Experience The Thrill Of Alaska Travel!

By Author: Sue Tyler
Total Articles: 1
Comment this article

Just look at all you can choose to see during Alaska vacations.

Experience the Glaciers!

There are an estimated 100,000 glaciers in the State, consisting of rivers of ice which flow from ice packs high in the mountains. In constant motion,they can slowly move ahead at speeds of several feet a day, or with sudden surges of as much as 300 feet. The breathtaking Glacier Bay National Park is home to 16 active glaciers, with snow-capped mountains, deep fjords and freshwater rivers all around. On Alaska cruises 2012 watch as monumental chunks of ice split off glaciers and crash into the sea. It sounds like thunder as ice "calves" off these tidewater glaciers and then shoots water up hundreds of feet in the air as they hit the water. The area is a Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to a unique ecosystem of plants and animals amid this ever-changing natural landscape. On cruise tours to Alaska you can spend an entire day making the 60 mile passage, passing many glaciers while seeing abundant wildlife and scenic beauty unique in all the world.

The Forests and the Wilderness

Denali National ...
... Park is home to Mount McKinley (Denali), at 20,300 feet, the tallest peak in North America. This vast six million acre park offers a wide expanse of wilderness filled with the Alaskan Big Five - grizzly bear, moose, caribou, wolf and Dali sheep, a real plus for an Alaska tour. A Denali Park Tundra Wilderness bus tour lets you safely see the wildlife while the driver guide points out interesting aspects of the park. Over a hundred years ago, two men spent the winter in a cabin in this area, and were changed by what they experienced. After a decade of hard work, in 1917 Charles Sheldon and Harry Karstens persuaded Congress to create Mount McKinley National Park, the world's first national park established to conserve wildlife, and allow visitors to experience wildlife in this pristine setting during their Alaska travel.

You can visit Iditarod Headquarters on Alaska cruises to learn about the &"Last Great Race on Earth", the 1050-mile dogsled race through the forests of Alaska. Even after airplanes were invented, dog teams continued to be widely used for local transportation and local work, particularly in the Native villages. By the 60s, the advent of the snowmobile had resulted in the mass abandonment of sledding and loss of much mushing lore. In 1967, on the 100th anniversary of Alaska becoming a U.S. Territory after being purchased from Russia, the idea was conceived to have a sled dog race over the historically significant Iditarod Trail. The race is a reconstruction of the freight route to Nome and commemorates the part that sled dogs played in the settlement of Alaska, with the mushers travelling from checkpoint to checkpoint much as freight mushers did 80 years ago! Learning this vital part of history is a fascinating element of the best Alaska cruises.

The Gold Rush Is On!

Skagway is where the Gold Rush began; a turbulent staging point for prospectors hell-bent on getting to the Klondike gold fields, and a vital stop on a cruise to Alaska 2012. In 1896, gold was discovered in the Klondike, and more than 100,000 prospective miners flooded through towns like Skagway! Between 1897 and 1898, Skagway was a lawless town, described by a member of the Northwest Mounted Police as"little better than a hell on earth." Fights, prostitutes and liquor were ever-present on Skagway's streets. Stroll the weathered boardwalks and drop in to old-time saloons or shop for gold nuggets. On vacations to Alaska learn about the rise and fall of the legendary outlaw Soapy Smith, a colorful and sophisticated thief who swindled prospectors with cards, dice and the shell game. Smith was shot and killed in the famed "Shootout on Juneau Wharf." Skagway was also one of the settings for Jack London's book The Call of The Wild. During an Alaska tour follow along historic paths by riding in a vintage parlor car up the historic White Horse Pass - the prospector's path to the gold fields - via the narrow gauge railway. In Dawson City on Alaska vacations, enjoy an evening's entertainment at Diamond Tooth Gertie's gambling hall, or the Gaslight Follies show at the Palace Grande Theatre. As part of travel to Alaska, visit miner's cabins and the abandoned town of Fortymile, prominently featured in the novels and short stories of Jack London, an engaging aspect of the best Alaska cruises
Resource: http://boomer-travel.newsvine.com/