Note: A big warm thank you to Pangaea Adventures, most especially guide Emma, for the calm, cool, and most knowledgable three hours I’ve ever spent sitting in a kayak. In 12 years of Alaska residence, I’ve overcome many of the trepidations about living, working, and playing in the Last Frontier. Bears, for example. And small […]
Note: This story originally appeared in the Alaska Dispatch News. I was on the phone last week with a writer from back East who wanted all my best tips for exploring the Last Frontier with young people. “OK, what’s one of the do-not-miss things to do in Alaska with kids?” she asked, her fingers ticka-tapping […]
Camping as a form of recreation and travel is moving up within the list of family vacation favorites, according to the 2017 Topline Report published by Kampgrounds of America (KOA), the largest purveyor of franchise campgrounds in the United States. Currently, 61% of U.S. households went camping at least once last year, and of those […]
This post is in partnership with Dawn as an effort to increase awareness of World Oceans Day. Early morning along an ocean shoreline means a briny auora of seaweed, saltwater, and the never-ending screech of birds looking for a low tide breakfast. Foamy waves sweep along the smooth sand and over barnacle-encrusted rocks for a […]
I’ve traveled the Parks Highway a multitide of times during my 12-year tenure as an Alaska resident, and I always appreciate the landscape outside my window. But shortly past Trapper Creek – across the Chulitna river, where the green of Interior tundra starts to combine with brushy alder and willow, sits a new slice of […]
Sponsored post on behalf of Phillips Cruises and Tours What does the word “discovery” mean to you? For some, it might translate into checking items off a list. For others, perhaps discovery is finding something not previously known. For me, it’s both those things, and in Alaska, both can be handily accomplished with Phillips Cruises […]
You’ve plotted and planned an Alaska adventure with the family. It’s summer vacation where you live; the sun is out, the grass is green, and the temperatures, warm. You and the crew hop a plane or cruise ship and arrive in the 49th state and make your way down the Seward Highway toward Mile 0 […]
This story originally appeared in the Alaska Dispatch News 5/23/2017 I caught my first fish at Rocky Run Creek in Washington’s Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest when I was about 6 years old and camping with my family. It was a rainbow trout just over the 6-inch legal requirement, and I proudly carried it back to […]
In honor of Kids to Parks Day this Saturday, May 20, AKontheGO and Northside Shoes are partnering up to give away one pair of casual shoes to a lucky reader.* Northside is committed to the concept that shoes for kids and adults should be affordable and durable, and we’ve been beyond pleased with the products […]
What do you get when you mix a bunch of kids, a wide-open campground, and a little bit of dirt? F.U.N. Especially when it’s camping. Does your family go camping, whether in a tent, RV, or public use cabin?<—-cabins count in Alaska, since most cabins are in pretty remote places and are very similar to […]
This morning Alaska Airlines, the preferred air carrier for legions of flying families, announced an innovative program to help new parents preserve their valuable air miles and thus a sense of calm during the wild and wonderful adventure of raising kids. In a statement from the company as the plan was released this morning, the […]