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By the last day of our cruise we were anxious to return home.  Although it was lovely, and I am excited about traveling again, but there is no place like home. Along with my soveniers, I came home with a cold, one of the few things that I received that was free of charge.  Alaska was a trip to remember....I have never seen such a consistently beautiful place.  In the interior of the state there are not WalMarts, shopping centers, or fast food places....and that was refreshing.  In fact, outside of Talkeenta, many people protested a small grocery store because it was too close (a few miles outside of town).  I met interesting people, experienced things that I have never experienced, and have retained the excitement to plan our next trip.  I have lots of pictures and will bore any of you if you want to hear about our trip.  Thanks for reading along. 

Ketchikan - September 4th

This is a lovely little town that was a haven for sailors.  The red-light district was built over a Creek and did agreat business until World War II.  In fact, they had a "going out of business" sale, at that time.  The town had a path called the "Married Man's Path" where committed males would leave the saloon and take a back way to the creek houses.

The town had a museum/library which was adorable and had a plethora of pictures of the pioneers and founding fathers.  It also had Native Tlingit (sounded out - Clink-it) totems.  The little town has the largest collection of totems in the world and the largest population (per capita) of natives in Alaska.

We watched the poor salmon try to swim upstream....what troopers.  The town was very small and covered in a short time.  There are many jewelry shops in each of the towns. .....gold, diamonds and tanzanites are the favorites.  But there are too many and souvenir shops abound. 

Who Knew??? Juneau!!! September 3rd, 2010

We are edging towards the end of our trip. We are really getting used to sleeping late, eating good food, and relaxing. In fact, today, we slept so late we never made it to the museum! As we had breakfast, we shared our table with an elderly couple. During our conversation, he said that he was the first cousin of Cliff....the guy who first developed “Cliff Notes.” It was so interesting how his cousin founded the company and died pretty wealthy. There are so many older people on this trip it is getting kinda creepy. I mean OLDER. At times it feels like we are looking at the Crypt keeper. Now, I understand that I am aging but it is getting a little depressing. There are a few more children on board than I thought but they must be keeping them away from the elderly so that their youth is not sucked out.

We took a tram that ran from the ocean to a large hill and had a beautiful view of the small city. We also saw a beautiful bald eagle that is being cared for after some jack-ass shot its eye out. It will be unable to be released into the wild due to its altered depth perception. But it was amazing with a huge wingspan. The picture does not do it justice. After a short hike, we stopped for a beer at the Red Onion Saloon, which is packed with junk from Alaska since 1949. We meandered around the town trying to find a souvenir for the kids. Not doing well with that.

I heard that tonight is lobster night. Although it is a formal evening, Ron is willing to dress in a suit to get lobster. Should be a fancy-smancy night : ) I am playing a lot in the casino and holding my own. Ron won the first day but has been going downhill. We need to work on that tonight. Although I am winning at 2-card poker, I am also playing Texas Hold’Em and it is kicking my !@*.

Skagway - September 2nd

We went gold-panning today. It was fun and the guide, Skagway Sonny, (also known as Sticky Fingers) taught us to pan gold. A little more work than we thought but I now have gold flakes for my beaded jewelry. We also learned how they used a "dredge" and pulled up huge bucketfuls of dirt from the river floor and caused environmental damage. The town of Skagway was originally founded by Captain Moore who saw this as the entrance to the Yukon Territory. However, when the first prospectors arrived, they took his land and founded the town of Skagway that was full of criminals and prostitutes. The town looks poverty stricken but the land is outrageously expensive, with small two bedroom ranch homes going for $400,000 and up. There is no more available land in the town so it is increasing in value.
Believe it or not there is a Sarah Palin store here. It was empty of customers. We also stepped into the Red Onion, a former brothel and bar. This state is really still a frontier in many ways. These towns are extremely isolated in the winter and pregnant woman must leave the town in their 6 month of pregnancy due to the lack of medical services and availability. The people who live in the bush (no roads) are even more isolated and must be independent throughout the winter.
Tomorrow, Juneau.

Glacier Bay - September 1st

Ron and I are starting to get into the cruise….we slept late and sauntered up to the feeding station. Today the ship took us to Glacier Bay which is just as I expected…beautiful. The bay was calm but it is getting colder and wetter as we travel. The Madeline Glacier was really pretty and I watched chunks fall into the bay with a big boom. This trip is pretty sedate onboard. No parties, drunken kids (although the adults are doing pretty well). The demographics are a bit older than Ron and I with only a sprinkling of people in their 40’s and 30’s. I have seen only about five children on board and about three teens with their mothers. I assumed they were teens because they were rolling their eyes at mom when she was talking about the views from the ship. I am assuming that there was a younger crowd earlier in the year. However, the ship is ours after 9:00 pm and we are taking naps to be able to stay up : ) Well, maybe I am a part of the demographics because I found myself taking pictures of some of the food. The salmon, whitefish, and trout are very yummy and I am trying all sorts of foods that I wouldn’t at home, mainly due to access and cost.
Tonight we are meeting a couple who we befriended on our first day or two and going to a show. Ron is chomping at the bit to get to the casino because it was closed all day for Glacier Bay. I think it was because we moved to the interior and gambling is illegal. His little face just fell, and he took to his bed, poor guy. Well, I have to go…nap time.

While at Glacier Bay I saw two calvings (ice falling from the glacier and into the water).  Even though it did not look like a huge break-off of ice, the sound was like a sonic boom. Unfortunately, the pictures are not able to really show the event.

Transition to Luxury - Auguest 31st

As you can see, I missed August 30th. This is because it was a long-drawn out travel day. Although we took a seven hour glass dome train ride, it became tedious after the first couple of hours because we went through a lot of small, indignant town s and no wildlife was in sight. According to the natives, there appears to be a significant amount of crystal meth use in Alaska and one store even had a sign that said if you were high you were not welcome. Some of the speakers and guides we talked to spoke of significant addiction issues in the population. They mentioned long, dark, and cold days, depression and family susceptibility as the causes. Anyway, that, and relying on the tourist industry, makes for a lot of poverty.

Today was a day at sea. So far I have not been seasick. The food is really good and Ron and I haven’t missed a meal yet!!! SURPRISED??? The ship moved towards shore to get a good look at the Hubbard Glacier, which was huge and growing every year. I am learning about glaciers that grow while others recede. I just thought that they were all receding. The sea is lovely and mixes the gray/green of glacier run off with the ocean, making for an unusual color of the ocean in that area.
Ron has been gaming a lot in the casino today and hit 3-of-a-kind in Three Card Poker and is way up (so far). I entered a slot tournament (lost) and a Texas Hold’Em tournament. I also lost that tourney but at least I wasn’t the first one out. I intend to blow more money on our next day at sea.

Sunday - 08-29-10 - continued....the attack on Mount McKinley

The jet boat ride was pleasant but I would have passed had I known what lay ahead.  A couple we met on the first day, Robert and Ann, were discussing their upcoming activity, flying around Mt. McKinley.  They are both pilots and had already researched the local aviation company and said that they were very reliable with No Fatalities.  Well, viewing that as a positive omen, Ron and I made a quick decision to take the flight.  We went up in a 1961 DeHavilland 10 seater plane.  The day was cloudy and we had only had a peak at a little of Mt. McKinley OVER the clouds prior to the flight.  That is how huge it is....the break in the clouds showed the top of the mountain which was striking.  I had no idea what it would be like to fly to the mountain. 

As we climbed through the clouds, McKinley's top was visible.  In the pictures, you have to remember that you are seeing only the top of the mountain.  It was one of the most spetacular sights I have ever expereinced.  It took our breath away.  The pilot took us between the other mountains and peaks of the Alaskan range.  Then, our plane went through the "747 pass."  This means that the pass is only large enough for the wing span of a 747.  It felt like we were going to scrape the mountain walls.  I really can't describe the beauty of the glaciers below.  I knew, even as I took pictures, that they were not going to capture the magnificence of what I was seeing.  I felt that way in Denali National Park but even more as we were flying to the summit of the largest mountain in North America.