Alaska, Part 4

Now that I'm back, I cannot believe how incredibly comfortable my bed is.  And how nice it is to have a full night of darkness in which to sleep.  We had a fabulous trip, but I'm glad to be home.
Josh and I have both posted photos in our online albums.  Some of his are on Flickr (he mixed a few of my shots in there too), mine are all on Picasa, and I will also be posting an album of all of my favorite shots from both of our cameras on Facebook. I know it's a bit of overkill, but not everybody has access to all of these pages.  So:

• Josh's pics
• My pics

Also, I wanted to link to a few of the cool places we visited.  Josh said that it was good for their website stats if I put links up, plus, these are simply cool places that I'd recommend people visit when in the area.

• Denali Mountain Morning Hostel (Denali) - This funky little place provided us shelter and showers and a bed after a few very cold and rainy nights camping in Denali Nat'l Park.  They have a free shuttle service to and from the park, a great kitchen, and really pretty log-cabin style buildings.
• Arctic Adventures Hostel (Anchorage) - It's a bit less funky and social than some other hostels, but this place was super clean and tidy, with lots of private rooms, and the best price in town.
• Prince William Sound Glacier Cruises (Whittier) - We took a day cruise with this company, and loved every minute of it.  Awesome boat crew, awesome lunch, awesome cruise.
• Alaska Kayak Center (Palmer) - They've got some pricey trip options, but our half-day whitewater trip was just about perfect.  Jim, the owner and our guide, was super knowledgeable and really nice (and saved us both when we got tossed in the arctic waters).
• Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (Portage) - This place is really great.  They care for and house all kinds of wildlife (bears, oxen, caribou, moose, porcupines, eagles, etc) that can no longer live in the wild for one reason or another.  I'm always a sucker for anything involving animal rehab, and when we walked around the grounds and a) read the stories of all of their baby animal rescues, and b) saw one of the employees having her faced sweetly nuzzled by a baby deer, I was sold.
• Glacier Brewhouse (Anchorage) - This is apparently the place to eat in downtown Anchorage.  And it's quite good.  We stuffed ourselves and were very happy to do so.  Try the Imperial Blond ale, it's creamy and smooth, and 9% alcohol.  Yum.
• Pump House Restaurant and Saloon (Fairbanks) - This was, hand down, the best seafood chowder I've ever eaten in my life.  Wow.  And the fresh sourdough bread was amazing.  Oh, and mac&cheese with king crab meat?!  I'm in heaven.
• Santa Claus House (North Pole) - Because if you're anywhere near Fairbanks, you just have to visit North Pole.  And if you're in North Pole, you have to visit Santa's house.  Duh.  They've even got the reindeer hanging out back.

Next time (and yes, I would definitely go back to Alaska), I'd want to visit at a time of year when I could see the Northern Lights.  Unfortunately, we just had too much daylight to see anything.  And I'd love to explore more the coastal areas of Alaska, especially the rainforest-y areas over by Juneau and Ketchikan.  I'll add it to my ever-growing list of places-I-want-to-travel.