Alaska Trip -- Two More National Parks

Keeping score

I am on a mission to visit every National Park in the U.S. There are currently 60 and I had been to 56. I am giving myself Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis even though when I visited, it wasn’t yet a National Park, it was the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. 

I do plan to go back soon the get a proper stamp in my National Passport book.

Before my most recent trip, the ones I was down to are the most difficult or remote:

U.S. Virgin Islands National Park, which I was set to visit last March until a hurricane wrecked the Park and my plans ...

Photo: Whattodo-VI.com

And, National Park of American Samoa, which is in, well, American Samoa ...

How do you even get there?

And, two of Alaska’s eight National Parks: Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve and Kobuk Valley National Park. 

I had already visited Denali National Park and Preserve ... 

Animals, mountains and adventure

Glacier Bay National Park ...

Glaciers, ocean and wildlife

Katmai National Park ... 

Bears (oh, and some scenery, too)

Kenai Fjords National Park ...

Sealife, scenery and glaciers

Lake Clark National Park ...

Bears, volcanos and vast wilderness

 ... and Wrangell St. Elias National Park ...

History, majesty and mystery

I had attempted before to visit gates of the Arctic as an add-on to another trip. That didn’t go well. We flew to Anaktuvuk Pass, which is in the middle of the huge Park but on Native land and our guide failed to show up, sending us back to Fairbanks without actually standing on Park soil.

Flight to Anaktuvuk

Place to go, things to see

So, I planned this  trip specifically designed to visit Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk Valley National Parks. 

And, I added a few other places on, as well: some time in Anchorage and Fairbanks, a return trip to the Denali Backcountry Lodge and an overnight to Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), the most northernmost city in North America. 

Plus, after some airline issues gave me a few more days in Alaska, I added Nome. And, while we were there, I added the Kenai Peninsula.

Scott and I have both spent a lot of time in Alaska. I have visited ten times, including this trip ...

A favorite place

... and this is Scott’s 15^th visit ...

Definitely, his favorite place

Plus, our family went in 2001 ...

Arctic flight, 2001

We’ve been on all the interconnected roads and to a lot of places with no roads. We’ve been by sea, by air and by car. I’ve been for work as well as pleasure. And, we’ve both taken thousands of photos.

So, the next few posts will be an account of my last chilly National Parks plus lots of background on the areas.

Also, since we go to Alaska so often, people often ask me for advice on Alaska. I did a couple of blogs with my ideas that you can see here and here. 

So, stay tuned for a report on my "Park Collector" trip to Alaska. Spoiler alert: it was successful.

Whew!

Trip date: August 17-September 4, 2018