I was fortunate enough to spend 12 days in Alaska in June 2015, during the summer solstice, so the sun never truly set while we were there, which was a surreal experience! 4am and it's as bright outside as if it were 4pm. We cruised the inside passage, and then rode the Alaska Railroad up to Denali National Park. If you'd like to read a review of the trip, with LOTS of pictures included, click here Alaska trip review- Cruise Critic
The largest state in the United States. Land area of Alsaka is over twice the size of
Texas. It is larger than the combined area of the 22 smallest states in the
US. Alaska is the Northernmost and
Westernmost state in the USA, and also has the most easterly longitude in the
US, as the Aleutian Islands extends into the Eastern Hemisphere.
State facts:
The State Capital is Juneau
State Population (as of 2015) 738,432
Nicknames- The Last
Frontier, Land of the Midnight Sun,
Seward’s Icebox
Top 5 Cities-
Anchorage
Fairbanks
Juneau
Sitka
Ketchikan
Fun things to do that I got to experience on my trip (all pictures were taken June 2015)
Kenai Fjords National Park
https://www.nps.gov/kefj/index.htm
Chugach State Park- http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/units/chugach/
Alaska Sea Life center - http://www.alaskasealife.org/
Icy Straight Point- http://icystraitpoint.com/
Matanuska Glacier http://www.matanuska-glacier.com/
Paws for adventure – sled dog tours- http://pawsforadventure.com/
Alaska Northern Lights tour - http://www.alaskanorthernlights.net/
Some Fun Facts:
Alaska has no state sales tax, and no individual state
income tax. The government operations depends on petroleum revenue and federal
subsidies. In 1976, voters established the “permanent fund” to handle surplus
in oil revenues. Starting in 1982, Each
year, eligible Alaskans actually receive a check from the Permanent Fund. To be eligible, you must be a permanent
resident for a minimum of 12 months, not
have any criminal activity on your record, and not have any warrants.
The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel is the longest
combination road and rail tunnel in North America. It is 2.5 miles long, and
connects Whittier to the Seward highway in Portage. The tunnel is shared by the Alaska Railroad
and the highway system.
Alaska has a longer coastline than all of the other U.S.
States combined, with 6,640 miles of coastline. Including islands, the
shoreline expands to 33,904 miles.
Juneau is the only capital city in the US that is accessible
by only boat or plane. There are no roads connecting it to the rest of the
state.
Juneau is also the largest city in the United States,
covering 3108 square miles, which makes it larger that the entire state of
Rhode Island!
North America’s highest peak, Mt. Denali, is located in the
heart of Alaska. Mount Denali stands
20,310 feet tall, and is located within Denali National Park, which takes up
quite a bit of central Alaska. The park’s total area is @9,492 square miles,
which means it is larger than the entire state of New Hampshire (9,351 sq m)
and almost as large as Massachusetts (10,555 sq m). There are 113 permanent employees (as of
2016) and an average of 170 seasonal employees.
There were also 1,061 volunteers working a total of 56,863 volunteer
hours in 2016. (information found on https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/management/statistics.htm)
Climate in Alaska- source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska
There are typically 5 different “regions” to Alaska as far
as Climate is concerned.
Southeast Alaska is a considered an “Oceanic Climate”. On an annual Basis,
Southeast is both the wettest and warmest part of Alaska with milder temps in
the winter, when the average daytime temperature is actually above freezing.
Southcentral Alaska
is considered mild by Alaska standards, but is still a subarctic climate.
The area averages around 75 inches of snow a year. Southcentral experiences
brief cool summers, which makes it a great place to visit.
Western Alaska’s climate can be determined by the Bearing
Sea and Gulf of Alaska. The temperature is somewhat moderate considering how
far north the area is. This area of
Alaska has a tremendous variation in precipitation. One area stretching from
the northern side of the Seward Peninsula to the Kobuk River valley is
technically a desert, averaging only 10
inches of precipitation a year . Some
locations between Dillingham and Bethel average around 100 inches a year, so
there is quite the extreme in this region.
Interior Alaska has the states extreme temperature ranges.
The area around Fairbanks can experience highs into the 90’s in the Summer
months, and Lows can fall below -60 (yes that’s NEGATIVE 60) F in the
winter. Precipitation is sparse in this
region, typically receiving around 10 inches total throughout the year.
The extreme north of Alaska experiences extremely long cold
winters, and even in the summer months, the average high is around 34
degrees. This region experiences very
little precipitation, and what they do receive, tends to stay for nearly the entire
year.
Additional Travel Sites-
A few more of my favorite pictures from the trip:
Glacier Bay is just massive. the pictures really do not do it justice.
The clouds and fog made for some pretty dramatic photos
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| The Glaciers go on for miles and miles! |
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| Got to see lots of humpback whales in Juneau! |
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| Glacier in Juneau |
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| Welcome to Ketchikan! |
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| Amazing Wolly Mammoth tusk that was hand carved by Eddie Lee. Took him 4 years to finish |
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| the statue near the center of town, welcoming you to Ketchikan! |
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| Fireweed was EVERYWHERE! even in ice cream in Talkeenta |
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| Main Street of Skagway, very quaint little village |
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| the White Pass rail road heading up the mountains in Skagway |
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| Emerald Lake was worth the entire trip to Alaska! |
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| We lucked out and had amazing weather, and got some beautiful shots! |
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