This past June, Bill Greenawald, a member of AAA East Penn's Board of Directors, and his wife Pat, joined Bob Neubauer and a group of 25 AAA travelers on a spectacular CruiseTour to the Far North.  The group journeyed through the vast interior from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay on the Dalton Highway which services the oilfields on the North Slope.  It spans some of the most rugged, remote and beautiful landscape found anywhere and follows the Trans-Alaska Pipeline for more than 435 miles.  Known as the Haul Road, the highway crosses the awe-inspiring Brooks Range allowing numerous Dall sheep and caribou sightings.

After visiting Anchorage, Denali National Park, Fairbanks, Coldfoot, Deadhorse, and the oilfields of Prudhoe Bay, our adventurers enjoyed a fantastic seven-night Voyage of the Glaciers cruise from Seward to Vancouver.  AAA Tour Director, Donna Peragallo escorted a group of 44 travelers to Alaska over the July 4th holiday.  When asked why Donna enjoys escorting groups to Alaska she replied, "Alaska is truly a national treasure.  The beauty of the magnificent mountains, numerous glaciers and fjords, wildlife and the vast memorable.  Experiencing dining on Alaskan salmon, shopping for beautifully crafted native art and meeting wonderful highlights.  I never tire of the stories about the Gold Rush and the famous Iditarod race."

Next year, AAA Vacations...The Travel Store plans 13 CruiseTours to Alaska on Princess Cruise Lines.  Donna Peragallo, Lois Russell, and Keith Newhard will escort the local groups.  Departing from May through September these CruiseTours include the following popular itineraries:  13-Day Heart of Alaska Wilderness/Copper River, 14-Day Mt. McKinley, Alaska Wilderness, and 14-Day Kenai Peninsula.

• Alaska is 2 1/2 times as big as Texas, and it is one-fifth the size of the United States.  Alaska has more shoreline than the entire contiguous United States.
• The municipality of Anchorage encompasses 1,955 square miles - about the size of Delaware.
• Of the 20 highest mountains in the United States, 17 are in Alaska - in-
  cluding the North American continent's highest, Mt. McKinley, at 20,320 feet above sea level.
• In 1867 Alaska was purchased from Russia for 2 1/2 cents an acre - $7,200,000. The original Russian capital was Sitka.
• College Fjord, in Prince William Sound, was discovered by the Harriman Expedition in 1899. Because the expedition was funded by the Ivy League Schools, all of the glaciers there are named after the Ivy League Universities - with Harvard Glacier being its crowning jewel.