Another awesome summer vacation that we took as a family was Alaska. We spent a short time in Anchorage, a few days in Denali (talkeetna on the way) and then a few days in Seward with a stop in Whittier and a boat ride around the prince william sound. We also did boat in Kenai fjord and a heli trip to a glacier to meet Iditarod dogs. Both boat trips were awesome and saw amazing sea life as well as glaciers calving etc. Lots of places to hike. Found a river where the salmon were running. We were there over solstice so the sun didn’t really set - we were in Denali till 11pm one night.
I don’t know why I didn’t think about posting this before! I’d still put Galapagos ahead of this but this was a fabulous trip and is a lot easier logistically. If you do it, rent a SUV/4wd. While the main highways are fine, a lot of the roads and even parking lots right off them are not.