|
By: Toni Barnett - Part II
Seward, where we begun
our journey is a beautiful setting on the scenic Kenai Peninsula,
nestled against 3,000-foot Marathon Mountain on Resurrection Bay,
a quaint place to walk around and enjoy. The ships look so grand
from this small seaside village.
We woke up to cruising the College
Fjords the following morning. I'm sure it's an amazing setting,
but for us it was mostly fog. We certainly couldn't argue with
Mother Nature so if she threw some fog our way we just had to
understand, that's what makes it a wilderness adventure. On a
clear day you are completely surrounded by 16 ice-blue glaciers
all named after the Ivy League colleges that sponsor them.
We spend the following day in Glacier
Bay and Mother Nature decided to cooperate. The weather was beautiful
and the scenery spectacular! Here massive glaciers stretch from
the ice-draped St. Elias and Fairweather mountain ranges to sit
at the end of majestics fjords. The Muir, Johns Hopkins and Margerie
Glaciers are the most "active".
You can hear the Glaciers "calving"
(when the ice falls off), its incredibly exciting waiting, watch
and listening. We got some wonderful pictures and fantastic video
of this, a treasure for us to always remember. Here's my advise,
make sure to be on deck, any deck will do and as the ship turns,
which is quite amazing in itself this 77,000 ton ship turning
on a dime, cut through the closest doors to the other side. This
way you always have your eye's on the glacier at all times, giving
you the opportunity to see it "calf" several times (depending
on the day).
Skagway is a rustic mining town
packed with tourist. We hiked out to the cemetery where Sopie
Smith's grave is and a beautiful waterfall that actually reminded
me of a tropical rain forest. We also hiked right next to where
the cruise ships dock, here we were able to enjoy a great view
of the town and contine on to two gorgeous lakes.
 Juneau
the capital of Alaska was our next stop. We enjoyed a trip to
Mendenhall Glacier, you know you just can't get enough of those
glaciers, the truth is each is different and unique from the last.
We did an easy hike with the ranger and learned all about the
different flora, fauna and wildlife.
Ketchikan is a picturesque as they
come, a great place to walk around; the town is built on piles
out over the water and clings to the slopes of Deer Mountain.
Here we did our own private boat excursion, the captain took us
out where there was a dead whale and sure enough we were able
to spot a black bear dinning, it was very exciting and all to
ourselves. He then took us to some rock out crops, as we got closer
you could see a large group of seals. They were not too excited
to see us, as they all jumped into the water and begin barking
at us. Yes just another amazing day!
Our last day was spent cruising
the Inside Passage. I just can't tell you how incredible the views
were each and every day. I hope if you enjoy exciting scenery
and wildlife that you have Alaska on your list of must do's.
|
