What are your favorite souveniers?

[brunolvr]

I agree... I came back with nearly 1000 photos which are now painfully loading themselves up to Shutterfly for sharing.... I think it'll be 24 hrs by the time they've finished moving from my computer to Shutterfly! One of the drawbacks of using the high setting on the camera.... but the pix are worth it!

My biggest problem will be picking out the handful to print!

 

I also recommend you save them on a CD to have a back-up copy just in case!:)

[ShibaInuMom]

rie muñoz?

 

No not this one - the artist I am talking about is named Barbara Lavallee

[KansasScrapper]

I agree... I came back with nearly 1000 photos which are now painfully loading themselves up to Shutterfly for sharing.... I think it'll be 24 hrs by the time they've finished moving from my computer to Shutterfly! One of the drawbacks of using the high setting on the camera.... but the pix are worth it!

My biggest problem will be picking out the handful to print!

 

Would love to see them. Are they uploaded yet???

[bondscruisegal]

Yes, Barbara Lavallee's Alaskan designs are just wonderful.

[Napi's Mom]

I also recommend you save them on a CD to have a back-up copy just in case!:)

I just keep the memory cards, nowdays they are quite cheap, unless you get the really pro type, otherwise...download onto a memory card like a 16gb...or flashdrive...both are less easily damaged or messed up than CD's. Someone else advised me that DVD's hold way more pictures (I don't happen to have dvd recording capability). After looking at some peoples galleries...I'd also advise a little judicious editing out of not so great pictures?? I only upload my very best, and most representative of the trip.:rolleyes:

[FrogLover215]

I picked up a quilt pattern book at a quilt store in Skagway. It had different block patterns with different themed names. As a gift to my oh-so-generous parents, who paid for our cruise, I made a quilt with blocks that represented what we saw or did, in the order we saw or did them. Some of the blocks, like Road to California and Ocean Waves, I found online. It looked wonderful and is still kept on their couch at home. :)

[TiogaCruiser]

Inkmahm- WHEre did you get dog fur mittens? I have always wanted to spin yarn from my dog's fur....... how cool!

[GRBlizz]

How do the local ULUs compare with those you can find on EBay. This one is just $10.00 includig shipping: http://cgi.ebay.com/Alaska-Ulu-Knife-Rocker-Blade-Mezzaluna-Chopper-NIB_W0QQitemZ120430206862QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1c0a331f8e&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1205|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50

[Stellaglide]

Inkmahm- WHEre did you get dog fur mittens? I have always wanted to spin yarn from my dog's fur....... how cool!

 

Did not see mittens but one of the small shops in the Princess Wilderness Lodge complex in Denali had dog fur ear murf/headwraps. They were a blend og daog hair and wool hair...aka wool. They may have had mittens as well but didn't see them.

[Mugga]

I try to make sure I mail a post card from every stop we make on a trip to our DGD. They usually come after we are home but she gets to see where we were and know we were thinking of her.

In Hoonah in the Salmon cannery there is a place where you buy a stuffed animal and write a note and they will can it like salmon and mail it for you.

When it arrives they have to open it like a regular can to see what is in it.

[vmom]

How do the local ULUs compare with those you can find on EBay. This one is just $10.00 includig shipping: http://cgi.ebay.com/Alaska-Ulu-Knife-Rocker-Blade-Mezzaluna-Chopper-NIB_W0QQitemZ120430206862QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1c0a331f8e&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1205|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50

 

 

 

Prices are better in Alaska.

 

The one on ebay that you are comparing is a super cheapo made in China model...poor quality if you really want to use if for cooking. Ok if you just want to look at it. There are all different qualities of ulu knives, just as there are different qualities of regular cooking knives. If you want to look at prices, make sure you are looking at the same quality.

[oliverbc]

I use my ulu knife often but do not pay for a video on how to use it. Waste of money. There was a shop called the loom that sold beautiful throw pillow covers. I will be looking there for more. Also the black pearl earrings. I cant remember what they are made of coal or something else but they are great at a dollar a pair. I bring back lots of them to give away. We will be sailing in September.

[karolm]

My husband and I had panned gold at the goldmine.

 

Our gold was worth about $12. They put it in a locket/necklace for $45.

I always wear it.

 

Carol

[RoofingPrincess]

Would love to see them. Are they uploaded yet???

Yup, follow the link in my signature to my Shutterfly albums.

Three new ones: Seattle, Vancouver, and Serenade of the Seas.

 

I have a lot of pix, and some seem repetitive, but I kept them anyway. I did weed out out-of-focus, badly exposed, etc. But some are sequences from when the whales dove or breached and it's nice to scroll through them to recapture the feeling of watching it go.... almost as good as having video. And since I only have two hands... I couldn't have both. And if my 30D takes video - I haven't figured out how to do it yet! :)

 

As for the backups, we regularly back up my computer to an external hard drive; my in-house tech support crew (a/k/a my son Joe) assures me that this is a safe way to go.

[FrogLover215]

I'm pretty sure I saw items made from dog fur at the Caribou Crossing gift shop 2 years ago.

[Napi's Mom]

I'm pretty sure I saw items made from dog fur at the Caribou Crossing gift shop 2 years ago.

With the amount of double coated dogs they have there, they could knit sweaters!!! It is just awesome how much hair they can shed...twice a yr. It's a standing joke that none of the girls in our family want our Napi near, because they will come away covered with white hair. Most Alaskan Husky share some Siberian Husky blood. My DH has resorted to taking him to Lake Mich. beach to brush him...one lady thought there were cottonwoods trees nearby, till she saw him brushing, and burst out laughing:D

[Napi's Mom]

I use my ulu knife often but do not pay for a video on how to use it. Waste of money. There was a shop called the loom that sold beautiful throw pillow covers. I will be looking there for more. Also the black pearl earrings. I cant remember what they are made of coal or something else but they are great at a dollar a pair. I bring back lots of them to give away. We will be sailing in September.

Hematite Is the black jewelry stone, and is beautiful in it's own right, iridescent~ also Jade is the state gemstone, carved into native figures or jewelry. That said we're planning on a couple Ulus, one to replace ours...our cheap one has worked very well for 5 yrs! Watch out they are very SHARP..even the points can give a gash.:eek:

[TiogaCruiser]

Thanks- I'll check it out.

 

Found a link for a lady who spins- she can take hair supplied by the customer and she adds a bit of wool if needed so that there is some spring to the yard. I'd love to get some wool from my lab's shedding. (We surely have enough of it around!) :)

[zoethesailor]

DH asked the train conductor for a railroad tie when the train turned around at White Pass. (They walk outside the train when it goes around). It did not cost anything and I doubt if many visitors to Alaska have one.

[TiogaCruiser]

A whole tie? Cool- HOW did he get THAT home? :confused:

[georoc01]

A whole tie? Cool- HOW did he get THAT home? :confused:

 

Yeah, I thought the digeridoo's in Australia were tough to get home.

[notes4theheart]

I use my ulu knife often but do not pay for a video on how to use it. Waste of money. There was a shop called the loom that sold beautiful throw pillow covers. I will be looking there for more. Also the black pearl earrings. I cant remember what they are made of coal or something else but they are great at a dollar a pair. I bring back lots of them to give away. We will be sailing in September.

 

where did you find these earrings? I'd love to pick up a few pairs!

[Tepid Cruiser]

Skagway had a good handful of shops that carried items made by local craftsmen at pretty reasonable prices. I, too, bought a whale tail necklace that had more style than most that you'll find. The artist engraved his name & Skagway on the bag of the charm. Ketchikan had driftwood carvings which were kind of funky.

 

--glacier silt soap

--moose turds (sounds gross but they're dry pellets)

--EDIBLES:

birch caramels or lollipops (most cities)

Birch Ice Cream Syrup and/or breakfast syrup

salmon jerky

coffee: Devil's Reach & others

--bookmarks made from Alaska stamps (Skagway City Museum)

--Alaska police badges or other Euro-style car stickers (Skagway City Museum & other shops)

--brewery coasters (Skagway Brewery & others)

----coffee mug or water bottle from a local Alaskan coffee shop

--rocks. If you are going near a glacier, check out the rocks--some really cool quartz and "sparkly" rocks that are truly different than those you might have around home. You can see how so many people were fooled during the gold rush.

[ChiLee]

We just got back from Alaska and the best souveniers that we brought back were art works by Alaskans. At the Alaskan Native Heritage Center, there were some artists in residence who we talked to. We ended up purchasing a copper engraving from one of the artists who also spent alot of time explaining his art work and his life. We happened to be in Talkeetna on a day that they had an artist open market. There we purchased a couple of carvings from the artist's daughter.

 

We found that finding stuff actually made in Alaska can be a bit challenging. However, we found that many stores will have a section of shelves for displaying Alaskan made stuff.

 

Note that stuff made in Alaska is going to be priced at a premium, especially stuff in the stores. I think we got bargin pricing for the works we purchased directly from the artists because they are feeling the effects of the recession.