Jennie and Jay debrief the first Alaska Uncovered Community Tour

Jennie and Jay sit down to share their reflections on Authentic Alaska - the first annual Alaska Uncovered Podcast Community Tour last month as well as a few changes to the 2027 tour.

Come to Glacier Bay and Juneau with us in 2027!

Transcript

 Welcome to the Alaska Uncovered Podcast with me, your host, Jennie Thwing Flaming, my occasional co-host and full-time husband, Jay, and I bring you accurate, helpful, and entertaining information about Alaska Travel and life in Alaska. 📍 Before we get into today's episode, Jay and I are talking about the first ever Alaska Uncovered community group tour that we did in June, and that's the topic of this episode, reporting back a bit about that. But I also wanted to tell you that we made a few changes to next year's tour based on our experience with this one, which we talk about later in the episode. But for right now, the headline is, if you think you'd like to come with us next year to Glacier Bay and Juneau, we made the trip one day shorter, and that allowed it to be less expensive, partly because accommodations are the biggest expense in Alaska, but also because we changed an activity. And there was an included activity that was at kind of a high price point that for various reasons, even though it's awesome, we decided to remove from the tour. So if you're interested in coming, check it out. I'll put the link in the show notes to the page on my website that has all the details, which is the best way to learn about it. All right, enjoy the show Hello Hello. How's it going, Jay? It is good. Yes, same. Today we're talking about our tour that we did with folks from this podcast community at the beginning of June. Now that I'm back home after the tour I did after that, and we had a chance to, like, debrief a little bit. So I'm excited about sharing it with everybody Yeah, it was great. I'm, uh, you know, too bad that the, you know, thousand and more people, uh, from the podcast couldn't all go in one giant van load of people. That would've been great. You No a thousand people won't fit in a van, right, Jay? You know, need a bigger van But it was great to share it with, with a, uh, small democratic representative sample of our listeners Yes, absolutely. It was really fun. Yeah. So let's, let's just share with everybody, and, and we've got a couple updates at the end of the episode about next year's tour, 'cause we did make a few changes based on our experience this year, which,, is exciting. Let's start off with, like, where we went, just kind of big picture, and then we can talk about, like, the group a little bit and things that we thought were great and less great and all of that we started off with a road trip from Anchorage down to Homer, and we stayed overnight on the way down there. Yeah, yeah. and then we went out to Snug Harbor Outpost, um, Lake Clark National Park for bear viewing, and then we drove back up , to Blue Water Base Camp, which was a really awesome place to be chill for a day and get outside and not be in the car or on a boat or, you know, it was a nice... down day in the middle of the trip. And then we went up to Talkeetna, and then on the last night we flew up and landed in Denali National Park on the glacier. So that was pretty, a pretty awesome way to wrap things up. Yeah, it was a good, good to finish on a, on a s- quote, "high note." Yes, it was indeed quite a high note. What, 7,000 feet? Is that where we I think it was 6,600, something like that. And we got stuck in the snow, which was super funny The first time I've been stuck in the snow in an airplane or stuck in the snow in June, Right both of those were new for me. And, and spoiler, it wasn't a big deal. We got out very quickly totally wasn't. Our pilot was amazing, She was just like, just backed us out of there. But it was pretty funny. She was like, "We're stuck in the snow. Give me just a minute." And you know, it's one of many times in my life when I've had to get out of a vehicle 'cause we were stuck, and this time I didn't have to push. Yes, I know. Nobody had to push in this case it was mostly to get my weight out of the vehicle, well, not ballast. were 10 of us in the plane. That's true. That's true it down to just our pilot, and then it was no It was fine, yeah that it really was, such a cool way to, to end with that flight. That was really cool. Well, rewinding, drove back to Anchorage rewinding back to the beginning, I thought it was really interesting how different all the places that we stayed were, and they were all deeply Alaskan in their own way Yeah, I agree with that. But say more about that, Jay, because some of the places we went were new for you Oh yeah, and, and that's one thing. So, you know, sometimes co-host here, I am, have not spent that much time comparatively in the Anchorage and Kenai Peninsula area. Mostly just with my own friends and stuff down there, not s- And I haven't done much professionally there, uh, except a couple of, like, midnight runs to bring a bus down to someone who had broken down. Right that one, sidetrack here, but Jennie and I once drove a group, was it fifth graders, to Seward in the winter? Yeah. That was hilarious. but Was it? Well, it, well, yeah, we had to, we had to turn back because of the snow, and then, stuck in the and then had to chain up and drive, uh, the whole day and, you know, with chains on. But anyway, so other than that, I haven't done much professional work down there. So it was really fun to see it, , through your lens of experience, I haven't had many opportunities to be on tour in June in, in Kenai, so that's cool. I think, um, so the first place we stayed, the, uh, the Copper Whale in Anchorage, is a really cool little boutique hotel right in the heart of downtown. And then we spent the night in some brand-new cabins in Yeah. Soldotna. Uh, Kenai Adventure Cabins, yeah. And wow, what a... That is something that, that, that area has needed for a long time. They're, basic, wood cabins. Inside they have, they have bunk beds and, and they have, um, a heater and a refrigerator and a table. And they're individual cabins in a, in the middle of a birch forest. They were really cool. The shower and the kitchen, all that was in a central location, , most other folks who were there were either t- were guiding fish. I mean, several of our neighbors were fishing guides, Yeah Yeah And, and then to fly into Snug Harbor, which is just epic, just an incredible place to stay. Simple, but luxuriously handled. I don't know how to describe it. It's Yeah I've never seen anywhere like it before. Really cool Yeah, it's an am- it's an amazing place, and, and getting to know them and, like, the incredible seasonal folks they hire to help out, you know, it's the Porters that, that run it, who Mm-hmm. who've listened to the podcast for a while know the Porter family., And they do such an amazing job of bringing in folks to help them during the summer, and it's just such an incredible experience. I, I'm so glad that you got to experience it, Jay, along with, um, all of our guests. I mean, that was definitely a highlight for people and Well, I think, Yeah I think the challenge was that y- was getting me to leave. Yeah, it was. Yeah. The, also Willie, yep Uh, just I could have talked to him for days about stories about old fishing days in Alaska. He took a small boat that they bought in Texas and drove it around through the Panama Canal up to bring it up and use it in, in the Cook Inlet. I mean, just amazing stories. Worth it all on its own just to talk to him. Yeah, definitely the incredible bear viewing. I've never been able to view bears like that, so up close, uh, in a safe way. Yeah You know, in the places where I've been mostly, you can't possibly get that close to, to bears, Yeah you know, for safety reasons. And so it was really cool to be able to, to see it in that environment, and they're great guides, and they know their bears and their location really well, and I thought absolutely cool. And the food was amazing. I couldn't believe that those folks were able to, in a, you know, what feels like a pretty remote place, put together some place, amazing food Yeah. And especially, you know, we had some folks in our group that had some, um, diet restrictions that they did an amazing job with And in Alaska, you know, diet restrictions take some more effort sometimes. And, Yep um, shout out Pastry Chef in Alaska. That's all I... she was She is amazing. All of them were amazing. Um, lots of fun. Uh, Mariah did a really good job of finding fun employees to be there for the summer. They were really... Yeah, I, I enjoyed all the, all the people I met there, every single one of them was a And everyone, everyone in our group loved Snug Harbor. Everything from the experience of being there to the bear viewing to all of that. Um, I Oh yeah, and just the flight, the flight over from Homer, incredibly scenic. A sh- a short flight, but incredibly scenic. Really beautiful and a great way to arrive. You know, I, my, I was in a second plane coming in, and we circled and landed, and as, you know, we're taxiing up to this 100-year-old fishing c- cannery, and there are, there you guys all were on the beach, you know, on, on the gravel. Yeah, it was fun W- it was so awesome to arrive. I felt so, like, I don't know, I was so excited to get there. One of the m- most excited I've ever been to get to a place, and, and yeah that really cool fire pit out there by the beach too, Oh, yeah. Again, I think I could have spent another two weeks just, like, s- easily. sit- sitting by that fireplace and staring at the incredible mountains of Lake Clark. And yeah, really amazing And you know, we've talked many times on the podcast before about Lake Clark National Park, and I've talked about how it's one of my two favorite parks in Alaska, along with Glacier Bay, and it's just such a wonderful remote with such amazing bear viewing, and I just feel like you can't beat Snug Harbor for, for Oh, yeah. that Well, and did I, I don't even... Did I tell you that when we were there, that was my first time in Lake Clark? I, I knew that, yeah, but our listeners probably didn't know Yeah, which is weird because I spent almost, you know, 20 years working in, in and around national parks in Alaska, and if that tells you that Lake Clark is not on the beaten path, that's true. I mean, I've been to Yeah Gates and Kobuk Valley, but Yukon Char- Yukon Charlie, but not, uh, but not Lake Clark. So, Yeah know, it's, there's no roads to it and, you know, it's, it was, um, it was a really cool way to get to, to, to see a park. And I, I didn't even realize I hadn't been there until we arrived, and was like, "Oh, wait. Huh. I guess I've never been here." Yeah, yeah. Cool, so then sadly we had to leave Snug Harbor, but that was okay 'cause we went to some other Mm-hmm. cool places. So we had our big driving day up Mm-hmm. Eklutna, and then we went up to Talkeetna. So, one of the things that I thought was really interesting that our guests kind of reported back... And by the way, we did let our guests know that it's a standing offer to come on the pod and talk about their experience, but we really don't want people coming on our tour to feel like they have to do that, we got lots of feedback with them and are sharing our reflections, but we didn't want them to feel pressured into, okay, so what about, what about Blue Water Base Camp in Talkeetna? Jay, do you wanna share anything about that? Oh, well, one thing that we just got lucky, I would just point out that it was pretty cool. We really only had rain when we were on driving days, which, you know, the, the weather is what the weather is, and in Alaska in particular, uh, you know, you, you can't let worrying about weather get in your way. Uh, but you know, we were... You can appreciate it when it works out well, I guess, Yeah. that was pretty awesome. Our drive up, Oh, go ahead our drive up to Eklutna, uh, we ran through a, a number of storms that were, uh, I mean, kind of interesting and, and dramatic, and because we were driving it wasn't a big deal. That was great So it'd, like, be sunny and then pour down Yeah. Yeah. minutes and Yeah. sunny Yeah. Yeah, exactly you know, it rained when we were, on the first day when we were having lunch at Portage Lake, Yes then ironically it rained when we were on the glacier in Denali National Park. Just one more Oh, I forg- I forgot that . Yeah. Yeah, it was raining." Yeah um, you know, it's funny because there was... I can tell you that when you're on a- when you fly over that landscape, even if it's cloudy, even if it's raining, and you land on the glacier, there's nobody who was like, "Oh, I'm bummed it's raining." I, I didn't even really notice it was raining, d- honest. Yeah. Anyway, so yeah, Eklutna, it was also great. We had a lot of mosquitoes in the bear viewing days, but you know, it would be like, we'd go to shore to look at bears, and there'd be some mosquitoes, then we'd get back on the boat. Uh, so w- it wasn't too bad at all. You know, you could manage it with... And, um, Eklutna was the first time we s- we ran into, to mosquitoes much at all. But they have a really great facility and a- again, we were in individual cabins At Blue Water Blue Water. Yeah, at Blue Water in Eklutna. a great place And, um, I thought it was really well set up Yeah to be an Alaska summer thing. Like, there were some mosquitoes. They weren't too bad. Yeah have done a lot of work at managing them on the property. Uh, we all had our little bit of our own space in our cabins, and so it was nice to be able to, relax a little bit. And then we had, we went down to the, to the lake, w- uh, Eklutna Lake, which is a glacially fed lake that is also the water supply for the City of Anchorage. So if you want a bottle of glacier water, you can just fill it from a tap in Anchorage. Um, and, uh, f- some folks, I think everyone ended up going... Well, a couple folks went kayaking, and some folks went hiking Yep around it r- And I hung around in the parking lot to take people back and forth to the cabins if they wanted to. I'd never been to Eklutna either. It's kind of off on a, a, a f- even though it's fairly close to Anchorage, it's off on a side road, and it does not feel close to Anchorage Yeah. It's very popular with people in Anchorage, which is why I've been there, because I've spent a lot more time in Anchorage 'cause of Mm-hmm. my It's definitely a locals place. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then, um, another thing that several of our guests mentioned was how much they loved our visit to Palmer and, and didn't, like, know anything about Palmer before. So on the way up to Oh, it's... Just interrupting for a moment. That day ended up being amazing for food, and one of them was the staff at, uh, Blue Water Base Camp that they had doing food. Great. Love those guys. If you're staying there, And you, yeah get the, the breakfast and If, yeah, it's an optional thing, but if, if you're there, I would highly recommend it. They were great. They did a great job. Really fun people, too. Yeah Yeah, really enjoyed that. So that was a, that was a huge plus. And then we go to Palmer for the food tour, and had another great food experience Yeah, definitely. And, um, and also e- everyone got to, like, learn a little bit about Palmer and the Matanuska Valley Colony, which is, Mm-hmm not something that we're gonna get into in this episode, but it was a super, it was super interesting in Something I've been fascinated with m- m- my whole life since, since in college I wr- I wrote some papers about Alaska homesteading, and Palmer was the site of a, , attempt to, to build farming in Alaska during the Great Depression. So a really interesting history there with food. And we did a, we did a foraging walk, which was... I'd never done that before, I guess. Well, like, like a f- like with a, with a, you know, a plant expert and walk around the forest and s- Yeah uh, it was very cool And there, by the way, listeners and Jay, I don't, I feel like we didn't talk about this either. There are a lot of companies that do hiking tours in Alaska that have gotten more into these foraging walks as Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. several folks who've been on the podcast. I know, um, Northern Epics in Denali does that. Mm-hmm. Um, and we went with Revel Treks and Tours in Palmer. But there are... Th- that's a great way to get an affordable tour that you really get to learn from an expert and Well your walks in the woods differently Absolutely. And that was what I... You know, I have never had the opportunity to be on one of those before, and I'm stoked because I've always liked the idea. And I really think there's a couple of... One of the great things about it is I really love when people can engage more with the outdoors, not just use it as a gym, you know, not... Which is fine, but, but just, like, see more around them and stuff. And, and man, you... I'm a person who's spent my whole life being that way. I'm always stopping and looking at a plant and looking at the bug on the underside of the leaf and whatever. I mean, I'm a meandering guy anyway. And this is a place, an environment I've lived in for, you know, a long time, and I still learned so much on that, on that trip in, like, an hour. Yeah. Uh, and so it was very cool. I also think that it levels a group hiking experience because you're moving, you know, from thing to thing. Yeah so it's more accessible to people of varying levels and still have this, this shared experience together. And I... Anyway, great idea. I'm really glad that that's a thing that's taking off Yes, me too. And I will say, listeners, if you're considering a hiking tour, if you... Hiking tours are awesome, but if you are someone who wants to cover as many miles as possible as fast as possible, um, you definitely wanna book a private hiking Yes part of the thing that is really cool about hiking tours is moving at a slower pace and getting to learn about the natural history. I mean, that's part of what makes them so special. There are other benefits too that we've talked about in other Mm-hmm. Um, but I would just say that as a note. If you wanna go as fa- or you're a trail runner or something like that, well, if Mm-hmm. there- I'm not aware of any trail running tours in Alaska. There might be, but I don't know of any. I know someone, yeah, I know someone who does them as a one-on-one. You know, will take you trail running, but I, I think it's a private, you know, private tour you're wanting to, to cover a lot of ground as fast as possible on a, as hard a hike as possible, that's a, Yeah. Yeah. what you want for that. Yeah Okay, cool. So yeah, that was an awesome day. We had an amazing lunch at Moonstone Farm, which is Yeah. farms in Palmer. Private chef cooked meal on, fun a, on a deck with a view of the mountains Yep l- local drinks. It was, it was great. it was awesome. And Moonstone did a good job too. It was really fun to see this 100-year-old farm. You know, not a big part of the Alaska story about farming and how people get food in Alaska and have through time is really I mean, it's a central story and, and key to understanding Alaska is to understand the challenges and opportunities that come there for food, and I thought that was, it was really interesting. It was a ... And the lunch was just a delicious lunch, period, it aside from anything else. Yeah, yeah. So then we got up to Talkeetna, and we stayed at Talkeetna, um, Denali View Lodge, which is... Stayed with Dawn. She's also been on the podcast twice. Mm-hmm. and A great host. Dawn is amazing host she's awesome. She made us a great breakfast every morning, and we also got to her really amazing deck. There is an epic view of Denali and also Mount Foraker and Mount Hunter, which are the two Yeah, the, the three. lower. Um, we saw one of the best sunsets at midnight Yeah. I mean, seen it's certainly, certainly lived up to the name Yeah, for sure. I mean, it just, it was perfectly clear, which you probably know doesn't happen super often, including the next day. Um, it was funny when we got there, we told everybody, like, immediately go onto the deck and look at the view Yeah, right. Yeah, 'cause the, yeah, the w- there till the next morning, but it was the window might close any minute. Yeah, yeah she has an awesome hot tub and, um, I was the only one who... the mosquitoes were pretty intense when we were there, and I just wanted to mention, 'cause this is, other than weather, bugs and weather are things people ask me a lot of questions about that I can't answer. Like, will there be bugs? Will it rain? Will the mosquitoes be bad in this location on this day? Will they bite me on my face? just to illustrate that point, when we were there, the mosquitoes were pretty intense. I was there on almost the exact same day last year in June, and there were no bugs at all, Yep So sometimes they're terrible, sometimes they're not an issue. If you're in Alaska between May and August, you have to prepare. And, Yeah know, it was great. Like, I had my he- I, I felt like everyone did such a great job with bugs everywhere we encountered them Mm-hmm And I thought it was funny that, like, one of our guests, she, um, you know, on, she had been standing on the deck of a, of the boat at Snug Harbor when we were out bear viewing for, I don't know, like, two hours with her rain gear and her head net and her gardening gloves. she was like, "Jennie, bu- " And she's someone who was really, really stressed out about bugs before the trip, like me. She's someone who has a pretty reaction to them. I mean, hers, like s- she told me, like, they swell up huge. And as you Mm-hmm. happens to Yeah And so it helps me to take allergy medication, but that doesn't work for everybody. And I'm not a doctor, so that was not medical advice, just my experience. Anyway, so she was like, she was like, "Look at me, Jennie. I'm surrounded by clouds of mosquitoes, and I'm happy 'cause I listened to your packing advice and I'm wearing my rain gear and my head net and my, uh, gardening gloves and that be a lesson to you, listener. was, it was awesome. It the key to happiness is to listen to Jennie's advice That's not maybe always true, but when it comes to dressing for bugs, it definitely is. It kind of is. you know, wearing that outfit is miserable if it's, like, 80 degrees. Right It was, like, 55 degrees, so Right But, you know, if you're hiking or, and you're hiking uphill, or if it's hot, you know, then it sucks. But hopefully it's not. Mm-hmm. anything else you wanna share? But so that was pretty cool. You know, whenever you flightseeing, there's always a chance it won't happen because of the weather. There were a lot of clouds and like I said, when we got up there, it was raining, we were able to do our flight no problem. Um, and, you know, it was still awesome even Yeah wasn't perfect. So I think that's another... I was really glad, you know, that everybody got to land in Denali National Park, because if we hadn't been able to do the landing, um, people would have seen Denali and still had an amazing experience, but wouldn't have technically been in the park Yeah, it was a nice way to cap it. Yeah would say also just rounding up the thing I was saying about the whole Alaska experience of, of lodging that, that in Talkeetna the t- the, the view, um, almost distracted from the fact this is a very classically beautiful Alaskan home in a Alaska style of, uh, I don't know how to describe it. Just sort of, it felt very much like visiting one of my Alaskan friend's homes, Yeah. I don't know. Uh, so the view was amazing, but also the, the lodge itself was just really welcoming and homey feeling, and for me it felt like, you know, staying at a friend's home Yep in a really wonderful way. Um, yeah, so th- I had not also not seen the operation of, uh, air charter stuff out of Talkeetna, so that was I've done a lot of bush flight, but not, I'd never seen an operation like they have there at K2. It's really well-oiled to go up on the mountain. I mean, really amazingly put together I thought Yep. Yeah. K2 is amazing. They do a great job. Yeah Yeah, they, really well-managed company, I think. And again, all the employees I met, super nice people. Yep. Loved our pilot. She was great. Yep And I mean, really, you know, and, and our weather was touch and go the whole time. Yo And You mean the whole time, not the whole tri- You No, sorry, sorry. Of, of our flight. Yeah, Yeah. Like, touch and go about being able to, to, to go to the glacier to land, Yep it happened. Uh, we thought we were gonna have to take off immediately 'cause the clouds rolled in fast. If you haven't seen glacial mountain weather, it changes really quickly. Yeah. And so there was a for that. They Mm-hmm, absolutely. that we're gonna land and Mm-hmm. to take right off again." So we all, like, piled back into the plane to take off, and then it cleared up again, and then we got to spend more time. And it was yeah gift, 'cause I was fine with having to take right off again, and then, and then we got some extra time. And, um, I just thought they managed that very well as well. Just a great ... I would 100% back that as a, as a good experience for anybody, uh, to go on, on a K2 flight Yeah, definitely. And in case there's anyone who doesn't know this yet, um, if you want to do any flight with K2, um, in Denali, they do the ones with glacier landings, they do longer flights and shorter flights over the park from Talkeetna, you can save 10% by using our code, which is Alaska Uncovered. So, uh, didn't wanna forget No, don't forget that that. And also, oh, one other thing too, um, for Blue Water Base Camp that we talked about that we stayed at in Eklutna, you can save, um, 5% staying there. There's not a code, it's just a link that you use, so I'll put it in the show notes Mm-hmm. everyone knows about that. Mm-hmm. Overall it was so fun doing this with you. I really enjoyed that. It was fun to like have our guests see us doing it together. I thought that was really cool. I, you know, you know before we planned this trip that I am not a fan of driving people on tour. Mm-hmm. and this kinda reconfirmed that for me. Even though the tour was wonderful, I think in the future,, for the tours that we lead, not that there would necessarily be no driving, but I I think we would change this up a little bit. Mm-hmm. and we'll talk about in the future ways we've talked about doing that It's a tricky thing. You know, the driving, the alternative to driving is either to not move or to go by boat or plane, and those are more expensive. So it's a tricky thing to challenge, to- a challenge to, to dial in. is, yeah. The long driving days, I think part of it's just, you know, we've both done a lot of long driving days in our lives, and I, I don't know, they're a grind. So I'd like to do less of that for sure They are, and I should say that what Jay and are describing as a long driving day is a lot less than what many Oh, yes, absolutely. Yes it's just a h- it's just not my favorite way to spend Mm-hmm. day. I mean, I love doing like road trips with you, Mm-hmm. love in my job as a tour director I'm working with a driver and, um, that is awesome. But I think when I am driving and Mm-hmm. charge of the logistics, I've done that for many, many years. I hadn't done it for a long time. enjoyed doing it this time but I think in the future, um, we'll do it a little bit differently 'cause I, it seemed like both of us felt that way. Yeah. I think I would, I, I wanna tease out just from something you said there about, uh, one thing is that I think you might need to recalibrate if you are a long road trip driver in the lower 48, you might need to recalibrate, when you get to Alaska. It's one thing to drive on the interstate for a 12-hour day. You know, you stop, you do a roadside, get a burger, fuel up the car, keep going, you know. You m- you will probably find driving in Alaska to be more tiring. It's more work. The roads are more challenging. Stops are not as f- you know, there's not always a stop at the convenient time you want there to be one. And all of that combines, you know, there's, there's a lot of, there can be a lot of traffic to major destinations 'cause there's not a lot of road system. Yep All of that combines, I think, you know, a- as we're always kinda, I feel like we're always beating a bit of a drum on slow down, you know, et cetera. But I think I can certainly put in, I have put in many 16-hour road trip days in my life, and I would prefer to never do that again in Alaska, and we didn't on this trip by any means. One thing that some of our guests talked about really l- loving, like not having to figure out a car and having us drive and all that was Mm-hmm. Yeah before... Oh, one other thing I wanted to just briefly mention was food. So, um You know, that- so f- food is one of the places where you have choices you can make that significantly change the cost of your experience. you know, everyone loved the food at Snug Harbor, and when you're at Snug Harbor, everything, even if you didn't go with Jay and I, if you just went on your own, uh, which you should do 'cause it was awesome, Mm-hmm. You know, everything is included, the flight from Homer, the food, the excursions, where you stay, right? Um, so for the rest of it, everyone loved the meal that we had in Palmer. It was incredible, and it was the most... It was lunch. It was the most expensive meal that we had on the tour, and it was interesting. One of the ways we made up for that was bringing, like, sandwich stuff for lunch on our driving days, which everyone seemed to think was really good, but I just thought it was interesting. You know, this trip cost $8,500 a person, but if we had not done that and we had had, like, catered meals like that for every meal, it would've been, like, 14 or 15,000, Right not a lot you can do to change the cost of transportation and, lodging, and, you know, you have to eat something, but food and tours are places where you have a lot of discretion, and that's gonna really change the price point, not only for our tour, for you planning your own trip. Like, if you did Yes things that we just did, you know, those costs you can't really change. And I feel like it's worth mentioning that the way this works out financially for Jay and I is that we're able to use, , the net that we get, so some things we're able to get a little bit less expensively than you could because I have partnerships with people in the industry and can book things for them, and then also from the economies of scale of having a group, right? So if you were to do this exact same trip that Jay and I did, know, it wouldn't really be less expensive, but you could eat sandwiches for every meal, and then it would be less expensive. You know, or you could drive a Toyota Corolla instead of a Suburban, and that would save a little bit of money. But I think that is something that was interesting for you and I to debrief about and talk about before, and also talk about with our guests, 'cause we're super transparent. We're like, "You know, would you have wanted to pay thousands of dollars more to have, like, more upscale food?" And most people were like, I mean, there are people who would have said yes to that, but the folks that came with us were like, "No, we liked having it at a overall lower price point that was still amazing," Yeah didn't, like- We didn't, we could have, like, really increased the p- the cost and really elevated the food experience. We had this amazing meal in Palmer. We had amazing meals at Snug Harbor. it was just, you know, it was fine, but it wasn't necessarily super exciting other than that, and I thought it was interesting our guests kind of agreed with that. They would prefer to pay a bit less and have some really amazing food, but not have that be the focus. I thought that was interesting, and I guess it makes sense because that's what people are looking for, they would have booked this tour. If they were looking for something different, they would have booked something else. Um, so I thought that was kind of an interesting thing to reflect on and to talk about with Yeah, and I think it's, you know, there's a ... If, if you're a person on any kind of budget at all, which almost all of us are, then I think there's a question about, well, you know, when do you, you know, i- if you can have some sandwiches and that b- brings out so you can have this really amazing lunch, you know? There's sort of a, there's a what matters to you question, I guess, going on. And I thought, I thought we did pretty well with that, and it seemed like the, the guests responded pretty well with that. Yeah It was a little bit, I think it was a little jarring in that, you know, we would go from Snug Harbor with a personal pastry chef, and then we were making sandwiches on the side of the road. You know, a- and that's ... But again, the, to make it all consistent would've been a real challenge. You know, financially it would've just been really, really hard to keep it within any kind of budget, uh, r- for anyone. Yes. So I think that was ... And also, that kind of food isn't really available on Right. the road, so do longer driving days at all Yeah. changed the food situation And I wanna just say, you know, I'm not gonna call anybody out or anything, um, but, but we had some, some, I would say somewhat challenged dining experiences Yeah some restaurants we went to. And I just wanna, like, I'm just gonna just say that that's just kinda part of the Alaska experience in summer. Yep eh, you know, the employees are doing their best with the environment they've got and the,, the resources they've got and they're, they're... You know, you can imagine the challenge of trying to keep a business open in crazy different times of the year, right? You know, really, really busy in the summer, not very busy in the winter, whatever. You know, all those kinds of things. So I have a lot of sympathy. , I am appreciative of the places that, that provided us with food. But I do think there are, you know, at times it was frustrating for, I think, some of our guests on this trip, and they were all good sports about it. Yep But you know, we definitely had some meals that took double the time you would think they should have just to get service and, you know, or weird mix-ups on orders and stuff, and everyone was really game about that. I was so relieved. But also, you know, I think just calling out that that's just also just, you know, you're gonna have to, you gotta expect that. I m- it- it's, you're not wrong to expect good s- you know, to want good service everywhere you go and whatever, but, like, that was part of the experience this time, was it didn't, Yep we didn't necessarily have the greatest dining experiences every time. I think we actually ended up with pretty good food everywhere we went and, We it was slow or, think know- would sum that up by saying our experience was very typical of restaurant dining, um, in Alaska, especially in summer. Not necessarily exclusively in summer. Like No in February, March is similar. Hmm, hmm. people complain a lot about how long... I'm talking about in other contexts, like people who've traveled tell me that, like you read reviews of Alaska restaurants, you'll often see that. Um, people who are on my tour when I'm working for the tour company and they go out and have a meal, I prepare them for that. But still, it, it, um, it takes a really long time to get your food, and so it's just important know that, Yeah eating in a restaurant in Alaska, for anyone really anywhere Yeah, and I think it's a little bit like the weather. You know, t- prepare yourself to not let it ruin your day. Yes, You know? I- totally if you end up spending two and a half hours for a dinner that seems like it should've been 50 minutes, that's just the way it is. I, you know, and, and, uh, if you're not sitting there fretting about it, it'll make the whole experience a lot more Definitely. enjoyable, I think Yep, absolutely. Also, I think another thing that happens a lot is someone, you know, you're getting ready to order and someone will say, "We're out of all these things." Oh pretty typical. always just encourage you to be kind if they're out of Mm-hmm. really wanted, especially if you're somewhere... We didn't go to Denali. I mean, we did, but not to any restaurants in the Mm-hmm. um, on this tour. Man, especially a place like that, Soldotna, places, Seward, places that are small communities with a lot of visitors. Mm-hmm. just And it can be It's really important, and our group was amazing with Mm-hmm. Absolutely. They were super kind and understanding. Jay, is there anything else that you wanted to say about this tour, share with any- everybody before we get to the updates for next year? You know, I, I was pleasantly surprised I thought people were very curious and interested in Alaska beyond the sort of, you know, Instagram photo level, and I really loved their curiosity and interest, and it was really fun to have deeper conversations than I used to be able to have when I was Yeah leading tours. So that was really fun for me. I personally enjoyed seeing you doing your... You know, I, our paths have diverged even though we've were once in tourism together. I haven't been really in tourism except occasionally for quite a while. It was, it was really cool to see you at work. And also, I have to say that I think Alaska has done an amazing job of modernizing its tourism industry. I mean, when I was working in it more regularly, there just weren't so many wonderful small local businesses Yeah and sort of innovative things. Yes I, I mean, all, everywhere we stayed and went was a small business, uh, local, you know, and there just wasn't that much of that stuff back in, like, the '90s. So I think it's really cool. Alaska's put a lot of effort, and I just, I love all of these, I all of these small businesses doing this. They're, they work really hard at making what they do work, and I think it's... I was absolutely impressed. Every single business owner that we worked with on this tour was remarkable, and you did a really good job of finding them. Aw, So yeah. Yeah it's the magic of podcasting. Most folks that we stayed with and went on tours with, maybe not quite all, but most, met because of the podcast. I mean, so- many I've also worked with in, you know, my other job. What you were saying about our wonderful guests? They're people who listen to this podcast, you know? They're ... So they're curious, and they wanna go deeper and learn more. I mean, that's, It's a cool way to s- yeah that's why people listen to podcasts, you know? Like, if you just want a quick, That's right, listener. You are smarter and, and more beautiful than your average person. It's true. We o- we know it true. I take a lot of people to a lot of places in Mm-hmm. and I'm just telling you, like, there is such a difference between people who are really excited about learning more and going deeper, and yes, Mm-hmm. glaciers, seeing wildlife, having these epic experiences. But, you know, to just figure out where to do the same things everybody else is doing, you can just ask an AI for that. You don't, you don't need a podcast. don't recommend it I think, I don't really either, but I mean, that is a way you can find out what everybody else is doing. But that's what's so wonderful about those of you who are in our Patreon community asking me questions all the time, those of you who came on this tour with Jay and I, those of you who listen every week or send me emails., It really, this is what travel's all about is, is people who really are curious about where they're going, wanna learn more about the place, Hmm. people. Um, it And you know, and, was special adventurous in, adventurous in a number of ways. One of them was I thought everyone was kind of socially adventurous. Yeah. They really engaged with the other members of the group. They got to know the folks at the places we stayed too, and I thought that, I think that deepened their experience too, I, I think. Yeah. no question about it. Mm-hmm. So before we wrap up, just wanted to mention a few things about next year's tour, our 2027 Alaska Uncovered Podcast Tour. As you all know, during the summer I am away from home on the road working long days as a guide, I really wanted to not wait until fall like I did this year because I got a lot of emails from people saying, "Oh, I'd love to come on this tour, but it's like way too late for me." so we put together this really amazing itinerary for next year- However, I do wish I'd waited to launch it until after this tour, and I think in the future I will, 'cause it's still 11 months out. But Jay and I talked about a few changes. So it's still gonna be amazing. It's gonna be very different from what we did this year. No road tripping, not covering as much territory. , Jay and I really wanna focus on helping people, one, go deeper with local experiences, and two, visit national parks. So next year it's Glacier Bay National Park and Juneau, and it's gonna be amazing. The change that we made after this tour is made it one day shorter, and we took out one activity that while it's amazing, it's a little, I think the term, Jay, that I used is out of step as Mm-hmm. As the activity level. And while you could do a hike every day on this tour if you want to, we didn't wanna have included activities that were more physically challenging than others. And so because of that, and you can still, I'm happy to set that up for anyone who still wants to do that, like the day after the tour end, tour ends, no problem. But because of that, we were also able to drop the price significantly, because lodging and tours, are big expenses. Lodging is the biggest one, so making it a day shorter actually makes an enormous difference. Yeah the price has dropped by $1,000 because of that change, so that's pretty exciting. Anyone who, who still wants to do the things that we included can still do them for the same price, long as they're available. But, um, so it'll be June 6th through 12th instead of the 13th. Mm-hmm. It's gonna be different from what we did this year. It's all coastal areas, um, more glacier, whale focus than, , bear. A- not that we might not see bears, but, um, and seeing more territory. So, and you know Lake Clark and Glacier Bay are my two favorite parks, so it's probably not a Mm-hmm. that these are the ones I wanna take people to. if you wanna join us, You email me, you are going to get my out of office, and it is going to take longer for me to get back to you than it does during the winter, but I will get back to you within a few days if you have questions about figuring out if this is right for you. I'm gonna put the link to the page that has all the details and is updated with the changes that we made,, in the show notes, and I would love to hear from you, so please feel free to reach out to me if you have questions. And thanks for listening. Thanks for being such an incredible community that was so fun to share with a tiny fraction, just a small group of you, this year and, next year as well. So we're really Hang on and hopefully we're still giving you enough time. It's 11 months, so I feel like, I feel like that's good. Um, let's see. Oh, one other thing. I did mention Patreon a couple times, and not all, but some of the,, folks who went on this tour are in the Patreon group. So if you wanna just ask me... You know, it's basically a weekly ask-me-anything. You submit your questions, through the Google form. Then I answer them every Thursday, sometimes Friday. D- one of the two days. Depends on the week and where I am., But yeah, and it's $9 a month, so that's pretty cool. I'll put that link in the show notes as well. And thank you so much to our Patreon subscribers. are the reason we're able to keep doing this every week, your support, so thank you You're beautiful people. Yes. Well, Okay 📍 for, for doing this with me and get Oh, yeah. It was a pleasure to get to do it yeah, which feels like it's gonna be an annual thing, now. I love that we were able to just decide, "Let's try this and see how it goes." I agree All right. See everybody next week. Okay, bye-bye