Alaskan Spring Break DO - March 2009
 

So I'm itching to return to Alaska for spring break next year, and I'm wondering if any FTers would like to go?

Alaska in March is simply amazing. The weather has been generally excellent the last two years I've gone, I've always seen Aurora, all winter activities are available but nothing is overly crowded, and rates for hotels and things are (more) reasonable.

If you've never been to Alaska before, this is an excellent opportunity. If you have, you know how awesome it is. :p

The trip is broken into two segments, so you can attend the first, the second, or both. The first segment is Friday, March 13 to Monday, March 16. You would need to catch a flight to ANC on Friday the 13th (creepy... ;)) in time to catch the Saturday 8AM train from Anchorage (west coasters can work a full day Friday and catch the evening flights to ANC). You would return to Anchorage on Monday evening in time for the midnight bank of departures back to the lower-48 (so west coasters could work a full day Tuesday). For many, this means only one vacation day.

The second half of the trip is a driving trip and covers Anchorage and points south (Seward, Homer [maybe], Whittier, Girdwood). This part of the trip starts on Tuesday, March 17 and ends on either Thursday, March 19 or Friday, March 20.

I still need to work out some details on both segments, but should be able to post a fairly detailed itinerary tomorrow.

Be warned: Those who want to go for the second half of the trip (or the entire trip) will have to stick with the group for most of the second half due to transportation arrangements (no slumming it in a hotel room all day long). The only required activities for the first half of the trip are a train ride to Fairbanks and a return flight - everything else is optional.

I'll post an itinerary, estimated costs, and photos from previous trips tomorrow.

reserved for photos, itinerary, costs, etc.
 

Trip Part 1:

Friday, March 13/Saturday, March 14 (early):
Arrive ANC

Saturday, March 14
7:45am - Arrive Alaska Railroad Anchorage Train Depot
8:30am - Depart for Fairbanks (11 hours enroute, food for purchase)
7:45pm - Arrive Alaska Railroad Fairbanks Train Depot - transfer to hotel
9:00pm - World Ice Art Championships

Sunday, March 15
11:00am - Lunch and shopping/browsing in downtown Fairbanks
1:00pm - GCI North American Sled Dog Open (watch the start or shop if you don't want to watch)
?:??pm - Depart for Chena Hot Springs Resort
free time - enjoy the hot springs, dog mushing, cross-country skiing, snow machine rides, flightseeing, aurora viewing, etc.

Monday, March 16
10:00am - Depart Chena Hot Springs Resort
11:00am - North Pole, Alaska (mail a postcard or three)
12:00pm - Lunch in Fairbanks
1:30pm - Museum of the North @ University of Alaska - Fairbanks
4:00pm - Head over to FAI for flight to ANC
5:00pm - Flight to ANC (if everything's on time which it hasn't been :))
6:00pm - Arrive ANC
?:?? - enjoy some great food and drink in downtown Anchorage
late - Those wishing to end their trip here can do so and return home on one of the late-night flights.

Tuesday/Wednesday, March 17/18
See Supplemental Post w/ Options -> http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/11025587-post63.html

reserved for attendees list
 

Confirmed/Highly Probable:
jackal
vysean
aviationkiwi (FAI portion only)
FCYTravis (FAI portion only)
AKDan
monitor+1 (FAI portion only)
BOB W (FAI portion only)
SeeYa (FAI portion only)

Interested/On the Fence:
GoingAway
aSiAnRiCk
wsucougarchick05 +1
Seat 2A (FAI only)
beckoa (FAI only)


Friday Night Pre-DO Dinner @ BOB W's:
monitor+1
SeeYa
BOB W


Monday Night Official DO-Close Dinner @ ??? (in ANC):
vysean
SeeYa

Wednesday Night Post-DO Dinner @ ???:

Jackal's group discount opportunities

Please PM me if you are interested in any of the following opportunities:

• Alaska Railroad ANC-FAI for $75
• Potential discounts at ANC Homewood Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn, and Embassy Suites (for before or after the FAI portion)
• Discounted rental cars in ANC (for before or after the FAI portion)
• Discounted rental cars in FAI (we already have one 8-passenger SUV booked and can arrange additional vehicles if we need)

Alaska Railroad ANC-FAI participants
vysean (I'm assuming!)
jackal
BOB W
monitor +1
SeeYa
aviationkiwi

Group sharing a car out to Chena Hotsprings
SUV #1
Toyota Sequoia with 8 seats, though person #8 is going to be squished and luggage space is limited
Total estimated cost: $160.47, which equals $26.75 per person (based on the number of planned participants; not including gas expenses).
1. jackal
2. vysean (I'm assuming!)
3. BOB W
4-5. monitor +1
6. SeeYa
7.
8.


Vehicle #2 (TBD if necessary)
1.

--

Consider me your first confirmed attendee/chief DO supporter/co-planner/local arrangement maker/go-fer!

I'll join for the whole thing, including the trip to Fairbanks (been looking for an excuse to visit friends up there). I'll have to make arrangements for taking off of work, but as I work in the tourism industry and it's the off-season (though business might pick up if the Iditarod and Fur Rondy's around the same dates--things which might be worth adding to the list of official festivities), it shouldn't have a problem.

Looking forward to it!

Do you feel like a tour director? :o

This sounds wonderful ... as an "east" coaster, I'll need about 3 days off but am definitely going to try to make this work so put me down as a possible. I have what has become a MR to ANC next month (very quick in/out) because I was maximizing miles and couldn't do even an overnight.

BTW, how do we transit from FAI to the North Pole? Renting cars?

It's about 10-15 miles from Fairbanks, so unless vysean wants to charter a bus or something, it probably will be rental cars. There's no real public transporation between the two that I know of.

I will try my best to make it. So consider me Interested and highly likely to attend.

Shockingly, despite Fairbank's abysmal (and in the winter, miserable) public transit "system", there is indeed a bus to North Pole: the Green Line. Route map here, schedule here. It's probably a reasonably efficient way to get out there, honestly, and much cheaper than renting a car.

(Don't get me wrong, I lived there for 18 years, never once road the bus, and had to look this up online. I'm as surprised as the next guy.)

Not to be contrary, but if you are in the tourism industry in ANC, you should know that the start of the Iditarod is the first Saturday in March (3/7/09) and that Rondy is the 2 weeks before that. Shouldn't be a scheduling conflict if the DO starts March 13/14.

So if we went up a few days earlier, we might see the end of the race if we jumped over to Nome or some other spot en route? That would be pretty cool --- just need to see my options and look for award seats as the flights at least to Nome looked pricey (not suprising).

Are hotels totally impossible to find up there?

ps Still so far in the future, I don't know if I really can attend, but I do have an award ticket up to ANC just in case it works out

Hey...we just take the reservations as we get 'em...

Summer, yes. Winter, even during Rondy/Iditarod, no. There's a slight spike in activity, but it pales in comparison to the throngs of tourists that arrive June, July and August. Hotel and rental car rates might go up a few bucks, but availability isn't a problem that time of year.

Unfortunately, my spring break at the University of Alaska Fairbanks will be the previous week - the 9th through the 13th. :(

However, I would love to get together with everyone on the 14th, 15th and 16th.

If there's interest and time, I can possibly arrange for an hour-long private tour of my workplace, the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute, including the Alaska Satellite Facility, the Alaska Volcano Observatory and the Alaska Earthquake Information Center.

Yeah, but the Chena Hot Springs legs will require a rental car - there's definitely no public transportation up to there.

My award ticket is history along with UA in ANC :( ... I'll look into that later on if it looks iikely I can make this.