Originally Posted by
Gardyloo
All of Jackal's ideas are great.
My concern with Nome would be that's it's still pretty early (depending on the year) and while the roads out into the bush on the Seward Peninsula are great, you'd likely be carried off by mosquitoes when you get out of the vehicle.
Don't know if you're using cash or miles, but I'd pick Kotzebue, if for no other reason than you can stick a toe in the Arctic Ocean, and as it's above the arctic circle, you could experience true 24h sun in June. If you want to do a "whistle stop" tour, then the same plane that flies to Nome stops in Kotzebue (or v.v.) so you could hit both in a quick tour - Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean in a one.
The other option, pretty much the opposite of the above, would be to head back to SE Alaska and visit Sitka. It's off the main cruise ship routes due to docking limitations, but it's a lovely and historic town, set in fabulous scenery, with lots of cool things (e.g. Fortress of the Bear) to occupy your hours. Easy plane or ferry access from Juneau.
If you pick a return to SE Alaska, see if you can take one of the AS "milk runs," AS 66 or AS 64; for example AS 66 stops in Cordova and Yakutat before Juneau (and continuing to Seattle.) AS 64 hits Juneau, Petersburg, Wrangell and Ketchikan before SEA. If you like fun landings, these are fab.
All very good points, and I had missed that
philemer had not made it to Sitka, so I can absolutely second that recommendation. Don't miss the Alaska Raptor Center while there, too. There's a decent brewpub there, too--Baranof Island Brewing Co. BTW, you won't find much (i.e. anything) in the way of breweries in Nome, Kotz, or Barrow, if that influences your decision (I happen to know that
philemer appreciates a good craft beer
), though it seems there might be
an option in Cordova, if you can nail that down. Also, you'll find plenty of (non-local) beer in Nome (it being a gold mining frontier town, after all), but you'll be very thirsty in Barrow (a "damp" community, meaning you can bring your own in but not buy any there) and sorta thirsty in Kotz (there's a liquor store but no bar, AFAICT, though I think the city was at one point considering opening a city-owned bar and grill, and it's not particularly easy to purchase anything at the liquor store).