Back from Alaska (photos)

[donheff]

I just got back from an Inside Passage cruise followed by a train ride up to Denali National Park. I don't generally go in for cruises but I have to say this one was great. We are old enough to resist a complete hog fest but we still gained a few pounds. DW and I went out for a 30 mile bike ride this morning to start making up for it. A nice part of the Inside Passage trip is that you are almost never out of site of land so there is always something to see on the cruise. When we headed up to Denali, we were cautioned that only 30% of visitors see Mt. McKinley - it is more often than not hidden by clouds. We got 3 days a gorgeous sun! Any one who likes travel photos can see the whole batch on my family website. Here are a few samplers:

Leaving the dock in Vancouver:


A mother bear and cub at Taku Glacier Lodge outside of Ketchikan:



DW and me rafting in an eagle preserve outside of Haynes:



Twilight outside of Skagway:



Margerite Glacier, Glacier Bay:



A humpback whale breeching (from a long way off):



The train to Denali:



The "great one" on one of those sunny days:



Denali at midnight:

[mickeyd]

Thanks. Wish I was back there today (103 degrees in S TX).

[dixonge]

we did the cruise thing in 2007 - late part of the season. Stayed 2 nights near Denali, did the whole 90-mile bus ride into the park. On the way back in from the end of the road we got a brief glimpse of the peak of Denali, just enough for a few photos. I have to say it looks very nice in full sun!

[bbbamI]

Wow...beautiful pics Don! No wonder you had such a great time. Thanks for sharing your trip.

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Great shots, Don. Did you fly from Vancouver to Alaska?

[Purron]

Beautiful!!! Thanks for sharing :-)

[clifp]

Don great photos.

I am leaving next week with the family for our Alaska cruise.
The Taku glacier flight looks great, I am so glad I signed up.

What ship/cruise line were you on.
A couple were you cold? what were you generally wearing on board the ship?
Did you take any excursion where you were disappointed. Anything you'd particular recommend. I have some free time in Juneau and Haines in the morning, so I have quite settled on those days.

[Rambler]

Wow, beautiful pics. DW and I had planned to take an alaska cruise last year with another couple. We eventually decided against it as DW wants to visit London this year for our 25th. Our lives have become more complicated due to work and having our one kid in college 6000 miles from us and another 4000 miles from us, so we may not reah London either. Bottom line is that eventually, we are gonna have to take that Alaska trip...too beautiful to pass up.

R

[donheff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa Great shots, Don. Did you fly from Vancouver to Alaska?

We sailed from Vancouver and flew back from Anchorage. Some people like to do the land portion first and then cruise back. Either way seems good to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by clifp Don great photos. I am leaving next week with the family for our Alaska cruise. The Taku glacier flight looks great, I am so glad I signed up. What ship/cruise line were you on. A couple were you cold? what were you generally wearing on board the ship? Did you take any excursion where you were disappointed. Anything you'd particular recommend. I have some free time in Juneau and Haines in the morning, so I have quite settled on those days.

We were with Princess. We looked into sailing on a very small ship - we did that in Galapagos (18 passenger) and loved it. But the prices were about three times as much and the Island Princess was a beautiful ship.

In addition to Taku Glacier (Juneau) we did a raft float trip through an Eagle preserve near Haines (boat docked in Skagway). That was also a great trip. In Ketchikan we didn't take an excursion through Princess. We just caught a bus from town to the Mendenhall Glacier and hiked -- that was fun and inexpensive.

In Denali, the package included a 5 hour bus ride into the park which was fine. I am not sure we would have liked a longer ride. We stayed a couple of days in another lodge closer to McKinley the next two days which is where we got the mountain pictures. There wWe took a ride to Talkeetna where climbers register for McKinley (served as the model for Northern Exposure). If you go there make sure you walk through the woods at the foot of the town to the river where you get great views of the mountain.