Alaska Farm Tour

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Hosted by: 

Lynn & Mary Ketelsen

Linder Farm Network 

Day 1 – Home to Anchorage

Fly to Anchorage, Alaska today and get acquainted with your traveling farm friends! Enjoy an included lunch at 49th State Brewing Co. before embarking on an historic downtown area tour. Later tour the ULU Factory. The ULU Factory invites you to a truly interesting experience at Alaska’s most unique manufacturing facility. Watch the knives being made, the blade and handle assembled and packaged. For over 25 years they have been making the most distinct product of the north – the Alaska ULU. Next we tour Earthquake Park and learn about the 1964 Earthquake and see Lake Hood where over 190 float planes take off and land each day! Check into your hotel for a restful night!

Included Meals: Lunch, Dinner 

Hotel: Clarion (2 Nights) 

Day 2 – Anchorage to Palmer to Anchorage

Enjoy an included breakfast before we take a scenic route to Matanuska Susitna Borough. Today we visit a local agriculture farm where you will have a chance to learn about farming in the 49th State. We will also enjoy visiting an Alaskan dairy farm. Later, visit a Musk Ox Farm for a close up experience of these magnificent Paleolithic ruminants. Return to your hotel for a restful evening.

Included Meals: Breakfast 

Day 3 – Anchorage to Whittier (Embark Ship)

Breakfast is included before we head off on another scenic drive south to the port town of Whittier. Whittier is nestled at the base of the Chugach Mountains bordering Passage Canal. We’ll say goodbye to our local guide and make our way to our ship, the Golden Princess.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner 

Ship: Golden Princess (7 Nights) 

Whittier was established as a World War II port for cargo and troops of the Alaska Command. Whittier remained activated until 1960. Today, Whittier’s economy and its 290 residents rely largely on the fishing industry, the port, and increasingly, on tourism. 

Day 4 – Hubbard Glacier

Nicknamed the “Galloping Glacier,” this east Alaskan glacier is rapidly advancing toward the Gulf of Alaska into a pristine area known as Disenchantment Bay. In fact, its movement temporarily formed a natural dam that twice closed off nearby Russell Fjord from the bay, but the intense water pressure building within the fjord-turned-lake has thus far been enough to not explode through the wall of ice. The largest tidewater glacier in North America, Hubbard Glacier measures 76 miles long and plunges 1,200 feet into the depths of the bay. Its immense beauty and phenomenal blue hues are enchanting, even from afar. But it is when your cruise ship draws closer that its towering surface really impresses, dwarfing even the uppermost deck on your ship at a whopping 40 stories high. There, with the snowcapped mountains serving as a glorious backdrop, you’ll have a prime viewing spot from which to witness the glacier calving, as it often expels icebergs the size of 10-story buildings-imagine the splash! The area around Hubbard Glacier is also renowned for its wildlife, where whales, harbor seals and otters swim, brown bears, moose & black-tailed deer roam ashore, & a wide variety of seabirds soar gracefully across the sky.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 

Day 5 – Glacier Bay National Park

Princess is one of a select few cruise lines permitted to cruise the pristine waters of Glacier Bay, the highlight of our 7-day Voyage of the Glaciers’ Cruise. Just west of Juneau, this breathtaking national park and preserve boasts some of the world’s most spectacular tidewater glaciers, such as Margerie Glacier, which often drops colossal chunks of ice into the sea. Not surprisingly, Glacier Bay National Park and its epic ice giants are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising Alaska’s magnificent park system. During your scenic cruise, friendly Park Rangers will join the ship to share their knowledge of this amazing place and host a fun Junior Ranger program for kids. They may even be able to help you identify Glacier Bay’s abundant wildlife, including humpback whales, sea otters, porpoises, harbor seals, black bears, mountain goats, bald eagles and large colonies of seabirds. Take in the awe-inspiring scenery as you enjoy an unforgettable day of sailing through this dazzling park, where you’ll glide along emerald waters and past calving icebergs, and can breathe in the crisp, fresh air to your heart’s content.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 

Day 6 – Skagway

Skagway was the gateway to the gold fields for the thousands who flocked to Alaska and the Yukon with the hope of striking it rich. Skagway may have boasted the shortest route to the Klondike, but it wasn’t the easiest. Over 100 years ago, the White Pass route through the Coast Mountains and the shorter but steeper Chilkoot Trail were used by countless stampeders. Many a would-be miner perished on the treacherous Chilkoot Trail. The gold rush was a boon and by 1898, Skagway was Alaska’s largest town with a population of about 20,000. Hotels, saloons, dance halls and gambling houses prospered. But when the gold yield dwindled in 1900, so did the population as miners quickly shifted to new finds in Nome. Today, Skagway has less than 1,000 residents. It still retains the flavor of the gold rush era.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 

Day 7 – Juneau

In 1880, it was slow going for Joe Juneau and Richard Harris as they searched for gold with the help of Native guides. After climbing mountains, forging streams and facing countless difficulties, they found nuggets “as large as beans.” From their discovery came three of the largest gold mines in the world. By the end of World War II, more than $150 million in gold had been mined. Eventually the mines closed, but the town Joe Juneau founded became the capital of Alaska and the business of gold was replaced by the business of government. Some 30,000 people live in Juneau. Its total area makes it one of the biggest towns, in the world. Only Kiruna, Sweden and Sitka, Alaska, exceed Juneau’s 3,248 square miles. Today Juneau is famous not only for gold and government but also for its breathtakingly beautiful glaciers and stunning views of both water and mountains.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 

Day 8 – Ketchikan

Ketchikan is known as Alaska’s “First City” because it’s the first major community travelers come to as they journey north. Located on an island, Ketchikan began life as an Indian fishing camp. The name Ketchikan comes from a Tlingit phrase that means “eagle with spread-out wings,” a reference to a waterfall near town. In the early 1900s, when gold was Alaska’s claim to fame, fishing and timber industries were established in Ketchikan. The growth of these industries helped make this Inside Passage port Alaska’s fourth-largest city. Visitors to Ketchikan will be intrigued by its rich Native heritage, which includes the world’s oldest collection of totem poles at Totem Heritage Center. The Haida, Tlingit and Tsimshian are all a part of the city’s colorful history. Ketchikan, with its abundance of salmon, is also a sport fishing paradise. Sightseers will be impressed with both the scenic town and its surroundings, especially Misty Fjords National Monument

Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 

Day 9 – Cruising the Inside Passage

At Sea today to enjoy the breathtaking scenery and the luxurious ship with all its amenities!

Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 

Day 10 – Vancouver, BC (Disembark Ship)

This morning we say goodbye to our floating luxury home and make our way to the airport for our flight home. Enjoy the company of our traveling friends as we reminisce about the amazing Alaska we just experienced together!

Included Meals: Breakfast 

It seems unlikely that a character named “Gassy Jack” Deighton would be responsible for one of the most beautiful cities on the continent. But that’s history for you. During the gold rush, Gassy Jack saw a chance to make money from the hordes of miners on their way to the Yukon. The saloon he built became the focus of the shanty town known as Gas Town. From that ragtag group of shacks, modern Vancouver was born. The provincial government persuaded settlers to change the name of the town to Vancouver, after Captain George Vancouver, who sailed the region’s waters in 1792. Canada’s third-largest city, Vancouver is a cosmopolitan place with a European feel and a personality all its own. It’s a community with a rich ethnic mix – including the second-largest Chinatown in North America – and stunningly beautiful parks.