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Alaska 2

May - June 2014
A 15-day adventure by Chuck & Glenda Read more
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  • Alaska 2
    Day 5

    Fox River Wilderness & Lance Mackey

    June 4, 2014 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    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 tour of the Alaskan wilderness in a converted military Hummer H-1. After picking up four other riders at a hotel, we rode for over an hour on Murphy Dome Road, north of Fox, toward a mountaintop radar site still operated by the US military. We stopped at the home of Lance Mackey, petted the puppies, and had an excellent conversation with the musher. He actually seemed lonely, sad about some of the things he had done in the past. I offered some forgiving, affirming words, and he latched onto me as though I were an old friend. We passed the abandoned school bus that was the site for the tragic travelogue Into the Wild about Christopher McCandless. As we got back into the Hummer for the rest of our tour it became obvious that guide Tom did not understand the difference between good-natured banter and excessive sarcasm. He denigrated tourists (who provided his income), Kentuckians (who were in the van), bicyclists, and several other groups, with his incessant talking. It really became tiring. We returned to the lodge at about 10 PM with the midnight sun still high in the sky.Read more

  • Alaska 2
    Day 6

    Back to Denali Princess Lodge

    June 5, 2014 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    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 Carol Friedman and Mike and Chris Wrinkle as soon as we arrived around 1 PM. Mike is a retired Navy Captain who worked in the Washington, DC area at the Pentagon. Earlier in his career, he flew P-3’s from Moffet NAS in California. At 2 PM we met our Denali bus driver, Gary Seekins, who obviously loves Denali national Park very much. Although we did not see any animals, the park was as beautiful as we remembered it. Glenda and I had a wonderful meal of king crab legs at the Salmon Bake Restaurant. We saw Dan, a waiter, who had served our table during our visit of September 2012. We remembered him by his handlebar mustache. I ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, and enjoyed it thoroughly with the meal. I noted in its nose melons and peaches. It was delicious. After supper we bought some snack mix from a convenience store for tomorrow's train ride to Talkeetna. Mike and Chris Wrinkle and the Friedmans are becoming our friends.Read more

  • Alaska 2
    Day 7

    Train to Talkeetna

    June 6, 2014 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F

    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 and shared a shuttle to the Denali National Park up Visitors' Center. We saw a movie about the park and then enjoyed Ranger Pete Dally's presentation on wildlife sustainability in the park. David Friedman reported severe pain in his neck and seemed very uncomfortable for the rest of the day. A short walk took us to the train station. We boarded the train to Talkeetna, and found the comments of Kate, our guide, moderately entertaining and enlightening. I went over to Mike Wrinkle's seat when we passed the site of the secret World War II fighter base. He and I had a great time talking about airplanes and missions he had flown. When we reached Talkeetna we stayed with the Wrinkles and Friedmans as we walked down to the riverbank so that I could photograph Denali. Clouds continued to clear and re-form, so I had no good shot at the mountain.Read more

  • Alaska 2
    Day 7

    Trying to Catch Denali

    June 6, 2014 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F

    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 already well into their meal. Glenda and I ordered a wonderful jalapeño tostada. I also enjoyed a glass of their stout. We all separated and Glenda and I went across the street to Frank Lee's Roadhouse and split a big brownie with ice cream and whipped cream on it with a cup of coffee. We checked the riverbank once more, but the mountain was obscured even more than before. A quick visit to see the movie at the ranger station about the Denali mountain climbers turned out to be too late. The office had closed at 5:30 PM, about 45 minutes earlier. We boarded the bus for the Princess McKinley Wilderness Lodge and checked in an hour later, around 7:45 PM. The summit of Denali had cleared by then, though it was still quite hazy. Nevertheless, I got a couple of shots at the mountain that were better than those I took in Talkeetna. We were delighted that the room we were assigned was a mini-suite, though we had not asked for one. We got our gear in order for tomorrow's bus ride to the ship through Anchorage, where we will stop to see a wildlife preserve. We got to bed around 9:30 PM, although the daylight was still strong and the sun was high over the horizon.Read more

  • Alaska 2
    Day 8

    Anchorage Street Market

    June 7, 2014 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    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 David and Carol Friedman to take the bus to Whittier and the Coral Princess. Our bus driver was a woman from Palm Springs named Samantha. Glenda was impressed that she sang "the Beaver Song," a ditty she had learned to teach her small children whee she was a schoolteacher. We stopped in Anchorage where we had about two hours free. We went to the open-air Saturday Market. Glenda replaced her earmuffs. Temperatures rose into the seventies (Fahrenheit). I told her a whale had stolen those she lost and was now wearing them in Hawaii. We walked west, past the Hotel Captain Cook to the monument erected in memory of the great explorer. We had a snack at Starbuck's with Joan and her mother Jean, a ninety-year-old fellow traveler named Jean.Read more

  • Alaska 2
    Day 8

    Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center

    June 7, 2014 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 52 °F

    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. The rain began in earnest and continued through the rest of the night. We familiarized ourselves with the ship and dined with the Friedmans and Wrinkles, along with a few other couples we didn't know. My tablemate was one Mike, a charter school teacher from Redding, California.Read more

  • Alaska 2
    Day 9

    Hubbard Glacier

    June 8, 2014 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 48 °F

    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 and Glenda took a nap. We ate lunch by ourselves; I had split pea soup and bread. Glenda had soup and salad.

    I decided to miss the wine tasting so that we might go out on deck to photograph the Hubbard Glacier in Yakutat Bay. Clouds partially obscured it, so my pictures were not quite as good as last time. The naturalist onboard has not been nearly as active in informing passengers about the glaciers as was her predecessor, Kathy Slamp. I was pleased to hear the captain speak over the public address system about an unusually high incidence of influenza on this ship last week. He stressed the need for frequent, thorough handwashing, and the need to cover one's cough. Had the captain of the Ruby Princess been as diligent, I might have been spared that case of pneumonia in November.

    Tonight supper was a formal night. Mike arranged for the Wrinkles, Friedmans and Cooks to sit at the same table. What a feast! Mike began by bringing a bottle of Champagne. I ordered medallions of lamb and a bottle of Gamay Beaujolais. As I expected, it was fruity and full. The conversation was lively, and David ended the evening with a hilarious joke about a Russian wrestler.    Read more

  • Alaska 2
    Day 10

    Marjerie & Lamplugh Glaciers

    June 9, 2014 ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F

    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 much more photogenic, the Grand Pacific Glacier, essentially a big, dirty snowball did the work of carving this fjord. We stayed by the Margerie Glacier for about an hour and saw it calving. Our ship should pass the Johns Hopkins Glacier around 2:45 pm, and leave the Lamplugh Glacier around 3:15 pm. I missed the Johns Hopkins but took some abstract photos of the Lamplugh. The rotary switch on my camera is not working properly. I think water may have worked its way into the contacts during one of the recent rain storms. David and Carol Friedman brought a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from a small vineyard. They bought it at Publix. Tonight was Italian night. The wine was interesting because my first sensation was a tactile note of the prickly tang of fizziness on the tongue. It was similar to Trader Joe's Cabernet in that it did not have substantial body, and would be a sort of "cabernet light." I had penne al Arrabiata. After supper Mike and I went to talk about his mother's near-death experience. I was still hungry, so Glenda went and brought me a cheese plate from the International Cafe.Read more

  • Alaska 2
    Day 11

    Yukon Trail to Carcross

    June 10, 2014 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    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. There is a legend of a monster in this lake, which is at the same latitude as Loch Ness in Scotland. At 10:05 am photographed Tagish Lake (name means "fish trap" in local native dialect). At 10:25 am photo of Bove Island with Glenda's camera. Guide told story of Queen Victoria's visit. All undesirables in Carcross were rounded up and made to spend the week in a tent city on Bove Island. At 11 am we photographed Emerald Lake. We had barbecue chicken at Caribou Crossing, and happened to sit with a whole table of Australians from the Holland America ship Zuiderdam. We toured the little natural history museum, and then Anna drove us into the town of Carcross.Read more

  • Alaska 2
    Day 11

    White Pass Railroad

    June 10, 2014 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F

    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, the stories of the intrepid stampeders of 1898, and the tenacity of those who built the railroad. One couple on our train was habitually late in returning to the bus. Not only that, she refused to relinquish he place on the platform when someone else wanted to take photos. Glenda actually asked her kindly if she would mind letting some others use the platform, which was large enough for only one person at a time. She curtly said, "No!" Back in Skagway I did penance for the horrible shot I took of the historic Skagway train station on our last trip. I made sure all of my camera settings were correct, then took several interior shots with supplemental flash. We returned to the ship just in time to change clothes and have an early dinner. I had a game pate, Caesar salad, and prime rib medallions with shrimp. Mike ordered a delicious Pinot Noir. We returned to our stateroom and got our gear ready for tomorrow, the big day of dog sledding and whale watching.Read more

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