Entries Tagged "alaska tour"

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Alaska has a new cruise port. Icy Strait Point is a one-stop shop for many of the things people go to Alaska to see. Located on the same Island as Hoonah, Alaska's largest Huna Tlingit village opened to non cruisers on day trips from Juneau in 2008, but the vast majority of its visitors come on cruise ships. Visiting Icy Strait independently requires a twenty minute flight from Juneau. Icy Strait's wildlife tours will almost guarantee seeing animals. Whale-watching tours have had sightings 100% of the time so far and on wildlife-viewing trips last season, bears were spotted 85% of the time.
What also sets Icy Strait apart is that it is owned and run by locals and indigenous Alaskans.  Icy Strait is not only about wildlife. Its tribal dance show is highly rated by visitors. Since this is the site of a former fish cannery, its sportfishing trips take aspiring fishers to some of the best spots in southeast Alaska.
A cozy museum occupies the cannery that once sent salmon to all parts of the US. Guests can walk around a restored canning line and learn about the history of commercial fishing in southeast Alaska as well as about Alaskan history and native culture.
In a refreshing change, this is not a port with seven identical-looking watch and jewelry shops lining the main street. There is no main street. There are shops set in the restored cannery that sell everything from slamon jerky to locally made crafts, but no two stores offer the same products. Another nice feature is that passenegrs can walk right off the dock and onto a pristine nature trail. Also right off the dock is an eternal flame where passengers can listen to an elder Tlingit talk about Tlingit traditions, such as why it's good luck to throw the cedar wood chip given to every Icy Strait Point visitor into the fire.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

InnerSea Discoveries will focus on the Alaskan Wilderness, eschewing traditional port calls. Slated to debut in 2011, the new brand will target the adventure travelers.

InnerSea will take passengers on wild-life and wilderness-focused itineraries through Alaska's Inside Passage on the 80 passenger Wilderness Discoverer and 60 passenger Wilderness Adventurer. The ships will offer two, seven day itineraries between Ketchikan and Juneau, but they won't stop in any ports along the way. Instead, they will spend the cruise sailing through fjords, around glaciers and through the Islands and Coastal cruising areas of Southeast Alaska.

The itineraries will take passengers on Zodiacs to explore glaciers and wildlife up close and will make landings to take guided hikes through remote areas, speluking trips and kayak excursions. The ships will also carry their own fully equipped fishing boats. They're reaching into areas that other small ships don't even go into.

Written by C Kennedy
kennedy@atlastravelweb.com

Sunday, January 03, 2010

Homer, located on the pristine waters of Kachemak Bay and Cook Inlet, boasts a unique landform the locals call "The Spit." Fifteen thousand years ago , the thick ice that covered the bay bull-dozed a five-mile-long gravel bar into the surrounding waters. When the ice retreated, the bar remained. Today, it hosts a picturesque settling where visitors can stroll and shop.

It's easy to see why the Kenai Peninsula is a favorite even among Alaskans. The lush, primeval forest host legendary rivers running with salmon. The glistening waters of glacier-scoured Kenai Fjords National Park are home to whales, dolphins, sea lions and sea otters. The Alaska Maritime Wildlife Refuge and Kenai Wildlife Refuge provide more seabird habitat than anywhere else in the world. Imagine exploring these wonders on an optional wildlife cruise through Kachemak Bay with lunch at the Rookery Restaurant. Or try kayaking or halibut fishin.

This exciting Homer and Kenai Peninsula cruisetour takes you far off the beaten track with just one group of fellow travelers. Experience the enchanting Land's End Resort at the tip of the Homer Spit, the second-longest salmon-filled Kenai River. The optional activities from Homer spotlight the world-class halibut fishing, the charm of the local artists' colong, and more natural beauty than almost anywhere else in Alaska. Come experience the best of Alaska all in one place.

Shopping:

-Gold-nugget jewelry and items carved from jade -Woven baskets of beach grass, bark or baleen -Native seal-oil candles, beaded mittens, fur mukluks and hand-carved masks -Alaskan delicacies - canned and smoked salmon, wild berry products and reindeer sausage

Be sure to look for the "Made in Alaska" logo, which indicates an item genuinely produced in Alaska. The Silver Hand logo identifies the item as a Native Alaska handicraft.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Remote and undisturbed, the Arctic presents a landscape of such austere beauty it's like a different world. Follow the legendary Trans Alaska Pipeline as it snakes across hundreds of miles of open tundra. Scan the horizon for Dall sheep, grizzly bears and mirgrating caribou. Under a sky that never darkens, the Arctic is a haunting symphony of rock, sea and ice. And, not far from the Arctic Ocean, Fairbanks lives large on the Alaskan frontier.

Day Trip to Prudhoe Bay

This personal wilderness experience spotlights the Brooks Range, the North Slope Oil Fields at Prudhoe Bay and the outskirts of Gates of the Arctic National Park. It takes you to the top of the Arctic Ocean shimmers under the Midnight Sun. Traveling the Dalton Highway, the Trans Alaska Pipeline's famed Haul Road by motor coach, you'll cross the Yukon River, stop at the Arctic Circle sign for a souvenir photo, and marvel at how far you've come. Imagine losing count of caribou and seeing more bear, sheep, swans, geese, ducks and eagles than you ever imagined. It's no wonder this is the top-rated wildlife tour in a state frimming with mammals and birds.

With the continuous daylight of the Midnights Sun, a Far North adventure is truly unique.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Ever wonder why glacier ice looks blue?

This is because of how the sunlight passes through the ice and what happensto the sunlight.  Sunlight looks white; however, the light is really made up of all the colors of the rainbow.  You may recall seeing this when using a prism in middle school science classes.  Each of the sun's colors have different wavelengths, or amounts of energy in them.  When the sunlight tries to go through the solid glacier ice crystals the sun gets broken up into lots of colors.  Red and yellow have very little energy and the thick ice soaks up the red light more than it soaks up the blue light. The blue light has enough extra energy to get away from the solid ice crystals without getting absorbed or soaked up.  This is why the only color people see is the blue color that escaped.

Best Glaciers of Alaska:

• Grand Pacific Glacier (Glacier Bay National Park): Three intimidating walls of ice surround boats that pull close to the glaciers.
• Exit Glacier (Seward):  It towers above like a huge blue sculpture, the spires of broken ice are close enough to breathe a freezer-door chill down on watchers.
• Western Prince William Sound: On a boat from Whittier, you can see a couple dozen glaciers in a day. Some of these are the amazing tidewater glaciers that dump huge, office-building-size spires of ice into the ocean, each setting off a terrific splash and outward-radiating sea wave.