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Alaska 1

September 2012
  • Chuck Cook
  • Glenda Cook
Our first big trip since I retired, a visit to Alaska is the fulfillment of one of my wife's lifetime dreams Read more
  • Chuck Cook
  • Glenda Cook

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Culture, Family, Nature, Wilderness, Wildlife
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  • 14footprints
  • 14days
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  • Alaska 1
    Breakfast at the Captain Cook Hotel, Anchorage, AK
    Glenda at the Captain James Cook Monument

    On the Road to Talkeetna

    September 7, 2012 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F

    Breakfast was at the Captain Cook Hotel before we boarded the bus for Talkeetna and the Princess McKinley Lodge. We checked into our room, then had time to wander through the lovely town. We saw a model of Denali in the public library. Then we went to the airport to check on our scheduled flight-seeing tour over Denali.Read more

  • Alaska 1
    Moose's ToothAlaska Fall Colors

    Flight Over Denali

    September 7, 2012 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 9 °F

    We had scheduled a flight-seeing tour over Mount McKinley, but the weather was not cooperating. We went to the airport and were told to come back at two o'clock to see whether the weather improved. We were told to come back at four o'clock. At two o'clock we were told that the weather would definitely improve, and the aviators hoped that the weather would be good by then. At four o'clock the weather was good enough to take off, and it improved as we approached Mount McKinley. We saw the Babe Ruth Glacier and a "theater" made of ice. We flew around the Moose's Tooth and the weather cooperated beautifully. As we landed we saw the fall colors of Alaska, which appear only briefly. It was a breathtaking memoryRead more

  • Alaska 1
    WillowPhotographing Denali

    Jerry Sousa, Iditerod Champion

    September 8, 2012 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 32 °F

    In the morning we went to the Talkeetna training center of Jerry Sousa, a contender for the championship of the Iditerod dog sled race. We followed in a four-wheeler and the dogs led their four-wheeler on a course around the outskirts of Talkeetna. They washed off in a cold stream when they finished their training run, then we went back to the kennels. Glenda fell in love with a little black and white dog named Willow. We went back to Talkeetna where I set up to photograph Denali. Eventually the clouds cleared and I got a decent shot.Read more

  • Alaska 1
    Blinded by a Wet, Dirty Windshield

    Four-Wheeling in the Wilderness

    September 8, 2012 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 43 °F

    That afternoon we took a bus up to the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. Besides the extravagantly glorious scenery, I found it especially interesting that there is a bush pilot airport which used to be a P-51 Mustang base during World War II. When we arrived at the lodge, we enjoyed an ATV (all-terrain vehicle) adventure in the rain on beautifully remote trails west of Healy, Alaska. Glenda was a bit afraid of the ATV’s, never having ridden one, so she and I got a tandem ATV, which drove just like a golf cart. Ours had a windshield and the rain on it made visibility almost impossible. I was exhausted when we finished, so we returned to the Denali Princess Lodge to a hearty supper.Read more

  • Alaska 1
    A Blowdown

    Denali and the Nenana River

    September 9, 2012 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 32 °F

    In the morning we were scheduled for a nature trip into Denali National Park, but an unexpected snow storm had closed the roads into the park. The scene in the lodge was pandemonium, as guests crowded the front desk waiting for information about their delayed or cancelled excursions. Ours got underway around 11:00 am, and while we were in the park, it started to snow again. We were only able to go into the park about fourteen miles, but what we saw was magnificent. That afternoon we were taken in a bus south, near Panorama Peak, where we were taken on a jet boating excursion on the Nenana River. There was also a nature education element which taught us about trapping and gold prospecting in Alaska. Our boat captain’s name was Scott. It seems that everyone in Alaska who pilots a boat or an airplane is named Scott.Read more

  • Alaska 1
    Denali in the AutumnPortage, Destroyed in the Earthquake of 1964Coral Princess

    First Sight of the Coral Princess

    September 10, 2012 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 48 °F

    The next morning, September 10 we boarded a train near the Denali Princess Lodge for the trip to Whittier, where we would meet our ship, the Coral Princess. It is amazing that we had already done so much, and had not even yet officially begun our cruise. As we traveled South, our guide, Matt, gave a wonderful narrative of the natural history of Alaska. Mount McKinley (I prefer to call it Denali) remained clear, and Glenda and I both got some excellent photo shots. As we turned southeast of Anchorage, we saw the site of the town of Portage, which was destroyed in the earthquake of 1964. Only the roof of one building remained. Looking south across Turnagain Arm, I was impressed with one mountain, which, when viewed from the northwest looking southeast, resembles a truncated pyramid. It kept my attention for several minutes. There in the water we made our first significant sighting of aquatic mammals, a pod of belugas. A trip through the one-lane tunnel soon gave us our first view of our ship, the Coral Princess waiting for us in Whittier.Read more

  • Alaska 1

    First Glaciers

    September 11, 2012 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 50 °F

    Upon arriving at the ship, we went through the safety drill, then went to dinner. We found our dinner companions to be very interesting people, including two homosexual Roman Catholic priests, and a Mormon woman who had been in a polygamous marriage. They will be our mess mates throughout this cruise. I rose early, about 5:00 am on September 11 to learn my way around the ship. Very few passengers were awake to see the glorious sunrise I photographed. I attended a photography class. We saw the Hubbard and Reid glaciers.Read more

  • Alaska 1
    Hammered

    Glacier Bay

    September 12, 2012 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    On September 12 we had a day at sea and a presentation by the ship’s naturalist, Kathy Slamp, before the ship sailed into Glacier Bay National Park to view Johns Hopkins, Margerie and Lamplugh and other adjoining glaciers and saw some majestic scenery. We also had a presentation by one of the Park Rangers before entering Glacier Bay that put most of the audience to sleep.Read more

  • Alaska 1
    Eagle Preserve
    Star Princess Tying Up Behind UsIn a Restored SaloonBuildings Made of Driftwood, Once Common in SkagwayMollie and Will from CharlotteEliseGetting Suited Up

    Skagway and the Eagle Preserve

    September 13, 2012 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 46 °F

    On the morning of September 13 we docked at Scagway. I got a beautiful picture of the Star Princess tying up on the dock behind us. We had some time to tour the town before a ferry took us to Haines. The guide humorously described his life without Taco Bell and McDonald’s. We went out from town about half an hour’s drive to our excursion to the Eagle Preserve. We fitted up with boots and wet gear, then boarded inflatable boats for a trip down the river. We saw several juvenile and adult eagles, and passed a modest Tlingit village. Our oarsman, Elise, was able and affable. We were able to board the inflatable with Mollie and Will, our new friends from Charlotte. He is a retired police officer. After the ride we were all treated to hot chocolate as we divested ourselves of our rubber boots and pants. It was interesting that we saw quite a few juvenile eagles, and a few adults. It is remarkable, though, that one sees as many eagles on telephone poles in the cities as in the eagle preserve.Read more

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