Mount Roberts Tram

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

Back on the Island Princess, we settled in on our balcony to watch the trams run up and down Mount Roberts.

The antics of the bald eagles were entertaining as well. The sun had come out and the summit of the mountain was clear. I asked Sandy is she wanted to ride the tram to the top. She gave it some consideration and then said no. I agreed. Our adventures from the morning had been plenty.

I’m sure I’ll be sorry we didn’t make the effort because the view is supposed to be spectacular and who knows when or if we’ll ever get back, but right at that moment there was no place I wanted to be except where I was, sitting on our balcony watching the trams go by.

In Alaska the tree line is between 2 and 3 thousand feet above sea level. Road access to this level is minimal so in most cases you have to hike. Mount Roberts Tramway gives your hike a boost by riding the tram.

This will gain you 1,750 ft. in 10 minutes. At the summit a network of trails leads out across alpine meadows. A half-mile round trip route will take you to some key viewpoints and great views is of the Gastineau Channel.

As we sat on the balcony enjoying the Alaska Sun there was an old structure on the side of the mountain.

I haven’t found out what this is but I can’t help wondering if it’s the remains of something from the old Gold Rush days.

This is truly relaxing!

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.

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.