At Sea, Vancouver, HOME!

(Sorry I'm late posting this...) Since our day today was at sea, we slept in and went to breakfast late.  The ship scheduled several presentations including the one we especially wanted to see: the Galley Tour.  I couldn't help but think of our friend Wes who is in the food service industry.  A half-hour presentation introduced us to the head chef, Eric, the Maitre d Hotel, Luigi, and the Head Pastry Chef.  They cooked two Entrees and one dessert in a light hearted fun way.  Chef Eric licked his fingers and the spoon the whole time, just to be cheeky.  The entire room was filled with passengers.  Then they took us through the Galley itself.  Whoa.  The entire thing was covered in stainless steel, with the exception of the skid proof floor tile.  Two separate pairs of escalators help the staff move the food up from the prep area to the serving area. There were multiple freezers and coolers each one for a specific purpose: fish only, meat, salads... One separate area downstairs was just for washing pots n pans. The dishes were wash on the upper floor.  A section for desserts, one for breads and pastries, it was all unfathomable.  They rattled off some of the statistics:  they serve 10,000 meals and use 30, 000 eggs and 26 gallons of dish washing soap  PER DAY.  It,s hard to imagine the coordination effort involved. One thing I did notice is that, like I mentioned, the portion sizes are just right.  I'm sure they've studied the food eaten and discarded and made the portions accordingly. There's really no use for leftovers.  Though we have a small refrig in our room, there's no microwave.  We usually ate breakfast at the buffet.  Anything you need or want is available, not just at breakfast but anytime.  No one will be surprised that I hit the Ice cream stand a few times, but again, the portions are just right.  We see our new friend, Trevor and he give us the food report...four ice cream cones, a shake, three pieces of pizza...and that was before dinner. Rick asks him if he had breakfast...Oh yeah, he forgot about breakfast.   He would stop by our table at dinner every night if we were in the dining room just to say hello.  Sweet kid. I told his Grandma that I'll bet he's going places. She said, "yeah but I hope it's the right places!" Speaking of dinner, it's our last night in the dining room with Carlos.  He is his usual charming self.  We decide to give him nice tip as a group and he appears truly touched.  The waiters paraded out of the kitchen carrying Baked Alaska.  Our table was last to eat our desserts and half of the Baked Alaska was left. Trevor walked by and asked Carlos if he can have the leftovers.  "Sure!" and away he goes with the dessert! Back at our room I'm too stuffed to move but need to pack our things for departure in the morning.  We must set our luggage in the hall by 10 PM and be ready to leave by 8AM.   Rick heard that Princess' disembark system is pretty efficient and that what we found.  We gathered in the theater by color coded group and shortly after called to exit.  We didn't touch our luggage until we arrived  at the airport & checked in.  As sad as we are to see our great vacation end, we're all ready to be home.  We're reminded win Vancouver that we're in Canada.  Odd as it seems, we don't have Canadian dollars and if we do present US dollars, we will get change in Canadian. Kinda hard when all the cash I have is my mad money $100.... DEBIT CARD!  Our connection in Dallas landed on time but we were late leaving for Chicago, putting us in at 12:30am, Chicago time. Luckily, we thought ahead and made reservations at an airport hotel. I looked at the clock when my head hit the pillow: 2:00am.  We met our buds at 9am in the lobby. We find out that Rick got the last hotel room and our friends each got a combo meeting room with a small Murphy bed. So sorry :(. They did get a free breakfast out of it, though.  We realize that we are no longer on the full service cruise ship. CARLOS!! WE MISS YOU!!   Thanks for cruising with us!

Ketchikan

We're kind of sad for this to be our final tour stop.  Once again we're told that the weather today is exceptional. Blue skies and sunshine followed us to this port.   Ketchikan is another quaint city on the Southeastern Alaska coast.  Even though it's pretty geared toward tourists, logging and wood pulp production industries keep the city busy year round.  We watched the ship pull in to port which is a production in itself.  As we're docking, we're also dodging airplanes.  The best way to get to Ketchikan, besides cruise ship is by float plane. The planes land and take off parallel to ship docks from both the water and the land runways.  Our friends rush off to an awaiting airplane for a 40 minute flight to see bears. Although it sounds fun, Rick and I decided to just take it easy today, walking around town.  When we visited Ketchikan before, Mark and I went zip lining so I didn't see much of the town.  Rick and I head down the street of shops, stopping in a few of them, though each shop seems to be stocked by the same supplier.  T-shirts, sweatshirts, shot glasses, pens, Ulu knives, every moose & bear-joke-covered-gear imaginable.  Every other store sells jewelry. I stopped in a couple of them just to look and felt like fresh meat!  The cruise lines own many of the stores, so I imagine they control the prices.   We walked down by the docks and up to Creek Street, a famous red-light district from days gone by.  The boardwalk follows the creek, stairs up the hill past some pretty run-down buildings with graffiti.  Why did we come here again?  Back down the hill, we stop at a bridge where locals fish for salmon. We see them swarming in the water. It is near the end of their spawning season when they swim up the creek, spawn, then die.  Lovely smell... We stop to eat lunch a place on the dock that serves fish, crab and salmon.  We stand in line and order, then eat near the windows watching the local fishing charters pull in and dock.  Halibut sandwich and Halibut tacos. We keep tailing about our favorite excursions, favorite meal, favorite place. The grilled halibut tacos are high on my list.   We head back to the ship, stopping at a few stores.  The temperature keeps climbing and by the time we re-board the ship, we're in shirt sleeves ready to sit on our balcony in the sun, watching the planes land on the water.  One of them had to be our friends returning from the bear excursion.  Soon they return and begin to tell their bear tales.  I cannot relay all their funny stories but apparently the bears were almost too close for comfort.  From their plane, they needed to hike a half mile down a bear-poo-covered trail.  At that point, I understand that Cary was giving Ellen the: "what have you gotten us into??"stare.  I think they had to time their outhouse visits with the bears wandering through.  I'm not sure if our friends were in any danger, but the bears were totally absorbed in their salmon buffet.  I think their pilot was trying to rattle them by flying low over the mountains. It sounds like a fun trip, but we had a nice quiet day anyway. Reservations for dinner at the Cajun Steakhouse. Our food was decent but we missed the service of Carlos in the dining room.  Jambalaya, blackened meat and chorizo were the spicer entrees.   After dinner in the theatre, the ships' performers put on a wonderful music show with a New Orleans theme. They really attract some great talent...Are you listening, Hannah??  Performing on a cruise ship might be kinda fun! Tomorrow, a day at sea on our way to Vancouver, then home. G'night y'all!

Juneau

We arrive in Juneau shortly before we're due to meet our tour guide. We hurry to the dock, and find Harv and Marv's van waiting for us.  The goal today is to see WHALES.  We chose this tour company based on their reputation. Gotta love the Internet: you can get information on AN-Y-THING.   The cruise line offers a whale watching tour but it's on a large boat full of 150(?) people. With Harv n Marv, the boats hold only 12. We meet our captain at the dock and he informs us that the 'head' onboard is liquids only...no TP, no... Anyway...I'm not sure how long it took but we just shoved off and cruised into the bay when our captain Shawn says, "look!  See the water spout from the blow hole?!". Oh man. About seven humpback whales circled around the bay.  They resurface to take a breath about three times, then they FLUKE, arching their back, diving deeper to show us their tail. Blake, our First Mate is a Marine Biology major at U of Alaska, Juneau, and grew up in Berrien Springs, MI!  His grandpa has ND football Season tickets.  Small world.  He's full of all sorts of info on what we're seeing.  We're scheduled for a 3 hour trip but see our fill of whale tails within the first hour.  Capt Shawn also takes us to an island where Stellar Sea Lions hang out.  He says they can be aggressive and their cute, cuddly bodies are deceptive. They can reach 1800 lbs!  I know I don't want to mess with them!   We head back to the dock and see one more whale tail. These whales are incredible. Our guides tell us that their tails are wider than the beam (width) of the boat we're on!  It's easy to lose perspective until you see them up close.  Rick snapped lots of good pix.  The whales can be identified by the color of the underside of their tails and their shape.  Rick got several shots but one in particular clearly identifies one called AK.  Cool!  Our guide asked us not to be specific if the next tour group waiting on the dock asked about our trip.  Apparently people get a little grumpy if they don't see many whales.  He tells us that our weather (overcast yet 60's) and number of whale sightings are highly unusual.  Once again we are grateful for a good tour.  On the way back we stop at yet another glacier, Mendenhall.  I remember this place from our last trip here because it was the first time I'd ever seen a glacier. It's one of the prettiest and most interesting that we've seen. The overcast skies cause the blue-green color to seem deeper and richer.  I don't think this color appears anywhere else in nature, with the exception of maybe the water in the Bahamas.  Back to the cruise ship, Rick and I chat with our shuttle driver.  She and her husband are from Georgia and this is their second summer up here working for Harv n Marv. They came here on a tour and joked about wanting to work here and Harv n Marv hired them, pretty much on the spot. Guess you need to be careful what you say.  They drive up each summer in April with their fifth wheel, stay in it all summer, then drive back to Georgia in late September. They're staying at an RV park with full hookups in Juneau. The bad news is that you can only reach Juneau by water and air, so they have to ferry their rig from Skagway (about $1200 each way). We decide it wouldn't be too much fun having to work every day, including Saturday n Sunday. Ugh.  Back toward the ship, we have tickets for (another) salmon bake.  Bus ride to the outdoor facility, it's all you can eat salmon, beans, salad, corn bread, potatoes, cake...  Good hearty food. Another colorful character plays the guitar and sings while we eat.  A small fire ring off to the side is available for roasting marshmallows and , of course, that's my dessert!  Poor Cary, she's been blasted this whole trip by fish & seafood, which she really doesn't like but has been a good sport for those of us who do.  We're trying to eat our fill!  so far our favorite is the Copper River Salmon...but it's hard to choose.  We board the ship in plenty of time for a NAP!  We've been too busy to fit vacation nap time into our schedule. Cool!  Tonight is lobster night in the dining room so we don't want to miss THAT!  Carlos our waiter greets us and As always, recommends his favorite dishes. Last night when we couldn't decide which dessert, he brought several for us to try.  Chocolate-peanut butter or white nectarine ice cream, creme brûlée...so tonight we again couldn't decide. Carlos brings us samples of the tiramisu, mango, and banana ice cream to make sure we get to try them all.  One of the things I love about cruising is that most meals are included.  You can try everything on the menu if you wish.  The portions are not oversized but just right.  The first week of our trip, our meals were not included.  Now we can eat nearly whatever and whenever we want. After dinner we went to the casino.  Rick and I are not really gamblers but went for the fun of it. I put $20 in the machine to play video poker.  Cheap entertainment.  Tonight we are on our way to Ketchikan, our last port.  Wow the time has gone fast!

Skagway

We woke this morning in port in Skagway. Rick arranged several of our tours not through the cruise line but through private vendors.  On our previous cruise we followed this same route so we wanted to see some different sites and revisit some of our favorites.   He had some trouble getting reservations but we later found out it's because the cruise traffic has increased in this area. Our tour was to begin today with "Klondike Kevin" but we couldn't find him at first. When we did, we find yet another younger "free spirit' guy.  Kevin first tells us that he didn't get his proper tour license and cannot charge us for our trip but he will take us anyway. Priced at over $100 per person, we think, "oh great, this is going to be a bust!"  We stop by his mom's house (she's also a tour guide) to get our deposit so he can refund it to us. HMMM.  We then go to the train station to purchase our return train tickets. We have to show our passports because we will cross into Canada and back.  Skagway mainly survives today only because of tourism. In the 1890's Gold Rush, it was one of two gateways to the source of the gold.   It's one of very few places in Southeast Alaska that are accessible by land.  The railroad, at one time was necessary for travel but today it allows tourists to get a glimpse of the past and the grueling path taken by gold seekers.  Kevin's tour van was decent, but we noticed a certain ripe smell.  Rick says that Kevin needs to clean his van.  We later figure out that it's not the van that smells.  Okay then... His tour narration started out pretty shaky but improved as the day went on.  He drove us part of the way up the Klondike highway which goes North all the way to Whitehorse, Yukon, about 100 miles.  Whitehorse is the 'big city' with Walmart, Home Depot, etc.. And where the locals go to stock up. I figure it's like us going to Lafayette to shop.  Kevin stops along the highway for photos and the scenery is breathtaking. The overcast skies at the beginning of our tour turn to blue as the day progresses.  Kevin's stories reveal to us that he too is an interesting character.  He tells of his adventures which include delivering a sailboat from Alaska to Beirut, Lebanon down the west coast of the US, through the Panama Canal.  He enjoyed life in the Middle East, so he stayed for a few years. Much of his family lives in Skagway, so he returned to live here. He just bought 5 acres in the area and plans to build a cabin there.  So far all he has is an outhouse and a portion of an old building that he bought and put in storage.  Thing here don't move quickly.   And we are reminded that many people in Alaska don't shower daily, but they do get to wake up every day  in this paradise.  About noon we stopped in Carcross, Yukon (Canada).  A cute little town on the shore of a lake, Carcross has two churches, (one Anglican) several shops and lots of houses that we would call cabins. On the corner, two people are selling burgers and hot dogs out of what looks like a garden shed.  Of course we HAD to try it, bison burgers, caribou sausage, chips and drinks.  Rick and I notice many RVs pulling into town which all had an orange sticker. It was an RV tour group, mostly class A and some fifth wheels.  One vehicle, a van pulling a small utility trailer, brings up the rear for mechanical problems, flat tires, etc.  Later in the day, we saw the same RVs parked at a campground in Skagway when we were reboarding the ship. Rick and I think this would be lots of fun and not much different, yet on a smaller scale, to our group RV trips!  It would be a big time commitment, taking about 2 weeks just to reach Alaska.  Guess we have to wait until Janet retires. (hi SIS!!) Back in the tour van, Kevin takes us to our last stops.  Carcross Desert, is a desert area with sand dunes and few trees.  Wind blows off the nearby lake in the winter revealing a huge sand bar. The sand blows off the lake and across the highway. I'm thinking the weather's brutal here.  Off to our turnaround spot, Kevin shows us Emerald Lake, a beautiful green (duh) lake with very few houses.  From the road we can see the bottom. Wow. Makes Tippe look like a mud puddle.  We start the trek back down the Klondike Highway headed for Fraser, where we board the train.  We make one rest stop along the highway where a man has built a viewing platform and 3 moveable timber structures.  Also, a cable suspension bridge stretches across the gorge. Surprisingly both Terry and Rick cross the bridge!  Good job boys, face your fears!  Kevin takes us to the train station and waits for us to leave before he drives away.  While we wait, someone spots a big black bear across the road eating berries. Funny when we TRY to find wildlife along the road, no luck.  But sitting still we can see that critters are everywhere, we just need to be patient.  The train ride is familiar to Weases and us but Schlotterbacks get to see the scary drop offs, great scenery and history of this place. I realize it's sort of a touristy place but these are views that money can't buy, well, only with a train ticket.  Back in the town of Skagway is where we see the touristy (crap) inside some pretty fabulous historical buildings.  Rick and I take the wrong turn walking back to the ship so we were really beat by the time we got  back.  Off to Juneau tomorrow. 

At Sea & Glacier Bay

Two days on the ship, we spend the time orienting ourselves and then viewing some glaciers by water.  First up was Hubbard Glacier.  In the morning before we reached Hubbard, A naturalist hired by the cruise line gave a presentation.  She grew up in Alaska in the 50's where her father was a preacher.  After her presentation, she told us where to stand (10th floor at the front of the ship) to get the best view.   Though the sun was shining it was COLD.  We're glad we brought plenty of clothes to layer plus gloves and hats.   Again, as we approach the glacier, chunks ice float nearby.  As the glacier meets the water, the chunks "calve" or fall off the glacier  Though we're 6-8 miles away, it seems much closer and the cold wind blew in our faces making it feel like December instead of August.  Once again we see the blue green color with black to grey-brown streaks. (Glaciers hardly ever appear white like snow.)   As they grind through mountain passes, they polish and grind the rock of the mountain, pushing along by gravity.  The ship then turned slowly from side to side, giving great views from the balconies.   Day two at sea, we headed toward Glacier Bay National Park.  As its name suggests, it's home to many glaciers of varying types and sizes.  It took several hours to reach our destination and we watched from our room's balcony searching for wildlife along the way.  We returned to our viewing spot but this time it was much warmer.  At the head of the bay we see two glacier that look very different.  The Marjorie is a 250 ft tall glacier that starts 75 miles away in steep slopes.  It's framed by green and grey granite sloes on each side.   Like the Hubbard, it is white and blue-green with streaks of black.  Tothe right of the Marjorie, a lower glacier lays but it has a much different look.  It approaches the water from a much more shallow slope.  This glacier is covered in the grey-black silt and rock. It almost doesn't even look like ice but more like a partially-thawed pile of snow and gravel in a Lowe's parking lot in February!  We definitely got our fill of beautiful scenery.   Dinner reservations were at the on-board Italian restaurant. Every meal  has been outstanding and this one was too.  Our waiter from the main dining room came and visited us to make sure we were being taken care of.  Cary ordered the sea bass entree but apparently it was enough for 2 people.  So we had to help her eat it, of course.  Nearly everything we've ordered is perfectly prepared and yummy. Up early tomorrow...we will wake up in port in Skagway. 

Setting Sail

The train trip to Whittier was a delightful change from the busses.  The panoramic views from the domed cars and the freedom to move around  made the time pass quickly. Each of the seven cars were served by a Rail Guide and a Waiter. Our rail guide Helen, easily in her 80's, gave us highlights along the route and told us stories of her life here. She shares an apartment  in Anchorage in the summer and winters with her family in Idaho.  What a woman. She told us that paragliding off a mountain was on her bucket list and that she'd checked it off recently. She described how thrilling it was and that she didn't tell her family about it until it was over! (Granny, who does that sound like??  Can't wait until you are back running around in your convertible.  XO)  Our waitress, Winnie, was not much younger, sassy and efficient.  She delivered our lunch orders perfectly and only got rattled, or should I say irritated, when we changed seats. Both women performed their jobs with enthusiasm.   The only glitch in the train trip came at the end when the train route took us through 8 minutes of tunnel which caused the claustrophobic among us to panic a bit. No sweat.  You just go to your happy place and before you know it you're sitting at the dock beside a beautiful cruise ship.  Both the best and worst parts of this trip are the people. We've met some amazing, fun individuals and some self-absorbed, negative ones. We seem to gravitate to the former.  Life is too short to be anything but grateful...The mandatory muster (safety) drill, which can be mundane, takes on a new meaning since the cruise ship disaster this past year.  NO ONE joked or laughed, including the three jokesters in our group.  This morning we listened to a presentation by a naturalist about the glaciers we'll be seeing.  Another fascinating woman, she lived in Alaska as a child and wrote several books about her life.  When we reached the Hubbard Glacier about 4pm, she gave a narrative over the PA system describing what we saw. Windy and chilly but sunny, we're told how fortunate we are to see the glacier at all because often fog sets in preventing it.  She also told us that seeing Mt. McKinley yesterday makes us the only one-in-three visitors who get to see it.  I'm trying to pace myself with the plentiful food onboard.  It's hard when there's so much available. The good news is that fruits and veggies are just as common. I figure if I behave, I can hit the Ice Cream Bar occasionally. Mmm... Soft serve with sprinkles!  Tonite was formal night and though our guys wore sport coats , there were some men in tuxedos including our little 11 yr old friend Trevor.  The kid has charisma.  He stopped by our table shook Rick's hand and winked at the ladies. Oh my.  Time for bed. G'night!

Fairbanks-Denali

Fairbanks-Denali Sorry for the time delay...Just got on the ship so I'll be better at posting :/. Up early in Fairbanks to board the bus to Denali. We met for breakfast in the hotel restaurant.  The service at the Fairbanks Princess Hotel was less than impressive. I think everyone is laid back and unhurried like in the South.  It's a whole different pace there.  On the bus with Dallas our driver, he immediately started telling jokes. This varied from Stan, our other driver, whose stories were a little dry and lengthy.  One section of the trip, about 100 miles, he TALKED. THE. WHOLE. TIME. At the halfway point between Fairbanks and Denali we passed a little road house called "Skinny Dick's Halfway Inn".   Yuk yuk.  At our bathroom stop in Nenana we were greeted by a cute little lady who was a pool shark in a previous life.  At the end of our visit, she brought out her accordion and serenaded us. Wow.  Another day, another character... We pulled up to the lodge and hopped another bus to Denali National Park.  The goal of this tour was to see as many animals as possible. River, our guide, (yes, that's really his name) has been driving this route for 20 years. The highway taking us into the middle of Denali went from paved, to paved with torn- up sections to gravel.  There were times that the road was scarily narrow.   Our trip covered 65 miles, one way. We saw Caribou, Dall sheep, Grizzlies, more Caribou, red Fox and finally a MOOSE!  So far we've not seen a moose and joked that we never would see one.  The entire trip took about 7 hours and was so...okay I'm running out of descriptive words.  Our bus group was fun and helpful. Rick said that the "spotters" that we had were the key to a good trip.  Most of the wildlife we could see very well looking through our  binoculars.   River told us that the Dall Sheep are usually on the hillsides, a bunch of white dots. Suddenly we see one standing on a rock outcropping. The bus pulled forward to get a good photo angle. About 20 yards farther, someone spied another one RIGHT BY THE ROAD!     Rick got some pretty good photos of them.  River said he was glad he didn't make any bets that we would see a Dall sheep closer than the first one. One the return trip at that same spot, we saw one even closer.   Rick said it was a good thing we didn't open the door, he might have boarded the bus!   Although the sun came out and the temp was warm, we still couldn't see Mt. McKinley.  Each time there was an animal sighting, the driver stopped and turned a little video camera on the critter, which played in real time on the on -board TV monitors.  The fairly good zoom on the video camera allowed everyone to see the animals. River said that he hated the videos at first but since changed his mind and has gotten lots of positive comments, especially those with impaired vision.   What a wonderful day... The Denali Princess Lodge where we stayed was lovely and also BIG.  This is a major hub for Princess, with busses coming and going for tours and for the next lodge.   Multiple buildings held guest rooms, gift and snack shops, and guest services.  The night went FAST considering we needed to have our bags out by 7:30 AM.  Our travel mates signed on for a jeep trip this morning but we chose to relax, shop a little and see the town.  We have very little room to spare in our luggage so we're choosing our souvenirs carefully.  I guess I'll pass on the $2800 arctic mink jacket.  I'm thinking PETA doesn't have a branch office here.  We left Denali Headed to the McKinley Lodge, about 2 hours. We are so ready to leave the busses behind.  It's not uncommon to have only pit toilets at the rest stops. This relatively short ride had one stop with NO restrooms.  Okay, back to the bus...oh my...they for got to clean this one...UGH.  Thus endth the toilet report.   McKinley Lodge compound is large with multiple buildings similar to Denali but no shops.  We are captive here, with the nearest town, Talkeetna, one hour away.  We won't be here long, though.  Luckily the clouds opened giving us a peek (peak?) at the mountain the Natives call The Great One.  Our first sighting, we were searching for the summit way too low. Then Rick pointed higher and...it truly is UP in the sky.  GLORIOUS.  Drinks, dinner, then bed.  The sunny skies meant our rooms were about 80 degrees. None of our rooms so far had air conditioning but it wasn't a problem until now.  OHhh...that's what the fan in the closet is for!   This morning we left McKinley Lodge for Talkeetna where we boarded the train to Whittier, where we board the ship.  Since we needed to have our luggage ready to go at 6:30 AM (!), we left early headed to Talkeetna for breakfast at the Roadhouse. Our Bus driver this time filled us in on the climbers who attempt to summit McKinley.  This year, five people who attempted the climb, perished.  The success rate is less than 50% due to the weather, avalanches and other hazards.  The Roadhouse is a common stopping spot for the climbers.  It's a no frills place where a full order consists of 7 scrambled eggs (eggs come any style as long as it's scrambled) , and all the trimmings. The pancakes are 2" larger than the dinner plates.  Cary ordered white toast. Waiter says, "toast comes only two ways: toast or no toast.". I guess if you climb McKinley and your life is on the line, such things become unimportant. As I write this we are on our 5-hour train trip to Whittier.  Clear sky day in our domed rail car, we just passed through Wasilla, home of Sarah Palin.  We've met several people who are on our same tour. One of our favorites reminds us of our dear Sean.  The young man, Trevor, about 11 yrs old, traveling with his sister and their grandparents.  First noticed them in Valdez when we were on the boat trip all day.  I told the grandparents that I noticed how well behave the kids are. They thanked me and asked me if I'd been drinking!  Since then we've seen them everywhere: on the bus, in town, in the hallway...They always speak and ask how our day went.  His grandma said that he was trying to hit on the waitress the other day.  Yesterday, Trevor was wearing a shirt that said 'Cool beyond my years'. That's so Sean. It makes us miss him (and all the grand babies -  love you!). 

Fairbanks

Fairbanks Gold & Riverboat Fairbanks isn't known for its scenery but they've found a way to tap the tourism industry regardless. This morning we headed to an abandoned gold mine where we could(attempt to) pan for gold. At one time, the operation used state of the art technology to reclaim the precious metal out of the local gravel. Quite a feat for the times, the process required thawing the permafrost, moving thousands of tons of material and millions of gallons of water through the equipment to capture the treasure.  Steady output of gold continued from the 1920 through 1959. Most of the bricks ended up in Ft Knox.  We each got a small bag of material and our guides tutored us in the technique. I let our helper Alex swirl mine for fear I would lose it all. Combined, Rick and I had $33 worth of flakes.  I have a gold charm bracelet that I add to when we travel.  I wasn't sure what kind of charm to get because I already have an Alaska state charm. This was perfect!  I bought a gold  locket which holds the bling.  The Alaska Pipeline Snakes down the hillside and we parked near it at the gold mine.  We walked under it to get to the mine. In the 1970's the pipeline created its own 'gold rush' with workers earning maybe $1000 per week. The money fed the local economy but also raised the cost of living in itself, which is already higher from utilities to groceries.  Not a small portion of those wages landed in the hands of "women of negotiable affection'.  Interestingly, the crude oil ends up on the west coast of the Lower 48 with little or no oil refining here in Alaska. Not sure why but I'm guessing it has to do with the cold weather 9 months of the year.  The weather for us so far has been very mild, highs in the low 70s and lows in the high 40s. Our guides all comment that winter is on its way.  It was beautiful today with clear skies and decent temps. From the gold mine we headed back to the Chena River, this time on a paddle wheel boat. Lunch at the facility, again, very efficient, tasty and hearty. They shuffled us into a huge dining room with long tables and benches.  Cast iron kettles held Beef stew and potato peek soup, served with biscuits, iced tea and blueberry muffins.  From there we loaded onto the paddle boat and down the river.  This family-owned tour company has  operated for 100 years. Our captain was the great grandson of the founder.  This river tour could've been much like our raft tour (sigh) but it stops along the way were fascinating. The first stop was at the dog training facility of the late Susan Butcher, a multiple winner of the Iditarod cross country dog sled race.  Born into privilege in Massachusetts, she was dyslexic and longed to live in the wilderness.  In her short life she made a big impact on her sport. She died in 2006 of Leukemia and her husband, who met our boat at the riverbank, still trains here and gives demonstrations to tourists (us).  Our second stop at an Native fish camp was hosted by two lovely young women natives. They explained the culture and how their ancestors lived for 12,000 years until recently. They lived off the land, catching salmon, smoking it for preservation, trapping and hunting. We're so spoiled. Rick had me take a picture of him and our guide, a young woman who can clean fish!  (Just like Rachel Creech!  Hi guys!!) We had no plan for dinner but heard raves about the "Alaska Salmon Bake".  A converted school bus driven by Bobbie(another colorful character) took us to the compound which includes a theater and indoor-outdoor buffet. ALL YOU CAN EAT Crablegs = O! We tried our hardest to reduce their profit margin.  Fire-grilled salmon, prime rib and cod, salads, beans, corn... Oh my. Behind us sat a group of military men who were there when we came and still there when we left.  Bellies full, back to the hotel and....ZZZZZ.

Copper Center- Fairbanks

Ricks Birthday! I hate that we are leaving the Copper River valley. It's sooo beautiful and peaceful...sigh.  Back on the Bus with Stan for a 8 hour bus ride to Fairbanks.  This far into the wild there are few stopping places. Thank heaven for the on-board restroom. One of our stops, Paxon, is a run-down little road house with a mom and pop diner, rooms for rent and closed gas pumps. I bought a book about two sisters from California who relocated to this area in the 1920s which I read on the bus trip.  Fascinating.  On the road again... Several hours later we stopped at another roadhouse, Rika's.  Already two tour busses were parked in the parking lot. How can they serve all of us?  Easy peasy...cafeteria style: soups, salads, subs and homemade baked goods. Stan raved about the Strawberry rhubarb pie so we HAD to try it.  Pretty good stuff!  The rest of the afternoon we were bus captive until we reached Fairbanks: a bigger city with a military base and Univ of Alaska. It's more flat than where we've been so far.  We were BEAT. Buuut we'd scheduled a dinner tour and raft trip this evening-what were we thinking?  Larry, our guide, picked us up at the door, then we headed to the other side of Fairbanks to get another couple, Kathy and Dallas.  The real star of the evening was Larry. Larry looked like a STONER: long stringy hair, hand-repaired sandals, big goofy looking guy. We soon found out that Larry's no goof.  He's a PhD who's lived in Alaska over 20 years, mostly summers. On our way to the restaurant, he told us of his adventures.  Turns out he spends winters in Asia, mostly Nepal hiking. HUH??  He's also hiked Kilimanjaro   He spent three years surveying in Siberia ("I don't do math, I only held the stick") and he currently lives near the University in a 16' x 8' cabin with no electricity and no indoor plumbing.  Well crap that's half he size of our CAMPER not including slide outs.  Larry's not had plumbing his entire time in Alaska. He says many college students live in unimproved cabins. Can you imagine anyone in Indiana roughing it at college ?? I think not.  We arrived at the restaurant for dinner: very rustic yet good food. Our friends arranged for cake for Rick, then off to the Chena River for our raft float trip with Larry. We still have not seen a moose so we hoped Larry would change our luck. NOPE. We did see several beaver, an eagle and other birds. Mostly it was nice to have a quiet and relaxing trip.  The raft trip scenery was about as exciting as Grassy Creek,though. Luckily, Larry was worth the price of admission.  We docked at 'Joe's house' a cabin on the River. Apparently Joe owns the tour company as well as hunting camps at various locations. Joe's wife met us as we left, to tell us their story.  They too only have generated electricity, wood for heat and an outhouse. We headed back to the lodge, grateful for our comfortable homes back in Indiana

Copper Center - Valdez

ALASKA TRIP 3 Breakfast at the Lodge, the we boarded the bus (again).   The Copper Princess Lodge is located in the middle of nowhere but the view are still worth the trip  Today we'll go to Valdez from Copper Center, about 100 miles. On good roads it would take a couple of hours but the crew were resurfacing patches about 20 different places along the way where we had to slow to a crawl.  The fabulous scenery made the drive pleasant even through the rain. At one point along the trip we went though Thompson Pass which averages 690 inches of snow in the winter!  And to think we hate Indiana winters...YIKES! We embarked on the tour boat Glacier Spirit with our group of 47 plus another large group of Korean tourists.  The boat had inside and outside observation seating.  The 65 degree temp felt cooler, especially in the rain. Though we dressed in layers, wimpy me stayed inside while our more adventurous friends chose seats in the covered yet open upper deck.  We boarded the boat about 11 AM and were not scheduled to return to dock until 7PM.  Our cruise took us through from Valdez, through the straits and out to the Columbia Glacier. Along the way we saw Sea Otters (puppy-dog cuteness), gulls and assorted birds, majestic Bald Eagles, Stellar Seals and Puffins! The Port of Valdez never freezes, making it the ideal site for the Alaska Pipeline terminus.  It's sad to imagine how damaging the Exxon Valdez wreck would be to this pristine area.  Our boat captain related the circumstances of the spill and its aftermath.  Now, twenty-three years later, its effects are still unknown but luckily unseen to our naked eye.  Since then, many more safety measures are in place to protect both the environment and the town.  Long before we reached the Columbia Glacier by boat, icebergs appeared along our route.  The beautiful blue-green color of the ice shed from the glacier is a surprise. The weight of the centuries-old snow compresses into dense, crystal clear ice that light waves struggle to pierce. The aqua color comes from penetration of only the blue light waves. Our crew members fished out a few nature-sculpted ice chunks for us to see and even taste.  Knowing that we wouldn't return to the Lodge in time for dinner, we bought sack dinners to eat on the way back. Lunch on the boat included a pretty good chowder, a bagel and cookies. The efficient crew distributed trays for our laps and then all the food. The Korean travelers mostly ate their cup-of-ramen noodles that they brought aboard. I'm thinking they've done this before.  The 100 mile trip back to the lodge made this an exceptionally long day. We're told that our choice of land travel the first week and cruising and recovering the second is more relaxing.  Wow.  I hope so.  Rick reminded me to tell about the people here and their interesting stories. Our bus driverStan winters in Arizona where he retired from his truck-driving career. For 16 years he worked for RR Donnelly (Warsaw company-small world).  He's also an amateur photographer when he's not driving bus and had good suggestions for capturing the scenery.   One young man on the crew of the Glacier Spirit was born here and is working on his Captain's license. He went to college in Hawaii, but returned here because he missed the snow.  Michael, our chatty waiter, landed here by way of Utah and Arizona. Hey, he gets to live in Alaska in summer and then winters in Arizona, with a month off on between gigs.  I don't know if we could do that but it sure would be fun to stay for a longer time. We see lots of RVs and campgrounds so there are other people who feel that way too!

Tuesday....Copper River

When we got up Tuesday AM we all compared notes on how we slept.  Mostly like rocks...though our bodies woke early, still on Indiana time. At 10:30pm  local time, the skies are still light. We're grateful for nice lined draperies.  Ellen hoped to see the Northern Lights while we're here. The locals informed her that probably won't happen because it doesn't get dark enough in August. Bummer. On the bus from Anchorage for a full day trip of about 200 miles, our first stop was in Palmer, a small town which hosts the Alaska State Fair. The fairgrounds appeared to be the size of a county fair. Palmer is sort of an agricultural area, a fertile valley with beautiful flowers and mega veggies (127 lb record cabbage last year!). Back on the bus for a few more hours then we stopped at a glacier area for photo ops. The scenery is breathtaking: mountains, rivers, vegetation but hardly any wildlife. I'm thinking they are here somewhere, judging by the moose crossing signs  and reports of a double-fatal motorcycle-moose collision last night.  Terry and Ellen did see a dead moose along the two-lane highway!  The second best part of the day was the sunny and warm weather. We are inland enough that there are vey few houses and even fewer towns. We stopped for lunch at a diner in Eureka that caters to the tour busses. We shuffled in, ordered and were quickly served so they could get ready for the next bus. The food was mediocre at best but, hey, out here there are few options. The diner mostly specializes in pie and it was the best part of the stop (cherry...mmm)  Back on the bus, the scenery flattened, then wound us around toward our lodge. Seeing many RVers on this road today might give us the fever to come here. That would be a serious commitment and would involve a generator and probably firearms. I'm thinking that up here it's everyman for himself. The Lodge...oh my.  Not special at first glance: wood framed with red wood siding and green trim. The staff greeted us at the door, waving. I'm guessing there isn't much foot traffic here. The lodge is owned and built by Princess just for the purpose. Inside the lobby we catch a glimpse of the view through the perfectly-placed windows. Good job, Architect!  Our lovely rooms share the same view over the lawn. Were very happy that this is the one place we stay for two nights. Cocktails by the lobby fireplace and dinner of local salmon and caribou filet  (their version of Surf and Turf) topped off a LONG day.

Monday August 6: Anchorage

ALASKA TRIP 1 Monday August 6 In February, our friends the Weases & the Schlotterbacks told us they were going on a cruise and tour in Alaska. We first said the we couldn't go but then decided that it would be a chance of a lifetime. We were so excited to leave and happy that we changed our minds.  The itinerary has us starting in Anchorage, then traveling on land for about a week, then boarding a Princess Cruise ship for a week along the coast.  Monday,  up at 4:45 am, Schlotterbacks picked us up at 5:30 so we could make it to Chicago for our flight out of OHare at 11am   We loaded our luggage into their SUV Sunday night to make sure we had plenty of room. We each packed one large case and a carry on (well, one person needed two cases but I won't say who!) The suitcase pile obstructed the rear view, a sign of good packing. Breakfast at the airport Macaroni's Grill (Italian for breakfast?) then on to our gate.   We flew to Seattle and had a fairly smooth 3 1/2 hour flight except Rick got stuck by a young woman with the sniffles.  Immediately when we got off the plane we bought some Airborne to help fight off any germs.  Lunch in Seattle was at the Bigfoot Cafe then Cary and I had to get Starbucks because, well, this is their Motherland.  Our bodies were still on Eastern Time so my empty belly alarm said we were way past lunch. Two hours later we board Alaska Airways to Anchorage.  This flight, though the same length seemed shorter because each couple sat beside an Alaska resident who were all friendly and full of information for us.  Weases sat beside a resident of Kodiak island who's lived here most of her life with her husband, a physician.  We sat beside a friendly guy who grew up in the Midwest but now lives in Alaska with his native wife, a former State Senator.  He practiced law  and formerly was a judge.  He was familiar with Indiana because he bought Larry Bird's house in French Lick as an investment property!   We arrived in Anchorage, 11pm according to our body clocks, 7pm Alaska time. Anchorage is a clean city of 250,000, about the size of Ft. Wayne.  After a small delay at the airport, a bus took us downtown to the Captain Cook Hotel, lovely but dated, probably 70's vintage, one of the tallest buildings in downtown Anchorage.  When we opened the door to our room...holey moley it smelled like PEE. I knew it was bad when Rick immediately left to exchange our room key!  Our second room smelled much better and had a better view. UPGRADE!  Rick told our friends that they put us in a two-level suite. We WERE on the Suite floor but the room was the same except the smell! Our luggage appeared at our room then we headed to the Hotel restaurant for a small "dinner" although it was 1 AM Indiana time.    I think we all fell asleep before our heads hit the pillow.   This morning, Rick was awake by 5 am, as well as almost every hour before that. No doubt it will take a few days for our bodies to catch up.  When we packed our suitcases at home it seemed logical to have one for each of us with everything needed for two weeks.  The tour company told us that we could check one bag through to the ship. Huh. Good idea. So I spent the morning repacking into stuff for now and stuff for later. Ah much better. Now we're only dealing with half the stuff every night.  Breakfast at the hotel before heading to Copper River.