Disembarkation. Such a fancy word for “time to get off the ship!” On e more he weather gods were with us and we disembarked into sunshine, blue skies and fair breezes. Home to Canada.

After figuring out the luggage thing and where to pick up the hop on-off bus for our whirlwind view of the city, we just stopped at the closest Internet cafe for some high speed internet and a drink, catching up on a few emails and a little Facebook and stepping gently back into the real world.

Millions of people spend multi-millions of dollars to live in and around Vancouver and we saw first hand the lore of this beautiful, beautifully hectic place. Once again finding that bit of peace among the trees and beauty of Stanley Park.

another beautiful view from Stanley Park

a Chinese musician

we listened to this beautiful music to send us on our way home

We are reaching the last days of this adventure, but not the end  of our enthusiasm. We are tiring of group bus trips and crowds of people. I think hat it is the reason that this day was a joy to the spirit in so very many ways.

The only thing we did in Ketchikan was to find a local taxi driver to take us 10 miles outside of town to the Totem Bight State Historical Park. We were blessed on so many levels. First our driver Bill, was a true Alaskan native, a Haida born raised and lived all his life in Ketchikan… a taxi driver, a carpenter, and a carver of totem poles. As much as I have enjoyed all the young people, here in Alaska for the summer tourism,for their spirit of adventure, it was very special to speak to and share time with a native Alaskan.

The totem bight was a place of such peace and serenity that I could have spent much of the day there. There is much to be learned from honoring your  ancestors, their wisdom, the land, the animals … all that contribute to giving you life. There was so much peace and beauty walking down those wooded paths. Lessons to ponder from the trees that got their strength from trees that  though dead in one sense were providing nutrients and stability to the new. Or  those that gained strength from growing up together as one. This was a place rich in stories to listen to and hold.

from inside the totem bight, looking outward

Another early docking, another overcast rainy day, but this time we didn’t have any scheduled excursion so we took a relaxing morning and let the weather clear a little. On of the nice parts about  Juneau, was docking front and center in the town and just walking down the gangway to reach the various excursion booths and shopping. Having done a little research, we opted for the White Glacier bus that gave us a quick simple ride out to one of the main attractions: Mendenhall Glacier in Tongass National Forest. The skies cleared enough to allow us to do the short hike around the glacier and waterfalls.

Mendenhall Glacier

Spectacular views

Back in Juneau, we decided to get lunch at the Red Dog Saloon…  Good food, good beer, good friends, good music and sawdust on the floor … what fun!!

We docked in Haines, AK early on 17 June in a light rain. We were boarding the ferry that would take us the 45 minutes over to Skagway before 7 AM. In Skagway we met up with 4 other cruise ships, but our destination was the White Pass Railroad for the easy way up through the pass.

Arriving in Skagway

You know you are in Alaska, everyone waves!

Before we left for this trip we read James Mitchener’s Alaska, a book that tells the rich history of Alaska through fictional characters. One of the most heart-wrenching accounts were of the all those who headed up to the Klondike for the gold rush. All that they had to endure to get there shows the determination and will of people. One of the most difficult parts of their journey was taking their 1000 pounds of supplies up and over the White Pass(out of Skagway) or Chilkoot Pass(out of Dyea, across from Haines). Canada would not let them enter their country without enough supplies to get safely through a year in the Yukon. We were able to ride the railroad, sit back and enjoy the scenery; marvel at the engineering that laid the tracks and made the railroad possible. But, back down in Skagway, we went into the various Park Canada and National Park exhibits to see the sobering scenes of the real people and their climb up and over these passes.              

We spent our first full day aboard ship at sea, transiting from Seward,AK to Glacier Bay National Park. It was a good gentle day to recover from all the business of the previous week and to learn our way around the ship.

Enjoying the sunshine with a drink on the Lido Deck!

By 8:30AM on Tuesday 16 June, the Glacier Bay Park Rangers were aboard and we were entering the National Park. Just like the Kenai Fjords, we were delighted with views of glaciers, blue skies, mountain peaks, and sunshine. The Park Rangers spent the day with us, describing what we were seeing and giving information about the park, animals and the native peoples. Again we were blessed with warmth and sunshine, and magnificent views.

Entering Glacier Bay

Dutch Pea Soup on the Bow

The glaciers dwarf the cruise ships!

Margerie Glacier

One of the many amazing delights on this trip was celebrating David’s birthday aboard the Kenai Fjord trip and then again aboard the M.S. Oosterdam.

Happy Birthday David!

We boarded the ship about 4 PM on 14 June and found tickets for a dinner reservation at the Pinnacle Grill, one of the specialty restaurants on board. What an excellent dinner, but the best part of all has been enjoying this wonderful adventure with our dear friends: Ed, Kathy & Chris Suloff.

Dinner at the Pinnacle Grill

Cocktails in the Pinnacle Lounge

M.S. Oosterdam our home away from home!
Our stateroom was modest as it was an ocean view on the lower level. Not huge, but it was roomy enough to enjoy room service breakfast most mornings and a place to knit and read. Our favorite places were the top Observation Deck with the expansive views, comfy chairs and bar service for  either wine, beer, cocktails, or lattes. We had great fun with our waiter Michael in the Pinnacle Lounge each night before our dinner in the Vista Dining Room, and wonderful tables with views right against the windows as they cast off the lines and headed onto our next port.  

“Oh LORD my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds Thy hands have made … then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee: ‘How great Thou art! How great Thou art!'”

We took the Kenai Fjords boat tour.  All of the staff on the boat were saying. “Enjoy this great Alaskan day!!”  The weather was clear warm perfect!! We saw amazing sea life and even the crew were taking their own personal pictures. 

We saw: sea lions, humpback whales, Orka whales, porpoises, puffins, bald eagles … Glaciers and the most amazing mountains. 

A Great Alaskan Day!!

There are no words. These views are just so overwhelming. Transitting from Anchorage to Seward today. Views from the restaurant where we had drinks and off our deck where we are enjoying coffee. I am so very Blessed.

  Today was one of the adventures I had been looking forward to, the 8 hour trip through the countryside from Denali to Anchorage aboard the McKinley Express. The snow had stopped, but it was still cold rain when we left.

  Still, the ride was magnificent and the further we rode in the glass dome cars the clearer the sky became. How many times can you say this land is magnificent !!! The snow capped mountains have won my heart, although, they did say that this time of year the snow is usually gone off the mountains, but with our snow storms the last two days, we get to see the green trees in front of the snow capped mountains… There is always a silver lining.
  We had a wonderful lunch on the train and then the dessert!! Back up in the viewing car, our guide suddenly spotted Denali looming out of the clouds. Of course everyone ran to take photos and we thought that the obvious white peak promenently standing out on the horizon was Denali and snapped away, but no, the mountain we were centering on was Mt. Hunter (Denali’s child). Denali is actually the mountain to the right of the picture with his head in the clouds, 6,000 feet taller than Mt. Hunter.
   Lunch
 Denali has his head in the clouds on the right.

Once we arrived in Anchorage, we made a quick trip to the room and then went off to walk part of the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. We had great fun watching sea gulls harass an eagle, who was mostly unperturbed almost like he was dealing with typical childish behavior best left ignored. We ended our walk at a lovely area called Westchester Lagoon that was the perfect place for families with loads of playground equipment, benches, waterfowl and bike paths.  Again THE VIEW!!!!!

   
 Westchester Lagoon

This really is the land of Midnight sun. Walking back to the hotel at 10:30PM, I snapped is shot of brightly colored flowers in a little corner park. Notice the shadows from the sun!

Today was our 7+ hour tour into the Denali tundra wilderness. The light steady rain that we left in, soon turned to light snow and then bigger flakes as we moved further into the wilderness and the higher elevations. We had to take them at their word that “somewhere out there was Mt. McKinley ( or the preferred name here in Alaska Mt Denali “the big one”). 

Still, the scenery remains breathtaking, we saw numerous Dall sheep and their babies in the distance, a herd of caribou, and a very large bull moose down in the valley. Most fun: the kids from Florida seeing snow for the very first time and having a snowball fight!! Dinner conversation: “We need to come back!”