First Blog on Alaska Travel by a long time Alaskan

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Hi,
This is the first of my blogs on travel to Alaska and I thought I'd start out by explaining why I have chosen to do this.
In talking with friends all over the Lower 48 I have been amazed that people who have gone to Alaska once or maybe twice consider themselves "experts" on Alaska. They'll tell you what the weather is going to be like in June and that the bugs are bad at such and such a time.

The point is that having lived in Alaska for over 35 years I know that you had better not generalize ANY time of year in any one way. I have seen it snow on July 4th and I've played golf in late November.

What I tell folks is this; Don't try to plan your trip around what you think is going to be the best weather! Go when you can spend the most time and go prepared for rain and chilly weather. Murphy's Law goes into immediate effect depending on the clothing and outer wear you bring! If you are prepared completely for rain and wind you'll probably have good weather...

I was talking with a gentleman last week about summer time temps in Anchorage and he told me that he knew what to expect as he had looked up average temps on the web... I told him that just like anywhere else our "official" temperature in Anchorage is taken at the airport. The airport in Anchorage is right on the coast and sticks out into Cook Inlet. I know for a fact that it averages about 10 degrees colder there than it did at our house a mile or so inland and a little higher up. If you are going to go and spend two weeks at the Anchorage airport this would be very valuable information, but if you're going to go anywhere else forget the "averages"!

That's all for now, but please do check back and feel free to ask any and all questions. If I don't know the answers outright I have 35 years worth of friends and family to get the right answer for you!

AlaskaExpert

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