When I arrived in Alaska some 6 hours after leaving Atlanta, it was after 10pm.  Even though it was 3AM in Atlanta and I wasn't a bit tired, because the sun was still up, shining like it was mid day.  So I went to the bar at the hotel to have a beer and settle down after my long trip.  Wherein I met a one of Alaska's finest, a member of the Alaska State Patrol. 

It felt a bit odd to be drinking with an officer of the law, but I quickly go over it.  Several members our illustrious military were also bivouacking at the hotel.  Some of them were also in the bar sharing their stories with me.  I was most shocked by what the office had to tell me.  He gave me a complete rundown on the state, and said "that Alaska for the most part is a dry state.  It is illegal to posses of alcohol in most villages East and West of the townships that lie next to the highways that runs North to South."  This was done at the request of the indigenous population, which controls those areas.  He also told me that if you really want to experience the wilds of Alaska properly, you need to do it by airplane, which is the way he made his rounds.  Using the route we took highlighted on the map below it was not necessary to leave the rental car or the beer behind.

Click on some of the points of interests in the map below and you will be treated to some photographs of our adventure with dialog describing the events, the costs and the kind of activities you will discover.  Our journey lasted two weeks and started by exploring the sites in Anchorage on bicycle.  Then we proceeded to the Kenai peninsula to do some whale watching and see the glaciers in action while in Seward; and, get in some big game fishing for King Salmon in Kenai and Halibut in Homer.  After that we went North to Denali National Park to be with the Grizzly Bears and check out Mount McKinley the tallest mountain in North America.

Some more facts about Alaska:  Alaska has more coastline than the all of the lower 48 states combined.  Alaska also has more glaciers than Canada and the lower 48 states combined.  

Pictures contained on these pages are Copyright 2004 by David Doyle James