North to Alaska

We loaded our luggage, as we always do, on the sofa to take a picture, then we were off to the Charlotte Airport. Martha took us, so we left our car at her house.
Flying Through Houston?

The ways of the airlines are like the ways of God. They are inscrutable to us mere mortals. So for some reason we will be flying to Alaska through Houston. The good news is that all of our flightsLäs mer
Breakfast in the Dark

It is 9:45 am and we are at Hotel Captain Cook. We went to the Snow City Grill for breakfast. The line there was so long we decided to go elsewhere. Went to hotel restaurant for breakfast. High windsLäs mer
Alaska Cultural Center

With time on our hands on the first day we decided to go to the Alaska Native Cultural Center. Our guide was a young lady named August. We had lunch at the snack bar. Glenda ordered for us a reindeerLäs mer
To Copper River

We boarded a bus and left the Hotel Captain Cook at 9:45 AM for Copper River. We stopped on the way to photograph the Matanuska Glacier. We had lunch at the Eureka Road House at mile marker 128 on theLäs mer
Flight Over Wrangell-St. Elias

At 5 PM Jared took us, along with a couple from Sumter, S.C., Rob and Courtney, to Copper River Aviation. Our pilot, Alex, packed us into an old Cessna 185 and showed us some wonderful sights during aLäs mer
Copper River Wilderness

We went on an ATV excursion from the Princes Copper River Lodge along the Klutina River with Carrie, our driver. The scenery was wonderful but the weather was horrible. As we started the rain began.Läs mer
On to Fairbanks

We split an omelet at the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge. Because the clouds obscuring them had finally cleared, I photographed Drum, Stanford, and Wrangell Mounts. Our bus to Fairbanks, againLäs mer
Athabascan Introduction

At breakfast in the Princess Fairbanks River Lodge we were surprised to learn that until 8:30 AM one could not order from a menu, but only from the buffet, which cost $16 per person. Glenda's omeletLäs mer
Alaska Pipeline & Gold Dredge

In the afternoon we went to Goldstream Valley near the town of Fox, about 12 miles north of Fairbanks, to see the remains of the Fairbanks Exploration Company's Gold Dredge No. 8. First our guide TimLäs mer
Fox River Wilderness & Lance Mackey

After a quick supper of a hamburger and a glass of Kenwood Yulupa Zinfandel (almost as tannic as the Syrah I had the day before, but not bad with a hamburger) we met one Tom, our driver for our tourLäs mer
Back to Denali Princess Lodge

We began this morning by boarding Michael's bus. The weather was cool and cloudy with occasional light showers. Because we had to board a bus for Denali we had a quick pizza with David and CarolLäs mer
Train to Talkeetna

We awoke about 5:30 AM to a breakfast of leftover pizza and coffee made in our hotel room at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. The Cooks, Wrinkles, and Friedmans met in the large common room andLäs mer
Trying to Catch Denali

The group left me on the riverbank to wait for the clouds to clear while they toured Talkeetna for another hour. I met them at the Twister Creek Restaurant and Denali Brewery, where they were alreadyLäs mer
Anchorage Street Market

We went to the 20-320 Restaurant on the campus at McKinley Wilderness Lodge for a huge stack of Blueberry pancakes that were wonderfully delicious. Then we met with Mike and Chris Wrinkle and DavidLäs mer
Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center

Before going through the tunnel to Whittier, we stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and photographed grizzlies, moose, elk and bison. We arrived at the Coral Princess around 4:00 PM.Läs mer
Hubbard Glacier

We had breakfast in the Provence Dining Room on deck 7 with assorted messmates from India, Galveston, Florida, and Las Vegas. Then we walked about 2 miles on the promenade deck. Came back to room andLäs mer
Marjerie & Lamplugh Glaciers

At about 12:30 pm we arrived at the mouth of Glacier Bay with the white Margerie Glacier on our left, and the massive Grand Pacific Glacier on our right. Although the pretty white glacier was muchLäs mer
Yukon Trail to Carcross

We took a bus trip from Skagway to Caribou Crossing, Yukon Territory. Guide: Anna. At 9:10 am took photo in Tormented Valley, British Columbia. At 9:45 am photographed Tutshi Lake, about 30 mi. long.Läs mer
White Pass Railroad

Our next stop was at Frazer, B.C. where we caught he White Pass Yukon Route Railroad for the return trip to Skagway. Taking photos along the way, we were transported by the majestic scenery, theLäs mer
Anniversary Dinner

About 10:15 pm we had already fallen asleep when we thought we heard a knock at the door. We ignored it, but the knock came again. Then again. Glenda went to the door in her night gown and said,Läs mer
Dog Sledding on Mendenhall Glacier

We awoke early for a quick breakfast so that we could catch the coach to the Juneau Airport. There we were fitted with big snow overshoes for our helicopter ride 12 miles up the Mendenhall Glacier toLäs mer
Whale Watching

We shed a couple of layers of clothing, then boarded another bus for the whale-watching excursion. The weather held fair, windy and mild as we went aboard a 70 foot, jet powered catamaran named theLäs mer
Misty Fjords

I had a sweet roll at International Cafe before breakfast in Provence Dining Room. We took a boat ride to Misty Fjord National Monument. On the way we saw orcas sea lions, seals, eagles. We decidedLäs mer
Sea Day

Today is a sea day as we make our way down toward the south and the end of our cruise at Vancouver. Here are some shots from around the ship that show what a lovely vessel she is. We spent some timeLäs mer