Hi travel enthusiasts! With summer in full swing (and honestly, now that we’ve passed the Summer Solstice, on the down swing…) let’s vamp up the system by talking about a place in the United States that doesn’t ever seem to get a summer – Alaska!

And let me tell you how wrong that statement actually is, from someone who has worked on both land and sea around the state of Alaska for the travel industry! After my time working as both a steward and deckhand for American Cruise Lines, a fellow former worker told me about how amazing it was working for Lindblad Expeditions, a small American flagged ship primarily doing business around the Panama Canal up to Alaska. I didn’t hesitate to put in an application and say “yes!” when they called to offer me a job. One of the best stories of how Clinton and I met and our time working in Alaska, click here for my blog post on the subject!

Alaska will remain on the colder side even during summer months, and by that I do mean it could be freezing or below early in the morning depending on what part of the state you are visiting. When I worked in a yurt for the Alaska Wildland Adventure company in the Kenai National Wildlife Preserve, it was pretty cold. I usually survived by carrying a large water bladder that I could put hot water in and sleep with close to my core to keep warm and had mosquito nets above our bed. As the native Alaskans would joke, the official bird was the mosquitos! The Kenai area is absolutely gorgeous, and we had a fantastic time climbing the Cottonwood Trail, where I worked as a Hiking and Kayak Guide and Clinton was the Chef. The Kenai Backcountry Lodge where we worked was the place where I saw my first moose, hiked in the true wilderness of Alaska, and had the fortune of almost making it to the top of Mt. Lucas before the clouds settled in and we had to leave before it got too dark! It was an experience I will never forget, and it definitely taught me that I could hike further and in higher elevation than I ever thought possible.

It is really a matter of preference if you want to visit Alaska by land or sea, but if you want to primarily visit Glacier Bay National Park, I recommend by sea. There are plenty of options, again depending on how you want to travel. If you want a more intimate experience with smaller groups, 60-100 people, who are between 40-55 I recommend Lindblad Expeditions. Be prepared for kayaking around icebergs and following killer whales when spotted! Princess, Disney, and Holland America are all great options as well but will be an array of larger options for bigger groups – some in the thousands of visitors. No worries either way, but be aware! Check the time when the Johns Hopkins glacier will close for seal mating season. You don’t want to miss seeing both glaciers and the national park. Gustavus is an adorable small town that will host your visit to the park and if you are able to get off the boat and explore, do it! Support this local town!

After our summer working in the Kenai, we had a substantial amount of tip money that we decided to use to continue exploring Alaska! We rented a car and headed up to see Denali. Wow, what a beautiful sight! It was mid – late September so it was getting colder again, and snowing in some northern areas, but we kept driving north. We ended up camping in 9 degrees, yes one digit, as we made it up to Fairbanks and then back down the eastern part of the state. As the clouds parted back west, we decided to brave it and drive across on the rugged Alaska highway so we could see Denali in all her cloudless glory. We were very successful after camping and waking up early the next day!

Alaska is one of those places that no matter how you decided to travel, make sure you at least plan one visit in your lifetime! Between the gorgeous glaciers, the rugged hiking opportunities, the beautiful and seemingly endless landscapes, and the hypnotic animals, both on land and on water…itis worth every penny you will spend getting to the state. I recommend spending at least a week, and try to explore different parts of the state. The southeastern part of the state between Sitka and Juneau is actually part of a temperate rainforest – the Tongass National Forest. It can be extremely rainy during the summer! Meanwhile, up north at Denali National Park they are dealing with a snowstorm and dry conditions. It is a very large state, so do your research before you go – and then double check a couple days before to make sure conditions have not changed. Travel smart!