This trip was over 10 years ago in September and the details are rather fuzzy. Nonetheless, we are including this itinerary because it was an interesting one involving driving and the state ferry system. We saw lots of animals and untamed natural scenery.
September is the transition month between the tourist season and the off season in Alaska. As a result, many business that serve tourist were either closed or about to close for the off season.
Day 1: We flew to Anchorage, checked into our hotel, and rented a car & explored the city.
Day 2: We drove to Seward and boarded a Kenai Fjords day glacier viewing Boat Tour. On the way we passed through a single lane tunnel used by both trains and autos. There are set times for trains and autos in each direction. If you arrive at the wrong time you have to wait.
Day 3: We drove all day in the shape of an upside down U to the border with Yukon Territory, Canada, on the AK 1 freeway. We reached the border at dusk and, after clearing immigration, we found our hotel. We had made a reservation online, but there was absolutely no one there. Everything was unlocked and we wandered around, finding empty rooms, linen closets etc. I was about to just move in when a man, the owner, entered. He told us he was closed for the season. We produced our reservation, but he knew nothing about it. He took us across the street to a similar hotel and arranged for us to stay there.
Day 4: We continued on to Skagway, Alaska. We explored the rather small town (pop. 800) trying out the three bars in town. We learned that only one remained open throughout the winter.
We parked our car on the pier and boarded a ferry. We boarded the ferry at about 10PM and were due to arrive in Petersburg 3PM the following day, so we had arranged for a sleeper cabin.
The Alaska ferries are amazing. They go everywhere the cruise ships go, for a fraction of the cost, and many places the cruise ships cannot reach. For more info, check out: http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/
Day 5: Petersburg is a small fishing village on an island in the Inside Passage. The Petersburg fire department had just won some kind of competition in Anchorage and many of the members were on our ferry. The town was in a festive mood with a welcoming parade.
After checking in to our hotel I was in the mood for sea food. So, we went to, what we were told was, the best restaurant in town, located right in the fishing harbor. Much to my surprise, the only sea food on the menu was fish and chips. I asked the waitress about this and she said, “The season is over, the tourists have left, and the townspeople are tired of fish.”
Day 6: We took the ferry to Juneau, with one stop in Kake (pop. 800.) During our one hour stay in Kake we somehow managed to find kimchee for sale in the general store.
We spent the night in Juneau.
Day 7: We explored Juneau in the morning and then boarded a ferry back to Skagway. We picked up our car on the pier and checked in to our B&B.
Day 8: Our hostess informed us the next morning that this was the last day of the cruise season and there would be 5 ships, 10,000 people, descending on this town of 800. We spent some time in the morning shopping (end of season – everything was half price,) then drove back in to Canada up to Dawson City, the first capital of the Yukon Territory.
Day 9: The next day back to the US on the Top of the World highway. There is no bridge over the Yukon River, so part of the highway involves a free ferry across the river. We crossed back into the US at Poker Creek, Alaska, population 2, both border guards. We continued on to Fairbanks, where we had dinner before continuing on to Denali National Park.
Day 10: We had arrived quite late at our inn outside of Denali and gone right to bed. The next morning we heard everyone talking about what a beautiful Aurora there had been that night. We missed it.
We toured Denali National Park in the morning before heading back to Anchorage.
Day 11: Flew back to LAX.
Small Wide World 