We just got back from our Alaskan adventure. It was an amazing trip to say the least. We did a 4-day land tour and then 7-day cruise from Whittier aboard the Coral Princess. For the land tour portion, we flew into Anchorage, spent one night at McKinley Lodge, & 2 nights at Denali Lodge. Try and provide some highlights.

We flew Chicago to Dallas, Dallas to Anchorage (I know, South to go North, go figure) We got into Anchorage about 7:30. Princess rep was at baggage claim told us where to put our luggage and what bus to get on. Stay the night at the Captain Hook hotel in Anchorage. We did not have to touch our luggage from the time we claimed it at the airport till we got into our hotel room that was nice. We did not do much in Anchorage given our arrival time. We did try and stay up to help adjust to the time difference. Walked around a little the next morning and had breakfast at a place called the Sandwich deck across from the hotel. Good breakfast.

Boarded the bus for the ride to McKinley. Long bus ride, but we knew that. Got to the McKinley lodge, Princess rep met us and gave us our packet with keys and itinerary. We were booked for the Denali Wilderness hike in the afternoon through Princess. There were only 4 of us on the tour and it was great. Had 2 guides who were outstanding. It was about a 5-6 mile hike and we climbed 1500 ft. Definitely a workout, but it felt great after flying the day before and the bus ride. Our hike was rewarded with a clear view of Mt. McKinley when we reached the highest point on our hike. Back to the lodge and we had dinner at the 20300 cafe. Decent food. Service was a little slow as I think most of the staff had not been at it that long. Read more