You may not be traveling tar from home in the immediate future, but we can bring distant destinations to you.  Here's a virtual trip to Alaska - and we hope you'll be able to go there and elsewhere soon.

If you hear “Alaska” and the word “big” comes to mind, you’re like many people.  Then after they arrive there, that becomes BIG.

The size of the “Great Land,” as the Aleutian native people named the region, makes the most dramatic impression.  Alaska is twice as large as Texas and, if cut in half, would be the first and second biggest states.   Mount McKinley is the tallest peak in North America, and Denali National Park is larger than Massachusetts.    

The magnificent scenery immediately catches the eye.  Row after row of glacier-garbed mountains stretch to the horizon.  Many lakes and rivers are dyed a bluish hue by the silt of melting ice and snow.  Streams meander through U-shaped valleys that were gouged out eons ago by advancing glaciers.

Opportunities to observe wildlife in its natural setting are virtually everywhere.  Those who don’t make it to Denali need not despair.  Towns in Alaska are never far from the wilderness.  Parks often begin within city limits and extend to backcountry landscapes.  

For example, the Far North Bicentennial Park at the edge of Anchorage provides inviting habitat for bears and moose.  People gather along river banks there and elsewhere during spring and summer to observe the spawning run of salmon.   As they return to their birthplace after years at sea, the fish battle their way up rushing water, leaping to surmount low falls along the way.  Another obstacle is the phalanx of hungry bears that congregates to gorge on their favorite food. 

Along with their close relationship to nature, cities and towns share a rough and rugged history.   With a population near 300,000, Anchorage has an urban setting that resembles other U.S. cities of comparable size.   But there also are differences.

There, as everywhere in Alaska, untamed nature is not far away.  Chugach State Park just outside the city has huge stretches of alpine terrain that are visited by more animals than humans.   The Far North Bicentennial Park/Campbell Tract provides habitat for bears, moose and spawning salmon. 

The Alaska Native Heritage Center delves into indigenous cultures.  The customs and traditions of the 11 major cultural groups are presented through dance, music and storytelling.   

Gold was responsible for the location of Juneau, the state capital, when it was discovered there in 1880.   Visitors may relive those heady days during visits to several mining sites, or by trying their hand at panning. 

The terminus of the most readily accessible of the 10,000 or so glaciers in Alaska, the Mendenhall, is not far outside town.  Looming above the suburbs of Juneau, bearing the typical bluish-white glacial hue, it flows 12 miles from the ice field where it originates.  At the lake where the glacier ends, large chunks dramatically break off to become icebergs, a process called “calving.”

Ketchikan occupies the site where Tlingit natives set up fishing camps near salmon-rich waters, and it lays claim to the title “Salmon Capital of the World.” It also boasts the largest displays anywhere of standing totem poles. 

Another popular attraction is Creek Street, a wooden boardwalk over a stream that runs through the heart of town.  For three decades beginning in the Prohibition era, some buildings perched above the water served as brothels.  That time is recalled by a sign welcoming visitors to Creek Street, “Where fish and fishermen go up the creek to spawn.”  Those structures now house restaurants, galleries and gift shops. 

The setting is very different in Sitka, where evidence remains of Russia’s incursion, which ended in 1867 with the sale of the territory to the United States.   The Russian Bishop’s House (built 1842-43) and onion-shaped domes of St. Michael’s Cathedral are among reminders of that chapter of history. 

Remnants of Russia’s brief influence merge comfortably with constant reminders that native peoples have lived in what now is Alaska for thousands of years.   Many Alaskans continue to call Mount McKinley “Denali,” Athabascan Indian for “The Great One.” 

I spotted representations of totem poles and other traditional images adorning T-shirts worn by many locals.   And I was moved by the pride with which an Aleut guide at the Alaska Native Heritage Center explained that men from his village still hunt for whales from kayaks using poison-tip spears, and that women weave baskets which are among the finest in the world.

Travelers seeking an adventure vacation, or planning one for the future, couldn’t do better than to think Alaska.   Others who prefer to observe wild animals and equally wild scenery from a distance also are likely to find much to like about the state.

For information about visiting Alaska, log onto travelalaska.com.