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Alaska: Deep Into the Last Frontier |
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Program Number: |
18667RJ |
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| Start
and End Dates: |
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| Duration: |
13 nights |
| Location: |
Alaska
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| Price starting at: |
$4,997.00 - Price may vary based on date, departure city |
| Program Type:
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Adventure Afloat Study Cruise; Ocean Cruises
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| Meals: |
37;
13 Breakfasts, 11 Lunches, 13 Dinners |
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| Meal
Options: |
Low Salt; Low Fat; Vegetarian |
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Come to appreciate the vastness, beauty and cultural and ecological diversity of “The Last Frontier” on a journey by land and sea that takes you to mammoth glaciers, gold rush towns, Denali National Park’s mighty Mount McKinley and welcoming communities along the famed Inside Passage.
Activity Particulars
Walking short distances on city sidewalks and boardwalks.
In some ports you will have the option of enjoying lunch on your own at your expense rather than returning to the ship for lunch. Singles looking to be matched should enroll in cat. 5.
Itinerary At-a-Glance
Fairbanks, Alaska, 2 nights; Denali National Park, 2 nights; Anchorage, 1 night; Seward, 1 night; aboard MS Zaandam, 7 nights.
Coordinated by Road Scholar.
Days 1-2: | Arrival Fairbanks (Alaska): |
Begin your journey in the largest city of the Alaskan interior. Visit the Morris Thompson Cultural Center for a Alaskan Cultural experience--taste native food and watch local youth dancers perform.
Lodging: Centrally located hotel.
Days 3-4: | Train to Denali National Park: |
Ride the Alaska Railroad to Denali National Park. On expert-led forays into the wilderness, keep an eye out for caribou, bears, moose, eagles and more.
Lodging: Resort within National Park.
Day 5: | Train to Anchorage: |
Spend the morning at the National Park Visitor Center and exploring nearby trails. Board the Alaska Railroad for a scenic afternoon and evening trip.
Lodging: Centrally located hotel.
Days 6-7: | Coach to Seward / embark MS Zaandam: |
At the Anchorage Museum, learn about prehistoric, historic and current Alaska. View world class exhibits at the recently enlarged facility.
Lodging: Comfortable hotel.
Days 8-9: | At Sea / Glacier Bay: |
Transit the Gulf of Alaska. In Glacier Bay, a national park naturalist sheds light on the glaciers and wildlife.
Shuttle from Haines to Skagway to board the White Pass and Yukon Route, a railroad built to take adventurous prospectors across the mountains during the Klondike Gold Rush.
Enjoy a whale watching expedition in the waters north of Auke Bay. Spend early morning and late afternoon free time exploring the downtown area of the Alaskan capital.
Enjoy a behind-the-scenes visit to the Totem Heritage center’s Alaska Native collection. Learn about life in the “Salmon Capital of the World.”
Days 13-14: | At Sea / Vancouver (Canada) / disembark / departure: |
Expert lectures and a celebratory farewell dinner wrap up the voyage as you sail into Canadian waters.
ms Zaandam
Artifacts and memorabilia from a variety of musical genres decorate the ms Zaandam. In a soaring, three-story atrium at the ship's heart is a Baroque-style Dutch pipe organ, inspired by the traditional barrel organs still found on the streets of the Netherlands. This ocean liner offers spacious public areas and plush accommodations.
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| Road Scholar Instructors | | These instructors are participating on at least one date of this program. Please note that changes may occur. | Karen Christner
| | Karen Christner has made Alaska her home since journeying there with her husband, Jere, and their three children more than 26 years ago. After pursuing careers as an entrepreneur and substitute teacher, Karen became a Road Scholar coordinator through the University of Alaska. Soon, she embraced a role as a Road Scholar instructor and has shared her love for Alaska’s natural beauty, culture and local cuisine with lifelong learners.
| | | | Jere Christner
| | Jere Christner loves to share the joys of living in Alaska during his role as a Road Scholar group leader, instructor, and coordinator. Jere moved to Alaska after accepting a position with the U.S. Forest Service, and specialized in ecology, wildlife management and watershed subsistence. Since retiring, Jere and his wife, Karen, have shared their expertise of the sciences, natural resources and government of Alaska with lifelong learners. | | | | Brenda Campen
| | A long-time resident of Alaska, Brenda Campen is passionate about the history of America’s “Last Frontier.” Her 33-year career in teaching social studies led her to Native communities in the interior and in the southeast region of the state. For 25 years, she taught at Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka, a state residential school for rural and Alaska Native students. Brenda’s expertise in Alaska history and contemporary issues has earned her multiple awards, including the first Governor’s Award in the Humanities for Alaska History Teaching, and the Alaska Historical Society’s Contributions to Alaska History Award. Brenda divides her time between Sitka and a cabin near the Admiralty Island village of Angoon. | | | | Mary Stensvold
| | Mary Stensvold is the regional botanist for the USDA Forest Service Alaska Region and is based in Sitka, Alaska. In this capacity, she administers a program emphasizing rare plant conservation, as well as botanical surveys and monitoring, revegetation, ethnobotany, botanical publications, and botanical interpretation. She holds a Ph.D. in botany from Iowa State University, and her current research involves a circumpolar study of moonworts ferns. Other areas of particular interest include wild-plant gardening, drawing, painting, woodcarving and northwest coast Native art. Fieldwork takes her to remote areas throughout southern Alaska, from Prince William Sound in the west, to the southern tip of the "Panhandle" in the east. She has been presenting natural history lectures on ships in Alaska, British Columbia and Norway since 1991. | | | | Donald Poling
| | As an educator, naturalist, author and historian, Donald Poling enjoys sharing the history and natural beauty of Alaska with students of all ages. His family’s own history in Alaska is rich — in 1900, Don’s great grandfather arrived in Alaska for the Nome Gold Rush, and ended up with a career as a bookkeeper at the local bank. His parents were teachers for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a career path that allowed Donald to grow up in a variety of Alaska Native communities including Chenega, Metlakatla, Quinhagak, Juneau, Nenana, Fairbanks, and Nome. After studying sociology, anthropology and education at Alaska Methodist University, Don worked as a teacher and naturalist for the U.S. Forest Service on Alaska Marine Highway vessels, providing presentations on regional ecology and history. In 2011, Don published the book, “Chenega Diaries,” a compilation of letters, diaries and photographs on Chenega history, and is currently working on a history of the Yupik Eskimo village of Quinhagak. | | | | Joe Williams
| | Born and raised in Saxman, Alaska, Joe Williams has been an elected tribal president, vice-chairman for the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council and the area vice president for the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). He was the first Tlingit native to be elected as mayor of Ketchikan Borough, and served as the City of Saxman mayor, making him the only elected official to hold both the borough and city mayoral positions. Joe has owns and operates Where the Eagle Walks, a historical walking excursion and lecture company in Ketchikan, and provides lectures on the Tlingit culture. He enjoys sharing his wealth of knowledge about the Ketchikan and Saxman cultures. | | | | Dixie Alexander
| | Dixie Alexander is the cultural program director for the Tanana Chiefs Conference at the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center. Born into a family of Gwich’in heritage, (her father, Silas Alexander, Sr., hailed from Fort Yukon while her mother, Charlotte Douthit, was from North Pole), Dixie was raised with her 12 brothers and sisters in Fort Yukon. Over the past 30 years, she has shared the rich traditions of Athabascan history and lifestyle with local businesses and organizations. Dixie loves to teach, and leads a multitude of workshops on native crafts including beadwork, caribou hair tufting, porcupine quill work, basket making, mask and doll making, and more. Dixie also offers classes on moose and caribou tanning, boot and snowshoe making, and teaches traditional techniques for building canvas canoes, drums, fish wheels, toboggans and frames for drying furs. | | | |
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