When we were in Seattle, Michael could not resist flying up to Alaska. “We are so close!” He said. Michael was only four states away from having been to all 50, and Alaska is a tough one, so I was not going to argue.
Also, it is true. We were the closest we have ever been. We found a cheap flight ($450 total for the four of us). Also, Michael’s dad and stepmom work in Denali in the summers. It was great to see them.
We were in Alaska for one week. We arrived in Fairbanks on a Thursday night. The flight was easy. It was our first flight since we flew back from Nicaragua last year. Everyone wore a mask. There were no rowdy passengers giving flight attendants trouble.
Lucas and Henry were excited that it never got dark. It was not dark at 1 or 2 am, even though the sun had set.
Friday morning, we took a 4-hour ride on the Alaska Railroad from Fairbanks to Denali. Lucas and Henry liked riding on the train. We took Adventure Class, the equivalent of economy class. They have a Gold Star Class that offers roomier seats, food, drink, and a tour guide to narrate the journey. The train is clean, but the Adventure class is not the most comfortable.
We spent two nights in Denali at the McKinley Chalet Resort, where Michael’s parents work. The hotel is on the Nenana River. The resort has several different housing buildings. We were in the newer Ridgeview building, and the rooms are gorgeous.
Denali is not crowded this year because the cruise lines are not running this year. Several hotels are not open, and many businesses have limited hours and menus. We enjoyed being there with fewer people.
We did a lot of hiking. We hiked the horseshoe lake trail, an easy 2- mile hike in the park. We also went on a two-mile hike to see mushing dogs. We got to let the dogs and learn about mushing. One day we saw 13 moose. Denali is beautiful and peaceful. We can see why Michael’s parents like going up there to work every summer.
Our train got delayed on the way back to Fairbanks. We were supposed to get in at 8 pm, but we got in at 11 pm. Luckily it does not get dark in Alaska this time of year. We did struggle a bit with transportation. We did not rent a car, and we relied on taxis and Lyft. When we arrived Sunday night at the train station there were neither. A large tour bus came to our rescue and let us hitch a ride.
We spent four nights in Fairbanks at the Westmark hotel. It is in the downtown area and walkable to many restaurants.
The Monday we were there was the summer solstice. We lucked out in getting the opportunity to go to The Midnight Sun Game. It is an amateur baseball game played by the Alaska Goldpanners every summer solstice at Growden Memorial Park. The game starts at 10 pm and ends at about 1:30 am and they never use lights. The kids ran the bases, and we won a $150 gift card to a steak restaurant in a raffle at the game.
We were all tired on Tuesday from staying up late at the baseball game. The boys worked out at the hotel gym in the morning while I worked. We managed to get out to visit the Mushing Museum in Fairbanks.
We also went to the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum. This museum has an amazing collection of vintage automobiles and exhibits highlighting the era of each automobile. We got to ride in a Model T from 1909. Lucas liked looking at the price of the cars and the features. Henry enjoyed watching the videos.
Wednesday was a special day because Lucas turned 11! It started with our birthday day breakfast tradition of donuts.
Then we headed to the North Pole. North Pole, Alaska is about a 15-minute drive from Fairbanks. Santa, Mrs. Claus, and the reindeer were there, except Rudolph who was at flight school. We were able to go in and feed and pet the reindeer. They are gentle and will not bite you because they do not have front teeth. The boys got to talk to Santa and Mrs. Claus.
We went out for sushi for lunch at Kanpai. Lucas got his favorite- a rainbow roll. Michael and I shared a Fairbanks roll and an Oh my g-d roll. It was delicious Henry does. It like sushi, but he was happy eating miso soup.
We hung out in our hotel room for a while. Lucas and Henry got to play Zooba with their cousins who are in North Carolina. They are obsessed with that game.
We decided to use the gift card we won at the baseball game and headed to the Turtle Club. It is a surf and turf restaurant that has been open since the 1950s. We were disappointed because they were out of Alaskan King Crab. We were told by the waitress that there is a shortage this year. Lucas and hi had prime rib, Michael had sautéed shrimp, and Henry at chicken fingers.
On the way to the restaurant, our Lyft driver stopped to show us the Alaska pipeline and told us a lot about the history of the area.
On our last day in Fairbanks, we took a shuttle to the University of Alaska and checked out the botanical garden and large animal research station where we got to see muskoxen.
Alaska is worth a visit. We packed a lot into a week and we only saw a tiny bit of the country.
