The saga of Alaska: explore the storied history of America's 49th state

Travel America, March-April, 2005 by M.T. Schwartzman

TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FOUR years ago--in 1741--the Danish explorer Vitus Bering "discovered" Alaska. Although Bering sailed for Czar Peter the Great, he actually began one of the greatest chapters in American history.

Alaska would remain a Russian colony for more than 125 years, and for a time, the Sitka-based Russian-American Fur Trading Company was the most profitable in the world. But as the fur trade diminished, the czar started looking for a buyer.

Enter U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward, who in 1867 negotiated the purchase of Alaska for $7.2 million. And while Alaska didn't become a state until 1959, its future and place in the American psyche were set.

Remnants of those early Russian days can still be seen in Sitka. Landmarks from the period of Russian rule include the city's onion-domed Russian Orthodox Cathedral, the Russian Bishop's House, and Castle Hill, where Alaska was formally handed over to the United States.

Perhaps the most colorful episode in Alaska's storied history was the Gold Rush era, which reached its peak during the stampede of 1897-1898. More than 100,000 people set out for the Klondike, but less than 30,000 ultimately made it--and far fewer struck it rich.

In those days, the town of Skagway was the center of all the action. Prospectors began their journey by trekking over the mountains or buying a ticket on the White Pass & Yukon Route, a narrow-gauge railway that opened in 1900.

A century later, the railway still carries travelers across 3,000-foot mountain passes on a thrilling ride, which zig-zags up the mountainside, hangs over sheer vertical cliffs, and burrows through rock in pitch-black tunnels.

While the Klondike Gold Rush was the most famous, there were many other gold strikes in Alaska over the course of the 19th century. The first significant find came in 1880, when gold was discovered in Juneau, now Alaska's capital city.

Alaska's historical roots seem to converge in Juneau, where the state's native history, natural history, and mining history all come together. The Mount Roberts Tram combines native culture and nature trails on one harmonious attraction, while Era Helicopters blazes flightseeing paths deep into pioneer territory. Two excellent museums, the Alaska State Museum and the City Museum, tell the story of Juneau past and present.

If native history intrigues you, then set a course for Ketchikan. The city has the largest collection of totem poles in the world, found in three different settings: Indoors at the Totem Heritage Center, along the waterfront at Totem Bight State Park, and just south of town at the native community of Saxman Village.

John Muir, the naturalist and founder of the Sierra Club, was among the first to explore the newly acquired territory of Alaska. He discovered Glacier Bay in 1879, and by' the late 1800s tourists were coming. In 1889, about 5,000 tourists a year were making a trip up the Inside Passage. Today, that number has swelled to over 800,000 every summer.

For an outing to Glacier Bay National Park, contact Glacier Bay Cruiseline, which offers a number of choices. One-day packages include air to the park plus an all-day wildlife and glacier cruise. Two-day packages add an overnight at the company's Glacier Bay Lodge and whale-watching in Icy Strait, where humpbacks are plentiful. Don't forget to pack a copy of John Muir's classic book, Travels in Alaska.

Alaska's natural history is omnipresent along the Inside Passage. After all, the Tongass National Forest covers 85 percent of Southeast Alaska. At 17 million acres, it's the largest national forest in America. You can learn more about the Tongass at Centennial Hall in Juneau or the Southeast Discovery Center in Ketchikan. Both are staffed by the National Forest Service.

Moving northward to the Southcentral part of the state, Alaska's biggest city, Anchorage, didn't get its start until 1915. The area was first charted by Captain Cook in 1778, but it was the Alaska Railroad that put the city on the map. Today, the railroad remains a vital link to Fairbanks and the Bush.

As the most cosmopolitan city in the state, Anchorage is home to a number of first-class cultural attractions, including the Museum of History and Art and the Alaska Native Heritage Center, which gathers all of Alaska's major native cultures under one roof. The Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum, at Lake Hood near the airport, preserves vintage bush planes of yesteryear. Before leaving Anchorage, take a short trip to Earthquake Park. Anchorage was ground zero for the Good Friday earthquake of 1964, the strongest ever recorded in North America--9.2 on the Richter Scale.

Seward, too, was devastated by the quake, although you'd never know it today. This picturesque community on the tip of the Kenai Peninsula has become Alaska's newest tourism hub thanks in large part to the Alaska Sealife Center, built in 1998 at a cost of $56 million. The center, which pursues a three-prong mission of research, rehabilitation, and education, is the only one of its kind in the Western Hemisphere (the other is in Norway).