Review and Photos of Denali May 18-19 and Carnival Spirit Cruise SB, May 20-27, 2009

[bimmermom]

Totems Outside Cape Fox Lodge

 

 

Lunch was delicious -- DD ordered oysters and I had a cod sandwich and fries. The atmosphere was very nice, with a big fireplace and large windows overlooking Creek Street below. The lobby and stairway in the hotel feature a very pretty native carving. We relaxed a while, admired our purchases and decided to go out to the back of the building before heading back down in the funicular. Outside, we discovered a colorful grouping of totem poles and flowers.

 

After going back through the Lodge and getting on the little funicular for the short ride down the hill, we finished our walk along Creek Street and headed toward the cruise ships. Of course we stopped and shopped many more times, posed for each other in front of huge storefront stuffed animals like orcas and bears and, in general, had some great mommy/daughter bonding time. For some reason, my daughter always bonds easily with me when we are shopping!

 

 

Photos from our walk around town

 

 

 

 

 

Still making our way slowly back to the ship, DD and I shopped in and out of the many stores that line the road next to the pier. Ok, we just can't help it! If a shop is there, we're gonna check it out. We ended up at the very last store on the street (I think it was called, appropriately, the Outlet Store) and just looked around in a hurry because it was almost time to be back. We left and walked across the road to the ship trying to ignore hubby, who was sitting out on Alaskagriz's balcony and shouting for us to pose for pictures.

 

It had been a great day in Ketchikan. As the Spirit pulled away from the pier and we were back on our aft wrap balcony, we got even better views of the town and its surroundings. The town center looked very quaint from the distance, with its multi-colored buildings and rolling hills. Billboards and shops were everywhere, even more so than we realized when we were walking around in the middle of them. And as the town faded, I continued to take pictures of the homes scattered along the shoreline. Many had floatplanes and/or old cars and trucks parked around them.

 

Photos taken during our departure from Ketchikan:

 

 

[bimmermom]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up, our second Sea Day and the CC "partay" on our humongous balcony

[derrick22]

I followed you here from the Alaska thread and I've never regretted it.

 

Your pictures are absolutely breathtaking. Words cannot adequately describe them.

 

I only hope to capture some of what you did when I go next month.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your pictures.

 

Denise

[bimmermom]

Thanks a bunch, Denise. I'm so glad you like the photos. I'm gonna try and wrap this up tomorrow or the next day! I guess it's time for me to get back into the real world again. But at least I'll have my notes to travel back there with later. I wish you a wonderful time on your Alaskan adventure in July. Please keep us posted on how it goes. :)

 

Hilda (bimmermom)

[vegs1]

Hi bimmermom....I've been reading your posts faithfully...with even a few questions along the way.

 

Your post is like one of those fabulous books you read....you want to read more and more but you don't want it to end. I have savoured every single word and can't wait to go myself....only a few more weeks!

 

First off...thank you for answering the questions I've asked so far. You've been very helpful with most everything being answered within the post.

 

I was wondering if you could tell me how far of a walk from the dock it is to Creek Street and if it's hard to find. We have an early morning flight with Island Wings so my senior parents will be on their own and my mother can't walk too far.

 

Also, did you happen to notice if Skagway or Ketchican had a trolley?

 

Your photos are amazing!!!! My friend has lent me her telephoto lens and Canon XT camera (the regular lens is broken so we'll need our own point and shoot camera). I've never used a telephoto before. Is it hard to get a picture without blur? Did you always carry your telephoto or just on tours?

 

Thanks again. Can't wait to read the remaining part of your trip.

[vegs1]

Sorry...just had another thought I should have put in my earlier post.

 

Would you mind sharing your packing list? I noticed in most photos on the ship in Alaska, jeans seem to be the most common item of clothing.

 

What did you take on your trip as far as clothing, shoes, etc for both daytime and evenings?

 

Thanks!!

[Lovharvey]

I have enjoyed readiing your review very much. I was able to relive our Alaskan cruise through your review and pictures. I was so glad to read that the eagle was still at the top of the mountain in Juneau. I had asked someone else if he was still there and they said they didn't see it. The pictures brought back so many wonderful memories of things and places that we did and saw on our trip. I know what your family meant by taking pictures all the time, I came back with over 900. Now that we have digital cameras, I take alot more pictures than when we were using flim. I can't wait for the rest of the review. We were going to try for an Alaskan cruise this year, but, looks like it will have to wait, so in reading your review, I feel like I am right there with you. Have a wonderful return trip.:):)

[bimmermom]

****Hello, Lovharvey!**** Thanks for sharing your thoughts and memories with me also. You should definitely make plans to go back...I know I want to. And, hopefully the Mt. Roberts eagle will still be there :)

 

****Vegs1**** -- you are too kind! Oh, and I really hope you trip is going to be the best ever.

 

In answer to your questions:

 

1) The walk from where the Spirit docks in Ketchikan to Creek Street is not far at all. I believe it might have been about 2 or 3 blocks, none of it uphill, so very easy for your parents to walk. If you want to download and print out a little map of downtown Ketchikan, go to www dot visit-ketchikan dot com. The site has lots of tourist info and maps to give your folks an idea of which direction to head in when they get off the ship. And people everywhere will know how to tell them to find Creek Street. In the meantime, I'll bet you will love your flight with Island Wings; please come back and let me know because that is on my list for next time.

 

2) I did not see a trolley in either Skagway or Ketchikan. I did see lots of duck tour vehicles taking tourists around Ketchikan and I believe there is a shuttle bus from the pier thru the town of Skagway. I think you will find that kind on info on www dot visit-ketchikan dot com as well as a telephone number you can call. Also try www dot skagway dot com for more detail.

 

3) That Canon XT is a very nice camera you are taking with you! I think it will be great to have the telephoto on the Canon and keep your p/s camera for the normal to wide angle scenes. That way, you won't have to be switching lenses back and forth on the same camera.

 

As far as getting blur with the telephoto, it can be tricky if your zoom doesn't have image (aka vibration) stabilization and if it's a really heavy lens. Some folks take along a monopod or tripod for steadiness, but I just didn't want that extra load. My 70-300 Nikon lens does have VR so that helped me out a lot, plus it's a relatively light lens considering its size.

 

I basically only used the lens that I thought suited the excursion/tour the best. For example, for a wildlife excursion I would keep my telephoto lens on the camera most of the time. You will also want to leave your camera in continuous mode, so you can shoot many frames rapidly. (You don't want to miss that whale breaching or blowing because you were waiting on your camera to "catch up" with you!)

 

If I knew I was mainly going to be taking long distance scenic shots, such as the lakes and mountains of the White Pass and Yukon RR excursion, I would take only my regular 18 to 55 mm lens. In your case, maybe just take both your Canon for wildlife and keep your p/s in your pocket for wide angle scenic shots.

 

I think the best advice I can give you here is to take your camera(s) with you to your local zoo and/or on a road trip around home to practice, practice, practice. You'll be glad you didn't wait until Alaska to figure out what works best for you with your particular equipment.

 

4) Packing list -- I had printed out a couple that I found on the internet to use as samples. I think my favorite one was located at: www dot alaska dot org. Their suggestion for packing is listed under Expert Advice.

 

I will tell you that I couldn't have done without my power strip, my Zen-Ray binoculars, warm stocking hat and gloves and Eddie Bauer squall jacket for glacier viewing and my easy-to-wear-and-wash black jersey pants to pair with several silky blouses (lightweight and they don't wrinkle) for dressy dinners. I only took 4 pairs of shoes (for me, that is a miracle): 1 pair of Ecco Trailblazers that I had waterproofed for most outdoor activities, 1 pair of Keen athletic-type sandals for casual wear around the ship, one pair of black patent leather pumps for dressy and finally one pair of fleece lined flip-flops for anything inbetween.

 

My final suggestion -- take some kind of collapsible suitcase or bag with you. I have a very durable Bagallini bag that folds down very small into its own pouch, but gets huge when you fill it with stuff! The night before we came home, I put all our dirty laundry and soft stuff in there and checked it in later with the airlines. That left my sturdier large suitcase to hold my souvenirs and breakables and lots of other goodies.

 

If I think of any other tips, I'll let you know. Rest of my story upcoming shortly. :D

[bimmermom]

We spent the evening after leaving Ketchikan having dinner in the dining room and "catching up" with many of our CC friends. We especially enjoyed hearing how Kellie overcame her fear of heights to go ziplining with her daughter and Nora, Mrs. Alaskagriz. Kellie admitted that she was terrified and would never do it again, but was so proud of herself for doing it this once. And Erin was proud of her too!

 

We also found out that Terry and Carl had a wonderful float plane tour over Misty Fjords, I think with Michelle of Island Wings? I'm not sure about that but I do know they had a wonderful time. Dwayne and Carol had spent the afternoon fishing. So a good day was had by all!

 

 

 

[bimmermom]

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 - Our 2nd Sea Day

 

Ah, this was another day when we got to sleep in a little later than normal. Gotta love that comfortable Carnival bedding! But with the sun shining and beautiful scenery coming up in the Canadian part of the Inside Passage, we were up and out sooner than expected. We still had one more day to soak up sunshine and even get a tan on our wonderful balcony.

 

This was also a day to be a little on sad side, knowing it was our last full day on the Spirit and time to say goodbye to our new friends. We had invited everybody in our CC group to come to our cabin for a little party later in the afternoon, a kind of going away party we were giving ourselves.

 

But first hubby, dd and I spent much of this nice, sunny day walking all around the ship, revisiting our favorite places like the jungle hall, the atrium, the pools and relaxing for a while at the fan tail bar. I took more photos of the ship just in case I had missed something in the previous 6 days. Shopping was our next activity, as I mentioned earlier in this review. DD and I purchased a few items that were going like hotcakes in the shop sales and had fun fighting the crowds at the bargain tables.

 

 

My last sea day photos from around the ship:

 

 

 

The Fantail Bar

 

 

 

 

 

There is always a Hairy Men's Contest, even on an Alaskan cruise!

 

 

[bimmermom]

 

Around 4:00 pm, our CC buddies began to gather on the balcony. At one point, I think we had at least 12 people out there and the balcony still had room for so many more! The scenery passing us by was just as beautiful as ever and the sun was warm and bright. We all chatted and got to know each other even better. We exchanged contact information and even talked about getting together for future cruises.

 

Pretty soon our young 20-year-old DDs got the music cranked up (thanks to ipod technology) and we started a group dance going. The youngsters showed us "oldsters" some of the newer dance moves and the balcony became quite the happening place. Looking back, we were probably a bit too loud out there. Several people would call down from the lido deck above, laughing and waving at us. They seemed to enjoy our music and hung around talking to us from above. Not sure if our aft neighbors were perturbed or not, since we never really saw or heard from them. Hopefully they enjoyed the music and didn't mind our clowning around. I guess it was good that we had waited until the last day to party on the balcony, or we might have been booted from the cruise!

 

 

 

 

We broke up the party sometime around dinner time. Dinner, as usual, was very good that night. I wish I could remember exactly what I had eaten but I don't! Next cruise/review, I'm going to make more notes and take photos of the food. For some reason, on this trip, my priorities had been all about the sights, sounds and tours and not the food or entertainment on the ship. But, as I wrote earlier in this review, the food overall was very good.

 

After dinner, hubby and dd went to the Vegas-style show in Pharoah's Palace while I went back to the room to pack. The show, they said, was mediocre. Again, I think the entertainment critiques will differ a lot from person to person but the only act on this cruise they thought was great was the Blues Brothers.

 

After the show, we gathered in our cabin one final time with our friends to take some photos and say goodbye, since we'd all be heading in different directions in the morning and might not see each other again for a while. We miss you guys!

 

 

Next, the final installment of this review: our post-cruise day in Vancouver.

[vegs1]

****Hello, Lovharvey!**** Thanks for sharing your thoughts and memories with me also. You should definitely make plans to go back...I know I want to. And, hopefully the Mt. Roberts eagle will still be there :)

 

****Vegs1**** -- you are too kind! Oh, and I really hope you trip is going to be the best ever.

 

In answer to your questions:

 

1) The walk from where the Spirit docks in Ketchikan to Creek Street is not far at all. I believe it might have been about 2 or 3 blocks, none of it uphill, so very easy for your parents to walk. If you want to download and print out a little map of downtown Ketchikan, go to www dot visit-ketchikan dot com. The site has lots of tourist info and maps to give your folks an idea of which direction to head in when they get off the ship. And people everywhere will know how to tell them to find Creek Street. In the meantime, I'll bet you will love your flight with Island Wings; please come back and let me know because that is on my list for next time.

 

2) I did not see a trolley in either Skagway or Ketchikan. I did see lots of duck tour vehicles taking tourists around Ketchikan and I believe there is a shuttle bus from the pier thru the town of Skagway. I think you will find that kind on info on www dot visit-ketchikan dot com as well as a telephone number you can call. Also try www dot skagway dot com for more detail.

 

3) That Canon XT is a very nice camera you are taking with you! I think it will be great to have the telephoto on the Canon and keep your p/s camera for the normal to wide angle scenes. That way, you won't have to be switching lenses back and forth on the same camera.

 

As far as getting blur with the telephoto, it can be tricky if your zoom doesn't have image (aka vibration) stabilization and if it's a really heavy lens. Some folks take along a monopod or tripod for steadiness, but I just didn't want that extra load. My 70-300 Nikon lens does have VR so that helped me out a lot, plus it's a relatively light lens considering its size.

 

I basically only used the lens that I thought suited the excursion/tour the best. For example, for a wildlife excursion I would keep my telephoto lens on the camera most of the time. You will also want to leave your camera in continuous mode, so you can shoot many frames rapidly. (You don't want to miss that whale breaching or blowing because you were waiting on your camera to "catch up" with you!)

 

If I knew I was mainly going to be taking long distance scenic shots, such as the lakes and mountains of the White Pass and Yukon RR excursion, I would take only my regular 18 to 55 mm lens. In your case, maybe just take both your Canon for wildlife and keep your p/s in your pocket for wide angle scenic shots.

 

I think the best advice I can give you here is to take your camera(s) with you to your local zoo and/or on a road trip around home to practice, practice, practice. You'll be glad you didn't wait until Alaska to figure out what works best for you with your particular equipment.

 

4) Packing list -- I had printed out a couple that I found on the internet to use as samples. I think my favorite one was located at: www dot alaska dot org. Their suggestion for packing is listed under Expert Advice.

 

I will tell you that I couldn't have done without my power strip, my Zen-Ray binoculars, warm stocking hat and gloves and Eddie Bauer squall jacket for glacier viewing and my easy-to-wear-and-wash black jersey pants to pair with several silky blouses (lightweight and they don't wrinkle) for dressy dinners. I only took 4 pairs of shoes (for me, that is a miracle): 1 pair of Ecco Trailblazers that I had waterproofed for most outdoor activities, 1 pair of Keen athletic-type sandals for casual wear around the ship, one pair of black patent leather pumps for dressy and finally one pair of fleece lined flip-flops for anything inbetween.

 

My final suggestion -- take some kind of collapsible suitcase or bag with you. I have a very durable Bagallini bag that folds down very small into its own pouch, but gets huge when you fill it with stuff! The night before we came home, I put all our dirty laundry and soft stuff in there and checked it in later with the airlines. That left my sturdier large suitcase to hold my souvenirs and breakables and lots of other goodies.

 

If I think of any other tips, I'll let you know. Rest of my story upcoming shortly. :D

 

Thank you so much for answering all of my questions. I will definitely practice with the camera a lot between now and then.

 

Also, thanks for the tip regarding the extra bag. I hadn't thought of that but I think you're right...it will definitely come in handy as I know I'll be buying a lot of souveniers.

 

Can't wait to finish reading your review.

 

Thanks again....and I'll definitely let you know how Island Wings works out.

[dustyroad]

:eek::eek: ok i have to ask---how does it work. i have been on the spirit 2 times to alaska and have never seen it before. looks like fun but tell us how to play it. great reveiw and i love the pictures. thanks for sharing. :)

[Morebeer]

Thank you so much for the wonderful review and spectacular pictures. The family and I were on the Spirit cruise northbound to Alaska about 5 years ago and have always wanted to go back. As you mentioned with the new round trip itinerary out of Seattle it's really to bad Sitka will be cut out we also very much enjoyed that stop. I haven't looked closely enough at the new itinerary yet I wonder if the stops in Ketichkan, Juneau, and Skagway could be lenghtened with the new round trip Seattlie itinerary? Thanks again.

[bimmermom]

Thanks again for your compliments, guys!

 

***Morebeer*** I'm not sure but I think I saw that on some of its 2010 cruises out of Seattle, Carnival has added Victoria to the list that includes Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway. Such a shame that Sitka is no longer on the agenda! I don't know but what we may just have to switch cruiselines on the next trip to Alaska, just so we can still see Sitka and make a land tour back to Denali. Ah, well, it's all just wishful thinking at this point anyway! :rolleyes:

 

***Dustyroad*** In chicken olympics, folks are divided into teams of 2. They have to earn points by competing against each in 3 different events, all involving bright yellow rubber chickens:

 

1) First they have to pick one team member and that person has to stuff all the chickens they possibly can into their clothing. Hubby had on a big jacket that day, so he got to zip it up and cram a whole lotta chickens into it and into his pants as well! The person who had the most chickens in their clothing wins.

 

2) Next came the chicken toss. The other person on the team has to toss chickens with specified point values into boxes. This is a lot harder than it sounds!

 

3) Finally, one team member has to carry as many chickens as their teammate can squeeze between their legs down the course and drop them behind the baskets. Hubby said the trick to this event was to take small bunny hops instead of walking with all those chickens wedged between his legs. The person who delivers the most chickens to the target spot wins.

 

In the end, points are added up and a winner is picked! So there you go, Chicken Olympics Revealed. :D

[bluejays29]

Loved your review and of course all of the beautiful pictures.

 

We miss y'all and hopefully we can all cruise together again one day eh!!!:D

 

Kellie

[bimmermom]

You can count on it, Kellie! We miss ya'll more (although Erin has promised to come down and take over in Hanna's place) xoxoxoxo

[bimmermom]

Sadly, the last morning of our cruise had arrived and, after crossing under the beautiful Lion's Gate bridge, the Spirit slowly pulled into Canada Place around 7:00 am. The sky was partly cloudy and it looked like it would turn out to be a fine day, a good sign for our afternoon tour of the North Shore.

 

Early morning view from our balcony of the Lion's Gate Bridge

 

 

 

As we pulled into Canada Place, a Holland America ship was already there

 

 

 

The Seven Seas Mariner, which had been following us to many of the same ports, pulls in after us

 

 

 

[bimmermom]

The Panamanian flag flies when the Spirit is in port

 

 

Since our flight home didn't leave until the next morning, we had plenty of time to let other cruisers debark before us. We waited in our cabin and enjoyed our balcony for the last time until about 9:30 am or so. Taking our smaller bags with us (we had put our big bags outside for collection the night before), we headed up to the lido deck for breakfast. Around 10:15 or so, our number to debark was called and we sadly took our leave of the beautiful Carnival Spirit.

 

It didn't take long to get a porter to help us find, collect and load up our big bags and get through customs. We were really glad that we didn't have to take a taxi anywhere at this point, because the line snaked for a long way. I could only hope everybody made it to the airport in time.

 

 

 

 

I had made reservations for this afternoon's tour many months before with Landsea Tours of Vancouver. They were going to pick us up in front of the Pan Pacific Hotel, which is adjacent to Canada Place. I had been told that there was a Starbucks and also a food court, where we could hang out and relax until it was time to go. Sure enough, the porter led us through the terminal quickly, up and out to the Starbucks which is next to the Pan Pacific. There we unloaded our stuff and seated ourselves at one of the large outside tables. It was only about 10:45 am now, so we had some time to kill.

 

Initially I had thought we might leave our bags with the porter at the Pan Pacific and walk the short distance over to Stanley Park. But hubby seemed content to just sit there in the sunshine, do some people watching and read a book. DD had found herself an internet connection at the downstairs food court. So I just grabbed a grande latte and sat down to work some more on my notes for this review. I paused occasionally to watch the many lines of cruisers checking out of the surrounding hotels and rolling their luggage past us to get to the Spirit. I wished that we were like them, embarking instead of leaving, and I wondered which one of them would be staying in our aft balcony cabin!

 

Every now and again, I would get up, stretch and walk around to take photos of the hustle and bustle around us. It was fun to watch the many expensive cars drive by - I think I saw more BMWs and Hummers in those couple of hours in Vancouver than during my entire life. I was even treated to the sight of a flashy new silver Ferrari convertible that a young Asian man parked on the curb directly across the street. He must have been someone famous, because I saw a couple of ladies ask for his autograph and take pictures of his car while he went into the hotel.

 

I also noticed that there was lots of construction work going on, from large, decorative flower planters being positioned at the Pan Pacific Hotel entrance to massive cranes and scaffolding being used to work on one of the tall glass skyscrapers just down the street. I assume that most of the building activity in Vancouver is being rushed now in advance of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

 

 

Lots of of sights, sounds and activity going on in downtown Vancouver

 

 

[bimmermom]

 

 

Sometime around 1:00 pm, dd and I picked out various lunches at the downstairs food court. Hubby had told us to get him some Mexican food, dd decided on Chinese and I picked pizza. We took our lunches back upstairs and outside to the table at Starbucks, where hubby was still reading and guarding all our luggage. It's been a long but enjoyable wait. We were very fortunate that the weather had turned out to be fine and that we had such a lovely spot to spread out, relax and watch the world go by. One more quick pit stop for dd and me and a little walk around the lobby of the Pan Pacific and it was time to meet up with our tour bus.

 

The white and blue Landsea tour bus pulled up promptly at 2:00 pm and we were met by Darcy, our Landsea tour guide for the day. He took all our many suitcases and put them in the storage compartment in the back of the shuttle bus with no problem. Only a few other folks were taking the tour with us, so we were all able to spread out with lots of space inside the comfy bus.

 

 

While Darcy drove us through parts of the city to pick up a couple of other tourists, he gave us a running commentary on some of its highlights. He pointed out many upscale condominiums in the soaring high rises and we saw ultra high fashion designer boutiques - with names like Hermes, Luis Vuitton, and Tiffany's (I was glad dd couldn't get out of the bus!) Flowers were blooming all around. We passed by beautiful Stanley Park on the causeway and then crossed over the Lion's Gate Bridge, a famous suspension bridge that is one of the city's landmarks.

 

Views of downtown from the bus

 

 

 

 

[bimmermom]

View of Stanley Park and Canada Place from Lion's Gate Bridge

 

 

Once on the North Shore, we passed through charming neighborhoods, with homes that range in style from Swiss chalet to California ranch to old English cottage. No two homes were alike and there were lots of kids and pets playing in the yards.

 

Our first stop of the afternoon was the Capilano Fish Hatchery on the Capilano River. This was a lovely place, with trees towering high above a steep canyon formed by the Capilano River. We walked around for a short time, enjoying the spray and view of the river rapids. We went inside the exhibit building. The signs inside explain how the salmon make their journey upstream in concrete steps here and how the baby salmon are reared in the hatchery and released below the dam. On this particular day, we only saw one lonely salmon try to make his way up the concrete steps. We were a bit too early in the season to see masses of salmon in their drive to spawn upstream. That would come to this river in July/August.

 

 

Photos of Capilano Fish Hatchery

 

 

 

 

 

 

One lonely salmon is about one month ahead of all the rest. You will find him in the lower left part of the picture

 

[bimmermom]

 

 

Blooming flowers at the Capilano Fish Hatchery. Everything was blooming in Vancouver!

 

 

Next up on the tour and not very far away was the Capilano Suspension Bridge. The bridge is a real engineering marvel. Basically it is a swaying footbridge that spans the Capilano River far, and I mean far, below. I hesitated to go across at first, but what the heck! On the other side of the bridge, you find yourself wrapped in a deep rainforest with pathways, wooden platforms and steps all around. The Treetops Adventure up high in the trees looks like the home of the Swiss Family Robinson. I declined to climb up there and instead just wandered around the footpaths that looped around the bridge for scenic views.

 

Hubby, dd and I wandered around and soaked in the natural beauty and views. Now, once you've crossed the bridge, there is only one way back! Yep, you've got to go back over the suspension bridge again no matter what.

 

 

The Capilano Suspension Bridge is a swaying footbridge, way up over the Capilano River

 

 

 

 

[bimmermom]

 

We spent the remaining visit browsing the gift shop, listening to the pioneer musicians and walking around the colorful totem pole display. Everywhere we looked, there were huge blooms, like deep red azaleas and enormous pink rhododendrons. This is a very beautiful place that was hard to leave. I could have spent a whole day here.

 

Grouse Mountain was next on our tour. Darcy drove us to the nearby tram station and we were whisked up and away by a large red gondola. It was mostly our own little tour group on the gondola, as the summertime visitors that normally packed the gondola hadn't started up yet. This meant that we were able to easily move around and enjoy unrestricted 360-degree views. And the views were magnificent!

Darcy, our Landsea tour guide on the relatively empty Grouse Mountain tram. We had it almost to ourselves!

 

Climbing higher and higher, with the waterfront and the huge city sprawled out in front of you, you can't help but catch your breath. Added to that were the mountains of Vancouver Island in the distance. We could just make out the pointed "sails" on top of Canada Place and the tiny white ship with the red and blue funnel that was the Carnival Spirit. I wondered if the latest inhabitants of Cabin 8273 had settled in for their northbound cruise yet. Lucky people!

 

 

Also as you travel up Grouse mountain, the guide will point out a partially wooded habitat that has been built at the base of the mountain for a pack of rescued wolves. Looking down, we could see one of the big grey wolves stretched out and taking a nap in the afternoon sun. The others must have been hidden in the shelter or under the trees. This was the first wolf I'd seen on our vacation and I made a mental note to add it to my list of critters spotted during our adventures. Continuing upward, there are a couple of huge support towers that you pass and each time the gondola crosses one, it rocks quit a bit - don't worry that's normal! But still just a little scary.

Get ready to rock at the tower!

 

Approaching the platform at the top of the mountain, we noticed that there was still a lot of snow remaining from the winter. There are several buildings with restaurants, shops and a ski shop, as well as a helicopter pad and a zip line. There is also an open-style chairlift that will take you a little bit higher up to the very peak of the mountain. The main walkways had been cleared but there were still high piles of snow all around. Darcy gave us about 2 hours to explore the mountain before meeting back with him at the gondola station again. We made our way over to the lumberjack show that was about to start.

 

[bimmermom]

The show was patterned after the one we had seen in Ketchikan, only with fewer people (just 3) and held in a smaller, open amphitheatre. It also featured the same activities. But we liked the show all over again, from the log rolling (in what had to be some very cold water BURRR) to the tree climbing, which was fast-paced and scary. Complete with slapstick humor and corny jokes, the Grouse Mountain lumberjack show was very cute and entertaining. Just as in Ketchikan, the lumberjacks will chat with you and pose for pictures after the show.

 

The Grouse Mountain Lumberjack Show is similar to the one in Ketchikan

 

 

 

From there, we walked down the path to the grizzly bear habitat, home to 2 rescued grizzly bears named Grinder and Coola. These are some massive bears! You can get up fairly close to them, since they are kept behind electrified fences and are very used to being stared at. They look very natural in their habitat which has 2 ponds, hills, trees and a shelter. We saw some very beautiful, deep blue and black birds sitting on the bear enclosure and stopped for a few moments to take a photo of them and to admire the coloring.

 

 

 

[bimmermom]

After observing the bears and the little blue birds, we had just enough time to go across the path and catch the "Birds in Motion" show. Fantastic! This was a great demonstration and featured 2 young trainers and their owl, hawk, owl and bald eagle. We learned about the birds' hunting skills, flying abilities, and their natural habitats. Each bird was brought out individually to show us their "act." The owl made funny squawking noises the whole time to show that she had a mind of her own. The eagle soared directly over our heads during the demo. It was awesome to be that close to an eagle and to be able to reach out and touch her feathers if you really wanted to. She came so close that they warned us not to instinctively cover our heads because it would startle the eagle in flight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the bird show was over (we could still hear the little owl's protesting squawk from her birdhouse as we walked back down the path), we took a few more photos, had one last look at the higher mountains behind us and then met back up with Darcy at the tram station.

 

The ride down was no less spectacular than the one going up. The gondola rocking at the towers made us laugh nervously and somebody made a joke about getting stuck up there. Not funny at all!

 

This time when we looked straight down, 2 wolves were spread out asleep in the grass. They reminded me of my German Shepard back home who likes to sleep in the same position. Ok, maybe now I was getting just a little homesick. But I still hated to say goodbye to Grouse Mountain.