What is the Best State Fair for 2025?
The Alaska State Fair may not be the oldest, but it has other claims to fame: its record-setting massive vegetables, stunning mountain location, colorful flower gardens, and unique Alaskan culture. At this state fair, visitors can go on rides, watch horse shows, play carnival games, watch live performances, browse hundreds of food and non-food vendors, and look at various competitive exhibits. Alaska's fair started in 1936 and is staged about 45 minutes north of Anchorage by car.
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USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
4 injured after small float plane 'crash landed' at Katmai National Park
Authorities are investigating the crash of a small float plane in Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve over the weekend that sent all four occupants, including the pilot, to the hospital. The small float plane, a Cessna 180J, "crash landed" at about 2:30 p.m. local time on July 5 near Brooks Camp within Katmai National Park, according to the National Park Service. Four occupants, including the pilot, were transported to an Anchorage area hospital with non-critical injuries, the park service said. Katmai National Park, a campground popular during the peak brown bear viewing season, is only accessible via small plane. National Transportation Safety Board's Alaska Chief Clint Johnson told Anchorage Daily News the agency was alerted of a crash "with four people on board reporting serious injuries," with park officials dispatching a helicopter from Anchorage to conduct the rescue. The aircraft, which can seat up to five passengers and a pilot, is privately owned, according to the Alaskan newspaper. As of July 7, the cause of the crash is unknown. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are leading the investigation, Alaska's News Source reported. The FAA and NTSB did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment. Katmai National Park and Preserve is set along the northern Alaska Peninsula, most famously known for its fat bears and unique ecosystem. As one of the most remote national parks in the U.S., Katmai has no roads connecting it to the rest of Alaska, requiring travelers to take either a water taxi or float plane. String of small plane crashes The incident over the holiday weekend was the latest in a recent string of crashes involving small planes, many of which were fatal. In late June, a twin-engine Cessna 441 went down in the backyard of a home in Ohio, killing all six people onboard. Earlier in the month, six people died when a twin-engine Cessna 414 crashed offshore San Diego just minutes after takeoff. And in North Carolina, a small aircraft, a Universal Stinson 108 plane, crashed in Farmington as the pilot tried to avoid a turtle on the runway just before the crash. The pilot and a passenger were killed while another passenger was seriously injured.
USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
What is the Best State Fair for 2025?
Alaska State Fair The Alaska State Fair may not be the oldest, but it has other claims to fame: its record-setting massive vegetables, stunning mountain location, colorful flower gardens, and unique Alaskan culture. At this state fair, visitors can go on rides, watch horse shows, play carnival games, watch live performances, browse hundreds of food and non-food vendors, and look at various competitive exhibits. Alaska's fair started in 1936 and is staged about 45 minutes north of Anchorage by car.
Business Insider
6 days ago
- Business Insider
I was skeptical about cruises for years. Then, I spent 8 days on one with 12 relatives of all ages.
I'm an avid traveler, but I always used to avoid cruises — until I went on one with 12 relatives. The cruise helped us travel at our own paces, spend time together, and easily eat meals as a family. Even though I was a former skeptic, I'll probably book another cruise again. When the Royal Princess pulled away from the port in Seattle with me, my husband, and my extended family on board, I wondered what the next week would hold. My mother and sister had conspired to plan a family trip in honor of my dad's 80th birthday, deciding on an Alaskan cruise as the setting for our first-ever group vacation. I'm an avid traveler, but I'd previously had reservations about cruises. I typically prefer to navigate a new place myself for more than just a handful of hours in port. Not to mention my extended family of 13 hadn't spent more than a day together … well, ever. We generally get along, but eight days spent traveling together is a different story than eight hours together in someone's living room on Christmas. This cruise from Seattle to Alaska's Inside Passage, however, turned out to be an ideal vacation for a multigenerational group of people with different abilities, travel styles, and interests. On a cruise, we could stray apart but easily find each other again. It was established pretty early on that no one expected us to roll as a group of 13 at all times. Upon boarding, we split up automatically based on our various priorities: checking out the pool, finding drinks, or securing premium dining reservations. This helped set the tone for the rest of the trip. However, because we were all effectively in the same place and had cabins in the same corridor, we never had to worry that anyone would be lost or left behind. We each got to choose our own adventure — literally. The variety of activities offered on off-shore excursions meant that everyone got to spend time experiencing Alaska's port towns in a way that most appealed to them. We quickly learned how important this was on a trip with so many family members, including people of varying ages. With so many different activities, older relatives with more limited mobility were spared from having to keep pace with the younger ones. My husband and I chose a foodie walking tour and whale-watching excursions, and we also checked out some local distilleries in each port. Meanwhile, others went kayaking, hiking, or dog-sledding. I got to connect with different relatives over different activities. Even on board, we could all choose our own preferred activities, from line dancing to playing games to tasting wine. Some of my favorite moments on the trip happened when nuclear family units got reshuffled for various activities. For example, my husband and I loved to go for an early morning swim before breakfast when the deck was empty, and various family members joined us throughout the week. This isn't to say we didn't spend time together as a group, though. The activities we chose to do together were appropriate for everyone's interests and abilities: a scenic train ride, for instance, or an after-dinner show on board. We also ate dinner together as a family. Cruising made it easy to plan dinner with such a large group. Having a standing reservation at the same time and table every night meant that we never wasted time or energy trying to figure out where we could go as a large group. I also appreciated that our cruise's menu was clearly designed to fit many diets and palates. I'm a food writer with a fine-dining background, but my youngest relatives? Not so much. Fortunately, dining room menus on cruise ships tend to have options for everyone. Because we'd often spent at least part of the day doing different activities, dinner was a nice opportunity to share stories and catch up. We were split between two tables next to each other, but made an effort to shuffle seating arrangements each night. The leaders and planners in our family got to relax with the rest of us. Every family has members who tend to take charge when it comes to meals and activities. Among friends, I am typically that person; in my family, however, I am usually out-planned by other members. I could appreciate, though, that those in my family who typically took on these responsibilities were relieved of the pressure to plan and keep everyone entertained, and could lean into the pre-organized activities that cruising offered. Despite my prior cruise skepticism, I'd do it again. It may not be my first choice for certain destinations, but the ease of travel and variety of activities were appealing — and it turned out to be a great option for a large group trip. Before long, I may even end up taking a cruise with just my husband.
