We embarked on the northbound trip from Vancouver to Fairbanks aboard the Island Princess.
Our first stop - Ketickan with a town catch phrase: 'a quaint little drinking town with a fishing problem'
Our guide took us to see the Alaskan Native Art collection of totem poles carved from a single red cedar log (naturally repels insects). The figures on these totems are either inanimate objects or animals / mythological beings that symbolize a particular Native Tribe's history. Generally four main colors are found on a totem pole: Black came from charcoal or lignite, red from iron ore, turquoise from copper oxide and white was from clam shells. Holding a totem pole carving adzes, we heard stories of how totem poles were built to tell stories, myths and legends and to commemorate events, anniversaries, deaths or a shameful act. In fact, the more anectodal tales were of the 'ridicule' or 'shame' poles that recorded wrongs, unpaid debts or
We finished our Ketchikan tour in historic Creek street and went for a tour of the red-light bawdy Dolly's House.
Dolly Arthur was Creek Street's most famous madam - creative use of condoms for decorative effect on shower curtains. We hiked down 'Married Man's Way' trail after the tour of the brothel
We were about 3 weeks too early to see the salmon run that returns annually, swimming upsteam, then laboriously make their way up the salmon ladder to spawn. There were a handful of salmons in the creek but definitely not yet the season for a show - best timing we are told is mid to late August
Back on board for the first of what was to be several opts to dine on Alaska crabs
Second port of call Juneau and we sampled the local fare buying up fish tacos and freshly steamed crab legs to kick off the day
Next stop in town was the famed Red Dog Saloon with real sawdust flooring - just like the old west frontier towns - put me in the mood for a floor length bustled skirt to complete the imagery - alas nope, none to be found here
After a snack& ale, we rendezvous with the tramway for a lift up to hiking trails of Mount Roberts where you gain a great view of Gastineau Channel & Douglas Is
The curvature of the trunks of these mountain hemlocks are called
'snowcrooks' caused by the gradual creep of snow downhill, bending the saplings and causing the twisted curve
a sprinkling of sheep at the heights of the mtn can be detected thru binoculars
Booking an afternoon kayaking to glacial lake and the cutest little pug puppy emerged out the the stall to greet us ...aawwww...
Setting out on a pm excursion to the Glacier lake Mendenhall - the day turned brighter and sunnier as we arrived at the edge of the lake for our kayak adventure. We were promptly outfitted with the necessary thick rubber sea pants and jackets as the temperature of the glacier lake was a numbing temp and if one flips hypothermia can takeover quickly
Mendenhall glacier & lake and Tongass National Forest with Nugget Falls seen as a white band off to the right
Close up of Nugget falls - you can actually hike to the foot of the falls if you had the time ~ 20 to 35 min round trip
When the visitor center was built in 1962, the visitors used the observatory as shelter from the rain & as soon as people stepped out the glacier was right up close - now we see miles of lake water. The retreat has been phenomenally fast over the last 4 decades
Last stop was DIPAC Macaulay Salmon Hatchery. Learned that salmon stops eating when they leave the ocean and head towards the freshwater upstream swim portion of the journey. The arduous swim causes the salmons to be quite exhausted and they loose most of their fat and oil - the mushy salmon meat at this stage usually then used up as animal feed
Our third port Skagway, a charmingly preserved goldrush town that harkens you back to historic times. What was surprising to us were numerous fine jewellery shops, all owned by the cruise ships, sigh... guess this is now state of tourism industry, local shops have a heck of a time staying profitable.
Well here we go, lady w/right accouterments for pic in Red Onion Saloon
High noon face off in Skagway! This seven-block corridor town has sealed its history w/false-front shops&mascot saloon museum
Keith, our driver shows us what the rugged wilderness of Alaska can do to a man!...lol
One advantage of doing this route by car is the being able to hop off whenever you wanted and savor the whole view & freshness of the road so sparsely traveled.
The South Klondike Hywy led us to Caribou Crossing Trading Post, in the Yukon territory (45m in from Whitehorse) for a lunch stop in the covered wagons ... cute place
The newly born pups were up for some snuggles and pics as were the dorky goats who can just eat & eat &eat...
We reached Emerald Lake in southern Yukon..beautiful intensely green in some areas due to hypoxic conditions as we found in some lakes in Killarney Ont.
The high concentration of calcium carbonate & clay comes from limestone gravels and deposited over 14,000 yrs ago in this shallow lakebed
Lingering over the lake was all we could do..and I guess that is just as well not to
Back on board the Island Princess, some weeks old pups were brought in <3
The next couple of days were sea days. Being on northbound cruise, we visited Glacier Bay Park. Here a piedmount glacier - ice which flowed& spread into flat, lowland area
Awesome majesty of the mountains but it appears to be very devoid of the immense glaciers that once overlaid the entire terrain. The largest marine mammals here are of course the whales: Humpback, Grey, Gin, Minke and Orcas. Other mammals include harbor seals, sea otters, porpoises and sea lions
(Sidenote, if the route is southbound, the Hubbard Glacier would be tradeoff from College Fjords)
practicing iphone selfiee skills ..lol
Traditionally, there are four Huna Tlingit clans that inhabit this remote wilderness and call Glacier Bay homeland.The deepest point in Glacier Bay is 1,410 ft below sea level, tides are diurnal ( change every 6 hrs ) 250 yrs ago a single, large tidewater glacier covered all of Glacier Bay. By 1750, the glacier began to retreat and it has now retreated 60 miles to the head of the bay. At last count there were 1,045 glaciers in the park, but only 50 are named. Tidewater are valley glaciers that flow all the way down to the ocean. They often calve numerous small icebergs
Throughout the slow sail, keeping a eye out for humpback whales that spend the summer in Glacier Bay and swim to Hawaii for the winter. With binoculars, we'd see a puff or two of them frolicking in the distance, but way too tiny to be photographedDrinking in the views - a sense of total solitude and pristine wilderness
"Saw-tooth peaks point to the sky
Tall and majestic
Where nature's great secrets lie.."
--Sabrina Blakely
The next day, we were treated with more balmy weather as the boat sailed north to Prince William Sound & onwards into College Fjord. Its a pretty body of water that gashes into the heart of the Chugach Mountains.
Home to 16 blue glaciers, the fjords were named during an 1899 research expedition by railroad magnate Ed Harriman after prestigious east coast schools. On the northwest side of the fjord, the glaciers were named after the women's colleges : Smith, Vassar etc., on the south east side, named after men's : Yale, Harvard ..etc
All through the Alaska trip, we typically saw daylight linger well into an hr or so before midnight
Early next morning we sailing into Anchorage harbor and alighted by the
Must say, Princess has certainly worked out all the kinks for tourists for this type of land + cruise trips. We were whisked away from the ship to their rail cars offering full-dome panoramic views, without a thought about our luggages which were later laid out in our rooms in Princess Mt McKinley lodge.
Enjoyed serene and virgin landscapes as we whizzed by in the railcars. There were lots of chances to stretch your legs during the ~ 3 hr ride to Talkeetna. Bar service, lounge area and ability to walk from car to car. Bought local artisan's souvenir sketch of aurora borealis ( at its prime during the dead of winter mths but you apparently can catch glimpse of them by September). It's particular popular among the Japanese who view the phenomenon as auspicious. Their folklore is that if a child is conceived under the northern lights then the child will be born very lucky with good health.
Our first view of Mt McKinley, recently renamed by Obama to the more popular original Athabaskan name Denali 'the high one'. The peak was entirely visible from our vantage point in the railcar upon our first sighting!
We arrived in the small town of Talkeetna after lunch and the weather was a hot 85 degrees. We thought to explore the locale a bit before boarding the princess shuttle bus for the 1/2 hr ride to McKinley lodge and we ended up booking a plan ride for the next day to see Denali & the glaciers up close.
This is the Alaska town that elected a cat for mayor in 1997. His name is Stubbs - purported to be an orange tabby but at last note during Aug 2013, Stubbs was attacked by a dog and was placed under heavy sedation at a vet hospital in Wasilla. Crowdsourcing page was set up to help Stubbs pay of medical bills. He now apparently stays in the upstair room of the general store and now prevented from roaming in town but as of 2016 has kept his honorary mayorship.
Interior of Talkeetna's historic Fairview Inn. Did a short hike to the riverview park area - you can also still see the top of Denali here. Talkeetna sits at the confluence of three rivers, the Susitna, Chulitna and Talkeetna. Flightseeing, rafting, mountain biking, hiking, camping, fishing & hunting make up large portion of local economy. Heat rising around mid afternoon, this town was a good place to try fireweed ice cream.
One of several Princess' property, this lodge is located south of the Denali Park near the Chulitna River. Grounds are extensively spread out with quaint woodsy rooms and large dining rooms where we took breakfast and dinners
TIP: if you go and do a land tour with the Princess cruise, pick their all inclusive package with meals - definitely worthwhile as fresh local alaska king crab legs option was featured each day of the dinner meal
Our captain Shylow readies the plan for takeoff
As luck would have it, although we didn't plan on a landing, but Captain Shylow had other ideas and we actually saw the plane glide smoothly
a post flight lunch in town - enjoying local music and tasty fare
Our last morning at this lodge and we lingered by the breakfast patio views of the clear tip highest peak for a second day...we felt particularly lucky as it was told to us that even in summer, the odds of a completely clear day are only 33%. There's another 40% of getting a partial view while parts are shrouded in clouds, and roughly 25% of not seeing it at all due to overcast conditions. For a mountains as enormous as Denali and over 20,000 ft, the peak is elusive due to clouds and ever-changing weather conditions.
panoramic view of the Alaska mountain range (left to right): Mount Foraker, Mount Hunter (fore) Mount Denali, Mount Huntington (fore) & Mount Silverthrone
On the bus ...leaving the McKinley lodge en route to the next destination - Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge.Was a very scenic drive on northbound on the George Parkes Hywy... again the flourishing fushia fireweeds contrasted nicely with the verdant evergreens & most notable Alaskan green conifer, Sitka Spruce
Beautiful , expansive grounds, yet rustic and comfortable. The Princess logistics were impressive, all our luggages found inside assigned rooms
A charming nook in the receptions area of the dining room
for us, dinner time was always alaskan king crabs
time! ..lol
The highlight of the connoisseur land based tours included a full day of Denali Tundra Wilderness excursion.
In the thick of Denali wilderness exists a Toklat River Contact Station where tented rest area for campers & naturalist - gorgeous panoramic views!
@ Toklat River
Mama brown bear taking a crap where ever she finds convenient
... and the two cubs scurried towards her after she's done her business ..lol
The highland sheeps (below) so very high up in the mountains - extremely cropped camera pic
The last excursion of the Princess land tours was taken from a page in the Disney theme parks...lol. It was good fun though as we took the rail trolley in Gold Dredge #8 - a historic recreation of the mechanical engineering landmark ~1920s
Tourists were given each a pouch of gravel to pan for gold: 'yer there's gold thar'
The last excursion of the third stop of land tour - Fairbanks Riverside Lodge included a leisurely day on the Sternwheeler Riverboat down the Chena River
Home of late Susan Butcher - Champion (first to win four out of five sequential yrs) Iditarod Trail sled Dog race - 'The Last Great Race on Earth' covering 1000 miles for the roughest, toughest terrain thru jagged mtn, frozen river, dense forest, desolate tundra and miles of icy climbs with just the mushers and their dog teams in long hrs of darkness amidst treacherous howling below zero winds...a race that tests the true spirit of Alaska!
demo of the iditarod 'sled dogs' of the northern breed - alaskan huskies or siberian huskies with natural double fur coats : undercoat & wooly fur coat
Last day @ Fairbanks and we rented a car to drive out to Chena Hot Springs
