Take time to take a day cruise out of Seward or Whittier. Most of the tours ramp up after Memorial Day but may be available when you are up here. The Alaska Railroad has a day package that takes the train from Anchorage to Seward for a half day tour of resurrection Bay and then a return back on the railroad.

If you have a car, take a tour down onto the Kenai Penisula to Homer.

You might want to take an overnight trip to one of the remote towns in the Bush, Kotzebue, Nome, Barrow or Bethel.

As for lenses the 24-70 will do fine. The 100-400 will come in handy as will either of the wide angle lenses.

I agree with Appaflo and hpucker99 , they have given you some excellent ideas. You did not say if you are driving or just flying in. But yes please hit the remote villages , take the inland ferry, you can get some great info sent to you from The state of Alaska tourist bureau.. I really would recommend for the first time even taking a cruise ( it may be too late to book one now) so you get to see Alaska from the inland waters and visit some ports and then go back next year knowing where you have been and what you want to expand on.
And Yes plenty of sd cards , you will love the Bears,whales and golf balls in the trees ( Eagles).. Have a great trip...

Thanks Apaflo for great suggestions. Realistically what all can we fit in those 12 days as I am still in the planning stages. An aerial ride sounds inviting. We are very active people and generally would like to be on the go about 10 to 14 hrs a day doing things. Given the timeframe we have at our disposal how much of what you have can be covered doing ample justice for each activity and location? Do you suggest a hub and spoke type of travel to cover much or a loop to the remote areas?

And wonderful shots displayed in your sample. :thumbup:

I've had six Alaskan trips over about twenty years time.
One was by boat - I rented a small sleep-aboard yacht with two tenders, for family and a few friends, and spent a month (June plus a little) cruising the northwest Canadian coast and south coast of Alaska. The photo ops were uncountable - scenery, birds, seals, bears, etc. At the time I was using film still, with very wide angle to short telephoto lenses, and felt well covered.
The other five trips were in my own airplane, with some digital and some film cameras on different trips. I never felt the need for a truly long lens, but wide angle and short telephoto zooms were useful. I made use of photomerge software, and several of the resulting landscapes are great!
The back country is where you will find most of the unique opportunities. It is difficult to get to some locations, but I was able to hire natives several times to get me to truly spectacular areas. We traveled by four wheel drive vehicle and by very small boats (kayaks and inflatables) on different short trips. Floating the Naknek River was one highlight.
This is a great opportunity, but as others have said above, getting far off the beaten track is the way to go, if you can possibly arrange to do so.

What fun!
Our daughter lives in Anchorage so we have been a number of times. Only once in late May, early June. I would take everything except the 85; you wide angles are fine, you don't need more. What you do need is more time in Alaska. It is so big and varied. What you see is so dependent on the time of year. One time in Valdez we saw eagles everywhere, then in another visit, no eagles. For example the water fowl should be coming in in May. What to do and see? Well Denali is great, but a total crap shoot as to what you see. Sometimes nothing in wildlife, sometimes a lot. You will want your best telephoto on 7D; I would look at the trip by boat out of Seward, to see water fowl and glaciers and maybe some whales. Done that 4 times and good weather only once. There are waterbird preserves south of anchorage on the drive toward Seward, ask some locals as to when the birds come. One of the things that should be great while you are there; get a small plane to fly you across the inlet from Homer toward Katmai and there should be a lot of bears on the beach; that is probably my best recommendation. But ask and see if the bears are there before you agree. Good luck. Send PM if you want more.

You are coming up here at a rather unique time, as that is essentially late Spring up here. Denali Park won't be open yet, so unless you do fly out to some of the more remote locations (always a great idea, if you can afford it, as it's expensive) to see and photograph some very Alaskan Alaskana, you'll be limited to what you can access by highway.

I second the recommendation going to Seward or Whittier to take a glacier viewing trip. You'll see lots of marine critters and birds, as well as whales. You might even be lucky enough to get some great shots of the orcas. (killer whales) The weather is pretty unpredictable that time of year, so you never know what you're going to get.

Also, I have to concur about leaving the 85mm lens behind. Your other two will do just fine, and unless you see something way off the road or from wherever you happen to be, the 100-400 may or may not be of use. Later in the summer it would be, though.

If you look at Apaflo's images he posted, that will give you a good idea of what you will see in the remote villages and towns. He is in Barrow, and you won't see that sort of thing anywhere else. I'm sure, if you got on a plane and took a flight to Barrow, he'd be more than happy to give you a tour. In the end, your time will be too short. Plan a second, longer trip for more. Oh, and and all-wheel-drive vehicle will do just fine in May. The roads should all be clear and dry, but some of the unpaved side roads might still be unfriendly.