Alaska!

[AlaskanDan]

Talkeetna is definately a small place, little town of a couple thousand, nothing big, but it is big on tourism, worth checking some of the stuff out. I've been to denali national park a number of times in my life, i like it a lot, lots of wildlife. Last time i went i had the rare treat of actually seeing a wolf. I was one of the 3 people that saw it. They are real keen on hearing and pretty much stay away from anything that makes a decent amount noise. Other than that, lots of bears and caribou and mountain goat.

 

[LightHearted]

Hi guys,

Brand new member here. I'm getting married in July, and our honeymoon is Alaska. The ship arrives in Seward, and we're busing up to Anchorage to rent a car. I booked a couple nights in Wasilla and Willow, and planning to take a little day trip to Talkeetna and another 1/2 day to Portage.

If any of y'all (I'm Texan ) want to brag on Alaska, I'm totally listening.
LIC,
apc

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage!

Seward is a great place to go fishing. When will you arrive? If you'll be in Seward on the 4th, it's a great place to spend the holiday. There's a marathon held there annually (Mount Marathon), and the small fishing town is packed year after year.

 

[applepowerpc]

Hey there LH,

We'll be in Seward starting the 26th, so we'll miss the marathon. I read about it, though. It sounds really tough!

I heard the fishing all over Alaska and the Yukon is spectacular. It's a bummer neither of us is into fishing. We'd have to take the guided fishing trips, and those are expensive.

Hee hee July 10th is when we're getting married, so when July 4th comes I'll be either really excited or really frightened.

 

[LightHearted]

That's exactly two months from today! I hope your fiancee has her wits about her.

Here's a tip if you decide to go on a fishing charter... Don't make reservations. Call the charter, and find out what time they leave in the morning. Show up half an hour to an hour before the boat's supposed to leave, and if they're not full, they'll usually knock some money off the price.

 

[Real Corona]

Alaskans know how to celebrate the 4th.


-Insert drunken fisherman-

 

[LightHearted]

I am so excited... In less than a month and a half, I will get to go home (Anchorage) for two weeks. It's been almost two years since I've gone back.

 

[applepowerpc]

Congratulations LH. Both on going back, and it being home.

 

[LightHearted]

Thanks. I've got pretty much my entire two weeks planned out!

I think I'm most excited about seeing my niece, Hope. She's 3 1/2 years old, and is such a great, smart little girl! Every time I call home, she says "Come home, Susie... Come home!"

 

[Starcrystal]

Dolly Varden fishings been OK, on and off. I caught a 17 inch and a 20 inch Dolly 3 weeks ago Now where are those elusive King Salmon??

 

[Starcrystal]

AlaskanDan, is this serious? ~

Talkeetna's famed Moose Dropping Festival falls on the second weekend of July; little brown balls can be purchased (with a sanitary coat of varnish) for use as earrings, necklaces and so on, throughout the town. In addition to these highly desirable lumps of Alaskana, the festival features dancing, drinking and a moose-dropping throwing competition and some more drinking.

Sounds like fun..... to WATCH that is. I don't drink, but it would be interesting to watch people throw Moose poo at each other. Hey, I've lived on cow farms before, and I KNOW the stuff gets used just like snowballs!

Do you all really do this there? We even been thinking of moving to that area... sort of

 

[LisaStar]

See what the Midnight sun does? It keeps Alaskans away from their computer!
That and fishing!

 

[LightHearted]

Great picture, Lisa!

 

[sr. scholls]

apple: what on earth do you plan on doing in Wasilla? I'd really like to know, because for the 6 years I've lived there I couldn't think of anything noteworthy to do!

 

[applepowerpc]

Hey there,

Sleep. And there's apparently a good bit of Iditarod stuff in Wasilla. And I think a Musk Ox farm is there, whatever those are.

 

[LightHearted]

I've heard that Lake Lucille is really nice. I believe they have a hotel there, and maybe cabins...

 

[sr. scholls]

Yeah, they have a Best Western there. It's pretty nice...but I wouldn't recommend going swimming in it! Too mucky..

Erm..the Iditarod is in March I believe, so you missed that! I guess you could check out the Iditarod Headquarters on Knik Road when you come, if that's at all what you meant.

The Musk Ox farm and Reindeer farms are both in Palmer though! You'll have to check them out (musk ox are..well...oxen. like buffalos, only not)

If you want to see the pretty stuff you should go to Hatcher's Pass--it's gorgeous! You can also go to Eklutna lake (wowowow) that's the place to go! It's a bit cold as its fed by glacier water, but very exhilerating! And if you're up for it you can also climb up the Twin Peaks' Trail. Beautiful. It's on the Glenn Highway coming from Anchorage (I assume you'll be coming from that direction) that's also worth taking a look at.

I'd opt for the adventure if I were you! Lake Lucille is nice and so is Wasilla Lake (just don't go swimming there!)

If you're going through Big Lake/Houston are you should drive out to the Little Susitina river..lots of fish there!

If I think of more stuff I'll be sure to let you know!

 

[applepowerpc]

Reps. Yeah, the Reindeer Farm, too. I was thinking of getting plenty of Reindeer jerky to send home with us. Ship it to my 6-yr-old nephew, tell him it's Rudolph. Yes, even my fiancee thinks I'm evil.

I think we opted not to fish in Alaska, cause it's cheaper to just buy the fish than to catch them. We'll probably hit up the Anchorage market on Saturday. Good tips on the hiking.

Any opinions on the Portage/Whittier area? I heard Whittier is nothing but a tourist trap for cruise ships. But I would like to see the Wildlife Center out there. And I heard Whittier is really--well--weird. Almost makes me want to go.

 

[LightHearted]

I've been to Portage more times than I can count, and I still get a kick going out there.

Whittier is a big time tourist trip, but it's kind of neat now that they built a tunnel out there. Before, you could only get there by boat or train, but now you can drive there. I think it costs $12 or so to go through the tunnel, though.

I'll be home in less than 2 weeks!

 

[applepowerpc]

Would Portage still be good in late July? Or is all the cool ice stuff melted away?

 

[LightHearted]

I'd say that Portage is good any time of year. Maybe you and your wife could go on a day cruise through the glaciers. I went on one once, and I thought it was great. You can pick different amounts of time that you want to go on a cruise for. (For example, 3 hours, 6 hours, 9 hours, etc...)