Dreams of dog sledding next year will have to suffice.
As athletes at the Division III gymnastics team deal with the sudden and abrupt announcement that their season in over, the coach encouraged the team to focus on their sudden off season conditioning and their anticipated trip to Alaska next winter. And while all of the girls and their families are disappointed that this season ended without getting to compete in their final regular season meet, their conference championships, and their national tournament, next year’s schedule is full of many opportunities.
The team has taken dog sledding tours before, as well as other sightseeing options like visiting the glaciers when they have traveled north for a two meet weekend. Competing once on Friday and again on Sunday, the team has all of Saturday to visit the sites. In addition, if next year’s trip is anything like previous trips to Alaska, the team has also been able to spend part of Mardi Gras break getting in a few extra days of tourist activities.
Alaska Is the Vacation Spot that Many People Have on Their Bucket Lists
When was the last time that you were able to take a family vacation. Knowing that you are going to be the person who has to make the reservations for your family’s or team’s trip to a great place like Alaska means that you need to start your planning as early as possible. The most popular activities like dog sledding, float plane flightseeing adventures, and glacier cruises are going to fill up fast no matter what time of year it is so getting the chance to secure these spots often requires early reservations, as well as early payments. The advantage, of course, is that you are often able to get a head start on the budgeting for a major trip if you pay some of the fees months in advance.
Glacier flights and other flightseeing Alaska options are worth the investment, especially when you get the first pick the times and locations that you want. Tours by dogsled are especially popular the days before, during, and after the famous Iditarod. Known as the last great race on earth, the Iditarod takes place in the month or March with a full range of options for far less serious dog sledding options that are often available on small areas where you can get plenty of pictures of a sport that is unique to this state and this season.
In addition to this popular option, of course, there are also many other great reasons to visit the largest state in the nation. If, for instance, you are excited about seeing animals in their natural habitat then you will enjoy the opportunity to look for the more than 900,000 caribou that roam in 32 herds across Alaska’s vast tundra landscapes while you are on a flight of a lifetime. In addition, you can also search for the estimated that 100,000 black bears live in Alaska. And a bird that may be the most easy to find by simply driving near large dumps, you will surely find one of the 30,000 national birds, the American bald eagles, that are abundant in Alaska. More than you can see in any other place in the U.S. these majestic birds are commonly found along even the more busy roadways in the more populated areas.
Not surprising, Alaska hosted 1.93 million visitors in the year 2017, a number which represents a 4% increase over the year 2016. In fact, since 2010’s recession attributed slump of 1.53 million visitors, Alaska has seen tourism rates increase as much as 26%.
From Athletic teams that are traveling to compete in one of the most beautiful spots in the nation to a group of friends who want to go on a professionally guided fishing or hunting trip, there are few places that can compete with the state of Alaska. The weeks leading up to the first day of Spring in 2020 may be disappointing to many, but these days off can provide the perfect opportunity to plan for the best vacation in the future.
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