Dick Jordan

NORTH TO ALASKA IN 2021 ABOARD A CRUISE SHIP!

By Dick Jordan | May 27, 2021

(Originally published on May 27, 2021; updated on May 30, 2021)

COVID-19 wiped out Alaska’s cruise ship season in 2020.

According to this story in the Anchorage Daily News, in 2019 1.2 million tourists came to Alaska on cruise ships but that number dropped to a mere 48 visitors arriving in the 49^th State by cruise ship in 2020.

But on Monday, May 24, 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the “Alaska Tourism Restoration Act” which aims to send more cruise ships to Alaska this summer.

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YELLOWSTONE IN 2021

By Dick Jordan | May 1, 2021

A year ago, in “Yellowstone in 2020” I wrote:

“Yellowstone is certainly one of the most heavily visited national parks in the Western U.S. with over 4 million tourists coming each year from 2015 through 2019.

“But thanks the coronavirus, visitation may drop off considerably this year especially since park lodging and dining may be quite limited.

“Even in a normal year, waiting until late April or May to book lodging could result in you discovering that there is “no room at the inn.

“With luck, a year from now a vaccine against the virus will be widely available so putting off a trip to Yellowstone until 2021 might be prudent.”

So, what, if anything, has changed for those planning to head to Yellowstone this summer?

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HAVING A “PLAN B” WHEN YOU ARE “BURNED OUT” ON VACATION

By Dick Jordan | April 27, 2021

“Hot, windy weather like this creates a high fire risk” the septuagenarian ranger who had lived his entire life in the area told the group of visitors to Glacier National Park who had joined him for an interpretive walk near Lake McDonald.

“You mean a fire like that one” my wife said, pointing to a wisp of grayish-white smoke off in the distance over the ranger’s shoulder.

“S…” the ranger exclaimed as he rushed back to his pickup truck to radio in a report of the fire.

And that was a harbinger of what would ultimately force us to hastily devise a “Plan B” to modify our planned two-week trip to western Montana.

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