First, I'd like to thank you folks for the advice in this old thread. We scaled back our plans as recommended, took our time, and had a great trip.
I've summarized our trip below. I have pictures and a more detailed trip report here.
June 18 -- We flew into Anchorage, arriving around 6pm. Overnight in RV at Great Alaskan Holidays parking lot, walked to McDonald's for a late dinner.
June 19 -- After our RV orientation and checkout, we shopped for groceries at Fred Meyer then spent a couple of hours at the Alaska Native Heritage Center. From there we drove to Talkeetna and stayed at the Talkeetna Camper Park.
June 20 -- We had a glorious morning for flightseeing and a glacier landing with Talkeetna Air Taxi. Spent the afternoon browsing the shops in town and resting; dinner was at Mountain High Pizza.
June 21 -- Fun and delicious breakfast at the Talkeetna Roadhouse. We drove to Denali National Park with several stops along the way, but no mountain views. Rain overtook us just as we arrived at the park. The weather cleared for the 4:00 dogsled demo, and we roasted hot dogs over a campfire for dinner. We stayed at Riley Creek campground, since Teklanika was closed due to ice.
June 22 -- Up early for a 5:30 shuttle bus. We took the bus to Eielson then got off for a short hike. Saw moose, fox kits, and a ton of showshoe hares on the way. Coming back we saw a grizzly with cubs, but far away. The kids did really well on the bus, but we were all tired. It was raining by the time we got back to the campground.
June 23 -- We slept in and then used our Tek pass to catch the 10:00 Eielson shuttle. Saw lots of Dall sheep, and got a better view of a grizzly. Got off at Polychrome to hike; took another bus to Toklat and turned around. The kids and I attended an evening ranger program, while my wife did laundry. Another rainy evening.
June 24 -- We spent some time at the visitor center, and the kids completed their Junior Ranger program. Left the park and drove south, stopping at Byers Lake for lunch and a short hike along the lake. Everyone felt like going further before stopping for the night, so we went on to the Riverside RV park in Houston.
June 25 -- Had fun visits to the Iditarod headquarters in Wasilla, and Independence Mine at Hatcher Pass. Tried panning for gold; my son and I even found a small flake. Spent the night at Homestead RV park in Palmer, a very nice commercial campground.
June 26 -- Breakfast at the Noisy Goose in Palmer, then drove to Anchorage to return the RV. Toured downtown Anchorage, including watching the salmon fishing at Ship Creek and eating reindeer dogs at an outdoor stand. Dinner at the Glacier Brewhouse, and overnight at the Voyager Hotel.
June 27 -- Took the Alaska Railroad to Seward, which we all enjoyed. Lunch at Yoly’s Bistro, followed by Ididaride tour. Evening meeting at Kayak Adventures Worldwide to prepare for our two-day kayak trip; overnight at Trailside Lodging.
June 28 -- First day of our Aialik Overnight trip with Kayak Adventures Worldwide. A water taxi took us from Seward to Aialik Bay, with stops for wildlife along the way -- including a group of humpback whales. There was a black bear at the spot we were to be camping for the night. We set up our tents then paddled to Aialik Glacier. Got a little cold and wet from rain and the paddles. Delicious camp supper of tomato soup with spinach and tortellini. We slept well in dry clothes and out of the wind in our tents.
June 29 -- This morning we paddled to Pederson Lagoon and Glacier -- with a humpback whale appearing along the way! The lagoon is accessible only at high tide, and is filled with fantastic icebergs. We had lunch here, paddled back to our campsite, and packed up to wait for the water taxi. The taxi took us straight back to Seward, without wildlife stops this time. This was a fun two days, and we were very pleased with our guide and Kayak Adventures Worldwide. In Seward, we picked up a rental car from Hertz and had dinner at the Apollo Restaurant.
June 30 -- We picked up groceries for breakfast and lunch at Safeway, then hiked the overlook trail at Exit Glacier. We also hiked a small portion of the Harding Icefield trail, but it was too steep for the kids. Spent the afternoon at the Sealife Center, and had dinner at the Exit Glacier Salmon Bake.
July 1 -- We left Seward at 8:00am for Anchorage, with the goal of making lots of stops along the way and getting to the airport by 6:30pm. Made a few scenic stops before detouring to the Russian River to hike to the falls. We enjoyed the hike, especially seeing the salmon at the falls, but it took a bigger chunk of our time than we expected. We made a brief visit to Crow Creek Mine and had to skip the hand tram. Made it to the airport on time for our red-eye flight home.
We had a wonderful trip. This was our first experience in an RV, and despite some initial anxiety over driving, it worked out really well. It was great to share Alaska with my family, and we were proud of the kids for doing so well on all of our outings. The trip was just not long enough!
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