Anchorage: Anchorage is by far Alaska’s largest city. Our hotel is in the downtown area. Here the state has its office building and courthouse. The city has its museum, convention center, and performing arts center. A number of major companies have their office buildings here. So the downtown is a vibrant area. Because most of the major hotels are also here, the downtown is also oriented toward the visitor.

The Anchorage Museum of History and Art has a wonderful Alaska history gallery upstairs, and a collection of dramatic paintings of Alaska downstairs. The Alaska Public Lands Information Center is a couple of blocks from our hotel. It’s a collaboration of federal and state land and wildlife control agencies. Inside you’ll find information on all of the national parks and forests in Alaska as well as all of the state parks. There are maps, mounted wildlife displays, and the Alaska Natural History Association has one of its excellent bookstores here.

In addition, also a few blocks from our hotel, is a professional photography store, and access to the portion of Anchorage’s bike trails that wind along its muddy shoreline and Westchester Lagoon. There’s great birding to be found along its course. You can hike for miles on this trail system.

The delights of downtown Anchorage can be enjoyed if you arrive early on the first day, leave late on the last day, and/or for a few hours as we take a midday break here when traveling between the Kenai Penninsula and Denali National Park.

Homer: This artsy community is located at the mouth of Kachemak Bay on the western shore of the Kenai Peninsula. Jutting south several miles into the bay is the Homer Spit. Our hotel is at the end of the spit looking across the bay at fantastic mountain peaks and glaciers. Stay up late and marvel at the fading twilight; the show lasts an hour or two this close to solstice.

The mountainous south shore of the bay is rugged with inlets, tide pools and islands. The 18-foot tides create a complex combination of currents that create upwellings of nutrients that attract marine fowl and whales. It’s a dramatic landscape that we‘ll kayak through.

Homer is also home to the Islands and Ocean Center, which is the visitor information center for the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. In addition, in Homer, there are a number of small, independent art galleries and shops to enjoy. Beach combing and bird watching are, of course, popular activities in Homer as well. For more about the local natural history, there's the Pratt Museum.

Seward: On the east side of the Kenai Peninsula is the port and fishing town of Seward. This is the main access point for Kenai Fjords National Park and several islands that are part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Our full day here will be spent on one of the smaller, more intimate wildlife viewing vessels. Its itinerary is set by the captain according to the interests of the passengers and where he/she thinks a wide variety of marine wildlife will be found.

While in Seward, there will also be time to visit the Alaska Sealife Center, which is Alaska’s small, but state of the art aquarium and research facility. It’s also possible to journey a few miles farther up the road our hotel is on, to visit Exit Glacier. This valley glacier ends about a mile from a convenient parking lot. A short hike will take you to, literally, a stone’s throw from the terminus of this icy relic of the last ice age. Its melt waters flow as a braided river just across the road from our hotel.

Talkeetna: Talkeetna is the modern access point for Mt. McKinley. A number of flight services that specialize in flying climbers to the lower slopes of the great mountain are based here. These flight services are also available to take flightseers around the mountain and/or land on one of its glaciers. We’ll use Talkeetna as a stop-over on our way to Denali National Park. Our lodge sits on a rise above the town, and has, barring clouds, an unobstructed view of the south side of Mt. McKinley from base to summit.

Talkeetna is said to be the town that the TV show Northern Exposure was based on. Its rustic charm makes apparent the comparison. President Harding stopped here on his way south after driving the golden spike marking the completion of the Alaska Railroad. Later, on his way back to Washington, he died in San Francisco. Some Talkeetna locals like to believe he was poisoned in a popular watering hole here.

In addition to pleasant strolls about the town or along the Talkeetna and Susitna Rivers, there’s a room-sized 3-D model of Mount McKinley that was made by computer-guided laser. You can walk around the model to view the mountain's topography. Articles about climbers and climbing The Great One adorn the walls around the model.

Fairbanks: Alaska’s second city is on the banks of the Chena River near its confluence with the mighty Tanana River. Our accommodations are on the banks of the Chena. If time permits while here, you can take an excellent excursion on a river boat or visit the recently expanded museum of natural history on the University of Alaska, Fairbanks campus. In addition, there’s Creamers Field for bird watching, or the downtown area with its excellent visitor centers. Fairbanks’ history predates almost all other modern Alaska settlements save for those on the southeast panhandle of Alaska

Kantishna: Our lodge is in Kantishna, an area in the heart of Denali National Park. The cabins are rustic but comfortable and are nestled in the woods near a stream. During our stay, you'll have time to relax at the lodge or go birding or hiking to experience more of the terrain and the wildlife that live here.