We drove to Vancouver, B.C. to start our Alaska Cruise. The cruise terminal is right downtown and has an interesting roof.
The journey up the Inside Passage is very smooth. It is like cruising on a big lake. We actually missed having some waves. We sleep a lot better if the ship is rocking. Here are some scenes along the way.
Our first stop was at Ketchikan. We did not think that there would be much there but it turned out to be our favorite town on the trip. We talked to a clerk in a store there. She told us that during the entire summer, they have had 5 sunny days. Clouds, rain and fog are the norm along the entire coast of Alaska.
There is little suitable building land there. They built one street over a creek that is filled with salmon most of the summer. At the time, it was a red light district.
The street now houses the usual tourist shops and a few very interesting art galleries. One gallery featured a man who carves old mammoth tusks. In the entrance to his shop there was this complete tusk that must have been 5 or 6 feet long. The entire tusk was carved like this small section.
Even the main street in town is built out over the water.
Next to our ship, take off and landings went on all day.
Leaving town.
Our next stop was in Juneau.
Downtown Juneau. The state capitol building is down there somewhere. Our bus driver said it was voted the 50th most beautiful state capitol building in the nation.
Juneau airport is at the end of the fjord.
Two Princess cruise ships.
This is the only way in and out of Juneau by water. These fjords are not very wide but they can be 1000 feet deep.
Not far from Juneau is the Mendenhall Glacier and a wonderful waterfall (technically a cascade but who cares).
We next stopped in Skagway. Several years ago, when we spent the summer in Alaska, we spent about a week in Skagway so we did not do much here this time around. The town is just another small tourist town but the setting is wonderful. It was such a rare, beautiful, blue sky day that we did go out for a walk.
From Skagway we sailed to one of the highlights of our trip. We spent the day cruising in Glacier Bay National Park.
This is not a volcano. These are just clouds.
A glacier carved mountain
We sailed out of Glacier Bay, made a right turn and were shortly at the end of the Inside Passage and in the North Pacific Ocean. We continued north and found ourselves in Prince William Sound. Several miles before we got to our turn around point at Whittier, we turned into College Fjord, one of the most remarkable places I have ever seen.
A mountain side
The face of this glacier is taller than the ship. Even when you are right there in front of it, it is difficult to get an idea of just how big these things are. The ships get closer to the glaciers than I thought they would. They stop in front of the glaciers for an hour or more so that the passengers can watch and listen to them. They get as close to the glacier as they can and turn the ship sideways to it. They spend about 15 minutes with one side of the ship facing the glacier, then pivot the ship so that the other side faces it. The approach is limited by how much ice is in the water and a limit is set by the government authorities. In the summer, some of the glaciers cannot be approached at all because seals use the ice floating in front of them to raise their young.
Cold? You bet your bippy. We both had on two coats. Just think of standing in a giant glass of ice water. It also sounds like someone has just poured water over ice. There are these very loud pops and cracks. Some of the sounds are low, like distant thunder, and some sound like a rifle shot. When chunks of ice fall off the face, it can sound like an approaching train.
Our turnaround point for the cruise was Whittier. Some people got off here and traveled to the interior, others got on and traveled back to Vancouver. We, of course, were going to make a round trip.
Whittier is a strange place. It was built by the army during WWII as a shipping and receiving point. We never saw any private houses but we understand that a few people live in a condo-like building. Some of the large buildings are empty. I think that most people that work here just commute.
Sunset, Moon Rise
We saw a lot of interesting wildlife on our trip including humpback whales, orcas, sea lions, seals, sea otters and Bald Eagles. Here are some sea lions hauled out on a beach. We saw these while on a whale watching trip out of Juneau.
Here is something that few people get to see
This is Mt. St. Elias. Because it is so near the ocean and it is so high at 18,000 ft., most of the time it is hidden by clouds. It was so unusual that it was this visible that even some of the crew members on the ship, who had been cruising by here since last spring, were out on the decks taking pictures.
Cruising south with the same mountain chain in view.
In the bottom of this photo you can see the ocean. Next is a low ridge with trees on the top. Between the trees and the base of the mountains in the background is Malaspina Glacier, the worlds largest piedmont glacier ( a glacier that has spread out in a valley or flat area).
Here we are approaching the Hubbard Glacier. It is unusual because it faces the open ocean. The naturalist on board said that she had been coming to this glacier for 11 years and had never seen it this cloud free.
The view from the stern of the ship.
Leaving the glacier. It was such a breathtaking site that we stood on the deck until the mountains receded in the distance. It was also time to eat again.
After the visit to the Hubbard Glacier, we retraced our route to Vancouver. We again spent a day sailing in Glacier Bay National Park and stopped in Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. Boring? Not in the least. It was such a fantastic trip that I could have just turned around at Vancouver and done the whole thing again. We have talked to people that take an Alaska cruise every year. I thought that was a little strange until we took this trip. Now I can see their fascination with this part of the world. I think I share it.
