Client Review: “This Was as Amazing as Africa...” Ron & Philly’s Alaska Adventure

By Taylor Wells

The last time I spoke with Ron and Philly, they had just returned from six weeks across Africa. That journey took them from the Cotswolds to the shores of Lake Malawi, with a glass of Grand Marnier waiting on every nightstand along the way.

So when I heard they had just come back from Alaska, I had to know whether anything could live up to that.

Philly didn’t hesitate. “Like I told John, it was as amazing as Africa,” she said. “It was very different, but equally as spectacular.”

Coming from two travelers who had just seen the best of Africa, that says a lot.

Why Alaska

After Africa, Ron and Philly found themselves craving more of that same wild nature.

“Just the wilderness, the vastness, the scenery,” Philly explained. “Because Africa was so amazing, in a lot of the same way, we thought Alaska would be fun.”

Ron wasn’t so sure at first. He had lived in Boulder when he was younger, and his first reaction was simple. “I lived in Boulder. Why would I need Alaska?” By the end of the trip, he told Philly it was so much more than he ever expected.

John connected them with his trusted Alaska Expert at EXP Journeys, who planned the journey around Philly’s September 4th birthday. That timing turned out to be smart in more ways than one.

Alaska’s season is short, and by mid-September most lodges close their doors. Ron and Philly arrived on August 26th and left on September 11th, catching the very end of summer and the very beginning of fall.

“When we first got there, there were a few leaves starting to turn yellow, and every day it was more and more,” Philly said. “By the time we left, 16 days later, it looked like fall.”

All in the Details

From the moment they landed in Anchorage, their EXP guide Chris set the tone. He met them and handed each of them a pair of XtraTuf boots, the classic rubber boots worn all over Alaska.

Chris had one piece of advice. “If you have these, people are gonna think you know what you’re doing.”

And waiting in the room? A bottle of Grand Marnier for Ron.

For the last 25 to 30 years, Ron has ended every night with a small glass of Grand Marnier, and in Africa John had it flown into every camp across six countries.

In Alaska, the ritual carried on.

“EXP just did a lot of touches that weren’t expected, but very appreciated,” Philly said. It’s the kind of detail that tells you someone has been listening.

Denali, Again and Again

The next morning, they boarded the glass-domed train to Denali. The eight-hour ride was worth every minute. “It was absolutely gorgeous for your first introduction to Alaska,” Philly said.

A couple of hours in, the train rounded a corner and “there was Denali, big, and bold, and bright.”

They could even see the summit.

According to Chris, only about 20 to 25 percent of visitors ever see the top of Denali. Ron and Philly saw it on four separate days.

In Denali they stayed at Tonglen Lake Lodge, a collection of individual cabins with heated bathroom floors and a team Philly couldn’t stop praising. As she put it, “People knew your names by your second meal.”

E-Biking Through Denali

Chris came up with the perfect way to see the park, by e-bike. 

Bundled in big gloves, rain pants and two pairs of long underwear, Ron and Philly rode about 13 miles into Denali National Park. Rounding a viewpoint, they came across a mama moose and her baby strolling through a riverbed.

A little further on, Chris told them that if Denali was going to come out, this was where they’d see it. And there it was, for the second time.

The next day brought a flightseeing tour under another crystal clear sky. “There really aren’t very many words that can describe how gorgeous it was,” Philly said. “The glaciers are enormous. The mountains are high and snow-capped and rugged. It was just like nothing you’ve seen before.”

Glacier Water in Champagne Glasses

From Denali, the journey continued south to Homer. There, Ron and Philly booked what became one of the most memorable days of the entire trip, a private helicopter adventure with Kirsten and her husband Jeff of Alaska Adventure Safari.

Kirsten landed them right on top of glaciers. Then she reached into her backpack, pulled out champagne glasses, and filled them with fresh glacier water for a toast on the ice.

When she discovered it was Philly’s birthday week, she took it one step further. She landed them on top of a volcano, set up chairs, and surprised Philly with a big happy birthday banner, snapping photos with steam rising behind them.

“She never felt rushed. She was never in a hurry,” Philly said. “She seemed equally as excited about what was going on as we were.” In Philly’s words, they should get an award.

Ten Bears and a Bald Eagle

On the same flight, the helicopter landed in a wide field near Lake Clark. As they stepped out, they saw a huge lake with a bald eagle perched on a big piece of driftwood. On either side of it, bears were scooping salmon straight out of the water.

They sat there for about half an hour, completely entranced, counting around 10 bears. Then a mother bear walked out onto a sandbar and sat for a few minutes, scanning in every direction.

“She came out to just scout around and make sure that nobody was out to get her little babies,” Philly said. Then out came her three cubs.

“Just 10 bears in one lake, with a bald eagle sitting in between them, scooping salmon out of the water,” she said. “It was pretty amazing.”

It’s a different kind of wildlife experience from Africa, and Philly put it perfectly. “Africa was an abundance of animals. Here you had to kind of search for them. But once you see them, they’re like nothing you’ll ever see again.”

100 Miles From the Nearest Road

The final stop was Ultima Thule, deep in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Getting there was an adventure in itself. First came a flight to the McCarthy airstrip (“I discovered the airstrip means dirt,” Philly laughed), then a Super Cub, a tiny plane that seats three people in a row, flying over a river five miles wide.

These planes can take off almost anywhere, from glaciers to mountaintops. “The pilot said, as long as I can count to 10, I could be off the ground.”

More than 100 miles from the nearest paved road, Ultima Thule “could not have been more luxurious,” Philly said.

They stayed in two-bedroom cabins with big front porches, surrounded by flower pots and a garden full of homegrown lettuce and herbs. The chef came out at every meal to talk through what he was serving and shared all his recipes.

After each day of flying, Hunter from the lodge team met them at the plane with warm, lavender-scented towels. “They spoiled us,” Philly said.

It’s like an African safari, but Alaska style.

As Amazing as Africa

For two travelers who had already seen the wilds of Africa, Alaska proved that the same sense of wonder can be found much closer to home.

“If you’ve never been to Alaska, flying into Anchorage, if you look out the plane window, it’s just a vast amount of mountain range and snow-capped mountains,” Philly said. “It just kind of took your breath away.”

And Ron, the man who once asked why he’d ever need Alaska, came home saying it was so much more than he expected.

If Ron and Philly’s story has you dreaming of glaciers, vast mountains, bears, bald eagles and a toast with glacier water on top of the world, reach out to John Spence to start planning your own Alaska adventure.