Tomorrow (Wednesday), we start our journey home via the McKinley Explorer train, then an overnight in Anchorage.  Our flight home leaves Thursday evening, then we should be home on Friday morning.

We have had so many great adventures in Denali National Park and about a million pictures to sift through — so stay tuned for more pictures when we get home!

Jean

On Friday, we cruised through Glacier Bay — more spectacular scenery! Early in the morning, several National Park rangers boarded the ship to narrate the journey, which took about 9 hours to the end of the bay and back. I really have no words to describe the breathtaking views, so I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

Saying goodbye to the National Park Staff.

Truly an amazing place and so glad we were able to see this and share our pictures with you.

Jean

On Thursday, our port was Skagway.  This town was a starting point of sorts for prospectors during the Yukon Gold Rush.  The paths to the mining area were rugged and downright brutal.  Most folks had to carry their own heavy loads of supplies on the long walk up steep mountain paths to White Pass (elevation just under 3000 feet), unless they could afford to buy a pack horse.  Many of these horses did not survive the journey — not all the men did either!  All this effort and most never found gold.  After some time, a railway was finally built, which made the journey easier for those with a bit of ready cash for the ride.

Across from the dock in Skagway is a steep mountain wall decorated with cruise ship graffiti; apparently on the first journey to this port for each ship, the crew makes an addition to the wall.

We took a tour by bus to  White Pass and into the Yukon Territory.  Just breathtaking scenery!

We stopped for lunch at Carcross; an interesting tiny town with a wildlife museum (closest I ever want to get to a grizzly bear — thank goodness he was stuffed), and other typical tourist attractions.  By far, my favorite thing was the sled dogs.  THEY HAD 12 DAY OLD PUPPIES!  As you can imagine, they were a big hit with everyone, especially since we could hold them.  So adorable.  I really wanted to smuggle one home!  The older dogs were great fun to watch as well.  Sled rides were offered and the dogs just went crazy when the sleds appeared — this breed loves to run and the racket was deafening!  Once the musher gave the signal, the dogs went right to work without another sound.  Amazing to watch.

 

We had a few wildlife sightings — the best was this momma black bear and her cubs. One of them just didn’t stick with the program and got a little behind.  No one likes a bear behind.  (insert groans here) When he realized he was being left, he moved pretty fast to catch up. Very cute. From the inside of a bus.

The ride from Yukon back to Skagway was on the historic narrow gauge White Pass and Yukon Route railway. This was quite a journey — we wound our way down the mountainside, passing though tunnels, and crossing bridges. Needless to say Theo loved every minute of it! I did a lot of looking at the mountain side (as opposed to the steep drop on the valley side) or at the train upholstery (especially when we went over those trestle bridges). However, I was so proud that I survived the journey with only a few moments of terror that I bought myself a hat.

 

This is an old bridge that is thankfully no longer in service.

Up next — Glacier Bay!

Jean

Hello from Denali National Park! Sorry we haven’t posted anything for a few days — we thought to wait until it got dark…oh wait, it doesn’t get dark here this time of year!

Seriously, the real reason is sketchy internet service and no time to sort through pictures because we are busy taking more pictures!

Just to bring you up to speed on what we are up to:

On Thursday, we stopped in Skagway and took a trip to the Yukon, following (sort of) the route miners took during the Yukon Gold Rush. It is hard to imagine men and horses trying to make their way up this path and over the summit into the Yukon. But I guess the call of gold is strong.

Friday, we cruised through Glacier Bay — what spectacular scenery!

Saturday was an at sea day while we cruised across the Gulf of Alaska — and we just had a very lazy day (but no internet).

Sunday morning, we disembarked and traveled to Denali — more beautiful scenery. I know that sounds odd, but just everything is amazing to see — mountains, forests, rivers, waterfalls. wildlife. I honestly do not know how anyone manages to not spend all their time gawking!

We went through a section where there had been a recent forest fire. This particular fire burned through several thousand acres of forest, but is now controlled. There are other fires still burning near Fairbanks, but it seems like the firefighters are making progress. Here in Denali, we have heard it was pretty smoky a few days ago, but it is cleared out now.

This morning (Monday), we got started early for a ride to a nearby valley — on a Polaris Ranger (side by side ATV thing). Theo let me drive so he could take pictures. He might regret that decision now — all I am saying is that it is a good thing we had seatbelts and if you didn’t get muddy, you didn’t have a good time!

We are off in a bit to head into the park itself. We are hoping to check off the remainder of items on our wildlife sighting list.

We have a break in the action on Tuesday afternoon, so I hope to upload some more pictures.

Jean

There are no roads into Juneau — you have to get here by plane or by boat. While we were in port, there were at least 3 other cruise ships there as well. We were on the bow the morning (Wednesday) we arrived and are kind of amazed at the crew’s parking skills. I was pretty sure we were going to smash a fishing trawler between us and the dock, but somehow our big ship gently sidled up to the dock and fit perfectly into the designated space. To moor the boat, the crew tosses out several big lines with weights on the end for the dock workers to haul us in and tie up. It is a well choreographed dance.

The Alaska state capital is a very nondescript brown brick building; I was expecting something a little more impressive. There is a significant federal government presence here as well and about 50% to 60% of the workforce is employed by some level of government.

While here, Theo took to the skies for some heli-hiking atop Mendenhall Glacier. Glaciers are essentially a river of ice and they do move. Slowly. The surface is not smooth, but is full of crevices and spikes (called seracs). As the glacier moves along, it picks up debris and grinds away bits of the mountain. Atop this glacier is one of the few places in the world one can see rain forest, glacier, and the ocean all at once.

View from the helicopter.

All suited up and ready to go.  In the background is a tent where the guides wait between groups.

Dylan the guide.

Looking down into a waterfall.

I went to Mendenhall Gardens, then to the Mendenhall Glacier via a land route. In the garden, there are ‘flower towers’, which are fallen trees turned roots up and stuck back in the ground — flowers are planted in the nest of roots and are really very pretty. I think Theo now has some new ideas for our yard…

View of the Mendenhall Glacier from the bottom.

We met back at the dock afterward to take off on a whale watching trip. Oh. My. Goodness. We saw an impressive number of whales — one group of about 12 was working together in what is called ‘bubble net feeding.” A couple dive deep and scare the herring into bunches, then the whales blow bubbles underwater, which forces the herring up. Apparently this makes for a tasty herring snack! Of course, the seagulls seem to understand what is going on and hover above waiting for leftovers. We caught the whales breaching, flipping their tales, and just about every other behavior that makes for great whale watching. Even the tour guides were impressed!

All in all, a fabulous day!  Sorry, but no sunset picture tonight — we were long asleep by sunset!

Jean

On Tuesday, we arrived at our first port, which was the very pretty little town of Ketchikan. The cruise ships snuggle right up to the dock in the downtown area and everything you could want to visit is just a short walk away.

This area of Alaska was overrun with people (mostly men) looking to make their fortune during the Gold Rush…here is Creek Street, the former red-light district where “men and salmon come upstream to spawn.” Hmm.  Today, the buildings that used to be brothels are still taking money from tourists – albeit in a slightly different way.

Theo took off to go salmon fishing, but unfortunately, the fish were not cooperating.

I took off to see the Misty Fjords. What an amazing journey! We traveled several miles inland by boat to an area of the Tongass National Forest that is designated as the Misty Fjords National Monument. This land is completely unspoiled by mankind; there are no man-made structures of any kind allowed in this over 2 million acre area – well, except for one small weather station. We spotted many bald eagles, seals, and even a young black bear! The mountains here are about 3000 feet high, but are quite steep — beaches are very rare (probably a good thing considering the number of bears who are supposed to live here).

Seals sunning on the rocks.

And of course – a sunset.

Jean

Imagine you are sailing with George Vancouver about 1793 as he searches for the Northwest Passage. Their expedition explored all the inlets and coves along this part of the Pacific Northwest. This is what you find along the way.

Because we are traveling on a smaller cruise ship (relatively speaking), our journey led us down one of the smaller waterways, Grenville Channel. Great views of the shorelines on both sides. We did see a number of humpback whale spouts, but not too many of the whales actually breached the surface. The scenery is truly spectacular and I fear I will run out of adjectives to adequately describe how beautiful.

And of course, we have to include a picture of the ship’s bell and another fabulous sunset.

Next up…Ketchikan.

Jean

After trotting through US customs and final cruise check-in, we were allowed on board about 11:30 (on Sunday). We checked out our stateroom then wandered around a bit to get the lay of the land, so to speak. Our luggage arrived in short order and we quickly unpacked so we could head back out to hang over the railings and take pictures. Well, Theo hung over the railings, I like to keep all my body parts on the ship side! Anyone who has cruised knows about the lovely evacuation drill, so once we all proved we could follow directions, we got underway.

A nice view of Canada Place with our hotel in the background.

One look back at beautiful Vancouver as we cruise into English Bay.

Heading under the Lion’s Gate suspension bridge — and waving farewell as we go.

Some pretty scenery. The shoreline as we headed north into the Inside Passage was just amazing. Mountains thickly wooded with beautiful cedar trees and occasional rock outcroppings.

Tugboat pulling cargo. We saw many such boats — some pulling logs and some pulling cargo containers.

Lighthouse.

Amazing sunset at about 10 pm.

Passing a southbound cruise ship.

Today (Monday), we continue our cruise through the Inside Passage — tomorrow our first stop is Ketchikan.

Jean

 

  Well, would you look at that.  Our cruise ship has arrived!  In just a few short hours, we will be on our way. 

Jean