Alaska (2005) - shoshtrvls

Day 12

shoshtrvls — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Another day at sea, on our way to Vancouver.

Day 9 (continued)

shoshtrvls — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

We took a side excursion to Haines to visit the eagle preserve, where we saw swans and nests and eventually even a few bald eagles.

Day 8 (continued)

shoshtrvls — Mon, 22 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Eventually we arrived at Margerie Glacier, and everyone came out to take pictures.

Day 8

shoshtrvls — Mon, 22 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Today we cruised through Glacier Bay and it was finally somewhat warm enough for Ellery to swim in the ship's pool.

Day 7

shoshtrvls — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

OK, we didn't really go to Yakutat (it probably would have made the day much more interesting), but passed by it on our way to Glacier Bay.

Day 3 (continued)

shoshtrvls — Wed, 17 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Day Three again too us north of Anchorage, heading toward Palmer, this time to the Matanuska Glacier and a float/rafting trip from its terminus. I have to admit, this was the first time I had ever rafted with warm weather gear on.

Day 2 (continued)

shoshtrvls — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Next, we headed up to Wasilla and stopped at Lynda Plettner's Dog Kennel, our first musher's camp.

Then we visited the official starting point of the Iditarod Dog Sled Race.

That was followed up by an easy little hike to Thunderbird Falls and back.

That evening, we saw Hillary Clinton at our hotel!

Day 13

shoshtrvls — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

After leaving the ship, Ellery and I spent the day in Vancouver, mostly at the Fair.

Finally, we saw animals!

Ellery also had her first bunji experiences and a bit of juggling capped off the trip.

Day 11

shoshtrvls — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Our last port was Ketchikan, where we wandered around town and then I did a ropes and zip line course. All it took was some balance.

Day 10

shoshtrvls — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

In Juneau, our next stop, Mendenhall Glacier was the thing to see.

Day 9

shoshtrvls — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Our first port was Skagway.

Ellery found salmon swimming upstream.

Day 6

shoshtrvls — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

In the morning we headed for the departure point for the cruise, Whittier, passing a Glacier or two along the way.

Day 5

shoshtrvls — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Another train ride took us to Talkeetna, probably my favorite stop on the trip. A small town, geared for tourists but also very authentic in its own way.

I convinced Ellery to take a sightseeing plane around Mt. McKinley, which was really spectacular -- the pictures do not do it justice. That's too bad for Ellery, who missed the whole thing because she fell asleep on the plane!

From Talkeetna we returned to Anchorage for the evening.

DAY 4

shoshtrvls — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Today the official "Princess" trip began, with a train ride up to Denali. In the afternoon we visited the Husky Homestead, Jeff King's musher camp. Although made for tourists, it was very interesting (Jeff King was actually there to give us the talk) and there were plenty of puppies to enjoy and dogs to see.

We stayed overnight at the Denali Princess Lodge.

Day 3

shoshtrvls — Wed, 17 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

We passed through Chickaloon on our way to the Matanuska Glacier.

Day 2

shoshtrvls — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Today we started at the Alaska Native Heritage Center, with its wonderful exhibits and talks about the histoory and culture of various tribes native to Alaska.

Ellery had the opportunity to try her hand at several different traditional arts and crafts.

Day 1

shoshtrvls — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Arrival in Anchorage and dinner with Nan, her son and her husband.