Our 2012 Cruises and Tours brochure is now available! if you have requested a catalog in the last two years you will automatically recieve a catalog by Labor Day. If not, please contact us today for your free copy!
Our itineraries continue to be all-inclusive in nature and action packed every day. Book by January 1st, 2012 and recieve $500 per person off of the price of your tour!
Call : 800-325-2270 to order your copy today!
Nows the time to take up dog sledding.
The Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, set to start Feb 4th, 2012 and covering 1,000 snow packed miles, has announced that 2012 entrants will be competing for a $150,000 purse.
Wowsa!
The prize money comes from sponsor support and fundraising but who cares where it comes from right? Just kidding….
If you feel this may be your year to win it, sign up now on the Yukon Quest’s website @: http://www.yukonquest.com/
The attention remains on the fantastic state of Alaska. Viewers just can’t get enough!
The Weather Channel has just given the green light to, “Coast Guard Alaska”. Filming is already in the works and the season premiere is set for Wednesday, November 9, 2011, at 9 p.m. ET on The Weather Channel.
The 60-minute shows will document the brave souls of the Alaska Coast Guard as they swim, fly and dive to the rescue.
In even more dramatic news, John Cusack and Nicholas Cage are said to have signed on to star in the film, “The Frozen Ground”, based on the true story of Alaska’s deadliest serial killer, Robert Hansen. Hansen (Cusack in the film) was a baker with a wife and two kids when he was arrested and admitted to killing 21 women in the Alaska wilderness. Cage is set to play Detective Glenn Flothe of the Alaska State Troopers, the authority who was credited with hunting Hansen down and capturing him. SCARY! Filming is set to begin this September in Alaska.
When you think of summer Olympics, gymnastics and track events usually come to mind.
Not so for Alaskan natives!
The 50th annual World Eskimo and Indian Olympics were held in Fairbanks last week. Favorite competitors and old friends gathered together once more to compete. The athletic competitions included many categories foreign to the vast majority of Americans.
Highlights included:
The Ear Pull- Men
Photo courtesy of ADN.COM- James Lampe Jr. of Barter Island pulls against defending champion Leroy Shangin in the men’s Ear Pull finals. Lampe, who hasn’t competed in the Ear Pull in 20 years, defeated Shangin and went on to win the event.
The Ear Pull- Women
Photo courtesy of ADN.COM- Noel Strick, left, and Mitsi Evans, right, pull in the women’s Ear Pull finals. Strick defeated Evans and went on to win the event.
Greased Poll Walk
Photo courtesy of ADN.COM- The event challenges competitors to walk the length of a Crisco-coated wood pole, although few can maintain their balance for more than a few slippery steps.
Swing Kick
Photo courtesy of ADN.COM-
Phillip Blanchett of Anchorage sets the record of 62-inches with this kick
Other popular events include the 4-man Carry, the Seal Hop, the High Kick and the famous Blanket Toss.
The Blanket Toss involves a brave person who gets in the middle of a walrus skin. This person is then tossed into the air as high as possible (sometimes 30 feet!) and then lands on his/her feet. The blanket toss is a tradition passed down from whaling communities as part of the whale hunt celebrations and native festivities throughout the spring. Some say the original purpose of the blanket toss was to help villagers get a better view, others say it was just plain fun to do.
Either way, the blanket toss and all of the fun cultural competitions included at the 2011 World Eskimo and Indian Olympics makes for more excitement then one gymnast floor dancing to the William Tell Overture.
Visit two Alaska native communities (Barrow and Anatuvuk Pass) on our 19 Day National Parks Tour.
Our 2012 Alaska Tours and Cruises Brochure is being printed as we speak write!
If you have not seen your copy by mid-August, please give our office a call and we will send you one directly from our office.
New for 2012:
While contemplating the appropriate 4th of July greeting for our Alaska guests and friends, I stumbled upon a small jewel that I just had to share.
Written on Wednesday, July 29th, 2011 by Pat Roppel for the Capital City Weekly newspaper, her look back at historic Alaska July 4th celebrations brings everyone who reads it, back to a much simpler time.
I am re-printing it here for your enjoyment:
On the Fourth of July, celebrated on the anniversary of the day we were made a nation of free men out of a colony of dependents, the people of pioneer Alaska gathered together and selected an orator to remind them that, although “God is far off and it’s a long way to Washington,” they were nonetheless patriotic. The first event of the day usually took place outdoors in the center of town. From a pole, the flag waved smartly in the wind. Usually a stand was set up, draped in red, white and blue bunting. When “the customary amount of rain was sent as a token of patriotic respect to the day,” the exercises were moved indoors, leaving the bunting colors to run “instead of being the National colors, long strips of blue greeted the eye.” (The blue in the bunting “should never be inverted. It should always be up,” one newspaper editor said.
In 1887 in Juneau, the Alaska Cornet Band played “Hail Columbia,” “Red, White and Blue,” and “America.” The assembled people sang the national anthem. The Declaration of Independence was read “in a masterly manner,” causing the reporter to write, “The grand old document never seems to grow older, and always remains fresh and new in the hearts and minds of the American people.” The orator, undoubtedly chosen for much the same reasons as today’s grand parade marshal, spoke of this day “that every loyal American loves to celebrate, for it is the day our forefathers conquered, after a long and hard struggle, the power which had oppressed them and gained for us the glorious privileges of Liberty, Equality, and Independence.”
Field races provided young and old, fat and skinny, white or Native the opportunity to compete for prizes, usually money. Ten dollars seemed to be a typical prize in 1887 for such events as running or standing long jump, backward race, hop-skip-and-jump race. The winner of the foot race took home $20, and if he was a miner this was nearly a week’s wages!
Spectators yelled themselves hoarse during the tug of war. Large purses were often awarded to the team that could pull the other team past the specified marker. In Juneau in 1895, the purse was $25. If there were 10 men, that was $2.50, not quite one day’s wages in the mine! Betting on a favorite team added to the excitement of the occasion. Some of these tugs-o’-war lasted as long as 15 minutes. In Wrangell, the competition between the loggers against the Calder marble quarry workers lasted 27 minutes! One in Chena Hot Spring lasted 30 minutes. Some committees cut the contest after a specified time when the struggle seemed to be a draw. Some teams nailed cleats to the wooden street to brace their feet against.
Canoe races were another feature of the day’s entertainment. Natives teamed up in the fastest canoes with the best paddlers to compete against each other. In Sitka in 1869, there were 13 canoes that participated in three different races. Generally up to 16 men and a helmsman were allowed. Over the years, fewer and fewer participated. Only two or three raced in Juneau in the late 1880s. Three canoes of nine men and a captain raced in Skagway in 1898. Prize money in the 1880s was about $20 for the winning canoe. By 1896-98, it was $60 in both Juneau and Skagway.
At various mines, the day was also celebrated. Black powder and blacksmith anvils took the place of fireworks and canons in many camps. Powder put between two anvils and fired made an ear splitting noise. With sufficient powder, the top anvil flew through the air and participants scattered to avoid the weighty iron’s descent.
What a glorious day! A time to whoop and holler! And if you were lucky, a chance to win prize money!
Pat Roppel, a 50-year resident of Southeast Alaska, lives in Wrangell. She may be reached at patroppel@gmail.com
Photo courtesy John Bailey
Welcome to the longest day of the year….and hopefully its a GREAT DAY!
Anchorage, Alaska - Sunrise: 4:20 AM Sunset: 11:42 PM Length of Day:19 hours and 22 minutes!
Fairbanks, Alaska- Sunrise: 2:58 AM Sunset: 12:48 AM Length of Day:22 hours and 10 minutes!
Exciting News!
John Hall’s Alaska wants you to select the best photo to grace the cover of our 2012 Cruises and Tours brochure.
If you’d like to help us out, just submit your comment below.
Please remember, this photo will be seen by thousands each year so choose wisely!
Entry #1: “John Hall’s Alaska- Where Guests Work For Their Dinner.”
Entry #2: “John Hall’s Alaska- Now Offering Romance Packages”
Entry #3: “George Road the Mechanical Bull-Salmon and Threw Out His Back- But That’s Okay- He Had Trip Insurance”
Entry #4: “John Hall’s Alaska- Where Even The Moose Get A Jacket!”
Entry #5: ”John Hall’s Alaska- Bringing You Closer To REAL Wildlife- Alaskans!”
Yeah… by now you’ve figured out this was a big joke. You’ll just have to wait for that shiny new 2012 brochure to hit your mailbox in late July, early August of 2012 for your chance to view the REAL cover photo!
In the meantime, we are now accepting reservations on our 2012 tours. Check out our website for more!
Our partner The McCarthy Lodge and Ma Johnson’s Hotel in McCarthy, Alaska keeps raking in the awards!
We are so proud of the recognition they are finally receiving for being both a true Alaskan destination and also a place to find great Alaskan eats!
Just yesterday they were recognized as the #1 place in all of Alaska for foodies to dine by Grub Street NY Magazine -
And I quote:
Even though the town’s population is 42, it’s still home to a fine-dining restaurant with a pedigreed chef, Joshua Slaughter, who’s done time in the kitchens at NY’s wd~50 and Thomas Keller’sBouchon. Talk about local sourcing: All the fish is caught by area fisherman Ralph Lohse, who provides the restaurant with halibut, black cod, and Copper River Red Salmon; and all their produce comes from local gardens. Of all the destination restaurants we know of around the world, this one definitely qualifies as the most remote, which is surely worth some extra foodie cred.
End quote.
To find out their suggestions for our other 49 states, check out the complete write-up here.
ABOVE: Chef John Slaughter, McCarthy Lodge
Further celebrating chef John Slaughter’s culinary accomplishments, Food & Wine magazine recognized his work as a “Top 5 New Destination” for this summer in their June 2011 edition. Full online version can be seen here.
Interested in giving your taste buds a run for their money at the McCarthy Lodge? You’re in luck! Guests on our 21 Day National Parks tour will enjoy a multi-course tasting menu personally prepared by Mr. Slaughter during their two-night stay in McCarthy at Ma Johnson’s Hotel.
Did we mention Ma Johnson’s Hotel has also won a few awards?
It’s so sunny today my eye balls hurt.
Days like today make me hate the confines of my office walls and cause an uncomfortable urge to break free and head out on the water. What wouldn’t I give for a fishing rod in hand?
Since I need to pay my mortgage and my ebay business sadly fell through, I must remain at my desk and seek to satisfy my desire through pictures. They speak a thousand words.. or so the saying goes…
Here I am, lake fishing…though I remember being scared that a bear might appear and I would be unable to get away quickly.
In this photo, I seek to demonstrate one reason fishing in Alaska is sensational- its called “Aloneness”. No streets, no cars, no polution. Just you and mother nature.
This is my buddy Matt. He loves the outdoors and escapes his domestic responsibilities under the guise of bring home the “seafood” bacon. State law dictates you can only keep 1 rainbow a day under 16 inches…so I don’t really know how much bacon he is bringing home… This ones a BEAUT!
Here I am, clearly bringing home the “seafood” bacon. This guy swam 80 miles upstream to spawn and weighed 47 pounds when I snagged him. Important fish authorities tell me he could have weighed 80 pounds when he entered the fresh water stream. (Spawning salmon stop eating when they hit fresh water).
And now we have John Hall Jr. trying his hand at fly fishing. I say trying because he has fly fished for years and has yet to beat me when it comes to the biggest fish of the day. Poor guy. I give him access to my office candy bowl just to keep his self-confidence up.
Friend Kimmy Lowe demonstrates again how women always catch the biggest fish. Its probably Karma. Dealing with husbands and children = catch bigger fish!
Okay, my plan backfired. The urge to fish still rears its ugly head and Friday is four days away. I think I saw an old “Let’s Go Fishin” game in the storage room. Maybe that will help.
Let John Hall’s Alaska assist you in planning your Alaskan fishing adventure! We work with guides all over the state and also have partnerships with fantastic remote fishing lodges. Check out some options on our “Customize Your Tour” page!
In an effort to extend the small group experience while cruising Alaska’s Inside Passage, John Hall’s Alaska will be partnering
At the 6th Annual Leisure Travel Leaders Awards, Royal Caribbean won two big awards for the cruise line. Royal Caribbean won “Best Cruise Line
We are happy to announce that both of our Alaska cruise partners raked in numerous awards for 2012! Royal Caribbean
This just in- final counts on how many guests saw animals this past summer while on tour with us! We
