yamonjon

I definately have a few ideas about your itinerary.

* Let me be blunt about Fairbanks - skip Fairbanks and anything north past Denali. Nothing up there worth the time investment to get there. There are so many better things you can do in AK with the short time you'll be there.

* Denali bus tour a must! Best to do the eight hour tour. Also, the night before, take the time to do the 15 miles you can drive yourself. For lodging, we stayed 27 miles south in the town of Cantwell at the Lazy J Cabins. They have new hotel rooms. Simple with private baths for around $130 a night. Cheapest we found. The "Time to eat" Cafe in Cantwell serves up nice meals and the owner is a hoot. Tell Clem (female) that Harvey's brother says "Hi!"

* We went from Denali to Wrangells/St. Elias National Park via the Denali Highway (100 miles of gravel road but worth every bump). Great wildlife, mountains, vistas, lakes, and rivers. I stopped in Tangle Lakes and droped a line in for about 45 minutes and cuaght a mess of Artic Greyling!

* I can't begin to tell you how much you should try to make Wrangells NP. Reserve a night the Kennecott Lodge in the old mining town. It is an incredible journey there and equally incredible ghost town and glacier hike! My wife still talks about it! We then drove from there down to Valdez and then vack to Anchorage. It was a full day of driving but so worth it. The drive from Valdez to Anchorage will take 6 hours and great views of the Matanuska Glacier and valley! We considered the ferry and the $360 toll but after doing the drive, I am glad we drove.

* Spend as much time as possible on the Kenai pennisula. Homer is worth two nights as is Seward. Be sure to do the six hour cruise out of Seward. I highly recommned the Kenai Fjords Tour Comapny. Their 6 hour National Park Cruise is the best!!!

* I would skip the tram ride in Alyeska and the river rafting near Denali. these are things you can do in Colorado, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, etc. Don;t burn your precious time in AK with these type of touristy things that are not Alaska unique.

* Be prepared for sticker shock - particularly in the restaurants. Burgers and sandwiches for lunch will run around $12-$14 and entrees for dinner around $20 at your basic restaurants and roadhouses. Gas in ANC was running the same in the states - $2.85 a gallon but we did pay $3.44 up near Denali.

If you PM me, I can share more about our itinerary. Know that my brother lives in ANC so some of our 2 weeks was visiting with him so I think our itinerary (so much more not included here) could be condensed into a ten day tour. We rented a minivan and actually slept in it two nights, saving $$$ as lodging is another sticker shocker. Check out the savings code for National Car Rentals I posted in the National Forum for a great discount.

Other restaurants we would recommend:

Phyliss' Cafe in downtown Anchorage - Halibut sandwich for lunch!
Mexico in Alaska in midtown Anchorage - been there for close to 30 years so they must doing something right!
Fat Olive's in Homer for dinner - try one of the specials. $$$
Gilpatrick's Hotel in Chitna - great restaurant!
Lynx Creek Pizza in Denali Village - a good value meal in an expensive neighborhood.
Gracious House & McClaren River Lodge on the Denali Highway - both serve up delicious food and freindly conversation, trademarks of the traditional Alaskan roadhouse.

Have a blast!

yamonjon