Denali National Park, 99 years old and 6 million acres of beauty. there is only one road going through the park which is 92.5 miles long and took 16 years to complete. the park has about 570k visitors every season, so the amount of vehicles allowed in the park is limited.  

the majority of people are brought in/out via park buses which can take you the full 92.5 miles, to the Eielson Visitors Center at mile 66,  or to a number of other stops along the way.  some permits are given out to campers and photographers on a limited basis and individuals can enter a lottery to get a drive permit.  the lottery might be for locals only, i can’t remember.

there isn’t any food or beverage sold in the park, so you need to bring in all of your snacks and drink.  if you’re camping they will give you a bear box for your food…..they also give a full training on how to deal with bears.

on our 8 hour tour we saw 7 bears…….we also saw, Dall sheep, Ptarmigans (fat little brown & white birds), Spruce Grouse (also brown & white birds….not so fat), moose, porcupine, ground squirrel, eagle and caribou.  no shortage of wildlife.  there will be photos of animals eventually…..as soon as the nice South African couple with the stellar lens emails them to me in 3-4 weeks when they get back home from their trip.

we only got out of the bus in three locations and the visitors center.  if you’d like a tour with more stops you might look into the wilderness tour.  there is also a natural history tour, and i believe that is much shorter.

recommendations: if you want to take animal photos you need a long good telephoto lens. check the weather in advance and if there is a chance of rain take your boots, and rain gear….being wet on a 8 hour bus ride isn’t fun. make sure you bring enough snacks and water. 

today we boarded a train at 8 AM and headed to Denali National Park. it was an easy 4 hours, and we were in a dome car, which was pretty great.

we arrived at the Denali Bluffs Hotel around 1 PM, dropped our bags off and then headed to the main lobby to find out what we could do this afternoon.  well, the 4 PM sled dog demo in the park was the winner. 

we saw a bunch of dogs, including 5 puppies. absolutely adorable. yes, i have a puppy picture, but it’s on the other camera, you’ll just have to wait! we saw a sled demo, pet some dogs and talked with the trainers and rangers. not bad for a free something to do on a rainy afternoon.  

yes, the rain has set it in, but that’s okay.  i’m just glad it didn’t interfere with aurora viewing.

tomorrow we are off to a 8 hour bus tour through the park.  we have our box lunch ordered (no food or drink is sold in the park)  camera batteries are charging and socks are drying.  we will be good to go come 8:30 AM…..bring on the bears.

our last Fairbanks activity was taking a 3 hour river boat cruise down the Chena River. 

the boat was called the Discovery III, but we also saw the Discovery II and the original Discovery. the business is family owned and operated, and was started in the early 1900’s to move cargo down the river.  now it’s just a passenger cruise to share the history of the area.  the captain of the boat was the grandson of the original captain; at one point we passed his family home along the river and waved to the 4th generation. one family tradition the boat cruise still maintains is having fresh blueberry doughnuts on-board for all the guests. delicious.

the whole trip was fun and well coordinated, and i’m glad we did it.  it was the perfect way to spend a gorgeous afternoon.

while on the cruise we were able to see a bush pilot take off and land on the river, the Susan Butcher (5 time Iditarod winner) Kennel for sled dogs with a demonstration & talk about what they do, and we got off the boat for a walk around a replica of an Athabascan Indian village.  at the village we also had the opportunity to learn more and even pet the sled dogs.  Susan Butcher passed away from cancer in 2006, but her husband carries on the business and was the there to autograph his children’s book called Granite, about their sled dog of the same name.

so was it a tourist attraction? yes, but not cheesy at all, and worth the money. i recommend it if you have some extra time in Fairbanks.

another day in Fairbanks.  as planned we went for a walk around the little downtown area, across the footbridge and over to Pioneer Park.  it was more crowded since it was Saturday and it’s a free attraction.

we saw a couple of the exhibits we hadn’t seen Friday, like the Pioneer Museum, Kitty Hennesy’s House and the arts center.  the arts center was being used for a rummage sale, so of course we had to do our due dilegence and poke around a bit.  the walk over took longer than expected so we took the bus back.

we were then picked up at 4:30 PM and made our way to Chena Hot Springs, about an hour outside of town.

Chena Hot Springs Resort is pretty, although a bit run down.  they have a large property with hotel rooms, cabins, and yurts you can rent, plus a campground.  there is an activity center, cafe and dining hall, and they have their own hot house, where they grow the produce for the restaurant.  there is an ice mueum, and of course a pool and hot springs.

we arrived in time for the last ice museum tour (not really a tour…a person opens the door and then you and a million other people go into the 26 degree museum and look at ice sculptures and drink a $11 martiniin in a souvenier ice glass if you’re so inclined) and from there made our way to cocktail hour and dinner.  we bypassed the springs, it was just too crowded and well, wet.  we went over to the activity center and hung out until it got dark and the Northern Lights came out again.

activity wasn’t as big as the night before, but it was still pretty and nice to see them in another location.  the Chandalar Ranch was actually a better viewing spot, becasue it was darker and there weren’t as many peope around.  

today we’re off for a river boat cruise which has the potential to be super touristy, but hopefully fun as well.

Faibanks, Alaska. home to approximately 100k people and a lot of wildlife. Capitan ET Barnette opened a temporary trading post here in 1901 and when Felix Pedro discovered gold in 1902, it became a permanent post.  in 1903 is was named Fairbanks and became an incorporated city.

i’m here with my Mom, and we started our trip with a city and heritage tour.  we were the only people on the tour, so our guide was flexible about what to see, and since it was a beautiful day we spent most of our time outside.  we had a quick drive through downtown, stopped into a curling club (becasue why wouldn’t you when the door is standing wide open) saw the University Alaska Faibanks Museum and Botanical Garden.  we then headed off to see the Alaskan Pipeline, some musk ox and Pioneer Park, which used to be called Alaskaland.  welcome to Wally World.

although Pioneer Park was a little touristy, it was fun and free.  lots to see and learn, plus funnel cake.

we ended our day with a trip to Chandalar Ranch to see the Nothern Lights.  they were spectacular, and i do have pictures which you won’t see yet, as i really need to to find the best ones to share, as there are a lot and most are just crap.  it’s really hard to get get a good photo……lots of trial and error.

since we didn’t get back from light viewing until 3 AM it was a slow start today, and we’re just getting ready to head out to brunch.  after that we will take a walk along the river and check out the town.  we might go back over to Pioneer Park for a bit and visit the Center for the Arts and the Pioneer Museum, which we didn’t see yesterday.  

at 4:30 PM we get picked up to head to Chena Hot Springs for a bunch of activities and hopefully another night of lights.

i’m now fully booked for my trip to Colombia next year.  i’m super excited.

since i wanted to use miles for the airfare i had to lock in my dates relatively early. reward travel is really nice, but it can be limiting at times.  i ended up reserving in the beginning of May 2017, and the trip will be three weeks.

i start in Cartagena and end in Bogota, with stops in Santa Marta, Medellin and Armenia. as part of the Santa Marta portion i will be participating in a 5-day trek to Ciudad Perdida, “the Lost City”.

i booked everything through a tour company called South America.travel and they were fantastic. i worked with Martin, and he was knowledgeable, friendly and responsive.  plus he wasn’t pushy at all.

i have a long time to wait until this adventure begins, but i love having this trip to look forward to, whohoo.

Santa Marta photo courtesy of expedia.com

well, it appears i’m going to have to reattach all of the photos from my series posts from September 2011. although it’s going to be a giant pain, it will also be nice to revisit the Argentina adventure.

i’m really longing for a trip, a big trip, a long trip.  but now that i’ve started my vacation rental empire, my vacation time will be limited.  but i love to vacation and plan, so i have faith i can make something happen in 2015.

but for now, let the photo uploading begin!

probably not a question you have ever asked yourself, because really, why would you.  well, when you’re in Finland for the weekend and you think it would be fun to go to Russia for a day, but you can’t because you didn’t think to get a visa in advance, you pick somewhere else you can go without a visa.  hello Estonia!

the Republic of Estonia is a mere 1 hour 40 minute ferry ride across the Baltic Sea from Finland, and it made the perfect day trip destination.

we boarded the Linda Line Ferry at 10 AM and spent the day wandering through Tallinn, which is the oldest city in Estonia and the capital.

in the Middle Ages the Old Town was always under the threat of attack so they built a fortress with high thick walls, guard towers, and gates.  today 1.18 miles of wall and half of the towers still remain.

we went to the top of the St. Olav’s Church, which is the tallest building in Tallin and took in the stunning rooftop views.

we happened to overhear a tour guide speaking English and followed his trio up the cobblestone streets to Toompea Hill and learned quite a bit about the history of the area.  too bad we couldn’t stay with them the whole day, he was a really great guide.

the town is full of churches, museums, spiral staircases, ironwork, and lots of cool spires.  this is the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which is undergoing a little renovation, hence the green netting.

surrounding the main plaza were a ton of restaurants to choose from, so we opted for a little late afternoon Indian lunch, and then made our way back thru the Viru Gates and flower market to the ferry for our return trip home.

thank you Tallinn for a lovely sightseeing excursion!

i had forgotten how much fun it is to travel with someone.  the majority of trips i take are solo, so it was pretty nice wandering through the streets of Helsinki and having someone to talk to along the way.

we started off the day by walking through the Botanical Garden on our way down to the waterfront area.  a big cruise ship had come in during the night so the weekend market was in full swing.  homemade trinkets, artwork, flowers, fruit, vegetables, and souvenirs were a plenty.

we stopped off and took a look at the Helsinki Cathedral and then hopped a ferry to see the Suomenlinna Sea Fortress.  not only is this a historic sight, but it’s also a weekend picnic and relaxation destination for the locals.  the grassy knolls, small beaches and giant rocks were starting to fill up as we left in the early afternoon.

we then walked through downtown and had lunch at a funny little chain restaurant called Wrong Asian Kitchen.  not bad for a quick meal.

after noodles we slowly made our way back to the hotel to take a break in the day.  the hotel has a nice patio, so we took advantage of the good weather and hung out there until someone (me), had to take a nap before venturing back out into the city for another wander and dinner.

over pizza and beer at Vespa we made a plan for sightseeing tomorrow.  until then………..

again, i start with high aspirations of blogging while traveling, and then it just all falls apart. funny how that happens.

i am on a 10 day work trip and spent the first part of the week in the UK, Brighton to be exact. we (my colleague and i) lucked out with the weather, warm and sunny the entire time.  it was obvious who ditched the event for some beach time, i just hope their sunburn fades before they go back to the office Friday!

since we were there for a conference there wasn’t time to see a whole lot, but there was a walk through a lovely garden and a few dinners out. for a seaside town in the UK there were plenty of really good vegetarian choices. on our first evening we wandered through the streets of Brighton and made our way to a place a friend recommended, Terre a Terre. super tasty and my favorite meal. we had a big group dinner at Jamie’s Italian (Jamie Oliver’s restaurant) which i heard can be hit or miss. thankfully we were there on a hit night, i thought it was really good.  another great place was the Chilli Pickle, an Indian restaurant not too far from the hotel.

we stayed at the Hilton, which was the conference hotel and conveniently located, but not the best Hilton i’ve been to by any means.  rumor has it the one in Santa Cruz , CA is worse;  this is according to a colleague at the conference who has stayed at many a Hilton.

the conference was good; i saw some old friends and made some new ones as well.  plus it was in Brighton, and i hadn’t ever been here before. i love seeing new places.  by the way, the beach, not sandy at all.  all pebbles.

tomorrow we make our way to Finland where we will be for the weekend.  there is some sightseeing in my future, but what i will see is yet to be determined. stay tuned for highlights from Helsinki!