On September 2, 2008 a group of the Happy Wanderers and friends took a 10 day land and sea trip to our 49th state. We flew from Orlando, Florida to Seattle, Washington and on to Anchorage, Alaska. After a walk, and a good nights rest, we boarded a bus for a trip to Denali National Park to view "Mount McKinley" the tallest peak (20,320 feet) in North America.

That is the name most Americans associate with the Peak. Naming of the peak for presidential nominee William McKinley was a purely political one. He had no connection to the mountain and had never seen it. In 1980, the State of Alaska returned to the native name of Denali, or "The Great One".

The following day, we embarked via bus on a guided nature tour through part of the park in the hopes of seeing "The Great One". Following the tour, we motored to Talkeetna for the night. The following morning we returned to Anchorage, then on to Seward, to board a ship for a 7 day cruise.

The ship, Radiance of the Seas, took us to the Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point (Hoonah), and Ketchikan. In addition to the normal excursions, we had AVA walks available in Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan.

The listings at the right provide short slide shows of some of our activities. Each is intended to give a good feel of the area without (I hope) becoming boring. Please note that the pictures are best viewed over high speed (not dial-up) connections.