Book excerpt: "[This guide features]: charting your trip; a rich overview of Seattle, Vancouver, and coastal Alaska that helps tailor your visit to the time you have and your specific interests. Insider tips from National Geographic photographers, writers, and explorers, as well as local experts, on favorite hot spots, practicalities, and more. [Color coded maps contain site] descriptions, including Denali's Park Road, Kodia Island's Chiniak Highway, Misty Fiords, Kachemak Bay, and the White Pass and Yukon train route. Excursions...[include] driving to the fortress of the Bear, visiting the Alaska Raptor Center, exploring Kachemak Bay villages, taking the Alaska Marine Highway ferry to the Aleutian Islands, discovering the Russian heritage of Unalaska, and birding on Attu Island."--