The Great Alaskan Outdoors

DAY ONE:                      Omaha (or your home gateway) / Anchorage 
Fly from Omaha, NE, or from your home airport.  Our office will handle the airline tickets for you.  Arrive in Anchorage, Alaska, transfer to your hotel, and meet your Tour Manager.

DAY TWO:                          Anchorage / Prince William Sound / Anchorage                          
Begin with a bang! Experience Alaska’s pristine beauty on an unforgettable glacier cruise of Prince William Sound. Explore the serenity of Esther Passage and view the majestic alpine and tidewater glaciers in College Fjord and Blackstone Bay. Travel in comfort on this full day adventure filled with beautiful landscapes, seascapes, and glacier views. This cruise also offers a great opportunity to spot whales, seals, otters, mountain goats, and more in their natural habitat. After this full-day adventure, return to our hotel in Anchorage. B, L, D

DAY THREE:                       Anchorage / Palmer / Anchorage
Travel a few minutes south of the city to the Potter Marsh Wildlife Viewing Boardwalk, where you can have great views of Turnagain Arm, as well as the possibility for wild moose, birds, and other species making this 564-acre freshwater marsh their home. If you feel up to it, take a comfortable stroll along the 1/2 mile boardwalk, enjoying the scenery and fresh Alaskan air. Return to Anchorage to visit Alaska’s largest museum, which tells the story of Alaska and the North. It is a multifaceted story that weaves together social, political, cultural, scientific, historic, and artistic threads. This new Alaska Exhibition tells the story of Alaska through multiple voices and perspectives reflecting the ingenuity, technology, ways of knowing and intimate understanding of the landscape that have allowed people to survive and thrive across the North. Departing the city, we head northeast about an hour to Palmer, AK. This region is known as the farming center of Alaska, where growing conditions are ideal.  Vegetables adapted to cool temperatures thrive, the glacial soils provide organic matter to keep nutrients in the root zone, many insect pests, diseases, and weeds that are common in the lower 48 are not common in Alaska, and there is plenty of sunlight in the summer to help plants grow.  In June, Palmer gets 19 hours of daylight, so crops can keep growing until midnight.  The sunlight also makes the crops sweeter. Carrots spend 75 percent of their time making sugar, and 25 percent turning that sugar into starch.  Species in the Brassica family, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, collards, mustards, radishes, grow very well in Palmer.  Other successful crops include potatoes, beets, carrots, spinach and lettuce.  Visit an actual working farm and see irrigated crops watered with a center pivot irrigation system. Potatoes are their primary crop, but they also produce lettuce, cabbage, broccoli and carrots.  All produce is packaged on-site and distributed in-state to several chain and independent grocery stores.  Look for the “Alaska Grown” logo on all of their produce!  Discuss farming with the owner and have a chance to ask questions about agricultural life this far north. Step into their large greenhouse and peruse a display of locally-sourced products and vegetables, highlighting Alaska’s fertility. Enjoy dinner on the farm, consisting of local Alaskan products - This visit is always a crowd favorite! Overnight in Anchorage. B, D

DAY FOUR:                         Anchorage
Experience the sights unique to Anchorage this morning in “The City of Lights and Flowers” as we board our private open-air trolley for a tour throughout Anchorage. Traveling 20 miles, you’ll be immersed in the captivating narrative of your knowledgeable guide, who shares their personal family stories and insights from growing up in Alaska. See the Iditarod Sled Dog Race “starting point” and experience the thrill of watching seaplanes gracefully touch down on the bustling floatplane base, known as the busiest in the world. Journey back in time as you visit Earthquake Park, where shock waves from the transformative 1964 earthquake are frozen in time, offering a poignant reminder of the city’s resilience. Explore Anchorage’s oldest neighborhoods and discover hidden gems tucked away in the city’s streets. And keep your eyes peeled for the most famous Alaskan resident, the mighty moose, as you traverse through the scenic landscapes. This afternoon we travel southwest to Portage Valley and visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. Surrounded by the breathtaking Chugach Mountain Range and Turnagain Arm Inlet, the AWCC offers 200 acres of animal enclosures featuring brown bears, black bears, moose, elk, foxes, lynx, muskox, wolves, reindeer, porcupines, wood bison, and more! This nonprofit sanctuary is dedicated to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through conservation, education, research, and quality animal care. AWCC takes in orphaned and injured animals and provides care on their 200 acres of spacious habitats. Visitors love seeing native animals, and this visit increases your chances of spotting Alaska’s most famous critters. Return to Anchorage for the evening.  B

DAY FIVE:                           Anchorage / Talkeetna / Scenic Train / Denali
Travel from Anchorage to Talkeetna, where late morning it’s “All Aboard” as we travel to Denali via the Alaska Dome Rail Train.  You’ll have a spectacular viewpoint, seated behind huge wrap-around windows in our own comfortable glass-domed train car viewing Denali (aka Mount McKinley) and the Alaskan wilderness as we journey across some of the most breathtaking scenery in the country!  Alaska is one-fifth the size of the entire lower 48 states, yet 17 of the 20 highest mountain peaks in the U.S. are located within its territory.  Along with this luxurious ride, you’ll enjoy lunch and complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks onboard.  This fun and scenic ride will surely get you in the Alaskan mood.  Disembark the train in Denali National Park where we overnight. Before you wind down for the evening, enjoy The Cabin Night Dinner Theater.  Always a crowd favorite, the show shares Alaska’s rich history through storytelling, song and dance.  Fellas, even if you don’t think this show will be for you, trust us that you will have a great time! Enjoy this great performance and delicious meal!  B, L, D

DAY SIX:                             Denali National Park / Fairbanks
Rise and shine as this will be your only early morning departure. Embark on an extended Denali Wilderness Tour, traveling deep into the six million-acre Denali Park for our best opportunity to spot bear, moose, wolves, caribou, Dall sheep, and more!  Our experienced Alaska naturalist leads us on an extended tour into the park, discussing the wildlife in the lush taiga forests and across the rolling tundra. You’ll start the morning with breakfast and be provided snacks during the tour along with lunch.  This afternoon travel north to Fairbanks, where you have the evening to rest, explore, or sample some of Fairbanks’ favorite steaks and pub food at Brewster’s Restaurant, only a handful of blocks from our hotel. B, L

DAY SEVEN:                       Fairbanks / Depart Alaska / Arrive Home on Day Eight
Your adventure begins with a ride on a replica of the Tanana Valley Railroad near some of the original rail routes. Once aboard the narrow gauge railroad, enjoy a short narrated journey to the Gold Dredge 8. Your first stop is the world-famous Trans-Alaska Pipeline System that runs 800 miles from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Alaska at Valdez. This largest oil field in North America had more than 70,000 workers at various times, and the first oil reached Valdez on July 28, 1977. Accounting for 15% of USA’s domestic oil production, the pipe is 48 inches in diameter and the oil inside comes out of the ground at temperatures as high as 145 degrees Fahrenheit and is sent through the pipe hot. Next is the floating workhorse - Gold Dredge 8, which extracted millions of ounces of gold from the frozen Alaskan ground. Today, Gold Dredge 8 serves as a monument to the hardworking miners who built Fairbanks. The train will stop beside the dredge and miners will give a you sluice box demonstration and talk about mining in Alaska. Learn from the miners how to pan for gold before giving it a try yourself. Nothing beats the thrill of taking home real Alaskan gold! After lunch enjoy a leisurely cruise down the Tanana and Chena rivers aboard an authentic sternwheeler, the Riverboat Discovery. Our journey takes us to an Athabascan Indian village, where we learn about their culture and customs.  We are also scheduled to see the home of four-time Iditarod winner Susan Butcher. Susan’s legacy continues through her trainer, telling us about the dogs and showing us how an Alaskan musher controls the animals.  An Alaskan bush pilot demonstrates short field take offs and landings with his Piper Super-Cub.  Later in the afternoon bask in Alaska’s nostalgia at Pioneer Park. Walk the streets of an old Alaskan village, see gold mining equipment, vintage airplanes, a museum, and a collection of the area’s log cabins. Best of all enjoy an authentic Alaskan Salmon Bake for your farewell dinner. Transfer to the airport for your return flight home, arriving on day eight. Bring home memories to treasure for a lifetime!  B, L, D                      

 Rupiper Tours reserves the right to make minor adjustments to the itinerary if necessary.