Jun 16, 2018 - Spent the day in Scagway

We spent the day in Skagway. We went downtown this morning and this afternoon we went on the white Pass and yukon railroad excursion. It was an enjoyable trip. Constructing the railroad line, which runs along the original miner trail toward the gold fields was constructed in 26 months with 35,000 workers and 35 workerslosing their lives in the effort. Tomorrow morning we plan on going to church then be down st the ferry for passage to Haines.

Jun 15, 2018 - Ketchikan, Alaska

Ketchikan, June 15 We arrived on Ketchikan around 10 am. It's a cute little town nestled on a hillside. Ketchikan is Alaska's first city and the Salmon Capital of the World. It was about 50 degrees this morning with a brisk wind, but not bad with a jacket. It got up to 64 today, but the wind was still cool. After some walking, shopping and then lunch, we sat in the hot tub again. We were the only ones using the hot tubs and no one was in the pool at that time. Gala dinner tonight. Serving surf and turf, lobster tail and filet mignon… I gave...

Jun 15, 2018 - Travel to Slagway

Traveled 321 miles (drive time 7:10). This makes the total trip 3465 miles and 65:00 drive time. The country changed some in Yukon, but still enjoyable. Still lots of trees but the grasses were less lush. We hit the Alaska border at 4:15 today (6/15/2018). No problems at the border crossing. The landscape changed to the most rugged we have seen. The downgrade into Skagway was steep (up to 11%) and probable the longest we have encountered on the trip. It was no problem though and we went on into town and purchased our train tickets for...

Jun 14, 2018 - Juneau, Alaska

Juneau, June 14 Today we were in Juneau, the capital of Alaska. We took a tour bus to the Mendenhall Glacier and then walked out fairly close to it. Later we took a tram uo the mountainside right near our ship. It was cloudy (and later a little rainy) and about 50 in Juneau and about 42 at the glacier. It didn't feel bad as we dressed accordingly. Our driver/tour guide shared many interesting facts aking the way. We passed a former Walmart that shut down due to not enough business. The people wanted to support local businesses. We passed...

Jun 13, 2018 - Sail Away

Yesterday was a nice relaxing day, with some exploring around Anchorage. Since we just have to find airplanes, we drove around Lake Hood at the sea plane base but only saw one float plane landing, and then we found a road that ran around the perimeter of Anchorage International and watched a few airplanes land and depart. Today we sail away from Whittier, AK on the Coral Princess. For the next 7 days we are in luxury compared to our 31 days on the road in the RV. Glamping in the RV is really camping in luxury compared to those who were in...

Jun 13, 2018 - Haines, Alaska

Haines, June 13. We arrived just before 6:30 am. Sunrise this am was 3:56. I looked outside about 1:30 and it was dusky but not dark. Got up about 5:30 as I like to watch as the ship comes in. The temperature was 10 Celsius, or 50 F. Haines is a pretty little town on a sloping hillside. Fort William Seward is right off the dock. On the outside at least, the buildings look like they did long ago. We walked around there and then went into the nearby village. It's peaceful and quiet here. We did a little shopping and returned to the ship. The...

Jun 11, 2018 - Anchorage

The RV portion of our trip is over. Starting in Forest City, IA and ending in Anchorage, AK. Days on the road 31. Miles: 5418. A great spring adventure. We met a lot of interesting people who are having their own adventures. We have seen many wonderful sights. Would we do it again - YES!! We will relaxe in Anchorage for two days before starting our cruise on Wed.

Jun 11, 2018 - Sea day

Sea day Mon June 11 We were up about 6 am. Cloudy and cool this am, but inside is nice. Nice breakfast assortment. I had my usual of omelet, part of a muffin, fresh fruit, yogurt, as well as a delicious small Belgian waffle, gingerbread flavor of the day with strawberries on too. Of course lots of coffee. We walked around for a while. We saw the nice hydro pool so Jim was going to do that. Turns out, someone failed to close the door when we went in to look. So that's why we got in.... $139 per person for the week. Guess not! We'll use free...

Jun 10, 2018 - Seward, Alaska and cruise ship

Anchorage to Seward and Noordam Cruise Ship. June 10 Bittersweet day. Last day of the land journey, yet we get to board the cruise ship this afternoon. We finished packing and went for a long walk downtown. The westher in Anchorage has.been wonderful. Mostly in the 60s. Very comfortable in jeans and t-shirts and sometimes wearing a fleece or long sleeves. I also forgot to mention how beautiful and plentiful the flowers have been throughout the city. After our walk, we had some time to rest, then left on a coach for the train. The train has...

Jun 10, 2018 - Free Camping

We are parked in a gravel pull out overlooking Moose Lake in the Chugach National Forest at Portage Glacier. It is wonderful to pay $0.0 for camping and to have a view of a glacier. Today we drove a total of 10 miles. Our sight seeing for today was a 1 hour cruise on the "lake" below Portage Glacier. The weather cooperated and we had nice views of the glacier. At our camping site tonight, the couple parked in front of us were from Conroe, TX and another couple were driving a Chevy truck that had been purchased in Huntsville, TX. For...

Jun 9, 2018 - Anchorage, Alaska day 2

Anchorage Day 2 June 9 This is the last full day of our land portion of our journey. It sure went fast, and it was fabulous! Jim got up with the chickens this am and did the laundry as there is only one coin operated washer and dryer for the whole hotel, and we just found out there is no coin laundry in the cruise ship… he beat out the lady that came in at 4:45. After our usual bagel breakfast, we walked down to the river to watch the salmon run. There were a few fishermen, but we didn't see any salmon. We checked later at the visitor...

Jun 8, 2018 - Talkeetna/Anchorage, Alaska

Denali to Anchorage McKinley Explorer June 8 This morning we boarded the McKinley Explorer Dome Train, heading to Anchorage. On the way to the rail depot by the traffic circle, we saw a moose by the road. We were in the Eklutna car. Grant was our bartender and Rose was our guide. The scenery was spectacular, and the ride was so much fun. Each car is raised over the kitchen and dining room. The whole top of the car was a glass dome, so we could see so much in both directions. We were told that a glacier is moving ice and an ice field is...