What to Expect in June

The first thing that comes to mind is daylight.  Even in Ketchikan they are up over 16 hours of daylight.  They get up to 17 hours of daylight on summer solstice, June 21st.

In Fairbanks it never gets dark in June.  Although the sun does set, it barely goes down behind the White Mountains and comes right back up.  There's a place an hour or so north on the Elliott highway where you can go and watch the sun "not set".  It's been 30 years or so since I've done it, but it's a fun time!

Throughout Alaska, you will still be seeing wobbly legged youngsters testing their skills.  Moose calves are some of the cutest critters in the world.  I have never tired of watching them figure out how to use those long legs!  We had a mama moose give birth in our yard 3 years in a row and it was an amazing thing to watch.

Except in the deep valleys and maybe where there were avalanches during the winter the snow has receded to high on the mountains.  The incredible lush greens of Alaska's mountain sides is sometimes so bright it hurts your eyes! 

Red salmon are running down on the Kenai Peninsula and the fishing is spectacular out of Deep Creek and Homer.  Southeast Alaska fishing is also red hot by now.

June is one of my favorite times to be in Alaska.  The constant daylight, the incredible, indescribable smell that comes from the mix of wildflowers everywhere you look and really clean fresh air, the birds singing, the mountains glowing into the midnight sky all add up to an amazing experience that defies words.

I often tell people that if I could truly put into words what it's like to be in Alaska, they wouldn't have to go!  I can't and they do…