Live well. Eat well. Travel well.

I have been out for a few weeks since I have been traveling and had to catch up with planning upcoming trips!

I came back from a recent trip to Alaska a.k.a. The Last Frontier. I arrived around 11 PM and got out to get the rental car around 12:30 AM. Oh boy, it would surely trip you out how there was still day light. The day I arrived, the sunset is at 12:22 AM, while sunrise was scheduled at 3:15 AM. Ha!

As you can see, there wasn’t really any darkness. I thought I slept well but when I checked the time, it was around 4:55 AM, and sunrise already happened.

This is the best the hotel blinds can do at that time! It surely would trip you out if you are not aware of time.

It was a short 3 days trip. The first stop was Fairbanks. I thought of going through Dalton Highway and reach the Arctic circle using a tour company since most rental cars doesn’t really allow you to drive there. I ended up skipping it since it may be a waste of time sitting through rough road for at least 8 hours plus it would cost at least $200.

Instead, I took the rental car and did a day trip visiting the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the North Pole (where Santa Claus house is), Denali National Park, and Pioneer Park.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline is a roadside attraction where a small parking to pull over on the side of the road is available. Here you can get a glimpse of the 800 miles long elevated pipeline that transports crude oil from the Arctic circle in Prudhoe Bay to the northernmost ice-free terminal in Valdez. It allows the ground to remain frozen since heat coming from the oil may cause the ground to thaw and become unstable. Amazing engineering!

In North Pole, it’s Christmas year round and you can see Santa Claus on certain hours of the day.

The drive to Denali National Park and Preserve from Fairbanks is about 2 hours. It wasn’t bad at all especially driving through the scenery. There is a 92 mile road in there but private cars are only allowed through Mile 15 then you can take the National Park bus from there. Unfortunately at time of visit in June 2024, due to the Pretty Rocks landslide, it is closed at Mile 43 and won’t re-open until some time in 2025.

After checking out the visitor center, I got to see the dog kennel demonstration.

I was able to get in the last demonstration of the day around 4 PM. It was interesting to see them in action. This is the only park that has working sled dogs and only in summer days will you be able to meet them in the kennels since during winter they are mostly busy doing work deep in the park.

The drive back to Fairbanks was decent. I got to stop by a river to admire the beauty of the park.

There were white river rafting boats going down the rapids.

Eventually, I made it to Pioneer Park by 7:30 PM. It is a historic theme park where you’ll see a train go around the park, a steamboat, an area with colorful little cabins that were moved here from their original location then converted to stores.

The park also has the Alaska Salmon Bake where you can find scrumptious spread of bake bites, baskets, dinners, and desserts. Opted for the Wild Alaskan Salmon and a point of Alaskan Snow Crab. It was glorious!

It was then time for the next stop… Anchorage. I took an early morning flight to arrive and spend the whole day exploring. The plane flew over the beautiful Denali.

There was a beautiful exhibition at the airport. I had brunch at Snow City Cafe, checked out Captain Cook Monument, Beluga Point, and the Earthquake Park.

I had to try the Alaskan red king crab cakes, Alaskan reindeer sausages, and stuffed french toast at the Snow City Cafe.

After eating that much, I walked it off to the Captain Cook Monument.

I then drove to Beluga Point to admire the ocean and the snowcapped mountains.

Ended the day by walking the 2 mile coastal trail at the Earthquake Park commemorating the tragic 9.2 magnitude earthquake in Alaska.

There is definitely so much more to explore in the last frontier and it was a bonus to be able to experience the midnight sun!