Skagway

When we came to Alaska in 1996 for our 40th anniversary, one of the favorite things that we did was to ride the White Pass Railway in Skagway - so naturally we wanted to do it again. It's not a disappointment the second time around either! We enjoyed this whole morning immensely. I like this description of the trip:

Relive the gold rush with the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway as it steams through its second century of history! This forty-mile roundtrip train ride climbs from tidewater at Skagway to the Summit of the White Pass, a 2,865 foot rise in elevation! Built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush, this narrow gauge railroad is an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. Experience the breathtaking panorama of mountains, glaciers, gorges, waterfalls, tunnels, trestles and historic sites from the comfort of vintage parlor cars.

Here we are in our "vintage parlor car".


Scenery from the train:









We're in Canada - NWMP - Northwest Mounted Police.



Flags at the border between Alaska and the Yukon Territory.



One of my favorite stories of the train trip was when we were on the edge of a very deep gorge, and across the gorge was a road loaded with buses. The buses had all stopped, and the passengers were all out with their cameras. Our guide said that people have asked him which is the better way to see the Pass, by bus or by train. His answer was that he's never seen a train stop to take pictures of buses!

In the afternoon, we went on the Historic Streetcar of Skagway excursion. The bus was fun, the guide was bubbly, and the whole thing was very enjoyable.



Dick had time to do some caching in Skagway, and here are the rest of us waving goodbye:



Our beautiful ship, The Coral Princess:



There were five big ships docked in Skagway today!



DICK'S NOTES:

Tues 5/25/10
Skagway.
After breakfast we claimed a virtual cache from the deck. It was about the ships' captains' names on the rocks alongside. Then we took the Whitehorse RR up to the Pass. Words can’t describe the trip. An elderly woman told Nancy, “Kids today say everything is awesome, they don’t know what awesome is."
After the train ride and lunch we took the “Street Car Tour" with guide Peggy.
Then some more caching, another virtual cache at the Skagway Visitor Center, a micro missing the logbook and a keyholder where I met a woman cacher from our boat and launched another coin.
Drinks at the Wheelhouse. Dinner was Italian, very good!
Show in the Universe Lounge. Music through the ages with the usual crew.

Glacier Bay Cruising

Great way to start the day - breakfast at the Horizon Court Buffet. Bacon bagel, fruit...OK, and a small Danish!



This was the only day on the whole trip that we had rain - and we were at sea, so who cares? It let up quite a bit before we got to the truly scenic part of the bay.

Here are some awesome views of the magnificent glaciers of Glacier Bay!
Up close and personal:













DICK'S NOTES

Monday 5/24/1 Promenade before breakfast, 2.8 time around = 1 mile. While waiting, eating, and coffee we see humpbacks and sea lions. Sign up for internet $55 = 100 min. Wheelhouse Lounge = diet coke National Park Service presentation by Ranger Emily re: Glacier Bay, then lunch – Horizon Ct. Bill reports sea food buffet, = another lunch. So another mile or so on the promenade. Up the Tarr Inlet to Margerie (blue) and Grand Pacific (black) glaciers. Ranger sees puffin and bear, we don’t at that time, puffins later. Back to the Johns Hopkins Inlet and glacier. Drinks at Crooners, ghastly version of mojito. Dinner was best meal yet. King crab leg appetizer, seafood soup, surf&turf = shrimp and fillet followed by Princess Love Boat (chocolate mousse & ice cream).

BABY WHALE - If you watch this video to the end, you'll see the baby humpback breach (come completely out of the water and flip)!

Hubbard Glacier Cruising (Yakatut Bay)

The atrium of our ship:



Toasting our cruise with a yummy pre-dinner pina colada.



Impressive Hubbard Glacier in Yakutat Bay.













Sunday 5/23/10
Slept well and then explored.
Note!! Next cruise insist that the cabin be center / bow even if cost is greater.
Cabin near stern. Nice but long walk to theater and dining.
Breakfast in Horizon. Buffet. Congee +++ Curried egg --, hash = canned, nothing special. Decaf cold.
Service at coffee bar shoddy but decaf = hot.
Girls shop, $10 watch, casino = $50 credit
Bill – gym
Lunch in restaurant. Mussels & snapper
Nap
Check Nuvi @ 3:30. She knows where we are. We are in Yakatut Bay. I can see glacier out the port side. It has receded well back from the bay.
Laundry
Into bay to Turner and Hubbard glacier, we see from room. Ice floes surround us. Princess naturalist suggests global warming, climate change not true, part of a cycle.
Formal dress night, we opt for a drink and then the buffet.
Scout for seats in the Princess theater and meet some Missouri fans. The guy is convinced that Lloyd is a Mo grad and learned all his football under Divine. That’s why he was so much better than RR.
1 hour show titled “Dance”. Great production numbers! My favorite was Sara Lee.

Coach and Train to Anchorage (Whittier Cruise Terminal)

A nice place to while away the morning!



Beautiful fireplace in the Lodge. Can you find the sled dogs?



Boarded the coach to the Talkeetna depot around 11 a.m. It was a one hour ride to the "depot". This is a thing that Princess definitely needs to work on - this transfer spot is out in the middle of nowhere - three porta-johns and only a few logs to sit on, and quite a long wait! Here I am enjoying my log...



It took this many buses to transfer all of the tourists coming and going. The facilities were not adequate to the task, in my opinion. But it certainly did not spoil the day! It was just a minor glitch.



Ze train! Ze train! The train rides are so much more enjoyable than the buses. The scenery along the route was as spectacular as it gets!



PICTURES FROM THE TRAIN RIDE (Talkeetna to Whittier)









DICK'S NOTES:

Sat 5/22/10
Coffee shop & internet. Finally figure out that if you keep your cup, the refills are free.
We hang out ‘til 11, bus to Talkeetna, sit in front. B&J get crying baby in back. One hour ride, last view of McKinley. Clear at top in AM, all clear on drive.
Station – the pits. Two pit toilets, log seating. 30+ min wait. Board train, car 1. It turns out that car 1 is in the front when north bound, at rear when south bound.
Crying baby in car 6.
Car 1 develops hot box, might have to drop from train. Yard workers come on board in Anchorage. If car dropped we would be reassigned to other cars but they would find us to give us our shipboard information. Trains stops near siding. View effects of 1964 quake.
Medical emergency! Our tour guide (Tammy) is MedTec. Tammy has to go forward. Train proceeds slowly south. When she returns she claims credit for keeping car 1 attached.
Good views of tide going out from Turnagain Arm and receding glaciers on the right, avalanches and waterfalls on left. Train slow, arrive nearly one hour late but still in our car.
Disembark at Whittier, good hike to check in through security. Sniders way ahead. Bill claims he saw an orca.
Find room, meet room steward (Maria Luisa)
Dinner in assigned dining room - Sniders are in the other one. Share table w/ Rod & Nancy – VT. & Charles & Cathy (Paula Deen) – Ark. Excellent company!!!
Back in room @ 11:30ish, unpack, bed just after 12. Long day!!

We boarded the Coral Princess, found our stateroom, went to the lifeboat drill in the Universe Lounge, and had a very late dinner. Exciting day!

The view from our balcony. It stayed light until 11 p.m.



Our stateroom (E 714 - E is for Emerald Deck 8.

A Free Morning and on to Mt. McKinley

We had a free morning to enjoy the Wilderness Lodge. The scenery was gorgeous, and it was fun people-watching. Dick used his laptop, and I rusticated.

INTERIOR OF THE PRINCESS WILDERNESS LODGE:



THE LINE FOR COFFEE WAS ENDLESS!



We had time to catch a shuttle to the Denali National Park Visitor Center - I'm so glad we could fit that in because it was a very informative and entertaining place.




Dick's notes:

Fri 5/21/10
Coffee shop a zoo, long lines but the kids are pleasant and friendly. Great staff! Visit VC. Talk to gal about trail-less park. When caching mentioned, she is in Anchorage in winter and teaches it in local schools. States that she grew up in small town near TC, I’m so amazed I forget to get the name of the town.
At lunch our waitress is Nicole. We talk about where we are from, she says Minnesota, we say Traverse City, she steps back and says she thinks she has waited on us before. When we tell her that this is the only time we’ve visited the dining room, she says ”No. I mean in Traverse.” She works at the Happy Hog in the winter!!!
We load the bus for Mt McKinley. A clear day and the mountain is fully visible in all its glory.
After arrival, check in, visit room, and enjoy dinner, and???
it’s time for bed

The bus ride to the McKinley Princess Lodge was two hours plus. But the scenery was so breathtaking that it flew by. They say that the mountain is only visible a few days a year, so once again we had the pixie dust. It was glorious and cloudless and we could see it clearly all day. Such luck! (Denali is the Athabascan name for Mt. McKinley.)

Fairbanks to Denali

Our beautiful train to Denali:


Waiting for the bus ride to the depot: Front lobby, Riverside Lodge: COACH FROM RIVERSIDE LODGE TO RAIL DEPOT: This was a great train ride. We left Fairbanks around 8 a.m. and got to the Denali depot around noon. We sat upstairs in beautiful observation cars, and had wonderful views of everything along the way. Breakfast was served on the first level - the food was great, and the service was great also. Here we are at breakfast: Dick and I in the observation car: At the village of Nenana, every year they have a contest to see when the river will thaw, or "go out". This year it thawed on April 29 at 9:06 a.m. People bet on the exact date and time of the thaw. It's as good as winning the lottery!

Nenana is 65 miles southwest of Fairbanks on the George Parks Highway.
Nenana is at mile 412 of the Alaska Railroad, on the south bank of the Tanana River (just east of the mouth of the Nenana River), and at mile 305 of the Parks Highway.

It is an historic community - an Athabascan Native Village 56 miles (as the raven flies) from Fairbanks and 75 miles north of Denali National Park. Nenana has air access, with a 5,000 ft. paved runway for float and ski planes.

Nenana Ice Classic 2010

The Jackpot for the 2010 Nenana Ice Classic is $279,030.00. The payout will be made on June 1st The winners are: Chris Arnold - Purchased his ticket at Marylou Redman/Diamond Jim's in Indian, Ak Donna Smith - Purchased her ticket at Carrs/Sageway in Wasilla Alison Foley - Purchased her ticket at Carrs/Safeway - Bently in Fairbanks April 29, 2010 9:06 AM Alaska Standard Time Tanana River went out Tripod clock stopped.

This is where we learned that "na" means river. Talkeetna, Chena, Tanana, and Nenana are all river names.

Here, just for you, are 16 seconds of our train ride through Alaska: