Random Observations

Alaska 2003 Travel Report

Flowers in Petersburg. Here are a few random thoughts and observations:

I looked at a lot of travel books and web sites, but Frommers was my favorite.
I had cell phone service in all the towns I stopped in, except outside Denali National Park.
Alaskan's love their coffee - there are drive-up coffee places everywhere, but, refreshingly, the only Starbucks I saw was in the Anchorage airport!
Some of the hotels had pretty heavy curtains to block out the light if you are there in the middle of summer, but not all. So if you are going to be there while the days are very long and light would bother you when trying to sleep, double check with your hotel. Also, some of the hotels didn't have screened windows, I love having the windows open and thankfully it wasn't very buggy, don't know if it would be worse other times of the year.
I got some great photos from my plane window flying to and around Alaska, so try to get a window seat.
In an attempt to save some money and to eat better, I grabbed portable food when I had a chance - peanut butter, rolls, apples, jerky, etc. (Or try this recipe for tofu jerky.) It came in handy when I was in places like Denali with limited services and after arriving at some destinations very late when nothing was open.