Anchorage (officially called the Municipality of Anchorage) is a unified home rule municipality in the U.S. state of Alaska. With an estimated 300,950 residents in 2013, it is Alaska's most populous city and contains more than 40 percent of the state's total population; among the 50 states, only New York has a higher percentage of residents who live in its most populous city. Located in the south-central portion of Alaska at the terminus of the Cook Inlet on a peninsula, Anchorage is a common refueling stop for many international passenger flights and is home to a major FedEx Hub which the company calls a "critical part" of its global network of services. Anchorage has been named an All-America City four times, in 1956, 1965, 1984–85, and 2002, by the National Civic League. It has also been named by Kiplinger as the most tax-friendly city in the United States. It's also known for its cultural sites, including the Alaska Native Heritage Center, which displays traditional crafts, stages dances and presents replicas of dwellings from the area’s indigenous groups. 

Skagway is a first-class borough in Alaska on the Alaska Panhandle. The port of Skagway is a popular stop for cruise ships, and the tourist trade is a big part of the business of Skagway. The White Pass and Yukon Route narrow gauge railroad, part of the area's mining past, is now in operation purely for the tourist trade and runs throughout the summer months. Skagway is also part of the setting for Jack London's book The Call of the Wild and for Joe Haldeman's novel Guardian.