The Alaska travel industry changes every year as it grows and seasonal businesses open and close all over the state. It's a challenge to keep up with it even in an annual book.
First, though, an Alaskan icon passed away in August when four-time Iditarod champion Susan Butcher succumbed to leukemia. Butcher was among Alaska's most beloved figures: An amazing competitor, but also a brave and warm person whose charisma was unmistakable. She left behind two young daughters. The Riverboat Discovery tour in Fairbanks for years has made Butcher's dog yard a highlight. That may continue with her husband, Dave Monson, who is also a musher.
Planning Your Trip
A lot of readers ask about climate change and how it may affect their trip. In the last five years visitors have experienced some weird weather -- from hot, smoky summer weather to rained-out skiing and sled dog races. Surveys find many Alaska visitors want to make their trip of a lifetime before the state changes even more.
Unfortunately, the National Weather Service (NWS) has found indications of a developing El Niño climate event of moderate strength, and is predicting warmer than usual temperatures December 2006 through July 2007, with Alaska weather returning closer to normal in the late summer and fall of next year. For summer visitors, exceptional warmth can mean pleasant, sunny days, but also can bring huge forest fires that fill the skies with smoke and disrupt travel plans.
Of course, predictions so far in the future are very often wrong. Here's a link to the website where the NWS offers its climate predictions for Alaska and the rest of the nation: www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/lanina.
Increased fuel prices and fuller planes have driven up airfares. Base prices have risen and it has gotten harder to find a bargain on a plane fare to Alaska or within the state, especially on routes beyond the competitive Seattle-to-Anchorage link. Busy bookings also mean travelers at peak times should make their hotel and other reservations well in advance, too.
Alaskan voters imposed some new requirements on the cruise industry through a petition initiative on the August primary election ballot, despite a million-dollar advertising campaign the cruise lines mounted in opposition. The sheer number of ships has worn out the welcome of some Alaskans, who feel that the benefit for local communities does not make up for the impact of so many visitors.
The initiative has several elements, most of which you won't notice. A $50 per passenger head tax will doubtless be included in ticket prices. Environmental monitors will ride ships. And taxes will be imposed on gambling within Alaska's waters.
More significantly, the initiative requires that the lines disclose their commission mark-ups on land tours you book on board. These mark-ups have been a sore point with some coastal people, because cruise passengers sometimes end up paying twice as much for tours as comparable offerings booked directly. How disclosure will affect this practice remains to be seen -- and even how or whether it will be implemented, as litigation is possible.
I've made a great effort over the last few years to keep track of changes at the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system (tel. 800/642-0066; www.ferryalaska.com), but even I can't do the impossible. If you're planning a trip using the ferry system, keep checking back online or over the phone after you make your reservations to remain abreast of schedule changes. Hopefully, the system will stabilize after a new administration takes over in Juneau following this fall's elections.
Southeast Alaska
After several of Juneau's landmark restaurants closed their doors in the last few years, the 2007 edition of Alaska necessarily contained a less-than-stellar diversity of dining choices. I'm glad to report several new restaurants in Juneau are getting good reviews. The Sandpiper Café, 429 West Willoughby (tel. 907/586-3150), offers tasty breakfasts and lunches near the State Museum on Willoughby Street. A new Asian fusion restaurant in the Goldbelt Hotel has opened with the name Zen, 51 Egan Drive (tel. 907/586-5075), and may be the best restaurant in town, with terrific food and service. Others are too new to mention.
Here's an exciting new activity: zip lines. These are cables that run between tall trees in the rain forest. After strapping into a safety harness, clients hold on to runners that zip along the cable from one tree to the next, completing a tour of the forest canopy after a series of runs. Operators in Ketchikan and Juneau started in 2006 and expansion is planned to the Icy Strait cruise ship stop and to Southcentral Alaska. In Juneau, Alaska Zipline Adventures (tel. 907/790-2547; www.alaskazip.com) offers a tour with seven rides near the Eaglecrest Ski Area. In Ketchikan and at Juneau's historic Treadwell Mine, Alaska Canopy Adventures (www.alaskacanopyadventures.com) mostly sells tours through the cruise lines.
Anchorage
Notable improvements are happening downtown, where the city is building a new convention center and a huge new expansion to the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, in addition to various other projects.
Girdwood (near Anchorage) will host the United States Ski Association's U.S. Alpine Championships at Alyeska Resort (tel. 800/880-3880; www.alyeskaresort.com) March 27 through April 3, 2007. The U.S. championship was held here in 2004 as well. It's another reason why March is a fantastic time to go to Alaska.
Denali National Park
The Alaska Railroad (tel. 800/544-0552; www.alaskarailroad.com) is adding more of its popular luxury cars for Gold Star service to Denali National Park. These surely are some of the best appointed rail cars anywhere and should not be missed by any train buff. The line has also added a lot of unique day tours, including opportunities to ride the rails into remote areas for river rafting. Check out the website for their latest great idea.
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