TRAVELSCENE SAMFORD Dec08
DESIGN YOUR OWN HOLIDAY..Canada/Alaska by Betty Fielding (part 3 of 3)
Continuing from the last issue………
In Anchorage we boarded another train which took us to Denali. Denali National Park is nothing like we expected – it becomes a treeless tundra right before your eyes. We were lucky enough to get a good view of Mt McKinlay, the tallest mountain in the USA.
Because it is so high above sea level and it is nearly always shrouded in cloud and is only visible for very short periods. The best thing about Denali National Park is the wildlife. We got close up views of bears, moose, caribou, arctic squirrels and much more wildlife.
From Denali we caught the train to Fairbanks. Our reason for visiting Fairbanks was so we could take a light plane flight into the Arctic. We landed at a place called Cold Foot and drove back to Fairbanks in a mini-coach. Our driver could talk under wet cement with a mouth full of marbles but he was a wealth of information and we learnt so much about the Alaskan pipeline, the history of Alaska and its people and culture, the tundra and permafrost, and so much more. We actually go to walk across the Arctic Circle from north to south. This was a huge day – we didn’t get back to Fairbanks until after 1am but it was an incredible journey.
From Fairbanks we flew to San Francisco via Anchorage and Vancouver. There was an unbelievably brilliant view of Mt McKinlay from the plane as we were above the clouds. As we flew over Washington State we saw Mt St Helens rising above the clouds. Before landing, our plane was put into a holding pattern but we didn’t mind as the aerial views of San Francisco at night were fantastic.
Three days in San Francisco was a great way to finish off our holiday. We did a great tour of the city and bay and, yes, we rode the cable cars. I’ll give another recommendation here – if you ride the cable cars after 7.30pm you won’t have to queue. People were waiting up to an hour to ride them during the day!
In San Francisco you’re never short of somewhere to eat. There are some great seafood restaurants on Fishermans Wharf. Our hotel, The Radisson Fishermans Wharf, was handy to everything and the view from our room overlooked Alcatraz.
The four of us have visited many wineries together at home so we had to do a winery tour to Napa and Sanoma Valleys. This was a great day made more enjoyable by a coach driver who had a brilliant sense of humour. We appreciated the wineries but are proud to say that Australian reds are far superior than anything we tasted that day.
On our last day we visited Alcatraz – the history of the place is fascinating and the audio tour definitely enhances the experience. After a ferry ride to Sausalito we headed back to Fishermans Wharf for dinner then caught a limo to the airport to catch our late night flight home.
Designing our own holiday was certainly the way to go for us and I am now designing our next trip with the assistance of Joanne.
Travelscene Samford would like to thank Betty for these great articles. Don’t forget that only Travelscene American Express lets you travel anywhere, any time and pay with your membership rewards points so contact us on 3289 3700 and let us help you turn your American Express membership rewards points into your next trip.
From Denali we caught the train to Fairbanks. Our reason for visiting Fairbanks was so we could take a light plane flight into the Arctic. We landed at a place called Cold Foot and drove back to Fairbanks in a mini-coach. Our driver could talk under wet cement with a mouth full of marbles but he was a wealth of information and we learnt so much about the Alaskan pipeline, the history of Alaska and its people and culture, the tundra and permafrost, and so much more. We actually go to walk across the Arctic Circle from north to south. This was a huge day – we didn’t get back to Fairbanks until after 1am but it was an incredible journey.
From Fairbanks we flew to San Francisco via Anchorage and Vancouver. There was an unbelievably brilliant view of Mt McKinlay from the plane as we were above the clouds. As we flew over Washington State we saw Mt St Helens rising above the clouds. Before landing, our plane was put into a holding pattern but we didn’t mind as the aerial views of San Francisco at night were fantastic.
Three days in San Francisco was a great way to finish off our holiday. We did a great tour of the city and bay and, yes, we rode the cable cars. I’ll give another recommendation here – if you ride the cable cars after 7.30pm you won’t have to queue. People were waiting up to an hour to ride them during the day!
In San Francisco you’re never short of somewhere to eat. There are some great seafood restaurants on Fishermans Wharf. Our hotel, The Radisson Fishermans Wharf, was handy to everything and the view from our room overlooked Alcatraz.
The four of us have visited many wineries together at home so we had to do a winery tour to Napa and Sanoma Valleys. This was a great day made more enjoyable by a coach driver who had a brilliant sense of humour. We appreciated the wineries but are proud to say that Australian reds are far superior than anything we tasted that day.
On our last day we visited Alcatraz – the history of the place is fascinating and the audio tour definitely enhances the experience. After a ferry ride to Sausalito we headed back to Fishermans Wharf for dinner then caught a limo to the airport to catch our late night flight home.
Designing our own holiday was certainly the way to go for us and I am now designing our next trip with the assistance of Joanne.
Travelscene Samford would like to thank Betty for these great articles. Don’t forget that only Travelscene American Express lets you travel anywhere, any time and pay with your membership rewards points so contact us on 3289 3700 and let us help you turn your American Express membership rewards points into your next trip.
