Thank you very much for the suggestions so far. I guess I'm a bit confused about why jackal recommends doing the Denali highway east to west and going through Fairbanks instead of doing the following:
ANC-Talkeetna-Denali (3 nights)-Cantwell-Denali Highway-Paxson-Glenallen-Chitina-Valdez-ferry-Whittier-ANC.
Wouldn't this be a more direct way of doing things? Maybe I'm missing something.
Thank you again for all of your help!
Because I'm more of a see-as-much-as possible kind of guy. (Oldpenny would argue that I'm a see-as-little-as-possible guy...) In my style of vacation, if you did that direct route, you'd end up with several extra days with nothing to do. Therefore, I was suggesting a visit to Fairbanks, but I was suggesting the route in a way that would minimize the backtracking and would also allow you to travel the Glenn Highway, which is a beautiful road.
Check out
this Google Map with directions for a visual of my suggested route.
If, however, you feel like traveling more in oldpenny16's slower style, then perhaps you should consider going the Denali-Cantwell-Denali Highway-Paxson-Glenallen-Chitina-Valdez-ferry-Whittier-ANC itinerary, but go ahead and go to McCarthy, since it is a beautiful spot (in the middle of the Wrangells) and is very relaxing, especially if you'd like to take some hikes in that area (check the
NPS page for Wrangell-St. Elias NP). (See
this Google Map with a terrain overview to see the kind of terrain you'd cover on that itinerary--you can see that McCarthy is right in the heart of the Wrangells).
Picking this itinerary would have you skip both Fairbanks and the Glenn Highway, both worthy items on an Alaskan tour, but if your preferred pace is slower, it's likely a worthwhile trade.