Alaska is becoming a popular destination for baby boomers, who appreciate the beauty of it all and have the time to explore all that Alaska has to offer.

Around every corner brings new adventures, you might take a side trip to go bird watching, fishing, or take a helicopter ride and land on a glacier to view the deep clear blue color of Alaskan ice. 

Holland America Line offers cruise packages to see this beautiful country along with an optional land package to Denali National Park & Preserve with a train ride that offers picturesque views.

• From www.hollandamerica.com:
  
  Experience the beauty of the Inside Passage and the wonders of Southeast and Southcentral Alaska aboard one of our spectacular 7-day Alaska cruise vacations. We offer a greater selection of Alaska cruise itineraries than any other cruise line and are the only cruise line to offer Glacier Bay National Park on all three major cruise itineraries. Our sailings also include Hubbard Glacier in Wrangell-St Elias National Park or the twin Sawyer Glaciers of Tracy Arm guaranteeing you the ultimate Alaska glacier experience. We have been cruising Alaska for over 56 years; let us share with you its wonders and wild beauty.
  
• From the National Park Service online at www.nps.gov:
  
  Denali National Park & Preserve features North America's highest mountain, 20,320-foot tall Mount McKinley. The Alaska Range also includes countless other spectacular mountains and many large glaciers. Denali's more than 6 million acres also encompass a complete sub-arctic eco-system with large mammals such as grizzly bears, wolves, Dall sheep, and moose.
  
  The park was established as Mount McKinley National Park on Feb. 26, 1917. The original park was designated a wilderness area and incorporated into Denali National Park and Preserve in 1980. The Park was designated an international biosphere reserve in 1976.
  
  Today the park accommodates a wide variety of visitor use including wildlife viewing, mountaineering, and backpacking. It continues to provide a laboratory for research in the natural sciences.

In Fairbanks you can pan for gold like they did in the old days. 

• From www.alaska.com:
  
  Ester Gold Camp
  Old-time rustic charm comes through in the camp's historic buildings and at the Malemute Saloon, where nightly entertainment reflects the history of the Gold Rush era. There also is a northern lights show and a crab buffet dinner. The camp dates to 1900 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  
  Where: 2660 Main St., Ester
  When: 5 to 9 p.m. daily, mid-May to Labor Day
  Cost: Varies
  Phone: 1-800-354-7274
  Web: www.akvisit.com

And, if the romance of reminiscing about what it must have been like to flirt with the idea of getting rich quick, just imagine waking up and looking off your deck to see a pod of whales occasionally surfacing the water or seeing an eagle soaring overhead looking for his first meal of the day. For this trip, you must pack your camera!

So, baby boomers why sit home and watch the discovery channel from your easy chair when you can experience these up close adventures for yourself? 

Vickie Buckley is a travel agent for Phillips Travel Service Inc. Contact Vickie toll-free at 1-800-783-2019.