Skagway

Skagway, is a little town with a big history. This sleepy little Alaskan town was one of the gateways to the Klondike.

We took a free history tour from the National Park Service.  We learned about the people who left their lives behind in search of GOLD!  You had to be a hardy person to endure the journey.  Only 1% of the gold rushers found enough gold to become RICH. 

This building was being excavated and refurbished by the National Parks.

Skagway seemed like it was a real Wild West kind of town.  They have tried to keep the Klondike era alive, with wooden sidewalks and historically correct buildings.  But you can still find a Starbucks behind those doors.

After the tour we packed a lunch and headed up to Dewey Lake.  It was a steep climb, and this old girl felt every step.  We had a picnic up at the lake and Michael fished for a couple hours. 

Up, up, up we go!

Springtime is just beginning here in Alaska. All the trees are starting to bud and bulbs are blooming.

I found this Stellar Blue Jay foraging around the ground for sticks to build his nest.

Skagway had  honest businessmen and then the not so honest ones.  “Soapy” Smith tried to play both sides and finally lost.  We hiked through the “Gold Rush cemetery.  I don’t know how many of these graves are real and how many are just stuck in the ground for the tourists. 

Just passed the cemetery and up another hill was Reid Falls. It was a nice waterfall. It was an easy hike, with what I like to call a prize at the end.

 

There were a couple more fishing spots we wanted to hit, but we had to know when to stop.  These old joints aren’t what they use to be.  Next stop Icy Strait.  



Juneau PM

After our lunch on the ship we headed to our next tour, ziplining!!!!!!We had never done this before so we were both a little scared.  I had investigated all the different companies in Alaska and felt this one was the most eco friendly and safest.  What do I know???  I’m jumping off platforms 100 feet off the ground, crazy! 

Those helmet are not going to save our skulls when we plummet to the ground.  They are to protect our heads from the branches.

We picked  Alaska Zipline Adventures.  Again we booked this on our own.  It saved us $40 each doing it this way.  The ships excursions are convenient but not the most economical.  Plus we were not in a large group.  In fact we were the only people in the group.  So we had a private tour.

 The crew was so friendly and professional. They took our safety very seriously,

but made it super fun at the same time.

Ben and Alicia were our guides.  They 

were great kids, sorry young adults.  I told them

I would mention them on my blog.  So here it is guys,

enjoy your five seconds of fame. 

The guides told us about the rainforest and all its plants. This is Skunk Cabbage. I saw it growing in other areas on our trip and felt really smart when other people would say, “I wonder what that is?”, and I knew the answer. They showed us how to tell the trees apart by looking at the bark. Something about bacon being the hemlock and eggs being the spruce?????

Notice the double cable. That is one of the reasons I picked this company. I guess I felt if one broke the other one would save me.

 Hannah is next to me in this picture.  She is going to be an intern with this great company this summer.  Lucky girl!  Michael dozed off for this picture, hahaha.  Wake up, we have crossed the suspension bridge! 

Good thing I left my high heels at home! 

Anyway, we weaved our way through the forest, took a break for some warm blueberry tea and crossed a cool suspension bridge.  The time flew by and we had an exhilarating time.

Before they took us back to the ship, Michael tried his hand at ax throwing. Michael hit the bulls eye on the first try! He got his picture taken for the Hall of Fame wall.

 (It’s on Facebook too.) All that wood chopping for our wood stove paid off.

Ben even threw his first one!  Way to go!

If you are ever in the Juneau area make sure to check out Alaskan Zipline Aventures.

Juneau AM

We made a stop in the Capital of Alaska, Juneau.  You can only get to Juneau by plane or boat.  Locals say they have a road out of town but it ends in 50 miles.  It is literally a road to nowhere, hahahaaaa. 

We traveled by the Glacier Express (Blue Bus) to Mendenhall Glacier.  A round trip ticket was 16 dollars and by far cheaper than the cruise ship excursion.   Walking around the glacier was free, but if you want to go in the visitor center it will cost you 3 dollars. 

Mendenhall Glacier

This visitor center was at the foot of the glacier when it was built. It was amazing to see how far the glacier had receded.

They had QR codes on signs along the trail. Since I have an Iphone now I scanned it and it provided a guide with Ranger Travis explaining what we were seeing. So cool!

Today was cool and we had a light drizzle during our hike.  But after a few miles it felt good.  It was neat to see the icebergs close up. 

We hiked the trail to Nugget Falls. At one time these falls were behind the glacier flow and made an ice cave.















Then we head back to town on the Blue Bus.  The ship was docked right on the main street, so we hopped back on for some lunch.  

I didn't want to make this post too long so I will save our afternoon activity for my next post. 

Word Filled Wednesday

I haven't been posting my art journal for a long time because I ran out of ideas.  I mean I could slap a verse or quote in randomly, but I want this little book to have meaning to those who find it after I am gone. 

 I stumbled upon this BLOG. 

She uses her journal to doodle/draw what she learned in church each week.  That little idea has inspired me to do something similar with my art journal. 

 Be available to the Lord.  Setting your priorities in life, so the Lord is numero uno.  Listening for His guidance and surrendering to His call. 

Have a blessed day!

The Ship

This was our home for our seven night alaskan cruise.  She is called, the Radiance of the Seas.  This class of ship is know for all of its glass.  They have huge windows, which is great when scenery is one of the main attractions in Alaska.

Michael and I really enjoy cruising.  Once you are on the ship, they meet your every need.  Each day you wake up in a new port.  O'yes, you can forget about the endless food opportunities!!

Here is our room.  Yes, we spoiled ourselves and got a suite.  We enjoy the perks and extra room a suite provides. 

On this ship you could go out onto the helipad!  We took advantage of the great views from this area. 

Can you see the captain sailing the ship? 

That is the bridge up on the top.

They had a solarium area, which was very nice.  It had a hot tub and pool.  They also had the Park Cafe, which served breakfast and really yummy lunch sandwiches.  Michael enjoyed the salt water pool.

Here is a picture of the outside pool.  I found it funny with the snowy mountains in the background.  On days when the sun came out, people were swimming and sun bathing. 

Looking up in the Centrum

The Centrum was the area for different demonstrations during the cruise.  They also had nightly music and people would dance.  On the second level was a coffee shop that served Starbucks coffee.  Michael liked that!!!!

Here is the view of the main dinning room.  I will share more about the food and dining later.  It was first class service and was a nice way to wrap up our days.

My next post will be all about Juneau.  At this port we walked around a glacier and ziplined through the rainforest.  Stay tuned..............

Hubbard Glacier

Saturday we spent the day at sea and cruising to Hubbard Glacier.  It was a rainy and cold day.  When we finally arrived at the glacier area and the rain stopped.  We were able to go out on the deck to watch as the ship sailed with in ¼ mile of the glacier.  The ship did a 360 turn so everyone could see the glacier.

Michael and I went to lecture on glaciers.  We learned a glacier is a slowly moving mass or river of ice formed by the accumulation and compaction of snow. 

The brown layers are rocks/soil that get caught up in the moving ice.  Only 1/3 of icebergs are floating on top of the water.  The other part of the berg is under the water. 

This iceberg was bobbing up and down in the water.

The ice absorbs most light and reflects the short-wave-length blue light.

As the ice moves along and is exposed to warmer air or warmer water, the crystal structure breaks down and reflects all the light. That change, makes the ice appear white.

 

We heard the glacier calve.  It was a loud boom, like thunder.  But by the time the sound made it to us the ice had already fallen in to sea.

The deepest blue coloration is often seen in fractured places: crevasses, towers and where chunks of ice have calved. The color may appear richest on cloudy days.

The cruise line sent out a boat to collect large pieces of ice for people touch and then be sculpted into things by the ships food artist.

The ice carving dude also does all the food carving.  I will share his creations later.  He made an eagle out that chunk of ice. 

Here are some more close up shots of the glacier. 

After I wrote this blog entry I realized that I said I was going to share about the ship today.  I got distracted so I will show you the ship tomorrow.