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Savage River hike -- This one-mile hike along the Savage River as it rushes through a canyon is a beautiful introduction to the outdoors of Denali National Park. The trail head is at the Savage River bridge, 15 miles in on the paved park road and as far as individual drivers can go without a campground permit. Parking is free, and there's also a shuttle bus. The trail is dirt with rocks jutting up, so pay attention to where you step. A wooded bridge crosses the river downstream, and the loop is completed when you walk across the concrete bridge at the head of the canyon. (February 2011)
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- Best messing-around lake close to Anchorage -- Kepler Lake, part of the Kepler-Bradley collection west of Palmer and a 45-minute drive east (on Alaska 1 north, the Glenn Highway) of Anchorage, has a campground, fishing piers and rowboats and canoes to rent. An RV campground is nearby. (February 2011)
- Denali National Park and Preserve CD -- This CD is all about Denali National Park. It has a wide range of excellent animal and landscape photos, as well as maps and writing that provides perspective on the area's natural and human history. Plus, there are games and a coloring project for kids. It's available online, and you'll be able to buy it at tourism-oriented stores in Alaska in 2011. (February 2011)
- Alaska Soaps -- These handmade, natural soaps smell good and get my hands clean. The owner grows her own herbs for the soaps. They're made in Fairbanks and shipped nationwide. (February 2011)
- Arctic Roadrunner -- My favorite hamburger restaurant overlooks Campbell Creek in Anchorage. The prices are in line with those at other places that sell good-food burgers. The walls and ceiling are covered with framed photos of longtime customes and large maps and fish. It's at International Airport and Old Seward Highway. (February 2011)
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Parks Highway in the fall -- The Parks Highway between Denali National Park and Fairbanks has sweeping vistas of mountain ranges and big rivers, but sometimes the autumn colors keep drivers from seeing the forest for the trees. (August 2011)
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