Alaska mid-July

[lkarp]

DH will be at a conference in Fairbanks mid-July this year and I am considering joining him (without the kids! ). The longest we can probably be away from the kiddos is 3-4 days. What are your experiences with Alaska? We would like to keep this on a pretty tight budget, so we are looking into riding ferries vs. a cruise. I know excursions can really add up, so which ones do you think are must do/see? Any other insight will be greatly appreciated!

TIA!

[rlu]

We went on the Riverboat Discovery. http://fairbanks-alaska.com/riverboat-discovery.htm I thought the village stop was interesting but DH thought it boring.

The description includes viewing Jessie's dog camp but not getting off there, which I remember from our 2002 trip. But I thought at some time (I've been there twice) we got off the Riverboat at a dog-training camp which was really fun but now I'm thinking that was back in the 90s and they don't do that anymore?? Or it was somewhere else in Alaska. (Not sure, I'll have to dig out photos).

This sounds fun if you're dog people. We did something similar near Denali (Jeff King's Husky Homestead) and it was a trip highlight. http://www.maryshields.com/

In Fairbanks we stayed at Sophie Station both times which was nice. There is a Fred Myer store pretty close, I'd never been to one and it was a good place to stock up on food supplies. We didn't eat at the hotel so I can't comment on their restaurant. http://www.fountainheadhotels.com/sophie/sophie.htm

We also did a tour of the College there. Trying to remember the details. There was also some tour of the pipeline. I can't believe how foggy the details are now. Not much help.

It will be warmer than you expect.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

in Fairbanks, the panning for gold is definitely worth doing. And take a side trip to Denali. we did the bus tour of the park and saw amazing views and wild animals.

Husky Homestead is good too. You get to play with the puppies!

be prepared for lots of bugs . . .

[karstmama]

i went in june, in '01 or so, so i don't know prices & i'll just tell you what i loved.

i loved the day boat tour from seward. we saw humpbacks, dall sheep, dolphins, puffins, eagles, calving glaciers, etc etc etc! i'm sure there are similar things in other ports.

my mama loved the flight from talkeetna over denali/mt mckinley with landing on the glacier of the climbing base camp. staying at the talkeetna road house was also a plus.

have a great time!

[lkarp]

Thanks, everyone! I will look into all of your suggestions. I am so excited!