Workers at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center at Portage are already scurrying to prepare for the arrival of 62 wood bison, coming from Elk Island National Park in Alberta, Canada, to join 27 wood bison already in residence at the refuge in Portage.

Some 250,000 visitors came last year to see the wood and plains bison, as well as bears, eagles, moose and other critters housed at the center. Education director Kelly Miller said she is expecting more of the same in the summer of 2008.

Down the road in Girdwood, bed and breakfast hosts like Bud Gibbs and Carol Makar-Gibbs are preparing to serve up daily breakfasts that include homemade loaves of bread, fresh fruit and hot coffee to dozens of visitors.

Bud and Carol's B&B, at the base of Mount Alyeska near the day lodge, is filling up quickly, much to the delight of the two avid skiers and longtime Girdwood residents.

“Every time I turn around I'm getting a phone call or an e-mail,” said Makar-Gibbs. “We have an increase (this year) in the number of people from foreign countries and people from the southern and southeastern United States.”

While the average bed and breakfast stay is one night, the couple encourages a two-night stay because there is so much to do in the area, including hiking, paragliding and riding the tram up to 2,300 feet on Mount Alyeska.

The couple also own and operate the popular Ice Cream Shop in the mini-mall on the Seward Highway, next to the turnoff for Girdwood. Next to their shop, which is busy all year long, is the Great Alaskan Tourist Trap, a gift shop featuring a number of Alaskan-made crafts, cookbooks, jewelry and other souvenirs, as well as the infamous T-shirts donning the legend “Girdwood Alaska: We're not at high as you think we are. Elevation 2 feet.”

Connie Cooley, a partner in the shop with Chris Roberts, said lots of Alaskans also shop there too. Given the rising price of fuel for vehicles, “I'm kind of holding my breath and hoping we just get through it,” she said. Then, after a pause, she grew more confident. “I think people are going to come.”

Girdwood's business community, including Realtors like Sam Daniels, are generally optimistic that the rapidly rising cost of living is not going to ruin their summer financially.

“We have a relatively healthy economy,” said Daniels, who includes the real estate market in his appraisal.

Housing for sale in Girdwood currently ranges from one-bedroom condominiums, with no garage, for $180,000, to a two-bedroom home with a carport for $900,000. The latter, according to a realtor's note, is a log home with enough potential to be developed into a lodge, restaurant, art center or five-bedroom home.

One reason for the healthy economy is the physical recreation-oriented lifestyle in Girdwood, with ample opportunity for activities including alpine and Nordic skiing, hiking, paragliding and more.

Another is the millions of dollars being poured into the continuing development of the Alyeska Resort, which also promotes myriad activities, including the Spring Carnival, the Blueberry Festival, Alyeska Mountain Run and Oktoberfest.

The entire mountain will be open for hiking and biking through the summer months, except for two chairlift areas where construction is planned to upgrade the facilities.

Resort operators said a new North Face trail is scheduled for completion by July 1 and a new switchback trail travels from the top of the tram run down through the Autobahn connecting to the Winner Creek Trail.

Another attraction for summer hikers this season will be the Roundhouse Museum, midway up Mount Alyeska, open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Roundhouse, an octagon-shaped structure built in 1960 as a resting spot for skiers, has been listed since 2003 on the National Register of Historic Places.

When there was talk a decade ago of destroying the Roundhouse because it was no longer being used and was in need of repair, Chris Von Imhof, former vice president of the Alyeska Resort, worked with other area residents to form Girdwood Inc., a nonprofit organization for educational and charitable purposes. The Roundhouse was its first project.

After $2 million in restoration efforts, the Roundhouse is now fully restored, with an interpretive center and museum, and a lower ski patrol outpost. Funds from private grants, souvenir sales and a portion of tram ticket sales from the Alyeska Resort will support continued operation of the Roundhouse. Through a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, personnel from the Glacier Ranger District and Begich-Boggs Visitor Center at Portage will staff the museum four hours a day, seven days a week.

Resort operators, meanwhile, plan to replace ski lifts for chair 3 this summer with a new fixed grip quad chairlift equipped with a restraining device. The new chair 3 lift will realign at the top terminal moving slightly to the north, to help reduce the steepness of the terrain and improve traffic, allowing for smoother offloading of riders.

Chair 7 will get a carpet loader installed at the base of the lift and a mid-way offloading station. The carpet loader will allow the lift to run at higher speeds and help beginners and children load with greater ease. The mid-way station will give less-experienced skiers access to beginner terrain more conducive to learning without having to travel all the way to the top of the chair 7 lift, resort officials said.

Still, Girdwood will be without its popular Forest Fair this summer. Concern over past unruly visitors and the threat of fires from hundreds of careless campers at the event prompted local officials to cancel the fair this year.