Whittier

Posted on April 6, 2013April 6, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Whittier is the end of the line for the cruise and the beginning for the Denali portion of the trip. We should get into Whittier at 12:30 am (midnight) and we won’t need to meet our train to Denali until 5:45 pm. The leaves us open all day.

Once again I turned to the shore excursions. We want to be sure that whatever we do we will make our connections so we chose to explore with the cruise line vendors.

The tour we settled on here has me really excited because it starts with a stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

Like most places with the words wildlife conservation center in their titles, this where animals unable to survive in the wild are given refuge in spacious habitats. Here, you can safely get close, observe and photograph some of Alaska’s biggest land mammals, including moose, bison, bears and musk ox.

This is right up my alley!

But as an old commercial used to say…But wait, There’s more!

30 minutes away our tour will take us to the base of mighty Mt. Alyeska, home to one of the most breathtaking year-round destination resorts in the world. Ride Alyeska Resort’s Glacier Express Tram and take in panoramic views of Turnagain Arm and the surrounding valley from 2,300 feet above its floor. Woo Hoo! Can’t wait!

The last leg of the tour is the return to Anchorage (Whittier) along the Seward Highway-Alaska’s “Scenic Byway.” We should be back at the Welcome Center with plenty of time to make it to the train station at 5:45 to head to Denali.

Of course these tours are all subject to change. I’m pretty sure we’ll do them all. The only one I really want to confirm with the excursion desk is this one. The special notes say you have to be staying in Anchorage because you have to get your luggage from the ship. I might try to call Princess to confirm but if I can’t get through there is an excursion desk on every cruise I’ve ever been on so we’ll have plenty of time for adjustments if necessary.

So our trip is all planned. Excursions booked. It’s just a matter of counting down the days. I can’t wait to share our actual experiences and of course…my actual photos.

The pictures I’ve used in these recent posts have all been on the internet with no copy write information. I was careful not to knowingly pirate any other photographers work.

What about Skagway?

Posted on April 5, 2013April 5, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Port of call # 3 is Skagway. Skagway is billed as the Gateway to the Klondike; a place where “the romance and excitement of yesteryear linger around every street corner, every bend in the trail”. With that kind of build up it was pretty clear we’d have lots of excursions to choose from. We finally settled on a combo that includes The White Pass & Yukon Railroad and

The Yukon suspension bridge , ending with a gourmet lunch. The official tour description follows.

Travel aboard the White Pass & Yukon Route railroad, renowned as the “Scenic Railway of the World.” Against all odds this iron trail was forged through some of North America’s most rugged terrain. Relax in vintage railcars and marvel at the spectacular waterfalls, cliff-hanging turns, tunnels and historic sites you pass on your journey to the summit of the White Pass and beyond to Fraser, British Columbia.

Your trip continues by motorcoach as you travel just a few miles north en route to the Yukon Suspension Bridge. Some of the most magnificent scenery on earth greets you as you step outside, breathe the pristine air, and feel the thrilling sensation of a swaying walkway 57 feet above the churning rapids of the Tutshi River (pronounced TOO-shy). Observe Mother Nature in all her glory from the main platform, then walk through the museum-quality displays that detail the areas unique human and natural history.

Reboard your motorcoach for a scenic drive along the historic Klondike Highway. Discover the area’s amazing landscape from a different perspective as you return to Skagway. Along the way, your guide thrills you with stories of stampeders as you trace their footsteps along Brackett’s Wagon Road, Pitchfork Falls, Dead Horse Gulch and the infamous Tormented Valley. You’ll stop for photo opportunities along the way.

Continue your nature-filled tour to Jewell Gardens, site of pioneer Henry Clark’s family farm. The Clark farm grew produce for the thousands of miners on their way to Dawson City and the Klondike Gold Rush. Stroll the gardens and look for hand-blown glass, created on the premises, artfully placed among nature’s creations and the playful, G-Scale model railroad, built within a model town that looks a lot like Skagway did 100 years ago.

Considered the area’s premier organic flower and vegetable garden enjoy a gourmet lunch overlooking the spectacular blooms. You’ll savor a seasonal soup, organic garden greens and homemade quiche along with a freshly baked dessert. Many ingredients for your meal come from the edible landscape around you. Ample time is provided for you to browse the quaint gift shop before returning to your ship.

The only problem I have with this tour is that I don’t like quiche. Who would have thought that in the heart of lumberjack country that the main course would be the food that earned the saying “real men don’t eat quiche”. I may not be a man but I haven’t met a quiche that I liked either! I hope the salad is good.

Tale of a Lost Passport

Posted on April 4, 2013April 4, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Driving home the other day I had a sudden thought…Where is my passport? As I thought about it I became more and more nervous. By the time I actually reached the house I was in a full blown panic.

I last used the passport on my cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. I knew I had the passport when I got home because I’d seen it but where?

While I was on the cruise and then in Florida I kept the passport in the folder I carry on each trip with all the print outs, tickets, guide books, attractions, reciepts and maps. I have a separate folder for this Alaska Cruise. I’ve found that doing it this way organizes not only my travel documents but my thoughts and helps me squeeze in as much as I can on these trips because who knows if I will ever “pass that way again”.

When I get home this folder combines with my notes and photos to provide the basis for my tales of my trips which I share here so that those of you interested in a location can have the benefit of my experiences or mis-adventures, as the case may be. 🙂

Well, as I was writing my posts for Florida and the Everglades I remembered seeing the passport and thinking I should put it away where it belonged. But I am the world’s best procrastinator and didn’t remember doing that.

Baby Alligator

Now at home and in a panic I checked all the places I usually keep the passport when not traveling and even some I don’t usually use. Nothing. I pulled out my luggage and checked all the pockets and linings…nope… nothing.

Finally I went though the pockets of my photo vests, coats, jackets and pants. Those were a real long shot but I was hoping. Still nothing.

I’m sure by now you are asking yourself why I didn’t look in the folder. Well, that’s because as I was cleaning off my desk a few days before I looked at the huge folder and thought “I don’t want to save all this stuff. It takes up too much room in my file cabinet” so I did something I normally don’t do…I threw out my folder with notes, and maps and travel documents. In the process I threw out the passport. 🙁

I raced to the post office where they calmed my fears and said they could expedite a replacement and have it in 2 weeks. Of course it would cost me…what doesn’t these days..so now the search was on for my birth certificate…last seen 7 years ago when I applied for the passport. Lets just say it’s in a safe place.

It was looking more and more like I would have to drive to upstate NY for another certified copy of my birth certificate. So that was my plan for Monday but Sunday as I was doing routine house work I emptied the small trash can under my desk. As I tipped the can I spotted a manila folder! What’s this? Could it be? OMG it’s the Cozumel/Florida folder.
My hand was shaking as I pulled the precious folder out. The first quick flip through yielded nothing, a big fat goose egg so I took the folder to my desk and spread it out. I went through everything one piece of paper at a time and there it was. A bit battered and bent but intact.

I can now share this cautionary story because all’s well that ends well but I did have quite a few days of stress over this silly mistake!

Planning for Port of call~ Juneau

Posted on April 3, 2013April 3, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Progress …that’s what we’re making. Sandy agreed to the combo tour of the Saxman Village and the Totem Park and we made that reservation. Now we have to tackle what to do when we reach Juneau our 2nd port of call.

Juneau is the Capital city of Alaska and the 2nd largest city by area in the US. It is also home to the famous Mendenhall Glacier. Juneau also has WHALES! We’ll be in port from 8:00 am to 9pm so we have a full day to explore.

Usually my sister and I are pretty in tune as far as tours go but here we almost had a rift. I didn’t want to force a “photo” tour on my sister but I really wanted to take the opportunity to get some coaching because the glaciers can be a challenge. I want my pictures to move to the “next level” beyond the post card , snapshot stage. But Sandy is not “into” photography the way I am so I wasn’t sure if she would want to go on a Photography Tour.

In the end both tours were going to the same place at the same time so I decided to go with the tour Sandy liked and do my best with my pictures on my own. The tour description for her Whales and Mendenhall Glacier Trail sounded more interesting than the Photo Tour which talked about photographing the moraines.

Also located in Juneau is Mount Roberts which has a tram ride to the summit. The “Whale Mendenhall Tour” is about 5 hours so we can take the tram in the afternoon.

I can’t wait to compare the actual experiences with what I’m telling you here because so far this is just guidebook information.

Alaska Planning

Posted on April 2, 2013April 2, 2013 by Dusty Roads

It’s almost cruise time. The long-awaited Alaska Cruise and Denali Landtour is only about 6 weeks away. Yes, I’m still going. After all, it was paid for before I knew I was about to be laid off. The money is gone. It won’t solve anything by not going. And since it’s a cruise most of the meals are all paid for as well. Our day-to-day out-of-pocket should be minimal unless we go crazy for souvenirs and since mine are usually the ones I take with my camera I’m not too worried.

We’re booked on the Island Princess. The web site describes her this way:

Island Princess was built to Panamax size – this means she was built to the maximum size a cruise ship can be to sail through the Panama Canal. A high percentage of balcony staterooms give passengers the chance to view this feat of engineering up-close, or take in stunning views of spectacular glaciers during cruises to Alaska. Featured on just one other Princess ship, the Bayou Café and SteakhouseSM is a unique dining venue on board in which to enjoy authentic New Orleans cuisine accompanied by live jazz.

The only thing left is to decide what excursions we want to do while in port.

Our First Port of call is Ketchikan, the First City on the Inside Passage of Southeast Alaska.

With an estimated population of 14,070 in 2010, it is the fifth most populous city in the state.

Ketchikan has the world’s largest collection of standing totem poles, located at three major locations: Saxman Village, Totem Bight, and the Totem Heritage Center. So of course we want to see those. Combining a visit to Saxman Native Village and the Totem poles seems like a perfect way to soak up some of the Native Alaska-American Culture.

Visit Saxman Native Village and experience the rich living culture of southeast Alaska’s Native Americans. Get an exclusive look at the fascinating culture of SE Alaska’s original inhabitants. The Tlingits welcome guests in the traditional style that defines the culture of Southeast Alaska. A short video program introduces you to the culture and history of Saxman. You will then enter the Beaver Clan House where you are welcomed by song and dance by the Cape Fox Dance group. Visitors are encouraged to participate in the final dance, before moving on to the Saxman Totem Park, one of the largest gatherings of totems in the world. Your guide will help unravel the mysteries of these towering, majestic poles. At the Village Carving Center craftsmen pass on their skill to eager apprentices. Learn how modern day carvers differ from their ancestors and learn of their current projects around the world. Fine Alaska Native art and small mementos are for sale at the Native Faces store.

Now I just have to see if my travel companion , this time my sister not Joe, agrees. 🙂