We decided to start our trip out with a land tour and finish with an Glacier Bay Inside Passage southbound cruise that would end at Vancouver. We chose Princess Cruises because we had read many good reviews of their Alaska tours. Also after reading many reviews we were encouraged to book the land tour and ship and excursions ourselves. This saved some money and we were also able to customize our trip to our personal tastes. It was also a more intimate time for us, going out and discovering this beautiful place on our own. Our planning began over a year in advance which gave us a lot of time to read and research our trip. We found driving the roads to be very easy (be sure to check Alaska driving sites for their particular driving laws.

Our land tour started in Anchorage. We picked up a rental car closer to the hotel and away from the airport to save money (also saved money going through my employee discount site several months ahead). On our way to our hotel we saw that the Saturday Market was still going and stopped in. We enjoyed speaking to the locals and seeing their handiwork. We bought some items and went to check in at the Comfort Inn Ship Creek. We chose this hotel because of its proximity to the train station as well as reviews. We found the hotel comfortable and clean and liked having breakfast provided as this saved more money and time (the breakfast was more than ample and tasty). The staff was nice and accommodating, helping us locate a convenient pack-and-ship place and giving us directions as well as directions to some local restaurants, and we loved smelling the complimentary fresh baked cookies each evening when we returned to the hotel. Although salmon season was just starting when we were there, the hotel provides fishing poles to try your hand just outside in Ship Creek. We ate at Orso Restaurant that night, nice atmosphere, good food (I enjoyed the Cashew Crusted Halibut!) and good service. The close parking is scarce unless you want to pay a good bit for the private parking-$10-$12. There is a public parking garage but you have to walk a little farther.

The first morning we ate breakfast and checked out and headed on our driving tour of the Mat-Su Valley. We stopped at Eagle River Nature Center-a pretty place where you can walk out over the water on boardwalks and see the fish and get great views of mountains. There are some walking trails as well. Then we headed to Thunderbird Falls, an enjoyable and easy hike (about 30 min) led us to the falls. Beautiful and so peaceful. We continued from there on the Glenn Highway toward the Matanuska Glacier. I recommend a travel guide to fill you in on some of the things you will see on your road trips-my favorite-The Rough Guide to Alaska 2007 version. The scenery along the way was amazing, the glacier, although disappearing fast, was still impressive and there is a little park where you can get out and walk closer to it and get some good pictures. It was suggested by a CC reviewer to drive about 15 minutes after the glacier and we couldn't believe our eyes! We saw some of the most awesome views of our trip-beautiful snow capped mountains, pretty rivers and lakes. Breathtaking! We headed back the way we came and saw our first moose crossing the road in front of us. (Drive safely, a lot of moose get run over in the Mat-Su Valley). We had no problems, however and got onto the Parks Highway headed toward Healy where we would stay for the next 3 nights. We took a side trip into Talkeetna because we had read that some of the best views of Mt. McKinley and the Alaska Range could be seen there. Coming over the hill we saw an amazing view of the range. We couldn't tell which one was McKinley at that time (little did we know that it was covered by clouds then). We drove into a little pullout on the side of the road and took pictures and then continued on our way. Not too long after we spotted the range again and pulled over at a mountain view inn and cafe to get a better look. There we saw McKinley in all of its glory, the clouds had moved away and the sun was shining on the range. There was no mistaking which on was "The High One" this time-it was the most incredible thing I think I had ever seen-we were in awe. We became members of the 30% club (only about 30% of visitors ever get to see McKinley because it is so massive that it makes it own weather system and is often covered by clouds) so glad we did-I will never forget it! That is also a good reason to plan to spend about 3 days there-it will give you better odds of seeing it. We spoke to the owner of the inn-a very pleasant lady-and shopped in her little gift shop. She said that her grandmother had chosen that site to homestead because she thought it was the best view of the mountains. We continued on past Denali National Park and about 10 minutes farther to Healy and Denali Lakeview Inn where we stayed, eating some dinner at Black Diamond Grill on the way in - good variety on the menu, decent food and plenty of it, and nice folks there. We arrived and went up to the Moon Dream room and after unpacking and settling in, opened the curtains to our private balcony that overlooked a lake with the mountains behind it-so tranquil and beautiful. We kept our curtains open all the time so that would be the last view we saw at bedtime and the first when we awoke. The room was clean and very comfortable for 2 people. Read more