Alaska Touring with 9 - your Kidding ..right:)!

[theresef]

Excursions:

May 23 - May30 2009

So how do you keep 9 people entertained – when they range in age between 16 and 80!!!! I’m still not sure we totally accomplished that! However, DH, DS’s and myself had a great time….the rest – we heard they did as well We ended up in 3 ports Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway. So will tell a little about what our varied group of 9 did! Please see here for the review of our Golden Princess Cruise: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=997733

 

Juneau –

We booked the Capt Larry Orca Whale tour for all 9 of us. They also dropped us off at Mendenhall and returned 2.5 hours later to pick us up and take us back to town. The whale trip started with locating their offices in Juneau – about a 15 minute walk from where the Golden Princess docked. A little while later boarded a bus that took us to their boats (purple – bright purple!). With a little fanfare we were off. About 15 minutes into the trip we spotted our first humpback whale breathing and then saw her dive – with a spectacular fluke. Shortly thereafter spotted a baby whale frolicking in the sea. He put on quite a show – breaching several times and rolling playfully in between.

 

We then ventured a bit our and spotted some Orca fins and watched those for a few minutes , then headed back to dock. I loved seeing the whales – however due to the environmental rules you cannot get too close to the whales - about 100 yards. We were perhaps as close as 200 yards a couple of times. Without a telephoto lens – pretty hard to capture any shots. The boat was quite crowded and we had to take turns going atop to get a view and seating was cramped. A really neat trip to see whales – and we hope to do so again on another trip in a more personal setting.

 

We then went to Mendenhall. The glacier views were very nice and walking down to the beach afforded even better viewing. We spotted the falls off in the distance and took a short walk (about 30 minutes) to get close. All of us were quite amazed at the beauty and force of the falls. Many of our pictures capture the faces as we gazed upon these – still as if caught up in the water talking to us. The backdrop of the glacier to these falls was simply beyond words and quite frankly even pictures. Several times we caught reflections in the shallow pools of water of the various landscape – lending a surreal feel to the entire landscape. All of our group were quite caught up in the beauty of this area. With the day coming to an end we headed back to Juneau, our minds and hearts filled with the majesty of the wildlife and beauty we had just witnessed.

 

Skagway

 

The day dawned with cold, blustery winds and fog hovering near the land. We ventured off the ship wrapped up warmly and went to rent our vehicles. Due to there being 9 we did a van and car to accommodate us all. It is a little over a mile walk to Skagway from where the boat docked and we then found the AVIS rental location. We piled into the van to begin our adventure on the Klondike highway. Our destination was Spirit Wilderness Lodge – about 72 miles down the highway – right before Emerald Lake – where we had booked horse back riding and canoeing. The fog was hanging over the peaks as we went down the highway (following Murrays guide and mile markers for photo ops, scenery and history) and the vista views were lost due to the fog. However – this caused us to really take in the immediate surroundings and clearly this is a stretch of highway that has some of the most breathtaking scenery to behold. We have traveled extensively and I would be hard pressed to tell you of many more places on this earth as beautiful and rugged as what we traversed. From the mountains to the cliffs, the lonely stretch of highway (we only saw about 15 vehicles the entire day) the wildlife – yes we saw bears and moose and eagles and…) to the majesty of the crystal clear lakes reflecting the sky and scenery. Many times we though it was a pained backdrop – so surreal was the experience. As we drove along – a lone black bear was foraging among the dandelions – we stopped – holding our breath and the camera buttons. For 10 minutes we quietly watched this majestic animal as he then lumbered off into the woods. We passed lakes and mountain ranges with every color imaginable and as we went into the Yukon the sun came out and the sky and colors took on all new hues. With a short stop to get our passports stamped we continued on and eventually came to Spirit Lake Wilderness Lodge.

 

Spirit Lake Wilderness Lodge – Horse Back Riding, Canoeing – Lunch

 

What a wonderful excursion. After a breathtaking drive we arrived at this quaint “cabin” like building. The owners were present and had home made chicken soup (marvelous) homemade bread for the sandwiches and freshly made pies. Apple and blueberry and more I cant remember….You would have thought it had been days since we last ate – the food was wonderful and the pies worthy of their own trip! Our very gracious hosts accommodated one of our party by making (sp) panakins? – mouthwatering and as if we could eat another bite – they were soon gone!

 

Now time to work off this feast and we headed for the lake for some canoeing. A peaceful tranquil lake with nary a soul on it but us. Hues of green, gold and blue and black shimmered at us surrounded by a waterscape of trees in every shape and color of green and blue. About half of the lake is as deep as 100ft with the other half being very shallow – 3-6. We paddled nearer the shallower side and quietly slipped across the lake. Even the teen boys were content to paddle and not whoop and holler - in what felt like a very spiritual setting. When reaching a distant shore our guide proceeded to tell us about the land and mountains, talking at length of the history and foliage that surrounded us. We then paddled back – somehow feeling rested – even with the mild exercise. Now get 9 people onto horses – some who have never rode and for some whom this is second nature. A very patient guide got every age and experience level matched up with the right horse and away we went. The horses were clearly well taken care of and were pretty well matched to their riders. No small feat with the 9 of us. The trails meandered through groves of trees and meadows – up and down steep slopes – into the forest and then back dropping to a setting of towering mountains. Again – the incredible surroundings and landscape had most of quietly taking in this journey. The trail was a bit dusty but overlooked due to the panorama that waited us at each turn or climb. We dropped down and eventually followed a small river and wound around and came up another incline – yielding yet another vista. We all stopped and took pictures – as there was little chance prior and then proceeded through the forests – eventually returning to the lodge.

 

This was a spectacular excursion – from our incredibly gracious hosts to the guides to the land itself. Certainly a memory each of us will have for a lifetime.

 

Back on the road again – we visited Emerald Lake and then headed back to Skagway. We had to stop – several times for the black bear foraging by the side of the road – that then decided to take a walk down the yellow line. With nary a car in site – we watched the solitary bear walk for many minutes – before he ventured back into the woods. Only a few minutes later – around a turn was a moose – grazing along the forest. She walked for awhile and decided we certainly had enough photo opportunities and then crossed the road to disappear into the forest. As dense as the forest was at this point – we could not figure out how an animal of her size could even get through the bramble! Ever on the lookout for more wildlife we carefully drove – until hitting fog so thick that even the road in front of us disappeared. We journeyed like this all the way into Alaska – finally with a little clearing as we approached Skagway. Scary yes – beautiful in its own right – yes – we were fortunate to see many different “days” in our little journey! We found those that stayed in Skagway due to the inclement weather – had rain pouring the entire day. Many were wondering how we could appear with sun burnt faces out of the deep fog!

 

Ketchikan

 

Another early day. Ship was in port by 6am and we were not far behind. Our party split here with a few (older folk doing the walking tour), the middle folk (30/32) doing ziplining and our immediate family heading off to the Bering Sea Tour. (Deadliest Catch).

 

First we wandered the town until having to meet up with our tour at 8am. The streets were quite silent as we were among the first awake and wandering this am. We headed over to Creek street while posing for the totems along the way. Reaching the creek we wandered amongst the little wood shops that perched on the sides of the creeks – watching the water and wildlife as they foraged in the early morn. We then walked a fair amount of the town eventually ending up back at the pier to catch up to the tour. Boarding the Aleutian was quite a thrill as all 4 of us are Deadliest Catch fans. Several crew were on board that had just fished that season in the Bering sea. The facilities on board the ship – galley, restrooms, seating etc were the best we had ever experienced for these types of excursions. And even though the day had dawned warm and sunny – out on the water it chilled up quickly. The crew handed out the warmest jacket/poncho’s to keep us toasty. Add the coffee/tea and hot chocolate and we were ready to sail. With the Capt narrating our surrounding scenery – we sped by the small harbour until reaching a point where the “tour” began. As I do not want to ruin this for those that have yet to take this tour – some of it really is supposed to be a surprise or an unveiling if you may – I will refrain from too much verbiage Yes we saw dolphins, eagles (and more eagles and more eagles and more…..)crab, octopus and many other wonders of the sea. Perhaps equally as interesting were the stories the crew told – these were not from scripts and clearly the guys here were not “actors” - but rather articulated their thoughts as they came up depending upon the moment. While some of the tour is clearly canned – the rest is spontaneous and leaves one with a great appreciation for both the sea you are in and the life of the folks that fish these seas. My “tough” 16 yrs old sat with tears streaming down his face - rapt with listening to the tales these men had to tell. It was an experience none of us will forget….Not just because we got to see the “Deadliest Catch” iconic moments – more so because we had a chance to experience it with the people who lived it and saw through their eyes - the land and sea.

 

Final Thoughts

 

So which tour was our favourite? We asked each other that very question the last day at sea. For the depth of experiences – the day in the Yukon and the visit to Spirit Wilderness Lodge came up again and again –and then….we will never forget the people and their interaction with the sea – the Bering Sea came up. For the solitude of the moment – when you felt you were there and all of life was around you – the falls at the Mendenhall Glacier were mentioned. I do not know that we ever arrived at a favourite – and we were fortunate to not have to pick – because we have all of the experiences of this trip to remember!

[LAWTONCRUISE]

Very nice, thanks for sharing.

[palolake]

Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to post this.

[VikkiGarcia]

Thanks for the report. We did the same paddle/saddle with Spirit Lake Lodge last year. We loved it too. Your report brought back some great memories.

[traceye]

Thanks for all of this great information.

[happynewbie]

and Grampa was there too...we were two in that group of 9!!!

 

It was just fantastic and there is nothing much more that I can add to what Therese has told you.

 

Except...we are absolute cruise fans now...I wanna go again NOW;)! Happynewbie

[canadarocks]

Thank you for a wonderfully well written review! You truly have a gift. :)