It is now a little over a year almost a year and a half now since we went to Alaska but I am just now getting my thoughts and pictures organized into a blog post.
To keep this from being too lengthy, I split it into 2 parts: Part 1 (which include days 1-6) and Part 2 (days 7-13).
This is the second half of the trip. You can read about the first half here.
Day 7: Dogsledding & Snowmobiling! (Dec. 10)
While the day with the reindeer was one of my favorites, this day was probably the most fun…and also a favorite! We took an Uber to Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service for our 30-minute Dog Sled Ride. We rode in the sled, driven by Dinah, and then stopped to give the dogs a break while she told us a little about them (and allowed for photo ops with them) and then we returned back to “home base”. It was just a nice peaceful, snowy, cold ride and we enjoyed every minute!
Once we finished with the dogsled ride, we headed to Alaska Wildlife Guide for our 2-hour Snowmobile Adventure. OMG!! This was soooo FUN!! We had our safety briefing, suited up, and we were on our way with our guide, Jarod. btw, he is the best! He was very knowledgable about the area, was very friendly, and definitely enjoys his job! He even gave us time to ride freely in one of the open areas and even offered to, and did, video us while we “played”. It honestly think this is the most fun I’ve ever had!
Once we returned back to the tour office, there was coffee, hot chocolate, and snacks, and we snacked until our taxi arrived to take us back to the hotel. Once back in the room, we ordered from Zach’s. This time, I got the Sirloin Burger and, you guessed it, it was delicious!!
Day 8: Relax, Shop & Eat (Dec. 11)
This day was another relaxing day (it was needed between the two busy days). We relaxed, watched TV, and ate. I ate a salad in the room for lunch, and then we walked to Great Alaska Bowl Co. to shop, and stopped at Fred Meyers Starbucks. Back in the room for supper and I had Zach’s AK Fish and Chips I could eat some now!
Day 9: Denali in a Day (Dec. 12)
We woke up early and headed to Northern Alaska Tour Company for our 8:00am trip to Denali. The trip consists of a van ride with a tour guide who talks about different places along the journey from Fairbanks to Denali. They are stops for food, pictures, and a little bit of exploring. Once we got to Denali, we went snowshoe hiking. Snowshoe hiking is a workout! We did this for a few hours and then the bus dropped us at the Alaska Railroad depot in Denali, where, at 4pm, we caught the train headed back to Fairbanks. We ate dinner in the dining car, arrived back to the station at 8pm, and headed back to the hotel. It was a long day but we saw a lot and learned a lot…and Denali is…there are no words!
Day 10: Church Online, Scrabble, Shop & Eat (Dec. 13)
This day was Sunday and we couldn’t miss church so we woke up at 6:45am Alaska time, because our church live feed started at 7am (10am at home). After “church”, we relaxed, watched TV, and played scrabble. Then,after lunch, we walked to Great Alaska Bowl Co. to pick up my Alaska coaster (I had bought several coasters representing different states that are important to me but they didn’t have an Alaska one in stock so they made me one. They do their own woodwork in the shop/store.) Once I picked up my Alaska coaster, we walked to Brewster’s for supper…and I had the fish and chips:) Then it was a stop at Starbucks on the way back to the hotel.
Day 11: Pioneer Park (Dec. 14)
In the morning, we relaxed, and then got ready to walk to, and through, Pioneer Park. Pioneer Park is a historic village that allows visitors to experience Alaska 100+ years ago. It has origianl buildings that were moved from downtown Fairbanks. It has a carousel and a Gold Rush town street. In the summer, the restaurants and shops are open, the carousel is running, kayaking and canoeing are possible on the Chena River, and there is a nightly salmon bake and dinner show. We were there during the winter, while the shops and restaurants were closed, and the river was frozen, the park was still open and we were able to walk around and see machines and processes that pioneers would have used those 100+ years ago.
Day 12: Relax & Pack (Dec. 15)
This was our last full day and we spent it relaxing, watching TV, packing, and trying to eat ALL of the groceries HA! We had to be at the airport at 11:30pm so we actually kept our room for this one more night so that we wouldn’t have to sit in the hotel lobby or the airport so 12-14 hours. It was worth it! We left the hotel and arrived at the airport at 11:30pm and our flight left at 1:30am.
Day 13: Headed Home (Dec. 16)
layover in Seattle; Layover in DFW; arrival home!
Since our flight left Fairbanks at 1:30am and we didn’t get home until 6:50pm, it was a LONG day! I did get to see Mt. Rainier from the window as we left Seattle so I got to see two majestic mountains on this bucket list trip…plus so much more of Fairbanks, AK’s winter beauty!
