Alaska was definitely a destination that I'd long wanted to visit, and the opportunity arose in the summer of 2005 when we decided to take a family trip with my dad, brother Craig, and sister Jessica. During most of the trip, we joined a group tour where we visited the beautiful Kenai peninsula to the South of Anchorage and then drove up to Denali National Park. During our extra days, we visited Matanuska Glacier and perfected the art of ice climbing, toured Anchorage, rode bikes along a coastal trail, and I went on a bear viewing tour in Katmai National Park while Craig, Dad, and Jess went South for a tour of the Kenai fjords. The Alaskan summer was actually very pleasant, with most days having a high temperature around 70 or 75 and a low of 45 or 50 and nearly 18 hours of sunlight.