Here There and Everywhere

Alaska 2026: Aftermath – You Can Do This

We wanted to do this ourselves, and we did it. We’ve done it before.

Alaska is a US state. Delta, American, Alaskan Airlines all fly to Alaska. People speak English. All the usual car rental agencies are there, and they speak English, and they share American culture. My friends, Alaska is doable.

When we go to Alaska, people assume we are cruising. No. We can do this on our own, and we love it! We can choose our own adventures, how much or how little time to spend at each spot, the people we will spend time with, when we will get up, when and what we will eat – we love having this control. Alaska is easy.

The drawbacks – yeh, well there is the suitcase drag, packing and packing again. There is the drive time, although Alaskan scenery is so compelling and varied that drive time kind of passes magically by. There is the energy expenditure, when you choose your own adventure, but it is balanced by being able to schedule your own nap time, meals, bed time and bathroom breaks.

Next time, we will probably skip Denali. It was a lot fun, and once, for us, was enough. We might go back and do the Alaska Maritime Highway Ferry from Juneau, all the way down to Dutch Harbor, and we will probably schedule longer stays in Seward and Homer, because they are so interesting and so walkable, with so many things to do and see, and such comfortable lodgings.

Traveling this way takes more planning, and it also gives you more options to customize your tour so that you experience what YOU want to get out of your time in Alaska.

I grew up in Alaska, so you might look for different experiences. For me, one of the most wonderful experiences happens every two years, in Juneau, usually around the first week in June. Sponsored by Sealaska Heritage Institute, it is called The Celebration.

Here is what their home page says:

In 1982, the fledgling Native nonprofit Sealaska Heritage Institute held a dance-and-culture festival to celebrate the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. At the time, Native people were emerging from a long period of cultural oppression by Westerners, and they worried that young people weren’t learning their ancient songs and dances. A couple of hundred Native people gathered in Juneau for the event, called Celebration. They could not have imagined then that Celebration would spark a movement across the region — a renaissance of Native culture that prompted people largely unfamiliar with their heritage to learn their ancestral songs and dances and to make regalia for future Celebrations. 

Today, Celebration is one of the largest cultural events in the state, drawing thousands of people to the four-day festival. It is the largest gathering of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people in the world. It has grown to include associated events, including a Juried Art Show and Competition, a Juried Youth Art Exhibit, a Toddler Regalia Review, an Indigenous Fashion Show, a Native Artist Market, and Native food contests. The biennial event is schedule in early June every even year in Juneau. Everyone is welcome to attend.

We attended in 2014. Many of my Juneau friends didn’t even know it was happening! It was amazing and joyful. My favorite part was the parade when all the clans, in their beautiful handmade costumes, paraded down the main street of Juneau. It is something rare and beautiful, something wonderful to see.

July 2, 2026 - Posted by intlxpatr | Alaska, Arts & Handicrafts, Cultural, Travel | Alaska, Alaska Ferries, Alaska Maritime Highway System, Juneau, Sealaska Heritage Institute, The Celebration