I've long said I've been to 49 out of the 50 U.S. states. Alaska being the lone exception. Today, I bought an Alaskan cruise leaving Vancouver, BC on June 12 and arriving Anchorage, AK on June 19, with stops along the way. I'm already making sure my camera equipment is all sorted, cleaned and charged!

The ship will stop at Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay and College Fjord before arriving in Anchorage.

Those of you who live in, or have traveled to the above, are there places I should go and see? I'm not so interested in food and drink as I am in scenery.

I’m at 45/50
Still need Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine.

I’m super jealous of your AK trip!

I'm envious, of booth being well travelled & heading to AK.

We've been considering an AK trip in the not too distant future.

I'm only at 13/50.

Nice bucket list.

Congrats!

I have made it to all 50 (thanks to work). Looking to make it to Scotland and Denmark hopefully this year.

One of the places has a zip line that you ride through the clouds into town. If you can get a Hero type camera it would make a great vid or pic. I would not take an expensive camera down the zip line.

Bears are everywhere. Get some spray if you can. They even showed up in the Mendenhall (sp) Glacier parking lot. Don't stop at any off the beaten path scienic views.

I'm hitting #48 this summer too - also Alaska. Still have Hawaii and North Dakota. I'll probably never get North Dakota unless I get a project there.

Have fun!

Sounds like a great bucket list item, but going slightly off topic - how do y'all count? Just passing through, used a freeway rest stop, stopped for a meal or an overnight?

Take a helicopter ride to a glacier. Incredible "blues."

....and your favorite state to visit was...?

quote:

Originally posted by Day_late:
Sounds like a great bucket list item, but going slightly off topic - how do y'all count? Just passing through, used a freeway rest stop, stopped for a meal or an overnight?

I've been to all 50 (Alaska was last, in 2007 and 2014), and I do count passing through on the ground (not just flying over). Most pass-throughs were in an automobile, though, which generally required fuel and food stops, at least.

My 2007 Alaska tour included several of the ports you will be visiting, and I took photos there:

Ketchikan: https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157603461888429/

Juneau: https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157603368746902/

Skagway: latter part of https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157602076780178/

The 2014 tour included:

Juneau: https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157646589610734/

Skagway: https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157648545671850/

You may get some ideas of what to do from those.

flashguy

8 More to go...maybe 10???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpGH02DtIws

If at all possible, do an extension of your cruise to Denali. Most cruise ship companies offer this. I'd been to Alaska 3 times before I finally made it to Denali. After being there I kept questioning why I waited so long. Interior Alaska is very different from southeast coastal Alaska that you will see on your cruise. Nothing will prepare you for the vast stretches of land that man has not managed to screw up in one way or another.

Choose shore excursions carefully. You can easily spend as much on excursions as you do on your cruise. Do some research on the web. A lot of the time, especially with fishing charters, you can book directly with the charter company and save a significant amount of money as opposed to booking though the cruise line.

Ketchikan - go to the hardware store right next to the cruise dock. Yes, it sounds strange but trust me on this. It's a two story hardware store, first floor has a lot of Alaska tourist stuff - t-shirts, hats, Ulu knives, etc. Second floor has all of the hardcore stuff for the backcountry - mining equipment, guns, camping supplies, outdoor clothing, etc. It was hilarious we noted after disembarking, almost all of the ships crew got off the ship and made a bee-line across the parking lot for the hardware store for things to take back on board or take home with them.

Town is kind of funky and fun to walk around in which is what we did on our first cruise and enjoyed ourselves. Creek Street, totem pole museum, and the raptor rehabilitation center. Second trip I did a fishing charter and wasn't all that impressed. First didn't catch anything, second the entire charter fleet just sails around in a circle in the bay. After about the second or third lap the novelty wore off.

Juneau - Mendenhall Glacier is probably the main attraction. Several ways to get there including taking a helicopter and landing on it. On our second trip we did the canoe trip across Lake Mendenhall to the face of the glacier and thoroughly enjoyed it.

First trip I did a fishing charter and it was one of the highlights of the trip. First off I caught a wild white king salmon and it was the best tasting fish I've ever had and I generally don't like salmon. Don't go on a whale watching cruise, go on a fishing charter, you'll see whales and you'll get to fish. Even if I hadn't have caught my salmon it was still on of the coolest things I've ever done. We sailed all over Auke Bay, incredible scenery, humpback whales breaching, bears on the shoreline, mountains, ocean, it was just incredible.

In town go to the Red Dog Saloon. Yes it's touristy, but you'll at least get to see Wyatt Earp's gun hanging on the wall. Mount Roberts tramway has some incredible views of the Inside Passage.

Skagway - I absolutely loved on the first cruise thought it was like Tombstone with a beach, second cruise was, "meh". First trip we did a Jeep trip up white pass into the Yukon. Amazing scenery. Tormented Valley is one of the most bizarre and beautiful places I've seen. Second trip we did the White Pass Railroad into the Yukon. I spent the whole time on the train outside on the platform between the cars just watching the scenery go by. I actually preferred the Jeep trip, just seemed to allow more time to take it all in.

There's a museum in town that's definitely worth taking in. Gives a lot of meaning and understanding to the Klondike gold rush and what the men who went there to chase their fortunes had to endure.

Glacier Bay and College Fjord - you'll be cruising the waters and looking at glaciers. Bring warm, waterproof clothes including gloves and a stocking cap, it gets cold on deck with the wind and the water. Do some scouting or the deck before getting there and find spots that allow a clear view of photography with out railings, cables, antennas, etc. on the ship getting in the way. Get out early and claim your spot before the masses get out on deck.

As far as time on the ship itself, I really didn't do any of the onboard amenities. I spent almost every moment I could out on deck with my camera. Our first cruise on Celebrity they had a college professor that gave several lectures in the theater about the different ports of call. I found out that he liked to sit at the bar on the aft end of the ship. He became my new best friend on that trip and I spent many an hour on a barstool listening to him and watching the scenery pass by.

Most of all have fun, you'll see a lot of things that are very unique to Alaska and unlike anything else anywhere in the world.

45/50 for us. We are missing those NE states. We are planning a fall foliage trip to polish off our bucket list.

I’d suggest a flight on a seaplane. Great way to see a lot in a short time. My last trip up there I flew a 185 on straight floats up north of Anchorage for 2 hours. What a blast!

We're taking the same cruise in September.

In Juneau, take the tram up Mt. Roberts--the view is great and there is a raptor center up there with a disabled eagle (or there was in 2007 and 2014--same eagle).

DSC_8653.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr

flashguy

49 put of 50-just need Alaska.

Well done. I’m at 43 of 50.

This post made me count the states I have visited too. I am at 44. I am missing Alaska, plus 5 contiguous states: Montana, the 2 Dakotas, Nebraska and Iowa.

One of these days.



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Not sure how close but seaward Alaska. The exit glacier hike to the top of the harding Icetrail is amazing views and worth every ounce of effort.

https://www.nps.gov/kefj/plany...xit-glacier-area.htm