North to Alaska [2014 - Day 6]

Thanks for joining us as we look back 3 weeks ago today to Day 6 of our voyage Seattle to Alaska and return. Today's schedule calls for us to spend the morning in Ketchikan. This is an enchanting small town that has become another tourist destination in Alaska.

Here's an overview of Ketchikan taken from the ship after docking ...

Cruise ships line up along the dock which is right at the town's edge ...

Ketchikan is tourist shopping at its best ...

One of several totem poles in town ...

Must see shops along Creek Street ...

Interior of a typical gift shop ...

Two photos you won't see on most cruiser's photo albums ... First, an antique fire truck on display at the Fire Department. It was such a nice display and none of the other tourists seemed to be paying it any attention so we thought we would stop in and snap a photo. Then, in the next photo, it's your United States Federal Building in Ketchikan. Possibly the largest building in town. Note the flag at half staff on this September 11th.

We like this scene ... cruisers relaxing at the picnic tables on the dock.  Possibly waiting for travelling partners who are still in the shops.

We just had to include the next shot. The ship was scheduled to depart Ketchikan about 25 minutes ago. We are late leaving because two cruisers haven't returned to the ship. In the photo below you see the big fork lift ready to move the gangway away from the ship. Three of the ship's crew are watching to see if the cruisers are going to return. About 5 minutes after this shot the gangway was removed and we departed ... without the two cruisers. An expensive mistake ... you don't want to miss the ship!

Departing Ketchikan ... we are now on our way to the next port stop:  Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Looking back, one last time ...

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

North to Alaska [2014 - Day 5]

Glacier Bay National Park

Thanks for joining us as we look back 3 weeks ago today to Day 5 (September 10, 2014) of our voyage Seattle to Alaska and return. Today's schedule calls for us to spend almost all day, as the cruise line calls it, with "scenic cruising" in Glacier Bay National Park. No stops today except for boarding Park Rangers that will be our guides. For many cruisers this will be the highlight of the trip. In our opinion this is a place where it is pretty tough for photography to live up to the real experience. We're sharing just a small selection of photos we took, but honestly, they don't begin to do justice to "being there" in person. The scene is just too large and amazing.

Our photos begin in early morning as we're entering the Park. We've been amazingly blessed with mostly clear skies since leaving Seattle, but today we have cloud cover, although it isn't raining. The Rangers tell us we are still lucky! They say there have been many days when fog prevented seeing much of this spectacular scenery. The Rangers tell us they can only expect about 4 sunny days per month during the cruise season.

Today's weather conditions: calm and cloudy ... glad we have our warm jackets when out on the decks ...

Notice the ice and color of the water ...

The Rangers tell us these mountains were covered by ice at one time ...

Mountain tops in the clouds ...

The further into the Park we go, the more spectacular the scenery ...

Tidewater glaciers are glaciers that terminate in the sea. This is what most cruisers are excited to see and our first one is in the photo below ...

The photo below is the Margerie Glacier. This giant goes all the way from the water's edge up into the mountains in the distance.

Closer look at Margerie. There is a part of the glacier that, due to windy conditions, has been covered with soil from the surrounding area, so it looks dark ... when putting the binoculars on the area you can clearly see the ice (we zoomed in ... the next photo ... perhaps you can see what we're talking about).

If you are interested in knowing more about Glacier Bay National Park, we suggest checking out the Park website.  On the home page, left side, be sure to check out "View Park Map" ... you can zoom in and see exactly where Margerie Glacier is located.

We find it impressive how ice has molded solid rock ...

A glacier in retreat ...

Looking back as we depart ...

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

North to Alaska [2014 - Day 4]

Thanks for joining us as we look back 3 weeks ago today to Day 4 of our voyage Seattle to Alaska and return. Today's schedule calls for us to spend most of the day, September 9, in Skagway, Alaska.

Since, today, Skagway is little more than a tourist destination, there are several spots for cruise ships to dock. We've been here before but this was our first time to be docked right next to the base for the helicopter tours. Watching the 7 choppers come and go was pretty interesting. They take cruisers up for a half hour or so to see the highlights of this remote country. We did not have one of these tours scheduled ... maybe next time.

Cruisers heading into town for shopping or tours.
It is just a short walk from the pier to town but
there are shuttle buses for those who need them.

Scenic shots taken from ship ...

Candid street shots of this little town ...

Some examples of what was seen in shop windows ...

We like the setting of the Historic Skagway Inn ... just out back of the restaurant they have their own garden ... the flowers are still blooming on this September day and the veggies made us think this place probably had some great salads.

The famous White Pass and Yukon Railway operates a popular tour. Built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush, this narrow gauge railroad is an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, a designation shared with the Panama Canal, the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty. We didn't do the tour this year, but have in the past, and can recommend it highly ... it is a very scenic ride up to White Pass and the train departs from alongside the cruise terminal. History of the railroad is here.

Tomorrow we will visit scenic Glacier Bay National Park (Blue arrow in map below). Today, September 9, we've been in Skagway (Red arrow) and yesterday we were in Juneau (Green). 

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.