Scenes from a Train Ride

After disembarking from the ship, we took a bus ride to Anchorage where we spent one night. Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska, with about 50% of the state's population residing there. The next morning we boarded the train for Denali and the National Park.

Our train car was very comfortable and the windows provided some beautiful views. And it even had an elevator to make it handicapped accessible.

Where should we sit? Fortunately the seating is reserved and we were just hanging out after returning from lunch.

The lower level of our train was the dining area. Each car was equipped with a kitchen and the food was delicious.
No naps in the dining car! Though the ride was conducive to some good naps.
Beautiful views.
We rode through Wasilla. No, we didn't see Sarah Palin. Nor could we see Russia from her porch or any other porch.
Small houses and cabins were everywhere.

Two engines pulled the train. Each cruise line has it's own cars.
The train cars behind us. The red plants along the train tracks are called fireweed. It's the first plant that grows after a forest fire.
It was already fall in Alaska - the trees and bushes were changing colors.
Next up is Denali. And my husband's encounter with a vole!

Ship life

Here are a few photos from our daily life on the ship.

Mom and Dad as we leave Vancouver.
The hub and I - same place!Half of our state room. The other half was a sitting area with a full sofa, desk area, flat screen television, table and chair along with floor to ceiling windows leading to our private verandah.

Each evening we were greeted by towel animals. Here are a few.

The last night on the ship was the dining crew's night to shine with theatrical presentation of dinner. We all got chef's toque to wear.

Here's the hub:
And Dad:
And the ladies!
Our waiter Bobby.
"Yum-Yum" was there each night to supply us with after dinner mints and fruits. He was the crew member of the month for August.
The hub with our room stewards Sy and Henky (also know as Hanky Panky). They were responsible for the towel animals that greeted us each evening.
Our ship, the Statendam of Holland America Lines was wonderful. Our accommodations were roomy, the food was fabulous and the service was beyond excellent. The crew was so accommodating and helpful with my mom who needed a wheelchair to make the trip. I would recommend this line if you are looking for a smaller, more intimate experience (about 1250 guests versus over 3000 in some of the big ships). There were no climbing walls or wave pools but understated elegance and a wonderful relaxing atmosphere.

Glacier Bay and College Fjord

Our last two days on the ship were spent sailing through Glacier Bay and the College Fjords. It was quite relaxing to hang out on the ship and watch the beautiful scenery. The ship would stop to allow time for photographs and perhaps to watch a piece of the glacier fall into the water.

Here's my mom bundled and enjoying the scenery. We sat on the pool deck with the retractable roof and it was open just enough to keep the windows from fogging, so it was quite cool.
Glacier Bay. I'll let these photo's speak for themselves.

Glacial water run off creates some of the prettiest waterfalls.

College Fjords. This was our view for dinner our last night on the ship.

Coming soon, pictures from the ship and our land trip.

Skagway and Haines

Our third stop was in Skagway, a rather small town that's about 4 blocks wide by 20 blocks long. But it was yet another quaint port town with Gold Rush style homes and tons of souvenir shops.

Here's the view from the ship (do you see a theme here?).

John and I ventured into town early, before our excursion. We were immediately welcomed by the railroad station and this snow plow engine.

One thing you can do in Skagway is take a tour in an antique car. How could I not snap a pic of my favorite guy in front of this 1946 Cadillac.

While waiting for our excursion to Haines, we were entertained by this harbor seal, who promptly caught and devoured a salmon!

Our trip to Haines began with a boat ride across the bay. In Haines, we traveled up a mountain in a 4 x4 Kawasaki Mule. Here are my parents bundled up for the cold and wet trip. This was the only rainy weather we had until the day we left Alaska.

Views from the mountain were spectacular.

On the way up the mountain, we stopped at this lodge for fresh baked cookies and hot drinks. My parents stayed behind for the second part of the trip and were warm and dry in the lodge.

My mom was the first to spot this mama bear and her two cubs.
On our way down the mountain, we stopped again at the lodge for a wonderful meal of beer battered halibut, chicken, fruit salad and the cook's special slaw. It was one incredible trip - another that I would recommend if you were to go to Alaska.

As we departed Haines for Skagway and our ship, we were greeted in the harbor by this beautiful Bald Eagle.

Another excellent day in Alaska.

What do "Juneau?"

The second stop on our cruise was Juneau. Here's a view of the town from our ship.

At the top of the Robert's Tramway, just a block from the cruise ship docks, we saw this little lady. She had been shot and lost the vision in her left eye.

The hub, my dad and I took a little hike up the mountain. The walk down was a little easier!

Here's the view from the tram car. Our ship is the smaller one on the right.

Later that day we took a helicopter ride over the Taku glacier. Our pilot gave us a great tour of the area. And yes, the glaciers are that blue!

When we landed, my mom was going to wait inside the helicopter.

She decided that at 80, she wasn't likely to get back to Alaska, so she climbed out and here we are, standing on the Taku glacier.

Love this photo. I think my husband was jealous that he didn't get the front seat.

Here's a glacial river. It looked like a slide in a water park.

Our second stop was on a ridge overlooking the glacier. The temp was about 20 degrees warmer here. That's our pilot on the right.

This is one side trip that I would recommend. There was just something magical about actually walking on a glacier.

Ketchikan Alaska

Here's a peek at our first stop in Alaska - Ketchikan. Beautiful town - with lots of history.

I know this isn't the most clear photo, but if you look closely, you'll see tons of salmon. It was still spawning time in southern Alaska and the salmon were so thick in this creek you couldn't see the bottom.

Saw this water fountain made of old spigots. I would love to put something like this in my backyard.

Looking down Creek Street, the famous "red light" district in Ketchikan. There's a brothel museum which we didn't tour (we had an outing planned and didn't have time) and most of the buildings, whether shop or residence, had a red light bulb in their outdoor lighting fixture.

More later.