Spirit to Alaska 5/5 - 5-11 Pic Review

[SunnyDayz4me]

 

 

 

 

 

[SunnyDayz4me]

Here's a link to Humpback Whale Video.....I have to laugh everytime I look/listen to it....I tend to forget that it's recording audio as well as video and you can hear me at the end....all excited over getting it LOL

 

http://travel.webshots.com/video/304...05084289fvFJrc

[SunnyDayz4me]

And a couple more where I finally caught one with it's head out of the water...

 

 

[SunnyDayz4me]

Much much too soon, it was time to head back and begin the second part of the excursion...Glaciers. I could have stayed watching whales for hours !!!

 

On the way to Mendenhall Glacier, we passed by these plants....Skunk Cabbage is what they were called...and we were told that is exactly what they smell like ! Eeeewwww....I can't imagine having something around that smells like skunk all the time....thankfully, we were in a bus and didn't have the "pleasure"....apparently, these do serve a purpose...they helps "unplug" the bears after hibernation....

 

 

Mendenhall Glacier Pics

 

 

 

Mendenhall Lake (at bottom of the Glacier)...I found the icebergs beautiful !

 

 

The glacier is retreating...meaning it's melting faster than it's moving forward from the Juneau Ice field.

 

 

[SunnyDayz4me]

 

Blue Ice was gorgeous !

 

 

 

 

There was a sample of glacial ice that you could hold...it was actually very light weight and full of holes (just as it says...like a jigsaw puzzle)

 

 

[SunnyDayz4me]

I think we actually stayed longer than planned on the wildlife part of the tour as we didn't have but about 1/2 - 3/4hr at the glacier. Time flew by and it was time to head back. I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this excursion !

 

One thing I found interesting is that there are no roads that lead in or out of Juneau....the capital and you can't get there from here ! All transportation is by plane or ferry....they say they don't have "road rage" there...they have "end of the road" rage...because you just run out of road.

 

Once back to the pier, we wandered through a few shops and purchased some souvenirs then back to the ship. We didn't make it back in time to go to the MDR so just ate on Lido.

 

What with full tummies and the long day...called it a night after another small donation in the casino.

 

Skagway was next and we were due in port early.

[SunnyDayz4me]

Coming into Skagway (or Skauway as we saw it spelled at times)

 

 

 

When you first dock, you see the cliffs with all the signs painted on them....they are the ships with their Captain's names..

 

 

I hunted until I found the one for the Spirit

 

[SunnyDayz4me]

I really liked these pics of the ship with the mountains in Skagway.

 

 

 

[CruisingAgain]

Wonderful!!!!!! Thank you!!!

[SunnyDayz4me]

Had 2 excursions booked for Skagway....first one being the "To The Summit" which was by bus. This took us up to White Pass Summit...I had received an email prior to the cruise stating that you now had to have a passport to do this excursion due to Canadian Laws...not a problem for us but may be for some that cruise with just their birth certificates.

 

On the way thru town, we passed by the Red Onion Saloon which we decided to check out when we got back.

 

 

Went through some beautiful scenery

 

 

Train tracks for those that take the train to the Summit

 

 

More Scenery (which is what this cruise was all about for me)

 

 

 

[SunnyDayz4me]

Earthquake resistant bridge....only "attached" at one end...the other end will "move" during an earthquake to keep from collapsing. They said this is built on a fault.

 

 

Someone on the bus spotted a mountain goat...so the driver pulled over to let us off to take pics.

 

 

 

White Pass Summit

 

[seguincruiser]

Where is the mountain goat? Couldn't see it in those two pics.

[Dulahey]

Where is the mountain goat? Couldn't see it in those two pics.

 

 

It's right smack in the middle of the pictures. The goat is White.

[SunnyDayz4me]

Where is the mountain goat? Couldn't see it in those two pics.

 

 

It's right in the middle of the pics....in the first one....he is on the rocky area with his hind end toward me...head turned....then in the second pic....he has started walking up the mountain....so it's white on white.

[SunnyDayz4me]

Second excursion in Skagway was the Streetcar....Nicki (the one with the black coat) was our driver and she was a total hoot ! She made the excursion, in my opinion.

 

 

Plenty of photo ops along the way

 

 

Just something I like about this one with the trees in focus and the mtns in the background

 

 

She was soooo good at telling the local tales....hopefully, if you take this excursion....you'll get Nicki. We ended up at the Gold Rush Cemetary where she finished the tale of Jefferson Smith and Frank Reid....don't want to spoil it for anyone....

 

 

[SunnyDayz4me]

I thought this was a neat building....the front is all driftwood.

 

 

Nicki dropped us off downtown by the Red Onion Saloon...which we visited for pizza and a drink.

 

 

 

[SunnyDayz4me]

Someone from the street hollered up "How Much"....the girls' response...

 

"If you have to ask, you can't afford it "....:eek:

 

 

After that, we just wandered around town a bit and then made our way back to the ship.

 

 

 

 

[jj1975]

this review makes me want to go to on a n alaska cruise

[SunnyDayz4me]

When we got back to the ship and to our cabin....surprise ! In the mailbox was a letter from the players club....free drink and 500 points !

 

Dinner, show and then off to the casino....maybe my luck would be better tonight ! And it was ! I actually won about $350 that night...stayed playing in the casino until about 2am...I like those kind of nights ! LOL

 

Back to the cabin with some of my winnings in tow....tomorrow was Ketchikan.

 

[luv2gonow]

thanks for taking the time to post them.

I played "wheres waldo"....found the goat:D

[SunnyDayz4me]

thanks for taking the time to post them.

I played "wheres waldo"....found the goat:D

 

 

Too funny !

 

I know he was really hard to see...he was so far up the mountain from the road....I was surprised my telephoto lens picked him up as well as it did !

[spencercoop]

Plenty of photo ops along the way

 

 

 

AWESOME pic!!!! Very cool!

[Luckysll]

Loving your review! I've been on the Spirit four times (twice to Alaska), and I have some of the same pictures as you, so this is like reliving it all over again. I took some friends with me last year (their first cruise) and they want to go back next year, so I guess I'll be going back to Alaska for a fifth time. But, that's okay with me, I love it! :D

[SunnyDayz4me]

Slept in the next morning....not due into Ketchikan until 11am. Only had 1 excursion planned here....this was going to be the "big" shopping day.

 

Original "road" right by the pier

 

 

View from town:

 

 

 

Did the "Duck tour"....which is in an amphibian....was pretty neat to go from land to water in the same vehicle.

 

 

You ride through town while listening to some of the history/facts about Ketchikan.

 

[SunnyDayz4me]

They took us out by an island that had an eagle nest...said the same pair of eagles have been coming back there for about 5 years now.

 

 

Female eagle:

 

 

Male eagle sitting in the nest:

 

 

After the tour, we walked around town taking pics.

 

 

Dolly's house....need I say more ?!? She paid $800 for this house and had it paid off in 2 weeks !