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 […]
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 […]
Were you raised to spend summer nights in a canvas tent, cooking meals over a campfire and playing until all hours among the leafy trees and rocky streams? I was, and so were many of my friends. My parents would pack the VW Bus with sleeping bags, coolers, boots, extra clothes, and that smelly canvas […]
by Erin Kirkland In an effort to further promote Alaska family travel and opportunities for cultural, historical, and recreational discovery anywhere in the Last Frontier, it is my pleasure to announce a new partnership between Great Alaskan Holidays and AKontheGO. In 2016, our family embarked upon a fantastic adventure with Great Alaskan Holidays, driving a […]
Snuggled together in the Manitoba Cabin last October, family fun camp participants celebrated the National Park Service’s 100th birthday, made name tags, sipped hot chocolate, and got to know one another. Outside, this group of 15 learned about archery, safe fire-building, and even got to watch a few falling stars before falling asleep to the […]
by Danielle Benson It is inevitable. Shortly after the Christmas decorations are packed up and stowed away, we start the slow crawl towards more daylight, and my nuggets start asking, “When are we going camping?” This year I was one step ahead of them. Our first overnight backpacking trip was on January 1, 2017. I […]
*This story originally appeared in the Alaska Dispatch News on Tuesday, September 13, 2016.* The season’s first official frost left a sparkling welcome upon my front lawn last weekend, and the birch leaves and hillside shrubs are beginning to change color. It’s an unmistakable signal that the seasonal shift from summer to fall is going […]
by Danielle Benson While Alaska is an ultimate family vacation destination, it is also ideal for resident families looking for a limitless supply of staycation ideas. My “AK To-Do List” is always growing, and I’m confident I’ll never get to see and do everything, but not for lack of trying. This summer the nuggets and […]
Eagles chattered a welcome from the treetops as our boat slowly made its way into the sheltered refuge of Kasitsna Bay. A 30-minute ride across yawing Kachamak Bay from Homer had deposited our party of six onto a rocky, shell-strewn shoreline for a weekend of marine-based fun at Across the Bay Tent and Breakfast Adventure […]
by Danielle Benson Our first experience at Denali National Park and Preserve was two summers ago, when we were still fairly new Alaskans. We reserved a camping spot at accessible Riley Creek Campground, pitched the family tent, ate ice cream at the Mercantile Exchange in the evenings, and attended the daily campground Ranger Talks. We took […]
by Jen Ostler Interior Alaska is a special place, unique from the coastal climates of Southcentral and Southeast. Trees are stunted from harsh weather and icy soils, and in the summer the famous Midnight Sun is a bit brighter than in the southern reaches of the state. Up at elevation, there are expansive views, with […]