Alaska

America’s last frontier, Alaska, draws hundreds of visitors to its rugged, unconquered beauty, from its snow-capped mountains and clear-water glaciers to its evergreen forests and sparkling lakes; its midnight sun and harsh, barren cold to the contrasting warmth of its people and the unifying spirit of friendliness and comraderie in the long days of darkness.

It may not exactly be the urban center of the world or an ideal place for city lovers, but for the daring, free-spirited, and adventurous who love the outdoors and love untouched beauty, Alaska is an untapped source of natural wonder.

The capital of Juneau is amazingly small and not the most accessible of cities, but its seclusion keeps secret a subtle and splendid beauty, with its picture-pretty skyline, a surrounding network of walking and hiking paths along its mountains and several nearby National Parks.

Sure, there are plenty of things to do and look at across the land itself, but one of the biggest draws to Alaska, and more specifically its city of Fairbanks, is up in the sky. The almost eerie Aurora Borealis, more commonly known as the Northern Lights, can be viewed here, seen best on cold winter nights.

The one thing that even remotely approaches a big city in Alaska is Anchorage, replete with your typical big stores like Wal-Mart and Computer City. Many of Anchorage’s sights are accessible by foot, including indigenous arts and crafts, parks, monuments, and, of course, the Alaskan wilderness always at your door, such as Kenai Fjords National Park in the Kenai Peninsula south of the city. But these images can quickly become disconcerting when some of Alaska’s more wild residents stroll around the neighborhood such as black bears, wolves, and moose.

One thing Alaska isn't short on are parks. Glacier Bay National Park is one of its better known ones, attractive for its sixteen glaciers spilling out from the steep fjords to dot the surrounding sea with all kinds of colorful icebergs - a sure treat for kayaking enthusiasts. Wildlife abounds here, including seals, humpback whales, bears, moose, sea otters, and over 200 species of birds.

Denali National Park is well-known 6 million acre sub-arctic park in Alaska. This sprawling park also contains Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in North America at a towering 20,320 feet high. Within the park you can camp, hike, backpack, mountain bike, or engage in white-water rafting.