Congratulations! May is a perfect time to visit Alaska. The giant state is just awakening from its deep winter sleep. Forget packing your bulky, fur-trimmed extreme cold weather parka and your mukluks, for in May temperatures average a very livable 55 degrees. That medium-weight jacket that you packed should be just right. Oh, and be sure to pack good binoculars and a camera!
Your excitement builds on your flight to Anchorage as you fly over bays, glaciers and some of the most gorgeous scenery on the North American continent. Your plane descends, almost plopping you right into the bay, but at the last millisecond finds the landing strip. Is that a dramatic entrance to your adventure of a lifetime, or what?
In your rental car, you follow Highway 1 right along the coast as you begin the one hour drive south to Seward, but it takes you longer. You spot cars pulled over, grab your binoculars and join the people staring into the distance. They point out a small dot, which magnified, is a Dall sheep impossibly balanced on the craggy mountain rocks above. You are now an Alaskan wildlife spotter! You can’t wipe the grin off your face the rest of the drive to Seward.
You get to Seward and check into your motel. The next morning you go to the small boat harbor and join your captain as he guides the boat into gorgeous Resurrection Bay and anchors it. After the captain baits your hook, you cast your line in, hoping for good luck–and you get it. You thrill as you fight to pull in your first twelve-pound fighting salmon. Soon you bring in your limit, and prepare them for their trip home.
There is just enough time left in the day to go to Exit Glacier, the only one that you can walk to. You marvel at the size of the glacier, and watch, fascinated, as a large bluish-tinged chunk of it breaks away and noisily splashes into the bay.
The morning finds you headed back toward Anchorage, and along the way, you drive through the Chugach National Forest, spotting goats, eagles and moose. You take some photos of the spectacular mountains, which you can hardly wait to post to your social media sites.
When you get into town, you stop at the free Anchorage Market, grabbing a bite at the eat local section while you listen to the band rocking on the stage. The next day you head north to Lake Eklutna for scenery that takes your breath away as you snap more photos and hike the trails.
You decide to drive to Point Woronzof overlooking Cook’s Bay, where spotting white Beluga whales may be one of the highlights of your trip. If you do not see any, it is almost certain that you will see moose.
Wherever you go in Alaska, and whatever you do, you are sure to have a memorable trip. You may even be drawn by the call of the wild to visit again sometime.
Author Bio: George works for OneTravel.com, an online travel company famous for the Alaska Airlines & Cheap Tickets it offers.
Things to Do in Alaska in May
