Denali Park now charging "per visitor" instead of "per vehicle"

It will now cost you more to enter Denali National Park. Then again, maybe it will cost you less. Or maybe it will cost the same. How's that for confusing? Well, it's really not THAT complicated.

As of last Sunday, the park is now charging $10 per person to enter the park instead of $20 per vehicle. So for visitors who arrive alone the cost will be half of what it is was. For couples, it will remain the same. But for families and other visitors with passengers aged 16 and up, it will cost more, perhaps a lot more.

The per vehicle fee was changed because the park does not collect the fee at an entrance station like most national parks. Most entrance fees are collected when visitors make their bus and campsite reservations. Others voluntarily pay at the Denali Visitor Center or Murie Science and Learning Center.

The park will continue to honor the Interagency (IA) Federal Recreational Passes such as the Annual, Senior, and Access Pass, and the Denali Annual Pass. These passes all provide entry for the cardholder and up to three other adults, and they are all sold year-round at Denali National Park.

Latest camp hosting positions in Alaska State Parks

Thinking about visiting Alaska with your RV? If you'd like to spend some of your time in one place, consider working as a camp host in an Alaska State Park. Here's the latest update of available positions (and there are still plenty of opportunities). Click here.

The stars have aligned for aurora viewing in 2012

Scientists are predicting an increase in sunspot activity this winter and continuing into 2013, and this means more active, colorful aurora during the normal viewing season. Some sources are forecasting that 2012 could see the most vibrant display in 50 years. Due to northern Alaska’s location in the auroral zone and with so many viewing options — from evening dog sled rides and snowshoe hikes to Arctic Circle expeditions, remote lodges or natural hot springs — Alaska travelers will likely have a front row seat for viewing the northern lights.

Alaska’s peak aurora season extends from late August to late April, though sightings can occur all year. Many hotels in Alaska offer aurora wake-up calls, and travelers can always check the online aurora forecast in advance of their trip at www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast.

RVs and historic military vehicles to convoy Alaska Highway

This will likely be a familiar scene in campgrounds

Nearly 100 historic military vehicles are registered for a convoy that will drive the Alaska Highway beginning in early August, 2012. The event is sponsored by the Military Vehicle Preservation Association (MVPA) which is honoring the 70th anniversary of the building of the Alaska Highway by traveling it in historic military vehicles.

Association members will accompany the convoy in their RVs, which will serve as support vehicles. Most overnight stops will be in campgrounds along the route.

Other highways to be traveled include the Campbell Highway, the Top of the World Highway/Taylor Highway, and the Hatcher Pass and the Denali Highways.

The convoy will launch from Dawson Creek, British Columbia on August 4, 2012 and travel approximately 4,100 miles in 27 days, returning to Dawson Creek on August 30.

Military vehicles were the backbone of the Alaska Highway construction project. Building the road would not have been possible without more than 7,000 pieces of military equipment.

“This will be a convoy of historic military vehicles of all eras, from WWI through current-issue,” said Convoy Commander Terry Shelswell. “The military vehicles are privately-owned and restored by individuals who have an interest in preserving these vehicles and the important roles they played throughout our military history."

The non-profit MVPA mission is "to provide an international organization for military vehicle enthusiasts, historians, preservationists and collectors interested in the acquisition, restoration, preservation, safe operation and public education of historic military transport." It has more than 9,000 members throughout the world.

To learn more about the convoy visit the MVPA website.

Digging for clams near Homer then cooking them for dinner

From Homer, RVer Jerry X Shea hopped aboard a water taxi to a lagoon popular with clam diggers. In this three-minute video he shows where to find the clams, how to dig them up from the beach, and which ones are legal. Then, after the short water taxi ride back to Homer, Jerry prepares a clam linguine feast at the campground. If you're hungry, watching this will make you hungrier.

Alaska State Parks: Scenery, history, wildlife. . . and poems

Travelers visiting Alaska’s state parks can enjoy more than just scenery and wildlife through a new program called Poems in Place. Supported by a partnership between the Alaska State Council on the Arts, Alaska State Parks and the Alaska Center for the Book, the program places signs throughout Alaska’s state parks displaying poems by contemporary Alaskan poets.

The first sign was erected last spring at Beluga Point in Chugach State Park featuring a poem by Kim Cornwall called, “What Whales and Infants Know.” At least seven more poems will be installed in the next couple years. Officials hope to expand the program to include an artists-in-residence program and other activities in communities near the parks.

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