For years we've talked about visiting Alaska after we
retired and finally it was time for us to make that journey. This trip would help us achieve one goal by
being the 50th state we have visited. It would also bring us one step closer to
another goal of caching in 50 states…making it the 49th state we've
cached in. Mona really has never wanted
to go to Alaska as she hates the cold but she is big on reaching our goals, so
she went…but only after having lodged a formal protest. She’d go, but that didn't mean she’d like it!
Our start was typical for us in that we took the long route
to St. Louis, picking up geocaches in six more Illinois counties. This made for a leisurely beginning to our
trip and we got to cross the Illinois river at Kampsville; something I’ve
wanted to do for a long time.
We flew Alaska Airlines to Seattle…getting our trip started
off on the right theme. There is great
scenery on this flight path especially as you fly over the Cascades and see the
snow-covered volcanoes. Our Seattle hotel
was just a couple of blocks from the Space Needle so we walked over to get a
few pictures before heading to bed. Next
morning our trip would begin!
Our ship was the Carnival Miracle, the smallest cruise ship
we’ve been on. The smaller ships are
pretty much standard for Alaskan cruises because the big ships can’t fit in the
narrow passages. Of course the term “small”
is relative as the Miracle is about a thousand feet long, weighs 88,500 tons
and carries 3000 passengers and crew.
We boarded the ship about noon and spent the next few hours
getting acquainted with its layout. At
4:00 we stood on deck as the ship left Seattle and cruised west on the Puget
Sound. The skies were clear and the seas
were calm…we had our fingers crossed hoping this would set the tone for our
trip. We even saw a whale spouting while we ate dinner; surely, this was a good
omen!
Next morning we woke to driving rain and eight foot
seas. Winds were steady at 45 mph with
gusts over 50. Hmm….what happened to our
good omen? No matter, we had a full day
of shows, games, meeting new people and of course whale watching. We managed to spot a couple in spite of the
rain. I was starting to worry that Mona’s
fears of a cold and rainy trip were to come to pass. |
| Whale watching |
Next morning we woke to calm seas and sunny skies. We had left the Pacific and were now in the
Alaskan Inner Passage cruising to Tracy Arm Fjord. It didn't take long for us to spot our first
whale. Then another, then another! There were humpback whales everywhere along
our route! There were also pods of Dall’s
porpoises, sea lions, and harbor seals swimming alongside our ship. Utterly amazing!!! Oh, and of course the scenery was nothing to
sneeze at…towering snow-capped mountains plunging straight into the sea. This route is simply awe-inspiring!
 |
| There's whales out there! |
 |
| Our excursion boat pulling up to the ship |
Our ship turned into the Tracy Arm Fjord, going ever so slowly
so it wouldn't scrape against the side of the sheer walls and so it would not hit
any of the bigger icebergs that cluttered the passage. We got about two miles away from the South
Sawyer Glacier before we stopped. We
could see the top of the glacier, but it was too risky to take the Miracle any
farther. Luckily, we had pre-booked an
excursion to get a closer look. A small
boat came up to our ship
 |
| Iceberg |
In no time, we were speeding farther up the fjord for our
closer look with our boat weaving its way around the icebergs that had calved
off the glacier. The bergs are beautiful
and all different sorts of shapes. Some
of them have the most iridescent cobalt blue color that seems to shimmer in the
sunlight. Our guide told us that this is because the ice is so densely packed
in the berg that it captures all the spectrums of light except for the
blue. We had never seen anything like
this before!
 |
| Growlers, Bergies and Bergs |
The fjord was created by glaciers. In fact, the entire Inside Passage was formed
by glaciers. They gouged out all these
channels in the last ice age which ended about 15,000 years ago. Most glaciers are now in retreat, and many
are receding at an alarming pace due to global warming. Our guide told us that the South Sawyer
Glacier had retreated over a mile since she started working there three years
ago. As the glaciers retreat the seas
rushes in. The result is spectacular scenery
with shear walls of stone covered with forests of green. The water is filled with growlers, bergies and
icebergs. Growlers are small floating
pieces of ice that the boat can run over and they make a growling sound as they
pass under the hull. Bergies are small
icebergs, less than 3 meters in height and icebergs are the big dudes over 3
meters tall. As you look at the
pictures, remember that ninety percent of the iceberg is below water.
 |
| Our first glimpse of South Sawyer Glacier |
Finally, we turned a corner and there was the face of the South
Sawyer Glacier in all its glory! It was
HUGE! It’s about 700 feet high and about
a mile wide. Up close you can’t get a
full picture of it. We got within about
a quarter of a mile of the glacier; any closer and the boat would be in danger
from the icebergs calving off the huge glacier.
The glacier has immense areas of compacted white ice, other areas of
dirt/rubble that it has gouged out in its travels from the ice shelf and finally
caverns of cobalt blue ice. Absolutely
breathtaking!!!! We saw several icebergs
calve off the glacier with a huge roar and we saw harbor seals riding on some
of the bergs. We were in awe the entire
time we were near the glacier…I wish I had better words or better pictures….it’s
simply indescribable!
 |
| At South Sawyer Glacier! |
All too soon it was time to leave. Our little boat worked its way back west and then
went up another channel to our second glacier, the Sawyer Glacier. Its face is a little smaller than the South
Glacier, but it’s just as beautiful and breathtaking. We spent another half hour there, but finally
had to reluctantly leave to link up with our ship. We got there just in time because our ship
headed north as soon as the last person crossed from the boat to the ship. Back to ship life: shows, music, dining, whale-watching,
etc. etc. etc.
 |
| Glacier Closeups |
Next morning we were in Skagway, Alaska. This is a tiny town of 900 in the summer (200
in the winter). It was a boom town of
25,000 in the gold rush years of 1898 and 99.
Here we finally touched Alaskan soil for the first time…our 50th
state! We walked from the ship to a
narrow gauge train for a trip up the mountains to the Yukon. This was yet another ride with amazing
scenery as we made our way up, alongside a steep valley carved out by glaciers. We didn't see much wildlife on the ride, but
the scenery was outstanding! After about
ninety minutes we crossed the border into Canada, into the Yukon. Just across the border they uncoupled the
engines, brought them to the back of the train, recoupling them so we could
return to Skagway.
After the train ride we wandered the nine blocks of the main
street of Skagway. This is where all the
tourist traps are, along with the restaurants.
We found a couple of caches, achieving our 49th state and we
shopped for trinkets to bring home. We
then had lunch in the local brewery; sipping beer flavored with spruce tree
tips and sampled the locally-caught halibut and salmon sandwiches…which were
incredible! We ended our Skagway visit
by walking back to the ship with a crew member from the Philippines. A nice ending to a great day!
Hmm…about that term “day”.
At this time of the year it never really gets dark. Sunset is at 10 PM and sunrise is at 4 AM,
but the sun never gets very far below the horizon so it’s kind of twilight all
night long.
 |
| Downtown Skagway |
Next morning began with us docking at Juneau, Alaska. A few facts about Juneau. It’s the capital of Alaska and about thirty
thousand people live here. There are no
roads to Juneau and you can only get there by plane, by boat or by birth canal. As
we docked, bald eagles circled our ship and dive-bombed into the waters
alongside to fish. We hadn’t seen any
eagles on the trip until now, but Juneau definitely made up for the dearth from
the other ports! We disembarked and
boarded a bus for our next excursion: whale watching.
 |
| Whales! |
Soon we were on a smaller boat headed out into Stephen’s
Channel. Within minutes we spotted our
first whale. We followed it around as it
spouted three or four times, and then dove, showing us its tail as it began its
deep dive. Love this!!! We then moved on to other whales, with them
repeating the sequence of several spouts before they dove. We even saw a pair of humpbacks doing this in
synchronization! Thrilling!!! No matter how many whales we see it’s always
an emotional experience! Most emotional
was when we saw one whale seemingly stand on its head for several seconds
before it plunged to the deep. A 45 foot
animal weighing in at 90,000 pounds and it stands on its head!??!?! No pictures of this as we were too spellbound
to even breathe, much less to lift a camera to our eyes.
Our boat then came up alongside Shelter Island where there
was a colony of sea lions basking in the sun and frolicking in the water. The young sea lions seemed to be playing tag
in the water and there were constant splashes and yelps as they played. There were also bald eagles in the trees
above them…kind of like life guards, watching over the youngsters at play.
 |
| Mendenhall Glacier |
After about four hours on the boat we reboarded our bus and
headed to see another glacier. This is
the magnificent Mendenhall Glacier, just outside of Juneau. Here, you walk down a little trail from the visitor’s
center where you take in the glacier in all its magnificent glory. Amazing.
Beautiful. Breath-taking. Awesome…..none of those words is worthy of
describing this glacier! This was a
short visit and all too soon we headed back to the bus. While waiting on the bus we heard a stirring
in the bushes behind us. It was a
porcupine! Neither of us had ever seen
one in the wild before. The porcupine didn’t
mind us at all. He just kept going from
bush to bush…snacking on the way!
 |
| Duck Farts |
 |
| Our first wild porcupine! |
 |
| The Miracle from Mount Roberts. |
The bus dropped us off at the ship and at the foot of Mount Robert’s
Tram. We took the tram up the mountain
and we loved the great vistas of Juneau and the surrounding waters. There were even two bald eagles in trees near
the top. They look as big as three year
old kids sitting in the tops of the
trees. After returning on the tram we visited
The Red Dog Saloon. This place has
sawdust floors, rowdy musicians and an even rowdier staff. The specialty drinks were Duck Farts and The Cheap
Shit...no wonder everyone is rowdy! Had a blast here and we highly
recommend stopping at this particular tourist trap!
 |
| Victoria Harbor Scene |
Our final port of call was Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. We strolled alongside the harbor…enjoying all
the flowers and landscaped gardens. This
is a very English area with a Parliament building and double-decker buses. It’s well known for its beautiful gardens and
formal afternoon teas.
All too soon our cruise was over. We both teared up at the thought of leaving so soon. Yes, even Mona was teary eyed. She really likes Alaska….and yes, Margaret & Pete, Maryellen and Brian, we hear you saying “I told you so!”
 |
| Miracle Lobby Atrium |
This was a wonderful trip in every respect. The Miracle is a fantastic ship and we had
great meals and enjoyed the largest stateroom we've ever had. The weather in Alaska was perfect with
temperatures in the 50s and sunshine every day we were in port. Even the locals were amazed at the good weather. They said, we were seeing mountain
peaks that are rarely seen because of the rains and clouds. Also we saw lots of wildlife including more whales
and dolphins than we could count! Alaska is truly amazing!
 |
| We're going to miss the great seafood! |
We ended the trip with an extra day in Seattle. We cached at Geocaching Headquarters and we
wandered around the piers the rest of the day.
We had two fantastic seafood meals including our first dungenesss crab. Total yum!!!
We caught our Alaska flight early the next morning and we got our final
Alaska Trip farewell as we flew over a another magnificent glacier in the
Cascades.
This was indeed an incredible trip and I’m ready to go
again!
