November 2004 -- Alaska's visitor industry is busy again. In 2004, with the economy recovering, terrorism fears fading, and record-breaking hot weather lasting through the summer, tourism businesses were busier than they have been in several years. I had gotten out of the habit of advising travelers to book well in advance for the peak of the summer season, but it is an important consideration once again.
Even with the upsurge in travel, you will find more places to stay in Anchorage and Fairbanks and a few smaller destinations, especially if your preference is for a name-brand hotel. Many hundreds of rooms have been added in the midtown area of Anchorage, including various flavors from Marriot, Hilton and other chains. But I prefer places with more personality and local character -- and in more interesting neighborhoods -- and those are not added so quickly and still must be booked well in advance.
The weather deserves further mention. Increasing attention has focused on dramatic changes in Alaska's climate due to global warming. A four-year study by 300 scientists from eight nations was release in November 2004, that confirmed the astounding extent of these changes on the natural world and the fact that human emission of fossil fuels was the cause. These changes are affecting people's lives. On the plus side, hot, sunny weather is great for being outdoors; we went swimming in the ocean for the first time in our lives in Alaska in 2004. But many of these changes are not positive. Eskimo hunters find it more difficult to pursue their traditional way of life in a melting landscape. In the summer of 2004 more than 6 million acres of Alaska forest burned, breaking a 50-year-old record and, more importantly, continuing a trend of more than a decade of severe wildfire years. Interior Alaska was hardest hit and many vacations were diverted when blinding smoke lingered over Fairbanks and other destinations for weeks. It is impossible to predict how these changes might affect travelers in 2005 -- it may be an entirely normal year. As always in Alaska, be prepared for the unexpected. (To learn more about this topic, check out my book The Whale and the Supercomputer: On the Northern Front of Climate Change.)
As always, I welcome comments and questions at my web site, www.wohlforth.net. This year I have also included pages of links to dozens of the establishments I write about, which may make your planning quicker and easier.
Southeast Alaska
A new operator -- and much-needed new competition -- will begin serving visitors who want to see Misty Fjords National Monument on a day cruise from Ketchikan. Using a high-speed catamaran built at its own boatyard in Sitka, Allen Marine Tours is able to offer its Misty Fjords and Wildlife Quest (tel. 888/747-8101 or 907/225-8100; www.mistyfjordswildlifequest.com) in only 4 1/2 hours, 2 hours less than the competition. The price is a little less, too, at $139 adults, $89 children 3-12. Allen Marine has built a good reputation with tours it has operated for many years in Sitka and intermittently from other towns.
The Alaska Marine Highway System (tel. 800/642-0066 or 907/465-3941, TDD 800/764-3779; www.ferryalaska.com) has been in more than the usual state of flux. One of the ferries hit a rock and was removed from service for repairs during 2004. When it came back, another of the ferries was placed in storage. At the same time, the new high-speed ferry Fairweather came on line, to good reviews, but the ferry system is finding it much more expensive to operate than expected and is holding onto the old ships. More changes are in store, and I can't keep them up to date in an annual book or even a pre-season update like this one. Check the system's web site, and try to be flexible. It's best to plan extra time around ferry runs. See other changes below, under "Kenai Peninsula and Prince William Sound."
Anchorage
The Holiday Inn-Anchorage, 239 W. 4th Avenue, notable because it is right downtown and has a pool, has become the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel (tel. 800/446-4656 or 907/793-5500; www.hojo.com).
Alyeska Resort in Girdwood (tel. 800/880-3880 or 907/754-1111; www.alyeskaresort.com) has added inner tubing as an activity on the slopes. A tube is provided with your lift ticket and a lift has been equipped with hooks to hold it while you ride up the hill. The idea is to provide more to do for the non-skiing members of the family on a winter vacation. The tubing park will be open only Friday through Sunday during the '04-'05 season.
Anchorage will vote in the spring on raising the bed tax to 12% to pay for a new convention center.
Affordable New Car Rental, which I had recommended as a source of vehicles that can be driven on gravel roads, was sold to another company, which does not offer that service.
Kenai Peninsula and Prince William Sound
A new fast ferry is planned for the Prince William Sound service for the summer of 2005, which will transform transportation in that region. But the Alaska Marine Highway System (tel. 800/642-0066 or 907/465-3941, TDD 800/764-3779; www.ferryalaska.com) has a habit of making late changes to its plans and big changes like this one can be unpredictable. As I write this, discussion and controversy continue about other changes in the ferry system in this part of the state. As originally envisioned, the ferry system intended to cut runs connecting Seward eastward to Chenega Bay and Prince William Sound, and westward to Kodiak (you can still reach Seward by road and take the ferry to Kodiak from Homer). The final shape of the routes is not yet determined.
A Native regional corporation bought up several of the largest tourism businesses in this part of the state several years ago, but you wouldn't have noticed it from the operations, which ran pretty much as they had under the prior ownership. Now, however, Cook Inlet Region Inc. (CIRI) has found a way to introduce the traditional culture of indigenous people -- who are its owners -- into offerings to the public. Two of the most important of these are in Seward, where the company, under the name Alaska Heritage Tours, owns Kenai Fjords Tours, which is the dominant operator to Kenai Fjords National Park, and the Seward Windsong Lodge, the best hotel in town. In Whittier, Alaska Heritage owns Prince William Sound Cruises and Tours. The boat tours will include guides who teach about Alutiiq culture and animals names as well as explaining the wildlife you see -- this should be an important improvement to tours that are about interpretation as much as the view. At the hotel, and at the company's Talkeetna Alaska Lodge, Native art will be on display and cultural demonstrations will become a regular feature of the visitor season. You can get information about all the offerings, including the cultural programs, at www.alaskaheritagetours.com.
The town of Seward is considering a bed tax increase to 14%.
I spent a lot of time in Homer and on Kachemak Bay recently and I have gathered information I plan to add to a future edition. A few quick notes. The new Islands and Oceans Visitor Center (https://islandsandoceans.org) is stunning; rather than a visitor center, it is one of the town's top attractions, and one of the best natural history museums in Alaska. The Chart Room Restaurant at Land's End Resort (www.lands-end-resort.com) has good food, but there is no reason to order a main course; the appetizers are huge and more interesting. The new Fat Olives restaurant, at 27 Olson Lane and the Sterling Highway, which I hadn't had a chance to try when I wrote the 2005 edition, is really terrific; relaxed, but with very good Northern Italian food. For a wonderful casual lunch or breakfast try Cosmic Kitchen, at 510 E. Pioneer Ave., with low prices for large portions of tasty Mexican food and American breakfasts.
The Interior
The opening of the spectacular expansion of the UA Museum of the North (www.uaf.edu/museum) has been pushed back; when I wrote the 2005 edition it was expected in time for the summer season, but now it looks like it won't be ready until the fall. In the meantime the old section of the museum is still open and well worth a visit.
The ice hotel at Chena Hot Springs Resort (www.chenahotsprings.com) will be built again this winter ('04-'05), its second year; for the price of a suite in a five-star resort you can sleep on a bed of ice!
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