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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.

Sunday 08/29/10 – Takin’ on the bear infested backwoods

Ron and I went ATV’ing in the woods of Alaska. The driver that transported us to the site is a year-long resident who regaled us with tales of the grizzly in the area that is getting too close to her home and rampant mooses and their young in the woods. We pulled up next to her friend on the highway and this sweet looking woman was shooting moose from her car. Apparently, she does it alone, skins the animal, field dresses the moose, puts it on a tarp in her SUV and loads it in her car alone because then she doesn’t have to share her meat with a helper. One moose could last up to two years. However, she bags at least one a year. I enjoyed many of her stories but realized that since she doesn’t see people for seven to nine months of the year, she has a lot of talking and catchin’ up to do. Yes, I am dropping the g’s and talkin’ like Palin already. My cousin Patty would LOVE it here…the demographics appear to be Republican all the way. If I see one more Palin book…..well, don’t go getting me all a-startin’.
Anyway, it was wonderful being in the woods in the 4-wheelers and although Ron and I were chomping on the bit to go faster, the trail was very challenging. He brought up the rear (so to speak) and I made sure that the bears didn’t snag him. We finally got to a beach and were able to go much faster.
Be back soon…we are going jet boating.

Denali National Park 08-28-10

I now understand why people come to Alaska.  We went to Denali National Park early in the morning and were there on the final days of their fall display.  It was a spectacular landscape. The view was incomparable to others that I have seen (although Ron said that Yellowstone was close).  The enormity of the park is 6.2 millon acres.  If you walk 1,000 acres a day it would take you 16 years to walk the park.  We did not see any bears or moose yet.  We saw caribou (reindeer) and Dall sheep in the distance.  This is a picture we took but you cannot even get a clear idea of the colors....will write more later.  We are on our way to Mount McKinley. Due to the weather, we will probably not get a good look at it because it is rainy and overcast but, hopefully, we will tomorrow.

Chena River 08-27-10

We boarded the Discovery II Riverboat this morning (Friday). It was a beautiful day, although brisk, enabling me to buy a cute jacket prior to the jaunt. The steamboat cruise was interesting. We went to a replica of a tribal community of the Athabascan tribe. The guides were college students that were raised in their tribal communities and were proud of their customs and methods of survival of their people. And they were charming. They described the intricate work on the clothing and the meaning behind the markings. We saw the training camp of a former Iditarod winner, Susan Butcher. The dogs were almost joyous as we watched a demonstration of the dogs pulling an improvised sled. A plane took off from the river next to us and landed, plants hid in the water as the boat passed, and we saw a contraption that the native people use to catch salmon. It is so effective that it can only be run at sanctioned times. Also, one of the guides, who is attending U of Alaska, said that although her parents do not have running water, they do have internet connection in their small cabin.

Ron wants to let you know that he had the best lasagna ever while we were in Fairbanks. The large coal burning energy source, Aurora Energy, pumps heat under the city because without it, pipes would burst electric wires freeze. The city has tubes that come out of the ground to discharge the heat. (They look like the tubes Olive Oyl would get stuck in on Bluto’s ship)…is that dated of a reference?
Everywhere you turn there are dead animals that are stuffed or bronzed. No live bears so far. The ride to Denali was beautiful. The hills and valleys are spectacular and vast. I mean, it just goes on and on and you don’t see many homes or towns. The leaves are just beginning to turn golden. Tomorrow (Saturday) we go into Denali Park to learn about the tundra (I wished I studied more in school). Also, we are meeting people my age now, but Ron still appears to be one of the youngest….poor fella.

I Ate Reindeer

Don't tell my grandson,Tyler, but there is going to be a change in Santa's line-up this year.  It was like a spicy kielbasa.  We are off to take a Steamboat trip up the river and then to Denali National Park.  Just so you know, Ron and I are the youngest people on their portion of the tour so far.  Truthfully, I am feeling pretty spry and Ron and I are always first in line.  Talk to you all soon.

Day 2- Mary Makes a Promise

So, I thought that leaving for the airport three hours before departure time was reasonable. I dislike spending hours in airports.  However, I did not anticipate getting stuck in stand-still traffic in Elgin.  As our delay increased, I became anxiety-ridden.  Did I create positive visualizations of making the flight?  No.  Did I provide myself with positive self-talk, calm myself with affirmations, or attempt to focus on the moment?  Hell no.  I freaked as I envisioned missing our trip due to my insistence that we not get to the airport so early.  In the mist of my panic, I promised Ron that he could always decide what time we leave for the airport.  We honed our bear-escaping techniques as we fast-stepped (I actually ran at one point) through the airport.  Apparently they had paged us.  We arrived at our flight 5 minutes before take off.......Ron did not find my comment, "at least we didn't have to wait for the flight" very amusing.  And, he is so excited about getting me to agree to departure times that I may have to change the duration of the commitment from forever to, maybe, 10 years.

I did hear, upon arrival, that moose are more dangerous than bears so I may have to readjust my focus.

We are sitting in the Anchorage airport looking at the spectacular mountains as we await our propeller plane.  As a note to my daughter and single nieces, I have to say, THERE ARE A MILLION MEN here.  I couldn't get to my camera in time to take a picture of plane loads of men here....just in case you were looking.

I may not be able to post for a few days as we are flying to Fairbanks tonight but will update the blog at our next opportunity.

PS Ron read this and the disappointment on his face when he realized he only gets a 10 year window to call departure date was a sad thing to see.

Pre trip thoughts

I am a little concerned about starting a blog for a few reasons...1)  I am not sure what a blog is, 2) although I am definitely self-absorbed, even I can't think that anyone would be that interested, 3) my spelling sucks, 4) I am unsure of my Internet access and 5) what can I saw about laying around, drinking, and looking for whales?  However, I am going to try it because I am afraid that if I don't learn new things, I will be calling my children to ask them how to program my DVR.

So, it is the night before our trip to Alaska.  We will be spending four days on land, beginning in Fairbanks and going to Denali National Park, then Mount McKinley.  We will then embark on the cruise for seven days.

I titled my blog "Alaska for wussies" because we are not even going to break a sweat in our explorations. I anticipate the most of my exertion will be in lugging my suitcases.  I am packing as if I was going on the Queen Mary.   I have a rolling trunk...62 linear inches at 49 pounds.  Oh, yeah, I am going to get over on "the man."  I am getting my money's worth for that luggage charge, baby. 

However, I am prepared to run from bears, or at least briskly walk.   I did not just pack heels and tap shoes.  With proper footwear, I should  be able to outwalk the bear for approximately 32 seconds.

So, with Ron already in bed, and me beading a bracelet cuff to take along, I bid you all goodnight.  I hope to keep up on my postings.