them. So even though roads have improved over the years a great majority still remain the same. Lastly are the prices in Alaska. Things in Alaska do cost more but it all depends on where and what you are buying and where you are from. While slightly higher in some parts of Alaska than in others it isn't anything to fret about. Think of it as if you were visiting a large city and this will give you a good idea what to expect. Here's an average Alaskan price list but it will vary depending on where you stay. An example is that the north of Alaska tends to be on the higher side of the scale.

Price per gallon of gas- $3.83 (and currently rising) 

Avg. Range Milk (regular), (1 liter) 1.06 $ 1.00 1.19 Loaf of Fresh White Bread (500g) 2.76 $ 2.40 3.00 Rice (white), (1kg) 4.10 $ 3.95 4.25 Eggs (12) 3.38 $ 3.00 3.90 Local Cheese (1kg) 10.34 $ 7.99 12.00 Chicken Breasts (Boneless, Skinless), (1kg) 8.82 $ 7.69 10.78 Apples (1kg) 6.14 $ 5.51 7.17 Oranges (1kg) 6.37 $ 6.37 6.37 Tomato (1kg) 6.04 $ 5.49 6.59 Potato (1kg) 2.43 $ 2.20 2.84 Lettuce (1 head) 2.32 $ 1.89 2.55 Last update: April, 2014 April, 2014

(http://www.numbeo.com)

I hope this little bit of information helps you on planing your trip to Alaska. There are several ways to go about planning a trip to Alaska whether it's by car, train or a cruise. Make sure to keep all options open and pick the best one after reviewing them all. A cruise is however my suggestion to you, a little bit more expensive but a lot less hassle.