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Alaska appeals to many tourists because of its striking, natural beauty. Anchorage is Alaska’s largest city. Well over half of all Alaska’s population lives in Anchorage. This city is located close to major glaciers, (Portage Glacier being the best known), parks, and a zoo where Alaskan wildlife is featured. In 1968, the discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay sparked a new rush into Alaska. The construction of the Alaska pipeline from the Beaufort Sea to the Gulf of Alaska brought new wealth, new jobs, and new environmental concerns to the state. The
state capital of Juneau is the only capital in the entire country that is NOT
accessible by road. It is a long,
narrow city located in a beautiful harbor nestled among spectacular mountains.
You can visit by taking a ferry, by boat, or chartering a plane.
While visiting this town there are number of sites that you must see.
They include the impressive Mendenhall Glacier, the House of Wickersham,
and the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church.
If you are in downtown Juneau at noon on any given Friday, be sure to
attend the free concert featuring the Kimball Theatre Pipe Organ.
This instrument, equipped with chimes, a xylophone, drums, a
glockenspiel, bird whistles, and sleigh bells, was first used to accompany
silent movies. Also check out the
Juneau Jazz and Classics Festival held annually in May.
Also be sure to visit Admiralty Island National Monument, which houses
the country’s largest population of bald eagles in a preserve that includes
both coastal rain forest and mountainside meadows.
The
most well known national park, located between Anchorage and Fairbanks, is
Denali National Park. The reserve
is home to grizzlies and is the location of Mt. McKinley, North America’s
tallest peak. The name
"Denali" was given to the mountain by a native settler named Tanaina.
This national park is home to abundant wildlife, such as Dall Sheep,
Caribou, Grizzly Bears, Brown Bears, 35 other species of mammals, and 155
species of birds. For the travelers
seeking the Northern Lights, Fairbanks offers a
great view of the phenomenon. Click here for more information on Denali National Park! Many of the major cruise companies offer an Inside Passage Cruise through Alaska. It is a combination of the best of Norway, Puget Sound, South Island in New Zealand, southern Chile, and Nova Scotia. Most cruise ships stop in the Alaskan towns of Sitka, Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Glacier Bay. The vessels range from big luxury boats to smaller yachts. However, whether you are cruising on either size boat, each one has the capability to get extremely close to the glaciers for a view that will take your breath away.
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Alaska
The
356-mile Anchorage-Fairbanks Alaska railroad trip crosses several gorgeous
national parks.
Nome
is promoted as the gold-rush capital of the Arctic.
If you want to take
pictures buy a special bag to protect your camera from the Alaskan cold.