Exit Glacier

Seward-- HOT AND SUNNY

Seward was our last stop and also where we had to say goodbye to the Summit... We woke early to find ourselves docked in alittle fishing town. We had a full day ahead of us.. as our train did not leave until 6pm for anchorage. First to get off the ship... again being concerige class afforded us the luxery of waiting in the theatre for our turn to disembark... it was a smooth disembarkation-- off the ship to a tent where we gathered our luggage... oddly no one from customs talked to us... which was fine with us... I snagged a taxi pretty quick and he took us to the train depot a few blocks down... all peices of luggage stacked high!

The train depot was a little one room deal... as friendly as they could be! They took our luggage.. we had alittle time before our first tour of the day was to pick us up so we wandered around town. At 10-- Seeveys Ididarod Tour Van picked us up to go visit the Ididarod dogs and go on a dog sled ride. In our van was the cutest puppy-- also the stinkiest! It was nice to see a dog-- I think we were missing our girls by then... What we were not prepared for was the tour... or at least I wasn't.
But I learned alot-- First off contrary to what you see in movies-- Dog sled dogs are not Blue eyed Huskies or Malamutes with thick coats of hair... Instead they are Mutts-- plain and simple. Large dogs that can pull! Who knew???? And second these are working dogs.. and they are expected to live as such-- They pretty much fend for themselves... No baths, or tv time or laps to sit in... To say it made me sad was an understatement... but for me it got worse... But I digress-- They took us to an area where we got to pet and hold some new puppies... nothing better than a puppy right? Well we learned that most of the dogs we would see that day were puppies... under a year old... and they were being tried out--- Seems that work pulling the tourists during the summer and get widdled down over time until there are about 30 dogs who will make the final cut to pull the sled in the race...

We watched a video about dogsledding.. its a sport for only the hardiest... and those with money/sponsors... then they led us through gates to where the dogs were! Oh my when they say us coming they ALL started barking and pulling at their chains... These dogs LIVE to pull-- and you could see that despite their living arrangements that they were happy...

We were loaded into sleds (8 of us) and the dogs attached... I would guess about 12-14 dogs (all puppies except for the lead dog Charlie who was a vetern) Mike got to stand with the Musher on the back... and I sat in the back seat... I was not happy-- These dogs were still learning... and think about how your dogs acts as it gets trained... sometimes things work and other times they just don't.... and it was that way with the dogs... As they were pulling us they some of them wanted to play-- nip at each other... or turn around to see what they dog behind them was up too.. The musher had to stop multiple times to move dogs around... and even once untangle a dog who was being dragged.... Needless to say this was not a favorite tour while in Alaska

I am glad I went-- I learned alot-- and don't get me wrong these dogs were HAPPY!!! they just lead a different life then my babies at home.
Happy to leave Seeveys-- they were kind enough to drop us off at the other end of town... (probably a big mistake on my part) We all went to the SEALIFE Center... Its part aquarium and part rescue center... very hands on and full of interesting information. We saw Seals, sealions, puffins (birds that swim underwater) and alot of other birds and sealife...


I think we were all starving by now... and walked the length of town to find a little resturant that had the best Halibit and chips... I think I wore my parents out with all that walking because they bailed on the next adventure... one that had I known would be life altering I would have never had them walking across town... but no one balked at the time... and we marched forward. They decided to hang out at the train depot and Mike and I went across the street to the "Train Wreck" alittle place that rented bikes, had shuttles and did tours... We talked to guy who assured us that we could shuttle to Exit Glacier hike for 2 hours and still make it back in time for our train... so thats exactly what we did....

I leave you here for now...more tomorrow.

The pictures say it all... Indy Racing in Richmond with friends and family, tailgating with ladderball... our new favorite game! Skydiving and Danica Patrick-- who proves women can do just about anything... including driving fast!

Hubbard Glacier

We had a day at Sea when going to Hubbard Glacier.. We got up at the crack of dawn (what else was new?) so that we could get a good look--"Hubbard Glacier is just one of hundreds of Glaciers that have survived that last mini Iceage" impressive!

The best viewings for the glacier were from the upper decks and Mike and I made our way to the front of the ship to the helicopter pad, while my parents made their way to the Night club for indoor viewing. We changed locations a few times, it was COLD but so worth being out there to see. The ship could only get so close this trip (apparently some years there is less ice in the water) because of the large amount of ice in the water. But no worries we were impressed!

Seeing the ice in the water-- and seeing how large it was under the water-- brought to mind the saying "its only the tip of the Ice berg!" So very true...

The Captain moved the boat from side to side to everyone had a great chance to see the Glacier, to see the Ice field and to see all the ice in the water. After taking a ton of pictures we headed back to the room for alittle more viewing... we even saw a seal playing in the ice-

Then it was off for alittle exploring around the ship...more food and then a much needed nap... Packing for home was another item on the list... all of our bags had to put packed and put in the hall before midnight... not an easy task when the sun didn't set until around midnight....

I think what amazed me most about seeing the glacier was seeing the contrast of Ice covered mountains sitting in harmony with some of the greenest forests.... and the lack of anything man made-- so very hard to find in our daily lives...

Icy Point Strait

Icy Point Strait was an amazing stop. We didn't have any planned excurisions for the day and weren't sure what was ahead of us... but it didn't take us long to realize this would become a favorite stop on our trip.

This was the only tender stop for us. And being Conceirge Class, we got preferencial treatment when disembarking onto the little boats to take us to shore. Once on shore we made our way to the the tours building and booked a tour for the Tribal Dancers. With a few hours to kill we made our way on the beach path that took us to a fire where we were each given the opportunity to make a wish and add our wood chip. This was a wonderful hike that circle around the beach and then into the rainforest. There is no other word than magical to describe the forest. The trail twisted and turned and we once again saw the wonderful rainforest that we had been learning so much about in earlier tours. I could have stayed there all day. While on the beach trail I couldn't help myself but to run down to the water and stick my toe in "Alaskan Water" Kinda a tradition thing for me... loving the water I seem to find a way to get a toe in everywhere we go....

The end of the path was a short walk to the Cultural dance center.

This was a production put on by natives living in Hoonah, the village right down the road. In true dress they explained their history, And what the tribe names meant that we saw on totems all over alaska. I even volunteered to get up and dance with them at the end of the show -- dressed in a cape I put my best moves out there doing a dance they taught us.

The old cannery (for Salamon) was now a museum and of course gift shops--- they gotta get their tourist dollar... we spent alittle time wandering through and I bought a wind chime made from Sitka Black deer hoves. The lady I bought it from actually killed the deer and made the chime... that is after eating venision all winter. Her little shop was filled with herbs in plastic bags that looked interesting but I wasn't sure how the customs agents would upon little baggies of green herbs in my suitcase so I passed on them--

In the cannery we learned exactly how a turn of the century cannery operated and even the marketing secrets-- did you know the labels changed frequently but the contents remained the same? They tried putting pictures of families on the cans at one point so people in the lower 48 would see the product as something the whole family would eat... just alittle factoid!

Because there was plenty of time left before the ship left at 4:30 Mike and I decided we wanted to once again do the nature trail again (I told you we love it!) This time we went through the forest first and then back to the beach trail...

Back on the ship it was another formal night-- The last of the cruise-- The staff puts on a great show bringing out dessert-- and then later at midnight they do a buffet-- its all sculpted food and Ice carvings... I was tired and the ships rocking had got to me so we didn't stay to eat-- but it was an incredible to see the artistry....

Skagway

So where did we leave off?? Skagway I beleive--

Skagway is a town that was best known for being the enterance for those seeking gold many many years ago... Thus it has this magnificent railroad-- which is what we had scheduled for the day. We were greeted with a blustery kind of day-- sun was out but it was alittle more breezy then we would have liked.

The boat dock was alittle walk from the town proper. Unlike our other stops where we had door to door service and literally got off the boat smack in town... Skagways peir required alittle jaunt that would have been ok if a) the wind wasn't blowing and b) we weren't tired.

Going into town wasn't too bad it was coming back that was the chore... regardless we had some time to kill before our tour so off we went. Skagway is literally a one horse town... Main street and thats about it-- but the Park service has done a wonderful job of upkeep-- After alittle wandering we signed ourselves up for a free town history/walking tour with the Park Ranger. Very informative. We learned that many of the building we see today are original but might not necessarily be in the same place... seems moving the historic buildings is something they do alot! And in partnerships with local businesses.. the park service will help with restoration and a shop will set up inside... kinda cool...

While wandering town we actually found the coolest Rock store on a side street... little sign with an arrow pointing to Dr. Rock... it was there we saw a guy doing rock carvings... very cool-- and in the back yard of this little place there were a ton of finished carvings.. I actually bought some jewelry there... rocks-- pretty rocks..

Our tour with Chilngot tours-- was a Van ride up to White Summit pass and then a train ride on the way back.. Lots of scenery-- waterfalls, snow capped mountains, eagles etc. It was enjoyable-- and again lots of history about the gold rush--It was amazing to think that people hiked up and back to White Pass in search of Gold. This trail is still lined with artifacts-- people dumping possessions that they just couldn't carry.

Introducing....

Mr. & Mrs. David Jackson--- The wedding was beautiful, the JP did a lovely job of officiating, Jackie found the perfect verse to read... The food was great, the guests were alot of fun.... long day even longer night
Family, Friends, the new relatives from across the pond---I think everyone had a great time.

Willow Grove Inn was simply an amazing place to share the day-- the weather was perfect for an outdoor wedding. Low humidity-- Bright skies-- It was so nice that both David and Ruth were surrounded by family & friends from all over the world--It takes special people to pull off such a wonderful day. So glad I got to meet Ruth and her family-- truely nice people and Davids friends were just as I imagined... and just as nice.

Now its off to Richmond-- to move Christopher in to his new place.... being tired will have to wait---

Its a dogs world

Taking a break from Alaska for a moment... Last night was a mix of dog park meets Birthday Party and BBQ-- Friday night's BBQ had been planned weeks ago to Celebrate Ruths Birthday and get the whole family together before the wedding.. but as happens with weddings plans changed. However with things set in motion the only thing left to do was change gears and move forward. The kids were coming home.. christopher took off work and why not just enjoy the evening? We figured just invited friends over.. but last minute that didn't work so we ended up with just us-- Corey invited Tommy and Mike over and that began the night!

I came home from work to be greeting in the kitchen by Madison, Bonnie and Zoey--- HAHA no one mentioned we were having a house guest.... Zoeys an old girl full of personalaity who doesn't get out much... shes a good friend of Madisons and was very excited to be able to trot out in the open.

The boys were way too excited about playing ladder ball... They each told stories of counting down the hours to get a new game going... yes ladder ball is alittle addicting.. and for me... I found an "sport" that I can excel at! Dinner had to wait a bit so the games could begin...

Mike out did himself with a new batch of home made BBQ sauce... Hot, Spicy and sticky!

The night took a turn-- Tommy arrived -- with Buster and Macho-- (and Mike too) These are the most unlikely pair-- Buster the largest Lab you have even seen... 2 years old and every bit a puppy still... and Macho-- A chiauwa (ok I can't spell and I am not even gonna try) ---

Bonnie took it all in stride-- looking at me like I lost my mind... 4 dogs in her yard that didn't belong... she took a nap--

Buster never sat down... would run chasing balls far into the woods... down the hill, up the hill... out in the back woods.. you name it-- Buster was a machine-- funniest moment... Tommy threw one ball far into the front woods.. and Buster came back with two.. Thanks Buster for finding a long lost tennis ball...

Busters only "lil" problem... he likes water.. Tommy was worried with our two ponds that the tempation would be two much for Buster... and he was right... in a blink of an eye Buster was in the water garden... and no sooner was he dragged out that he would gallop right back in... Mike wasn't laughing but I couldn't see straight it was so funny----

More ladder ball. Horseshoes... and Birthday cake... Yes the boys sang wonderfully as Amanda attempted to take pictures... retakes were necessary as she barked orders (no pun intended) Try and look cute... don't look fat... Christopher and I couldn't get it right... even with "face wipes" and deep breathes....

A night to be remembered... fear of dogs conquered... and yummy BBQ--

remember Ketchican?

Remember Ketchican? and the totems??? as the ship left we passed them from the water-- grabbed a few photos there too...

I do have lots of totem photos... my computer at home just hates me right now-- hopefully the comcast guy will fix that tonight!