Today is the last day of our land tour… Feeling bitter sweet about it..  Don’t want to say goodbye to all these spectacular inland Alaska landscapes but looking forward to not packing and unpacking for 7 days straight

The drive from copper river to Valdez leads us through the beautiful Thompson pass where we can’t tell the difference between Glacier and snow…. its epic gorgeousness… One minute you are in the mountains amongst the Glacier at 3000 feet above sea level…. the next you are at sea level with huge water falls

The sea side town of Valdez, though plaqued with various unfortunate incidences in history looks peaceful and untouched..

So we were here in Valdez to board a catamaran and sail to Whittier through the beautiful prince William sound… The journey goes on….. All these never ending beauty of alaska just keeps on unfolding in front of us

Pop quiz, what is the largest national park in US？ it is this little known one that we are checking out today…. Wrengell St. Elias National Park and reserve is 13.2 million acres and it’s bigger than Yellowstone, Yosemite and Switzerland combined…

In the afternoon we joined a tour via  a scenic van ride and interpretive discussion with a professional naturalist guide. This tour is operated by local nonprofit Wrangell Institute for Science and Environment (WISE) and left us with a sense of peace and awe.. WISE’s educational programs, which cultivate observational skills, understanding of nature and stewardship ethics.

Stopped by the town of Palmer where they held the annual alaska state fair and have lunch… Checked out the local stores and they are delightful

The drive in the afternoon is also spectacularly beautiful with views of the  matanuska Glacier

Journey along Alaska’s only National Scenic Byway

Passed by Lake tern on the way

and take a trip into the historic seaside town of Seward…

The highlight is checking out the Alaska sea life center…

Next stop is to explore Exit Glacier, located within Kenai Fjords National Park, on a guided 2.2 mile hike.

Woke up to a misty cold morning

Stopped at an Iditarod Sled dog race headquarters and experienced our first sled dog ride….. Super fun!! The dogs are super excited to run in a group and in races!!

Lunch and free time at Anchorage downtown… 30% of Alaskan population lives here …

After lunch we drove on the Seward highway (one of the voted most scenic highway in Northern America) alongside the Turn again arm water way…. Alaska really have never ending moving feast of gorgeous sceneries every where…. I can’t believe sometimes in the middle of all these beauty, I dozed off…. 😜

We are going to spend the night at the cabin, not check out any trails…just focus on keeping the fire lit and crackling

Signed up for the Devils canyon adventure via jetboat… True Alaskan river experience…. A river excursion on the Susitna River and into the devil’s gorge which is a class v whitewater

Enjoyed a quiet cup of coffee by the lounge window with a view

Today’s highlight is the 5 hour alaska rail trip from Danali to Talkeetna  (teklanika train car) with dome glass ceiling..  And there’s only one car on this train just for this connoisseur princess group

The view from the train is epic!! I knew it’s going to be beautiful but still It blows my mind…. I can’t believe I get to stare at these views for 5 hours… I’ll let the pictures speaks for themselves….

The lodge at Mt. McKinley princess wilderness lodge is rustic, cozy and super nice

Enjoyed a big breakfast and a walk around the Princess Lodge community /village… getting ready for our next adventure which is a 6 hour Tundra wilderness tour

The tour again is on a converted tour bus with an expert guide/ driver that helps us spot wild life

Besides the wild lifes.. Of course there’s the breath taking views again

And selfies with them…

Today our small group of 29 people motocoached to Denali from Fairbanks… Its about  a two and a half hour drive on highway lined with beautiful Birch trees, white and black spruce, aspens.. Etc

The stop in between called Tatlanika RV campground is interesting…

As soon as we arrived in the vicinity of our lodge/Denali National Park area we were in awe..   The mountains are definitely calling and it’s incredibly beautiful and serene here

They really pampered us with fine dining tonight…. Surf and turf (prime rib and king crab) 🤩

After dinner, we went for a walking tour that lasted 3 hours…. Super fun with a knowledgeable cool guide and cool group…..felt like we were beginners that accidentally stumbled into an advance nature’s class… Someone in the group kept saying he really wish to see a moose during the tour, we saw nothing and just when all hope is lost, they appeared right at the very end when we were leaving… Every one cheered and laugh… What a happy ending….

1St day of the 17 day land and sea connoisseur tour with Princess…

First stop was the gold dredge 8 tour and the fun part is we get to pan our own gold 🤩

The afternoon steam boat ride is jam packed with activities

The tour was great with seaplane take off and landing show, learning about the Athabascan culture , Alaska husky training and sled demo… and Reindeers

Full day of fun and tours arranged by Princess