Would someone PM vysean and remind him he's planning this?

If he's too busy to pull it off, maybe some combination of locals could start to pull it together...I'm not ready to volunteer to run the whole thing myself (not even sure I'd be able to get the time off yet), but I'm willing to do what I can...

I signed up for the FAI portion but am not listed yet. I've done the Kenai Peninsula so I won't be doing the second half.

An "update"...

The itinerary as posted is still accurate, the only addition would be Tuesday/Wednesday in ANC - I'm not going to do a longer trip than that. I can give suggestions for those wishing to stay longer to visit Seward or Homer (both of which are awesome and well worth the visit).

The Tuesday addition would be either:
1. Tour of Anchorage-area sights and drive to Girdwood for snowmachine trip (or skip the snowmachine trip but drive to Girdwood to enjoy the amazing views if the weather is decent).
- or -
2. Drive to Seward for one hour Resurrection Bay cruise and visit to Alaska SeaLife Center (cruise contingent on weather).

As for everything else:

Friday night hotel in Anchorage - your choice, you just need to get a taxi to the train terminal Saturday morning (about $12 from downtown, and chances are we can carpool).

I've stayed at each of the Hilton properties, and all are okay to good - haven't tried the Sheraton (and it seems to get mixed reviews). Hotel Captain Cook is nice but expensive, and I've also stayed at the hotel next to the Benihana - it's got large rooms that can easily sleep six (can dig up the name if anyone cares). So you pick the hotel that you need the stay credit with...

Saturday:
Train/Flight Package - waiting on response from Alaska Railroad - will call again in the morning. Price last year was $239 (am attempting to negotiate a group rate).

Hotel - am working on groups rates at the following:
$84 Princess Lodge
$80 Springhill Suites by Mariott
$89 Holiday Inn Express
$56 Westmark (Holland America)

Right now the Westmark is the cheapest at $56 per night w/ free shuttle, parking, and Internet. Not sure if we'll be able to do better than that. The Westmark and the Princess Lodge are located next to each other and very close to the airport (as I think the HIX is), while the Springhill Suites is in a great location at the heart of downtown.

Sunday:
Waiting on a return call from Chena Hot Springs Resort regarding group rates. If that doesn't prove much of a discount, would one of the Alaskans who may join us be willing to assist in booking as an AK state resident (you get a pretty decent discount from what we "foreigners" get...)

Activities - also waiting on group price quotes. Please take a look at this page for details on what's available and published prices: http://www.chenahotsprings.com/index.php?id=winter

Monday -
Waiting on Alaska Railroad for train/flight pricing. It does look like AS has cut one of their evening flights, so our only options to return on Monday are AS190 at 5pm or AS192 at 8:45pm - both would return to Anchorage with enough time to catch most connecting red-eye flights back to the lower-48 (and probably even enough time to catch a beer and a burger or pizza at one of the local watering holes).

Hotel for those staying over - again, probably your choice as there will be very few people sticking around for the non-FAI portion. I'll either be in the Hilton or the Sheraton depending on where I need a stay credit more...

Activity costs for the ANC-portion are as follows:
5 hour snowmachine trip - $240. They're hesitant to offer any group discount, but my guess is some flexibility exists - I know I didn't pay anything close to that the last time I used this company for the same tour. If the weather cooperates, it's both amazingly beautiful scenery and a lot of fun. If the weather is bad, they've still run the tour (unless it's really bad), but you don't see nearly as much and it can be a little less fun (you're going along at 30-40mph and can't see dips and holes in front of you that really help to define the term "bone-jarring"). The first time we made it to the glacier but couldn't get to the ice caves, the second time we did both and the ice caves were amazing!

Details - http://www.snowtours.net/winter.html

The Seward cruise is $69 and includes free admission to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center which is just down the street from the snowmachine place (timing may prevent us from visiting the AWCC however). Details at http://www.kenaifjords.com/638.cfm

Note - the cruise operates on Wednesdays, so we'd either have to do this Wednesday (I'm happy to stay an extra day), or see if they'll run one Tuesday for our quite small group (if they did run it on Tuesday it would likely be on a smaller boat - keep this in mind if you suffer from motion sickness).

Alaska SeaLife Center - I'll call on group discounts if there is any interest in going here, though we are likely too small to qualify. More details can be found at http://www.alaskasealife.org/. It's a neat place, but at $20 a bit overpriced in my opinion. It used to be included for free with the Resurrection Bay cruise on Kenai Fjords, but it looks like they've subbed the AWCC for the ASLC.

Finally, if there is enough interest, I'd be happy to take those few remaining in ANC after the FAI portion to Homer on Tuesday (returning Wednesday). In Homer, we'd stay at the Land's End hotel and while there go to the Pratt Museum ($6 - http://www.prattmuseum.org/) and bum around the spit a bit. In 2006 this was the premier place for seeing and photographing bald eagles. In 2007 they changed the laws on feeding and it was still a good place to see bald eagles but not as good for photography. I have no idea what this year will be like, but Homer is an interesting place to visit with some incredible scenery both surrounding the town and along the way. It may (stressing the may part) be possible to stop in Seward on the way back Wednesday in time to catch the Resurrection Bay tour, and then get back to Anchorage with enough time leftover to visit some of the sights and/or a museum (the Anchorage Art museum is a nice stop and reasonably priced).

Were it summer, I'd suggest parking at the DOT building and watching the seaplanes takeoff and land, but unfortunately the water will be frozen solid...

I hope this helps a little bit and I hope to have the final rate quotes for hotels tomorrow (Wednesday) so that those who wish to reserve and pay right now can do so.

Frankly, the only imperative (other than a flight to ANC) is the train+flight package that I hope to confirm in a few hours time and a confirmed booking for the Aurora snowcoach tour for those interested (it'll be a very cold and very late night - I think we started at 10pm and didn't get back until 2am - but it was definitely worth it).

Any questions or concerns on the above, please feel free to PM me or post here, and I do apologize for the delay in my response and the lack of group rate details - hopefully this will all be resolved tomorrow!

BTW, for photos from the same trip from 2006, you can visit my website at http://www.biatphotography.com/photo...p?g2_itemId=13. If okay with another FTer, I'll post a link to his photos from the 2007 Fairbanks-only portion.

Bob - Sorry I missed you're "I'm in" post - I've updated the attendee list.

If you're still up for a pre/post-DO in ANC, I can PM everyone who has expressed interest to see if they'll be around for either and notate that on the attendee list. It's a very generous offer. ^

Regarding the train schedule - here's the schedule from the AKRR site (it's an image, not a webpage) - http://www.akrr.com/contentimages/2009-AWT-Schedule.gif

In my experience, there's a lot of padding on that schedule, as even with a 2-3 hour delay leaving ANC we still made it to FAI within 20 minutes of schedule. The other trip arrived almost an hour early without significant delay. Note that the train stops at scenic points along the way for pictures, and you're welcome to stand between cars to take pictures at any time during the trip (though it's quite an experience - it can literally take your breath away as cold as it is).

Angel - your attendance is compulsory... tell your boss... Especially as you can now do it with only one day off of work.

The bold texts are my thoughts cuz' I've never been able to make multi-quote work for me.

The offer is open on both sides of the DO. Just let me know how many if they want some basic home cooking. OK, I can open some good wines to get us through the night.

Angel, don't make me come and kidnap you!!! (Like I'm planning on doing with Missydarlin)!!!

By sled dog...


Seriously, by car, though I'm not sure of the exact arrangements until I have an exact headcount. It's looking like we'll just rent two cars and split the cost amongst the attendees (2 2-day rentals). I'll be happy to drive one car, and we'll need someone to volunteer to drive the other. I've found the roads to be decent to good in and between FAI and Chena, though I wouldn't give such a generous assessment to the stretch between Girdwood and Seward (talk about a experience).

I am (now) an Arizona driver, so snow isn't exactly commonplace where I live...

Concerning the FAI overnight: We have stayed at the Princess and it is very nice but somewhat remotely located. We did not like either Westmark that we stayed at (one in Juneau and the other in Valdez) and IIRC, being downtown in Fairbanks is really the place to be. Therefore, our vote is for the Springhill.

I'm fine with the Springhill too - I'm just not sure how price sensitive everyone else is and whether the $30 will really make or break it for some (hope not given the other costs... ).

BOB W - Thanks for correcting my error on the Westmark's location - I've stayed at the Princess and thought the hotel next door was the Westmark - guess I should have paid better attention.

The Springhill is the best location for the Sunday morning stuff, but the Princess is in a decent location for our arrival and the late-night Ice Art Championships. Additionally, it's fun to watch big SUVs driving across the frozen river next to the Princess lodge - I don't know if they do that closer to the Springhill or not. I am told that every year someone gets wet when the ice breaks and their car becomes a submarine.

Its possible that I'll be in ANC on that Wednesday (18th?) and available in the late afternoon/evening

Jackal & I know where you live

Come up early. The MVPG lunch can wait........

Well then I do believe I'll stick around and fly out that night.

For those that will be in ANC Monday/Wednesday night, does anyone have any particular thoughts on:

Moose's Tooth
Sleeping Lady
Bear Tooth Grill
Glacier Brewing
Benihanas

or another favorite restaurant???

Suite 100 is a great place by the Dimond Center. Great food & a VERY liberal corkage program for wines brought in for dinner. Just another suggestion... It is a little bit away from downtown.

I will try guys. Let me see if I can get a better routing. Right now no awards are available with Skyteam to ANC.

Quick status update:

Springhill Suites in Fairbanks - was told to expect $10 to $15 discount from list, so $74-$79 per night. Will have confirmation of this tomorrow, but is contingent on booking a minimum of ten rooms. Otherwise, we can book the AAA rate at $80 per night (haven't checked to see what the government rate might be in case anyone qualifies for that).

Alaska Railroad Train+Flight - It is priced separately, and is actually cheaper if we each book under the Fur Rondy one-way promotion ($99) and simply book a one-way flight on AS ($139).

Chena Hot Springs Resort - 20% discount off rack rate for 10 or more room nights. Not sure if we'll have enough people to qualify. They're getting full so we'll need to decide on this one fairly soon. No discount offered on activities, but I can keep trying.

I think those were the big outstanding questions, so once I've confirmed with the Marriott folks the rate, I'll post a final list of all costs.

Does anyone have any thoughts/concerns on any of the hotels?

What about activities while in Chena?