Our last night in Denali, we braved the frigid waters of the Nenana river for my first ever white-water adventure.  We donned dry suits and life jackets and into the raft we went.  We opted for the tour where the guide steers and we just hang on – and fortunately, no one fell out!  Well, until we reached a calm spot near the end where our guide told us we could jump in if we wanted.  I declined that particular opportunity, but Theo and a couple of the other passengers hopped right in.  I pulled Theo back in the raft after he had had enough, although I was laughing so hard by that time I am surprised I did not drown him!

The Nenana is classified as a Class III/IV rapids – III for the current and IV because it is just so very cold.  After our first drenching, the guide asked how we enjoyed our ‘glacial facial’.  These pictures are in series from unsuspecting tourists to thoroughly drenched and laughing hard tourists.  Man, was that water cold!  So glad to have a dry suit.

Smile for the camera, everyone!

A few of Theo’s pictures as we floated along — well, pictures in-between the rapids, that is!

 

We had just so much fun, I think this may be the highlight of our entire Alaskan vacation!

Jean

We wanted to spend as much time taking in the beautiful Denali Park scenery as we could — so we signed up for all manner of tours.  The night we arrived, we quickly checked into our room and then took off on the Jet Boat Safari that included a presentation on the wilderness lifestyle (many citizens of Alaska still pretty much live off the land — and apparently they can bear meat to preserve for winter meals, who knew?) followed by the wildest boat ride ever.

Of course, what trip to Alaska is complete without a little panning for gold?  If you look closely, you will see a tiny fleck of gold at the top of the pan.

Feeding the reindeer (I guess if they are farm raised, they are reindeer — if they are wild, then they are caribou).  Could be Dasher and Dancer, or was it Prancer and Vixen?  No Rudolph, though.

A speedy ride down the Nenana River.  And I do mean speedy.  I was expecting a sedate little float, but thoroughly enjoyed the ride anyway.

Here you can see the division between glacial water (the murky-looking stuff) and snow melt.

A beaver working on a dam.

And, of course, the tour guide.

Early the next morning, we hoped in a side-by-side and went off-roading (in a nice orderly fashion with the rest of the tour, of course) through a local canyon and dry creek bed.  Theo let me drive so he could take pictures and I am pretty sure he might regret that decision.  My inner wild woman escaped that day and I just had to let the crazy run!  At least I passed the driving test…

Here’s the first actual moose sighting of our trip.  Thank goodness for zoom lenses!

Dry creek bed.

And last, but not least, our long-suffering guides.  I suspect our group may have driven them to consume large quantities of adult beverages by the time it was over.

After our ATV adventure, we crammed ourselves into a specially-outfitted school bus for the trek into Denali National Park.  But more on that in a later post.

The morning of our last full day in Denali, we dragged our tired selves out of bed for an early morning Jeep adventure.  After all the fun we had on the ATV ride, I was kinda hoping we would go off road, but alas, this tour stayed on the paved Denali Highway.  We made plenty of photo stops and like everywhere we went, the scenery is fabulous.

 

Up next — white-water rafting.

Jean

It is amazing, really, you head home after a truly spectacular vacation and just dive back into real life with jobs and home projects and…well…the next thing you know, an absurdly long time has gone by and you still haven’t posted all of the pictures!  So tonight, I begin the rest of the tale.

After disembarking the cruise ship in Seward, Alaska, we boarded a travel coach (Okay, it’s a bus.  But a really nice bus.) for the journey north to Denali.  We managed our first moose sighting before we ever left the parking lot!

Perhaps not so much moose as our highly-entertaining bus, er, ‘travel coach’ driver, Daniel.  It is quite a long drive to Denali — about 8 hours on the Parks Highway, pretty much the only major highway in the state.  We headed past the port at Seward, through Anchorage, on to Wasilla (yes, THAT Wasilla, although we were assured you could not see Russia from here) where we stopped for lunch – with a great view.

Fortunately, these buses make frequent stops for bio breaks (and a nice leg stretch).  One stop was at the Iditarod headquarters, where, of course, they were showing off some sled dogs.

These dogs just amazed me.  While they were waiting to go, they jumped, they yipped, they snipped at their partners…when the guy says to go, they are all business and move right on out pulling a sled full of people.  We had a brief stop at a place for great viewing of Mt. McKinley and the mountain peeked out of the clouds for just a minute, then went back into hiding.

Alaska, like some places in the lower 48, has had more than their share of forest fires this year.  We drove through Willow, a recently burned area.  Thankfully, the fire was out by the time we arrived, but at its worst, around 1700 homes in a 15-mile radius were evacuated and the highway was closed to traffic.  I think the fire burned about 8500 acres —  and this was just one of the many fires this past summer.

Beyond the fire-burned area, we just sat back and enjoyed the amazing beauty of the mountains.

We arrived at McKinley Chalet in the late afternoon — along with about a million of our closest friends.  The process here of moving tourists around, checking them into their rooms, and manhandling luggage rivals the most complicated military operation.  People who cruised first, now coming to Denali, people headed to Fairbanks and points north, people coming from Fairbanks, people headed back to Anchorage for the southbound cruise…not to mention the near constant departure/arrival of shuttles taking people to the various excursions.  It was controlled chaos everywhere we looked!  Unbelievably, whatever logistic system they are using to manage all of this movement seems to work without a hitch.  I am still amazed that our luggage always ended up where it was supposed to be – and on time!

Jean

 

 

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