Aug 3, 2007 - Day 5 (Juneau, Alaska)

One of the things we enjoy about having a cabin with a balcony is that we can sit outdoors, having coffee, while we watch the scenery go by, as the ship comes into port and docks at a new destination. We enjoyed beautiful scenery as we sailed into Juneau, Alaska. Of course, the scenery is beautiful everywhere up here. We had a big day planned, so we had breakfast delivered to the room at 7:30 AM. We had a shore tour of Mehndenhall Glacier planned, followed by a visit to a salmon hatchery and then a salmon bake in the forest. The bus ride...

Aug 2, 2007 - Cruise to Juneau

Well, as promised, we signed up for the Cruise from Skagway to Juneau, Alaska. The RV campground dogsat for us and we hit the road at 6:00 AM, from Whitehorse. It took about 1 1/2 hours to drive to Skagway and if you remember our pictures from the last Skagway trip, the terrain is pretty rugged and high up. So we had some serious fog, but the roads were good and we arrived in good time to catch the ship. The cruise down to Juneau and back took about 3 1/2 hours each way and was very scenic, not to mention that we saw harbour seals, sea...

Jul 10, 2007 - Skagway to Juneau and return

TUESDAY, JULY 10 - DAY 8 - JUNEAU SKAGWAY - PULLEN CREEK RV PARK Day trip to Juneau. We will depart from the Skagway harbor at 8:00 am and head south through Lynn Canal, the continent's longest and deepest glacial fjord. Lynn Canal stretches over 100 miles long and is over 2000 feet deep. Marine life abounds in these waters, and a fully-narrated wildlife cruise will highlight our morning voyage. You'll see hanging glaciers, nesting bald eagles, harbor seals, and humpback or killer whales. We'll stop at a rookery where hundreds of Steller...

Jun 22, 2007 - Skagway to Juneau, Alaska

When I arrived in Skagway yesterday afternoon there were 3 large cruise ships in the harbour and I would guess a few thousand people in town. This morning the 3 large cruise ships have left and single, smaller cruise ship has docked. Compared to yesterday the streets are relatively deserted. Skagway sprang up overnight in 1898. This was the port the gold seekers landed at to begin their trek to the Yukon gold fields. It now has about 8 blocks of restored or replicated buildings from the turn on the century. Almost all have gift shops of one...

Jun 16, 2007 - Alaskan Cruise

We have finally gotten to the cruise that we won through the company. We have been so excited for so long. The motorcoach is in storage, Bandy is in "Kitty Prison", and we are off to the north. We went on Holland America Oosterdam. It was a great ship, cruises are always fun. We left Seattle and cruised for two days to the Hubbard Glacier. We weren't able to get real close to the glacier because so much ice has been coming off the face and there was quite an ice field. But it was beautiful and looked so much like you'd expect Alaska. From...

Jun 14, 2007 - Juneau with the Dapcevich's, 6,10-14

Arrived in evening by ferry. Viewed the Mendenhall Glacier. Juneau's ice filed is the size of Rhode Island. Had a lovely visit with Janice and John Dapcevich. They have a lovely alpine like house overlooking the lake, the channel and the mountains. Eagles fly over daily. Also they get morning visits from deer and occasional black bears. Janice has a fantastic garden with flowers planted to bloom all summer. It's her passion. Took a short tour of Juneau and Davidson Island, looking for fishing spots. No luck at the point. Stopped at Fish...

Jun 12, 2007 - Fjord Express to Juneau (Lynn Canal & Mendenhall Glacier)

Every day we travel is good but some days are GREAT. Today we take the Fjord Express to Juneau. We are on a 65 foot catamaran that takes us on a three hour trip from Haines through the Lynn Canal and Auke Bay to Juneau. The Lynn Canal is our continent's longest and deepest glacial fjord. The trip is nonstop wildlife viewing! We see glaciers, waterfalls, Stellar Sea Lions, eagles, Humpback Whales and Orca Whales. It is easy to get pictures of the sea lions but the whales we just enjoy watching. When we arrive at Juneau a bus takes us...

Aug 23, 2006 - Juneau, Alaska

The Fast Ferry to Juneau ... Kathie was very apprehensive about making the trip, especially after she saw the size of the boat. It wasn't very big, and the wind was blowing like crazy, and the water was a little choppy. Everybody in our group encouraged her, saying it would be alright, and it was. She did great, didn't even need the sea sick pills. The trip down was great. Got to see some seals, sea lions, eagles, and Humpback whales. The whales were fabulous. They didn't breach or do flips, but there was a lot of blowing, and tail and...

Aug 2, 2006 - Juneau

July 31 - August 2 - Juneau, AK Sunday We departed Haines for Juneau on Sunday morning aboard the State of Alaska high-speed ferry, Fairweather. The Fairweather was built by Derecktor Shipyards, the company that Bob's sister works for, and Bob had attended the christening ceremony in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They had photos of the ceremony taken from the back of the building, and Bob, his sister Ann, and his daughter Karin could be found in the picture by zeroing in on Bob's bald head. The Fairweather moves along smartly, and the trip to...

Jul 25, 2006 - Juneau

Juneau, and no sun today. The clouds were low around the mountains throughout the day. Sometimes it was just damp and chilly and other times there was mist and occasionally very light rain. We made no attempt to get out and about early, but we did hit the city around 10 AM. Carol and Joyce went shopping while Walt and I had intended to ride the tram up Mt. Roberts. With the top of the mountain not being visible that did not seem a good option so he and I wandered around town a little too. Later the clouds lifted a little and we took our...

Jul 23, 2006 - Our trip to Juneau

Today was the day that we went on another cruise. We took the Fjord Express to Alaska's Capital City, Juneau. The only way to get to Juneau is by boat or plane. It is the only State Capital that can not be reached by road. Once you do get to Juneau, you find 240 miles of hiking trails but only 42 miles of road. There are 32,000 people living in Juneau and I swear every one of them own a car. Now that's a lot of cars for only 42 miles of roadway. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The scenic Lynn Canal from Skagway to Juneau is lined on either...

Jul 18, 2006 - Juneau

We docked in Juneau very early. The Captain announced last night that he had a choice of docking at 5 A.M. or 7 A.M. and he chose 5. He had also requested that everyone return promptly to the ship, as scheduled in the evening, as we had a hard dash to make Sitka on Wednesday. The morning was typically overcast with clouds snagged on the mountains around the city. The temperature was pleasant. I was comfortable in a long sleeve shirt. Once again we had reserved a rental car. We were picked up about ½ block from the ship. The rental office is...