University Community Presbyterian Church

While visiting Alaska is a truly unmatched experience, hearing a perspective from one of the state's most highly regarded residents will shed a new light on various aspects of the area that you might have missed. Fortunately for tourists, that person is Mary Shields. The popular Alaskan Tails of the Trail with Mary Shields is an opportunity to share a personal home visit with this celebrated Alaskan musher and author. Her insights focus on her famous sled dogs, but Shields also is a splendid storyteller and her accounts of various events of Alaska's past are quite entertaining.

Some of the best attractions in Alaska are the natural kind, and you can see them up close when you take time to visit the Large Animal Research Station in Fairbanks. This is actually one of the more popular attractions in the area, as the facility has thousands of visitors each year. The large number of people who walk through the doors of the Large Animal Research Station is understandable as they all look forward to seeing such indigenous creatures as muskoxen and caribou at a dramatically close distance.

Whether you are a boat owner looking to light out or just enjoy relaxing outdoors by the water, you will find the natural solace of the Fortymile National Wild and Scenic River simply irresistible. This is an extensive network of creeks and rivers in east-central Alaska. Interestingly, 392 miles of the river have been given a National Wild and Scenic Recreational River designation. Boaters have many choices and routes available for recreational trips that, despite being different routes, all offer a chance to enjoy the area's breathtaking scenery.