Skagway

It was overcast when we arrived in Skagway.  We had grand plans to get cheap train tickets and ride the twenty-some miles to go hiking on a glacier.  I had even borrowed appropriate boot wear attachments from friends.  But when our thrifty plans were spoiled by a hefty price tag, we pulled out the iPhone and discovered there was non-glacier hiking nearby.

So we headed towards Lower Dewey Lake.

The salmon were spawning, and consequently, dying.

This King Salmon was already dead. He was at least four feet long.

Death on one side of our path, and beauty and life on the other.

It was a good hike.  For me, anyway.  It was a rude wake-up call to how out of shape I actually am.

The little raging stream was perfect.

We arrived at Lower Dewey Lake, and it was still and quiet.

We had a little picnic lunch.

I sat by the lake for an hour, while Bryan (literally) ran up a couple of miles to see if he could make it to the upper lake.  But we were on a time crunch, so he had to turn back before he arrived.

Our time crunch was getting back to our port, and meeting up with the old bus that took us along a bumpy old road to the Liarsville Gold Rush Camp.

We even had a little show portraying what gold rush fever would have been like.

Then we learned the technique for gold panning, and got to pan for our very own gold!  We each found a few flecks.  Nothing to write home about.

Then we had a feast.  Fresh grilled salmon, reindeer sausage, and of course beans and cornbread.

Our bus driver dropped us off at the edge of the small town, and we wandered back towards our ship.

We stopped in at the Skagway Brewing Co. pub.  Good beer, actually.

We went hiking somewhere up there.

This cool old building was covered in driftwood.

Ready to get back on our ship.  See the blue glacier?

We had a beautiful sunset while cruising back down the channel.

Skagway was beautiful.

Juneau

It was a beautiful day when we pulled into Alaska's capital.  The weather was predicted to be mostly rainy, so we were thrilled at the chance to spend the day outside while staying dry.

We rode a tram to the top of Mt. Roberts, and did some hiking and exploring.

Juneau:

There was a teeny tiny mountain goat on that mountain.  You can't see it.

I loved all of the breathtaking views, as well as the beauty at our feet.

Overlooking the channel by which we arrived.

After our hike, we met with some of our old friends who just happen to live in Juneau now.  Stephen and Sarah gave us our very own private tour of Juneau, and took us to see the Mendenhall Glacier.  No sooner had Stephen told us to watch for bears than we spotted a couple.

The young black bears were feasting on the dying salmon.

Mendenhall Glacier.

There was also a loud waterfall.

Our friends dropped us off next to our ship, and just in time for our late departure.

Alaskan Cruise

Bryan and I went on a cruise to Alaska.  All by ourselves.  We left the girls with my parents for two nights, and then they went to Bryan's parents' for five nights.  It was a very long time to be away from our babies, but Bryan and I had such a wonderful time.  We thought it was the perfect blend of lounging and relaxing, and exploring and adventure.

We had been watching last-minute discounted cruise fares all summer, and booked our trip just one week before we embarked.  So we got up early a couple of weeks ago, drove to Seattle, parked our car, and sailed off into the sunset!

Watching the gray Pacific Ocean roll by.

The swells weren't too bad at this point, but we had some pretty choppy seas that first night.  I got a little bit sea sick.  But funny thing, the inner ear.  I adjusted really well (and very quickly), and felt great for the rest of the week.  But coming back home to solid ground made me feel a dizzy sort of rocking when I sat still.  I've been back on land for over a week now, and I think my balance is almost back to normal. Apparently this is a fairly common overcompensation of the inner ear.

The ship was 14 stories tall.  With a crew of over 1000 people, we felt a bit pampered.

Our tiny little inside cabin.  It was about two feet wider than our queen sized bed.

The first evening we checked out some of the on ship entertainment.  And of course they required a few volunteers from the audience. 


One of our views from deck 12.  We soaked in the hot tubs almost every day.  And the water slide was pretty fun.

We were a little bit spoiled with the endless supply of food.  We usually air on the side of frugal, so it was quite the splurge to sit down and order whatever we wanted from the menu.

Since we were all dressed up for dinner, we thought we should get a few pictures.

We really had a hard time keeping straight faces while we tried to be suave.  We just like to laugh.

One of our favorite places on the ship: the Spinnaker Lounge.

Breakfast one morning.  We loved being able to watch for whales (and other wildlife) whenever we wanted.  And we loved eating a half pound of bacon every morning. 

I took lots of pictures during our various shore excursions, so stay tuned.