Sea Otter. USFWS Photo

The reunion will be held in Anchorage, Alaska, September 21-25. Robin West and Helen Clough, reunion co-chairs, are busy planning with help from other retirees who live or have lived in Alaska. This will be the first time we have met in Alaska. The late September date will coincide with the last part of the summer visitor season, providing ample opportunities for retirees to plan other Alaska adventures before and/or after the reunion.

It is not too early to make your reservations. The Hotel Captain Cook, located in downtown Anchorage, is our host hotel. Here is the booking link: Booking Link, and the group code is: FWS Retirees Reunion. If you want to stay longer, subject to availability, the group rate is available before or after the reunion. You can call the hotel at 907-276-6000. Be sure to ask for “FWS Retirees Reunion” when you talk to the hotel. The group room rate is $199 per night plus taxes and fees. If you have any problems making reservations, please contact Helen Clough at 907-321-4004 or hcloughak@gmail.com.

We are looking at a similar format to our last reunion with registration and an opening reception on Monday, September 21, followed by meetings/sessions at the host venue on Tuesday and outside adventures on Wednesday and Thursday. A closing banquet will be held Thursday evening at the Hotel Captain Cook.

Anchorage is served by many airlines so we encourage you to look for deals that work for you. You may want to compare flights on individual airline websites and travel sites such as Expedia, Kayak, etc. in addition to individual airline sites.

While details of field activities remain to be determined, we are looking at a number of field trips. As we are at the end of the summer visitor season, some activities we considered are not available or might not be a good time if the weather is not perfect so we are now looking at having one all-day trip on Wednesday.

 All Day Marine and terrestrial scenic and wildlife tour: On Wednesday, September 23 we are planning an 11 to 12-hour round-trip Anchorage to Seward with a stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center https://alaskawildlife.org/ and a visit to the Alaska Sea Life Center https://www.alaskasealife.org/ in Seward. Along the way we will see majestic scenery and likely iconic Alaska wildlife.

Closer to Anchorage Local tours. On Thursday, September 24, we are looking at a number of half-day tours/activities closer to and in Anchorage including

• Alaska Native Heritage Center –Alaskanative.net
• Anchorage Museum – AnchorageMuseum.org
• Local Photo Safari with Alaska Photo Treks https://Alaskaphototreks.com

You can check out information on fall in Anchorage from the perspective of a local FWS retiree Donna Dewhurst at https://www.anchorage.net/blog/post/autumn-in-anchorage/

You might want to consider visiting Denali National Park you go before the reunion, as it will be the end of the season, but the park road may be open to private vehicles.

Thanks to Robin, Major Marine Tours is offering us a 20% discount on two tours. The % discount can be used for the 6-hour Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise September 18 – 20, and/or the 4-hour Kenai Fjords Wildlife Cruise September 18 – 26. [Note: the longer cruise discount is limited to immediately preceding the reunion, while the shorter cruise is discounted both before and after]. Use the following link https://majormarine.com/fws-reunion/. These are amazing tours. If you are not prone to seasickness, it is great in any weather. If you are, suggest you check to make sure good weather is forecast.

Good information on the Anchorage area is available from “Visit Anchorage”, which can be found at anchorage.net. Good information on visiting Alaska can be found at the State of Alaska’s visitor website https://www.travelalaska.com/. You may wish to order their Alaska Travel planner, which is loaded with information on Alaska travel options.

Feel free to contact Robin and Helen for their suggestions on things to do in Alaska. Helen lives in Juneau and is most familiar with the southeast part of the state. Robin lives on the Kenai Peninsula and is very familiar with much of the state. Between the two of them, they have probably been almost everywhere in Alaska either for work or on personal adventures. If you choose to call, remember Alaska has its own time zone which is 4 hours earlier than Eastern time.

Please check out our website, FWSretirees.org and our Facebook Page “Fish and Wildlife Service Retirees” for updates. We will send an email blast when we open reunion registration so make sure we have your current email address.

Robin West
robinnoteast@gmail.com
541-787-0938).