When people share their Alaska wish lists with me, it often begins like this: “I’ve always dreamed of seeing a sled dog race,” or “It’s been my lifelong dream to meet a musher.” Dreams are often perceived as pie-in-the-sky desires that rarely come true, but at the home of Vern Halter, longtime musher and co-owner […]
Alaska families — have you picked all the berries yet? It’s late August in the Last Frontier, and that means the annual frenzy to stock the freezer or pantry with residents’ favorite, nature-sent treat: blueberries. But why not take your experience up a notch? How about, instead of taking the kids to the same places […]
This story originally appeared in my Outdoors With Kids column in the Alaska Dispatch News on August 15, 2017. Ah, summer. Parting is such sweet sorrow. Unless it’s the parting of my kid from his bed each morning in time to make the 8:15 a.m. bell. The calendar says it’s time to ready the troops […]
Before I even started reading about the mechanics of Hiking Alaska, I was hooked. The newest Falcon Guides resource for hoofing it around the 49th state is pretty, chock-full of information, and, perhaps most important, is written by a real, live Alaskan. Why is this important? Hiking anywhere is an intimate experience, but possibly […]
The National Park Service has long supported the notion that kids are often more engaged in an experience if they have a guide. The popular Junior Ranger program is an age-appropriate method of pointing young visitors to their parks, national monuments, or historical parks through booklets full of activities that reap a badge reward upon […]
This is a post sponsored by Neutrogena, a leader in skin care and protection. Skin cancer was not on the radar of my parents when I was a kid growing up in the 1970s. The application of ‘suntan’ lotion was designed to increase the sun-browned look many people equated with healthy children. Imagine. Fast-forward to […]
It’s pretty clear already that Alaskans are going crazy for the new PBS three-night series Wild Alaska Live. Based in Juneau but featuring teams of correspondents on the ground at several Alaska locations, the series follows the naturally-occurring event of Alaska’s annual salmon run, stretching viewers’ beliefs and perceptions about not only Alaska, but the […]
This is the first in a two-part series about McCarthy and Kennecott adventures with kids for the Alaska Dispatch News. McCarthy Road stories are the stuff of Alaska legend. Chunks of wooden railroad ties rising from a lumpy gravel surface to infiltrate car tires. Metal spikes appearing out of nowhere. Vehicles nearly colliding on single-lane […]
It can be positively maddening, the search for vacation lodging options. Anywhere, never mind in Alaska. Should you put your clan in a hotel room with two queen beds, or book a vacation rental, or what? And what’s with the RV thing, anyway? People tell you it’s a great way to see Alaska for the […]
by Erin Kirkland Anyone who follows AKontheGO knows our business mantra: Kids who visit Alaska today may well grow up to become the stewards of Alaska tomorrow. It is a part of our core mission to provide information and ideas for activities, winter, spring, summer, or fall that will engage kids and help them become […]
Feet casually crossed on the bench seat of the Orca Song, I waited. The 70-foot vessel owned and operated by Major Marine Tours in Seward was one hour into a three-and-a-half hour day cruise around Resurrection Bay. To find whales, Orca whales, to be exact. A calm day, thankfully, to raise binoculars to eyes and […]