Anchorage and the Alyeska Hotel

Today was a late start, which worked well for us. We slept in a little and also did a load of laundry at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge hotel.

Our trip this morning was the 2 hour bus ride back to Anchorage. It was a lot faster than the train, but nowhere near as scenic. Our tour guide did a good job of keeping everyone entertained on the drive. 

We stopped in Anchorage for lunch, shopping, etc. I was happy to walk a few blocks and have lunch at the Glacier Brewhouse again! The Alderwood smoked salmon was delicious!

After lunch, it was back on the bus for a 1 hour drive along the Turnagain Arm to the little ski town of Girdwood.

When I worked in Anchorage in 2002, the Alyeska Hotel was the fanciest hotel in Alaska. I told myself, “When I come back, I’m going to stay there!” So, I was really excited to find a land tour that included a stay! It still is the fanciest hotel in Alaska, and it’s also the state’s only ski resort. 

Our tour included a pass for the resort’s Mountain Tram. The 2000 foot ride up Mount Alyeska was just 6 minutes.

The views from the top were spectacular! 

Our big treat for tonight was the “twilight soak” at the Nordic Spa. Phones are not allowed in the spa, so you’ll have to check out their website and trust me that it was really neat! I loved the hot tubs in the forest! https://anordicspa.com/

After the spa, we called it a night. Tomorrow we board our ship Radiance of The Seas.

Denali NP and Talkeetna

After a good nights sleep, we headed out to Denali National Park. Our package included the Natural History Tour which focused on the park’s history and animals. We drove 17 miles into the park, and during the drive, we saw a moose and ptarmigan birds. Of course the scenery was still just spectacular!

We were once again fortunate to have an extremely clear day and a perfect view of Denali! Three days in a row is just amazing! 

After the tour, we had free time at the visitor center. I found the perfect sticker! Only 30% of visitors get to see the mountain so we are lucky!

Then it was back on the bus for a 2.5 hour drive to Talkeetna where we are staying tonight.

We booked a float trip on the Susitna River for the evening. We took our hotel’s shuttle into the fun little town of Talkeetna. 

This town was the inspiration for the TV show “Northern Exposure.”

After a quick snack, we met our guides and got all suited up in rain gear since it was starting to sprinkle, and we headed to the river. 

Our guide Steve was a Texan who now lives in Alaska. He expertly guided our boat down the river while we enjoyed the scenery. 

We saw bald eagles, a beaver, and other birds. The river was beautiful! 

After the trip, we stopped at the Denali Brewpub to have dinner and drinks with others from our group. I had a salad, and Sean had curry, both topped with smoked salmon! 

As we walked back to the shuttle point, we stopped in Nagleys Store and met the “Mayor of Talkeetna” who is a big, fluffy cat! It was a really fun evening!

Journey to Denali!

This was the first day of our land tour package through Royal Caribbean, and the day started EARLY! Bags out of our room at 6 AM and be on the bus at 7:15. In between, I found Kaladi Bros coffee stand for a quick breakfast. 

We made the quick drive to the Alaska Railway station and boarded the train to Denali, which would take most of the day. 

We had a glass domed rail car which offered a great view of the spectacular scenery. We drove past the historic Wasilla depot on our way out of the Anchorage area. 

And yes, perfect weather again and we had a clear view of Denali!

We made a quick stop in Talkeetna to drop passengers. (We will return there later.) 

We ate lunch on the train, and we had to try a local favorite: ice cream topped with Birch Syrup. It was good!

We saw moose, eagles and trumpeter swans from the train. And the scenery just got more and more spectacular!

Finally we arrived at Denali National Park. 

Our lodging tonight is a cabin right by the Nenana River. And our fun thing tonight was an ATV ride on public land just outside the park. We were near where the movie “Into The Wild” was filmed. We even saw a moose and her calf! 

After the ATV ride, we called it a night. No fancy dinner tonight, just a protein bar. It was a really fun day! 

Fun day in Anchorage

Thanks to the time difference, we were awake at 6 AM. It really was OK as this got us acclimated to the 3 hour time difference. We ate a good breakfast at the hotel restaurant, and then drank coffee while sitting outside and watching the floatplanes on the lake. It was 55 degrees with a clear sky and very little wind.

At 10:30, Rust’s Flying Service came and picked us up. Sean had said he really wanted to take off and land in a float plane, so that was the plan! Rust’s is a family-owned business that has been in business for over 40 years. We played with their friendly golden retriever while we waited for our pilot. Bruce was the pilot with 30 years of experience flying a vintage 1958 DeHaviland Beaver 6-seater, and we were joined by a young lady and her dad on a 30-minute flight seeing tour of the Anchorage area. 

Bruce’s take off and landing were perfectly smooth, and so was the flight. We flew over the city, and around the Chugach Mountains and Turnagain Arm. We had great views of Mount Spurr (volcano), Mount Redoubt, and we even got to see the peak of Denali! It was a great experience, and I highly recommend Rust’s! 

After the flight, we dropped our bags at the Marriott and walked to 49th State Brewing for lunch. Sean tried a flight of 4 beers and a yak burger (yes, really) and I had a cider and the Crabby Grilled Cheese and Seafood Chowder. Both were delicious! 

We then walked around downtown for a while and checked in as soon as our room was ready. Later, we met our Tour Guide for the 5-day land tour through Royal Caribbean so we could get our full itinerary for the next few days. 

Dinner tonight was a favorite place of mine from when I worked in Anchorage in 2002: Glacier Brewhouse. 

I had the Herb-Crusted Halibut, and it was just as good as I remembered. The place is still super popular, too. 

Tomorrow we get started early on our way to Denali NP!

Getting there is half the fun!

 DFW to Anchorage, AK is a 6.5 hour flight. No, that’s nowhere as long as the 14 hour to Dubai, but it’s still a really long flight! We booked our flight as soon as it went on sale last year and I was able to use AA miles for both of us! So, as our trip neared, and the seats surrounding us all filled up, Sean kept suggesting getting the First Class upgrade. I  watched the AA app, and when the upgrade price went into my acceptable range, we got it! It was a really enjoyable experience! The bigger seats and extra leg room were great for the long flight. We also got a really good lunch, and several drinks! 

My Flight Attendant friend suggested making little gift bags for the crew, which I did. They had mints, a good pen, chocolates, B&BW hand sanitizer, and Shout wipes. The crew all loved them and thanked me. ❤️

When we arrived at ANC, we waited a while for our bags, then hopped on the convenient shuttle to our first hotel: The Lakeftont. It’s only 5 minutes away and sits on Lake Hood. There are private floatplanes docked all around the lake. The time change started hitting us, so we got a quick dinner at the restaurant and called it a night. 

North to Alaska!

Sean and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary in December 2024. 

We have been waiting for the celebratory trip for 8 months! Tomorrow afternoon we leave for a 12-day adventure to the 49th state! 

Our itinerary:

Aug 10: travel day

Aug 11: Anchorage (floatplane flight)

Aug 12: train to Denali NP

Aug 13: Denali NP and Talkeetna

Aug 14: Alyeska Hotel and Nordic Spa in Girdwood

Aug 15: Seward and board Radiance of the Seas

Aug 16: Hubbard Glacier

Aug 17: Juneau (SUV rental)

Aug 18: Skagway (White Pass Rail)

Aug 19: Icy Strait Point (whale watching)

Aug 20: Ketchikan (Bering Sea Crab Fisherman Tour)

Aug 21: inside passage cruising

Aug 22: Vancouver BC and travel home