The Rest of the Cruise Story

 

 

One evening we enjoyed scenic cruising through Snow Pass, where we were treated not only to an amazing show of whale feeding, but a beautiful sunset.

I you look closely you will see the water rings made by a whale who just went back under water.

We were lucky enough to witness a large group of whales bubble feeding.  That was cool!

 



 Here we are bundled up ready to watch "Movies Under the Stars". The show tonight was Hunger Games.

 

 

This was a great movie screen above the outdoor pool area. It played shows and movies day and night.

 

And now we're onto our third stop of the cruise, Skagway, AK.  This is the big starting point for the Klondike Gold Rush.  The building above is sided with driftwood, the last remaining shop from the glory days.

 

It rains here so much that wagons had to drive around in deep, deep mud.

 



 

Thus, the wooden sidewalks!

 

This is the famous narrow gauge railway built specifically to aid the goldrusher's trip up to the Yukon.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about it:

The line was born of the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897. The most popular route taken by prospectors to the gold fields in Dawson City was a treacherous route from the port in Skagway, across the mountains to the Canadian border at the summit of White Pass. There, the prospectors were not allowed across by Canadian authorities unless they had one ton of supplies. This usually required several trips across the passes. There was a need for better transportation than pack horses used over the White Pass or human portage over the Chilkoot Pass.

 



  

Marilyn visiting with Paul and Wes aboard the train.

 

 

This was everyone's first time on this excursion, which is the most popular excursion in Skagway.

 

 

Ready to be dazzled by beautiful scenery!

 

 

We handed our tickets over to the Train Conductor. 

 

 

The White Pass Yukon River Railway is an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, which is the same category as the Eifel Tower, the Erie Canal and the Mormon Tabernacle to name a few. This website has lots of fun facts and features about the railroad, even train whistle ringtones!

 http://www.wpyr.com/

 

 

Bridges and turns and tunnels, oh my!

 

We rode all the way to the Canadian border, then back down the mountain to Skagway.

 

 

At one point we could see all the way down to the ship harbor.

 



 

Here you can see the original trail used by gold rushers and their horses to carry supplies up the mountain.

 

 

We all enjoyed it except Alene, who was too afraid of heights to look down the steep hillsides.

 

 

I found this information on Wikipedia also interesting:

 The narrow roadbed required by narrow gauge greatly reduced costs when the roadbed was blasted in solid rock. Even so, 450 tons of explosives were used to reach White Pass summit. The narrow gauge also encouraged tighter radii to be used on curves, making the task easier by allowing the railroad to follow the landscape more, rather than having to be blasted through it.



Meanwhile, back at the ship, our wonderful Cabin Steward from the Philippines, Elner, was preparing his first towel folding demonstration, and strongly encouraged us to attend and show our support.  He worked hard and fast creating lots of fun sea creatures and other cute animals.

 

 

"Birmingham", or so nicknamed by Wes, is announcing the show.

 

A lobster, in honor of Friday night's special dinner!

 

 

And so, good-bye to beautiful Alaska for now.  Somehow I have the feeling I'll return again someday.

Thanks for a fantastic week Mom!

 

A Special Treat from Mom!

This is the look of four very relaxed people near the end of our seven day cruise to Alaska.  Wow, did we feel happy and pampered!  Thanks to Mom's generosity we were able to spend a week together laughing, exploring, eating great food, and enjoying one another's company, along with many of Mom's siblings. 

 

Most days included a few card games or some yahtzee on Deck 14, near the food court.  While we played to our hearts content, our fabulous waiters made sure we had all the beverages we could possible want, mostly ice water, but on this particular cool day, hot chocolate was in order, and warm blankets were provided as well.

Clockwise from the left, Marilyn, Lyle, Wes, Mom, Nayda and Alene.

 

And at a very nearby table playing 9 card Golf, we have, clockwise from the left, Hilda, Marilyn, Theron and Alan.

 

 

Happily on board and waiting for departure from Seattle on a beautiful day in August.

 

A great view of the waterfront from Pier 99.

 



 

You have to excuse Wes, he hasn't had a vacation in a long time, it took him awhile to "let go", put the phone down, and just enjoy the ride!

Ok, that's a little better!  Hanging loose on the back of the ship as we pulled out into Puget Sound.  We just had to take advantage of the sun and warmth.  After all, heading to Alaska usually means clouds and rain, so who knew when we would get to use the awesome pools and hot tubs and lounge chairs out on the beautiful ship decks, if not today?

 





 

Good bye Seattle, hello to adventure!

 



 

Somewhere near the strait of Juan de Fuca.  This is about the time it got super windy and people's stuff started blowing away.  Hats, room keys, Paul's water bottle WITH his name on it, ha ha!

 

We spent the first day getting familiar with the ship, Paul went the extra mile and did a scavenger hunt, getting stamps from all over the ship in just a few short hours and turning in his game card.  Lucky guy, he won a free massage at the spa for his hard work!

Monday we took advantage of some fun activities on board.

Here are the three sisters, waiting for a fruit cutting demonstration in the Piazza,

Alene, Marilyn and Donna.

 

Waiting for the fruit cutting demo. These guys are very creative and very fast!

 



Monday was our first formal night, time to dress up and pull out the sparkly jewelry!
 

 

Tuesday morning we arrived in the quaint town of Ketchikan.

 

 

It was another warm and sunny day. Just perfect for bopping around outside.

 

Mom and I got a good look at the town before deboarding the ship.

 



We learned that this is where Sarah Palin's "Bridge to nowhere" was to be built, from town across these waters to the airport.  It's a 2 minute minute ferry ride, so I agree, it really wasn't worth  $223 million. 

 

Just off the Star Princess at our first stop, Ketchican, Alene, Hilda, Marilyn and Donna.



 

A few of us took a taxi to see the town.  This is a nice view point up on a hillside above town.  A beautiful place, but we were sure lucky with the weather.  It's usually very rainy here.
 

 

Wednesday morning we woke up early to see some gorgeous scenery along the Tracy Arm Fjord.

My early morning co-horts.

 



This is the South Sawyer Glacier, providing lots of icebergs in the water.

 



I loved the blue tint to the icebergs. 

 



Even the sky was putting on a beautiful show this particular morning.

 



One of the many waterfalls along the way.

 



Everyone is in on the action now, enjoying this gorgeous morning, and amazing scenery.

 



 

Once we got up to the glacier, our huge ship did a complete 180 degree turn, offloaded some sightseers onto a smaller boat, and headed back downstream. 

 

Another Princess cruise ship arrived as we were leaving.

 



This was a highlight of the trip for me for sure.

Good bye to Tracy Arm,

 

Hello to Junea, capital city of Alaska.

 



 

My own little brush with fame, speaking of Sarah Palin.  Former Governor of Alaska and former VP running mate with John McCain.  She's quite the fisher lady.

 

 

Paul and I opted to walk to town and put quite a few miles on in the process.

 

 

 

Another glorious day in Alaska!