On Aug 7 we boarded a catamaran in Skagway and sailed south to Haines, about 45 minutes away. Our naturalist was young (well, everyone is young when you reach a certain age!) and an outstanding speaker. He talked for the entire time with information about the area, interjecting good humor and exuding genuine joy. My guess is that about 100 passengers were on the catamaran.

In Haines we boarded a bus and spent the next three hours driving and stopping to see wildlife, especially eagles, which were plentiful, and bears, which were not. The guides provided all of us with binoculars (a nice touch!!) and set up telescopes for us to see the eagles.

We also enjoyed the eagles’ beautiful habitats.

From the bus we saw a pair of bear cubs chasing a dog and his owner. Fortunately for the intended victims, the cubs did not succeed. Later, we stopped to watch a bear who was scavenging by the river under boulders.

On Aug 8 and 9 we cruised gorgeous areas in the Gulf of Alaska en route to our final port, Whittier, near Anchorage. Below we depict Marjerie Glacier in Glacier Bay, Yale Glacier in College Fjord, and a distant whale as seen from our balcony.

On the morning of our departure, Aug 10, we enjoyed the sunrise from our balcony.

And as we approached San Francisco, we recognized the Bay Bridge and Salesforce Tower.

It was a real treat to enjoy this cruise with my daughter and son-in-law, Yadi and Ahsha, and grandchildren, Xol and Rumi.

Thanks for reading about our Alaska Adventure!! Hope you enjoyed it.

After docking in Juneau, we got up early for a full day of sight-seeing and adventure. The first stop was a salmon hatchery, where we learned that there is no farming of salmon in Alaska; wherever you find Alaska salmon, you can rely on the fact that it’s wild. Salmon born in this hatchery return from the wild ocean when ready to spawn but first climb these “stairs.”

In these tanks, the baby salmon look like minnows but there were well over 10,000 of them in each tank and about 70,000 overall.

After some growth the salmon are ready for release.

Our next stop was a place called, Glacier Gardens — a private area where an entrepreneur landscaped a large area to help control landslides. Today, visitors see the garden — some flowers are on top of an “upside down” tree.

We then took in the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, which once was very close to the glacier, but after years of retreating the glacier itself is only visible in the distance.

Having lunch at the Red Dog Saloon was quite an experience. The sounds of a local pianist filled the air and sawdust filled the floor. The Smith & Wesson revolver on the wall was alleged to be that of Wyatt Earp, who fled town hurriedly and had to leave it behind.

In the late afternoon we boarded a helicopter to head to the Mendenhall Glacier, where we walked with a guide.

We certainly slept well Tuesday night. Come back tomorrow if you’d like to see more of the week’s adventures.

On Aug 3 Bev and I flew from San Francisco to Vancouver to board the Royal Princess — the starting point of our Alaska journey. We were greeted at the Vancouver airport terminal with an unusual exhibit featuring a canoe.

The taxi took us to the Canada Place Pier where we then entered the Princess lounge to check in. In spite of the apparent sparseness, it took us 1.5 hours to complete check in, U.S. Customs, and the ship’s security. Bad timing, but good photo op.

Finally, came the sail away from Vancouver.

Aug 4 was spent sailing but on Aug 5 we woke up in Ketchikan. Here is a view of three other cruise ships taken from the balcony in our stateroom. Ketchikan was not to be a sleepy little town that day!

We were fond of calling the Royal Princess our floating condominium for 3,000 new neighbors.

We met at the statue in Ketchikan for our first excursion, along with grandkids Xol (age 9) and Rumi (age 7) and their parents.

In the Rainforest Sanctuary and Raptor Center, we learned that bears feed on the roots of “skunk cabbage” shortly after coming out of hibernation. It helps to get the digestive system moving after months of being plugged up. We enjoyed a marvelous walk with our guide through the rainforest.

Many of the streets in Ketchikan are stairways maintained by the Town as the only way to get to some of the residences. Here’s one such street.

Our internet connection has not been the great on the cruise, so I will post over the next few days excerpts from our adventures in Juneau and Skagway. If you wish to get an email alerting you to additional posts, you are welcome to sign up on this page to do so.