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3.5 Stars - 68 Opinions
View of the parking area from the highway
Playing around with sister at Aviation Museum, AK
Honoring Alaska's Pioneer Aviators
Chugach State Park
We are planning to go come to Alaska for our honeymoon in mid October of 2010. I know most 'tourist attractions' have closed by then, which is fine with us. We are going to rent a 4 wheel drive vehicle and drive around anchorage, portage, whittier, and seward and would also like to drive up to Fairbanks/chena hot springs/north pole, alaska. Any tips on driving conditions? Is it safe to drive from anchorage to fairbanks in the middle of October?
Absolutely it is safe to drive in October. You may encounter snow or freezing rain while driving. If you don't have experience with snow just take it slow and you will be fine. Make sure you pack your car, even on day trips, with extra clothes and a warm jacket in case you break down or get stranded. There is usually plenty of traffic on the road system in Alaska but you may have to wait if you need a tow. Don't worry too much. October is a beautiful month to be in Alaska (usually).
Scott
Yes, you should be fine. Be sure your rental has studded tires perhaps and refill the gas tank before getting low. There are small towns along the way up to Fbkx from Anc though with gas stations and restuarants. October may still have some color on the trees--everything is golden in the fall. It will be a good time to avoid crowds since most visitors are gone by mid-Sept.. So enjoy the peace with us locals.
If you have a four wheel drive vehicle and are driving from Anchorage to Fairbanks, you might want to take the Denali Highway. To do it you can take the Glen Highway out of Anchorage all the way to Gakona Junction where the Richardson Highway veers north. Follow the Richardson north about seventy miles to Paxson where you will meet the Denali Highway. The Denali Highway is about 135 miles and will bring you out to Cantwell on the Parks Highway. Turn right on the Parks and head north, through Denali National Park, up to Fairbanks. The whole route will be very beautiful and you will have many opportunities to see wildlife, stop at beautiful mountain vistas, and really enjoy interior Alaska at its best.
Check out these links:
http://www.icdc.com/~neubauer/denali.htm
http://explorenorth.com/library/roads/denali_highway.html
http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/recreation/denali_highway.html
Congratulations, and enjoy!
Very safe. If anything, October is kinda raining, but not snowy. Fall 2009 we didn't see snow till Nov 7 (lol, the date sticks out to me because I was just starting a new job that day and the snow made me late! Ugg!)
In October all the glacier cruises won't be operating, but there is still plenty to do. Even just driving around and stopping whenever you want is beautiful. You'll have a good time and congrats on your marriage!
M R NOT, M R Geese!!!
While exploring the city on Saturday afternoon, we spotted these geese wandering down the street. It was about 1 in the afternoon, and there obviously was very little traffic around. We felt almost like we were the only visitors that day, until we spotted these guys.
One of the more exciting aspects of the drive along Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet was our viewing of a pod of Beluga whales. Sadly no photo opportunity was available. They swam by much to quickly and were arching above and below the surface of the water. So it was not feasible for an amatuer like myself to get a shot. Yet the thrill was there all the same. Belugas are the cutest of the whale species.
When we got the list of places to eat and cafes and stuff, we noticed the extensive list of places to get coffee. We were very excited about this. However, and this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the places where you actually go in and sit down to enjoy your coffee are less common than the drive-thru coffee places. I’m not talking about your typical fast food/carry out only establishments—these are mobile coffee joints and they are everywhere. (Much like Pacific Northwest in the lower 48) In parking lots, on corners, along the roads—no shortage of these in the least. They each have catchy names (like Mocha in Motion), a unique design (like a train car) and some serve much more the coffee. The ones that just have coffee still have an extensive set up. Every combination you can think of—many more options than say, Starbucks. Milky Way, Snickers, pumpkin…all kinds.
Some of them have very strange combinations of food and coffee like the picture here. I’ve never in my life thought “I could use a great shot of espresso and reindeer jerky for that long drive”
Alaska gets pretty shut out of the whole National and American sporting leagues because of our location and our small population. However, we do have a hockey team that's very popular among locals. The Alaska Aces (who are affiliated with St. Louis and Peoria) always draw a good sized crowd when they play--and they should. They're pretty decent from what I understand--we came up right at the end of their season last year but they did move on to win the Kelly Cup. They play in Sullivan Arena--a facility that was built to olympic standards rather than hockey standards. I come from a state that's pretty big into ice hockey so I'm excited to be able to go to a game here soon and then I'll report more:)
We do have other teams as well--the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves and an Alaska baseball league which includes 2 Anchorage teams. Now, I realize that baseball in Alaska might seem a bit strange, but these are people who play with all their heart and the list of alumni is quite impressive.
The sign says "Drop your carcass here!" and that got my attention! This is a place to drop off your kill or catch for proper processing!
Inside, there's all kinds of meats and fish to sample or purchase and bring home like I did! Outside you can visit exhibits of whatever they are raising at the moment - I saw birds.
You will find signs to this along the coastal road known as the Seward Highway about 15 miles south of Anchorage. The address is:
HC 52, Box 8809
Indian, Alaska 99540
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Address: 325 West 8th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska, 99501, United States
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