Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

Wednesday, May 7 Disembark in Vancouver, Canada  and Road Trip to Whistler
The ship docked at 7:00am. We disembarked around 9:00am and decided to rent a car that was conveniently right at the dock. After loading our baggage we headed out of Vancouver to the north toward Whistler Ski Resort on the Sea to Sky Highway. What a beautiful highway! Just renovated to the tune of a million dollars back in 2010 just in time for the opening of the winter Olympics.

The Sea to Sky Highway has to be one of the number one scenic highways in the world. The roadway scenery is as beautiful as the Route 1 in California. It follows the coastal route that our ship took leaving Vancouver, but veers off into the mountains after awhile. The views were STUPENDOUS! Lots of snowcapped mountains and inter-coastal water views. Larry kept saying, "I wish we  were on the motorcycle" because of the curves and the beautiful scenery.

We stopped several times to get photos. About an hour outside of Vancouver, we hiked to the Shannon Falls. They towered way over our head and were is full flow with pounding waters rushing over the mountains edge.

As we drove numerous waterfalls came out of the mountains that were to our east and rushed under the roadway. We came to another park about half an hour outside of Whistler where we hiked to the Brandywine Falls. Here we observed the rivers end and watched the water topple below us into another stream. Beautiful!

 

Rushing stream that fed the Brandywine Falls

 

Rainbow at the Brandywine Falls

On we drove coming to the Olympic Park and decided to drive up to the sight. We were disappointed after driving to the end of the 10 kilometer road to find that it was closed and gated up.

                     The Callaghan Ski Resort, next to the Olympic Park was closed as well.


The disappointment vanished when we spotted a bear eating something on the side of the road as we meandered our way back to the highway. It was fun to watch!

Around 1:00pm we reached the town of Whistler that appeared to be a very exclusive resort. Lots of condos, hotels and large homes nestled in at the foot of the numerous ski trails. Although the mountain looked sparse of snow in many areas, there were skiers and snowboarders on the mountain using the one lift that was open. The ski resort appeared to have three or more mountains of ski trails coming into the town. Because this is a premiere resort, I feel sure that there were more runs down the backside of the mountains as well.

                                                                     Whistler Ski Runs

We headed back after an hour or so of exploring the town and found that the ride back to Vancouver was just as beautiful as the journey was coming! We managed to skirt most of the 5:00pm traffic coming out of Vancouver and arrived at our hotel next to the airport just in time for dinner. The following morning (Thursday), we had a 6:00am flight out of Vancouver into LA and then on to Tampa, Florida arriving at 6:00pm...a full day of traveling. Weeeee!!! With big smiles on our faces, we brought home lots of good memories and pictures of our travels to enjoy for the rest of our lifetime of this 2014 spring adventure .

              Some of the most beautiful cloud formations were spotted on our way back to Vancouver.

With big smiles on our faces, we brought home lots of good memories and pictures of our travels to enjoy for the rest of our lifetime of this 2014 spring adventure .

 

Day at Sea on the Inside Passage

Tuesday, May 6 Day at Sea
OMG...more beautiful sunshine!!!!  AND lots of gorgeous rural scenery! What a peaceful, relaxing day sailing the inside  passage from Alaska!

Ketchikan, Alaska

Monday, May 5, 2014      Ketchikan, Alaska

Our ship docked in Ketchikan (meaning thundering wings of an eagle) around 10:00am.Ketchikan began by establishing a salmon cannery in 1880's and is known as the Salmon Capital of the World. The town enjoyed a brief boom of supplying goods for prospectors, but later turned into a fishing, timbering, and tourism industry. The population is 15,000.

Larry and I headed off the ship around 11:00am for a walk to the Totem Heritage Center, 2.5 miles outside of the town. Of all the towns visited on this cruise, Ketchikan was the most modern and tourist ready port. Everything appeared to be brand new. Booths were set up inside a facility for any kind of adventure that you would want to spend your money on....snorkeling (brrr), jeeping, hiking,  lumbering shows, museums, fishing, eating local foods, zip lining, biking, whale watching, glacier watching, train riding, more boating,....and on! We were told that the Alaskan Cruisers have the most opportunities for excursions, more choices than any other cruise trips. I have to agree.

                      On our walk we noticed that Ketchikan had the healthiest dandilions blooming!

Out on the dock we walked past the Rain Gauge that indicated the rainfall that had occurred so far this year. Ketchikan is dubbed "the capital of liquid sunshine" with an average of 160 inches of rain. We also saw "The Welcome Rock" with "The Rock Statues" right on the waterfront.

There was a big welcome arch that we walked under heading up the street to Whale Park where Whale/Dolphin backed seats lined the sidewalks. Totems were standing tall along our walk to Creek Street where quaint little shops dotted the banks of the Ketchikan Creek. Creek Street dates back to the Gold Rush Days and was the red-light district of brothels and speakeasies.

 

                                                 Very scenic shopping area on the creek!

Ketchikan is actually an island separated by the Creek where salmon swim up to their spawning area each summer.

On we continued out of the town down along the waterfront on a great hike. Did I mention that we had another glorious day of sunshine? The temps were coolers, but the walk seemed to warm us up! We stopped and had a picnic lunch along the rocky waterfront. We finally reached the Saxman Native Totem Park which showcased a collection of 30 poles. We also took a hike along a path behind the park after going through the visitor center and gift shop.

 

 

We caught the local bus back to town and decided to ride it as far north as we could go. It passed the local airport, lumbering yard, a salmon canning factory, the Coast Guard Station and Totem Bight State Park following the inland waterway...it was a nice little ride to see the local sights just outside the city for a buck! After a little window shopping we made it back to the ship around 4:00pm.

In the evening after dinner on the back deck, we watched a Jack Ryan movie. It was entertaining and full of action! I also finished a 2013 Gresham thriller, Sycamore Row, a sequel to Gresham's first book, A Time to Kill. Great story with probably a lot of historical truths.

The ship sailed along side the same road that we had walked earlier as we headed towards Vancouver.

                                                             So long to Ketchikan!

Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

Sunday, May 4, 2014        Glacier Bay National Park
WOW! How can it be? Another GORGEOUS SUNSHINE DAY! The Glacier Bay National Park Ranger boarded our ship at 8:30am and gave commentary of our trip through Glacier Bay beginning at 9:00am.

                                         We are so happy to have such a beautiful day!

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is a highlight of the inside Passage and part of a 25 million acre World Heritage Site. It is one of the world's largest protected natural areas designated by UNESCO comprising of mountains, glaciers, forests, and waterways.

                      The reflections of the snowy mountains in the bay were unbelievable!

Larry and I had breakfast on the back deck of the ship and just watched the AWESOME scenery. The ranger just went on and on how lucky we were to have such a picture perfect gorgeously beautiful day to float along in this fantastic national park. People him asked " What is the best side of the boat to be on to see all the wonderful scenery?" He replied " Be on the "out"side of the boat"! HA!

                                                              What fantastic scenery!!!!

Larry and I bundled up with our ski jackets, hats and gloves and we were just snuggly warm. We passed tremendous scenery as the water turned a beautiful aqua color! Mountains jetting up 6000-7000 foot from the shoreline with snow covering their gray rocks. We passed glaciers (Margerie Glacier, Lamplugh Glacier, Reid Glacier) and their little berggies (floating ice bergs).

The captain had the boat going really slow as the berggies appeared and began

                                                           to get bigger and bigger!


 Amazing wildlife spottings were announced.... eagles and wolves. The ranger's commentary pointed out specifics....going all the way to the end of the bay to see the "Grand Pacific Glacier", the architect of this beautiful area. 2 miles wide and 35 miles long. Declining, it was once 65 miles long.

                      The gray snow is actually rock, stone and dirt picked up as the glacier moved.

The glacier reaching the bay...where the ice falls into the water causing little berggies.

We reached the end of Glacier Bay around 1:00 and the ship turned around and headed back the way we had just come...this meant more beautiful views with afternoon light! WHAT AN AWESOME DAY OF NATURAL BEAUTY!

                                               My Mountain Man really enjoyed the day!

After dinner we enjoyed seeing the movie, "Monument Men". Since I had read the book a few weeks back, it was interesting to see how close the movie was to the original author's text. The book was so much better!

These pictures are nice but they simply do not capture the full beauty of Glacier Bay National Park.

You must see it yourself to really understand!   

Skagway, Alaska

Saturday, May 3, 2014 Happy Birthday Linda ! Skagway, Alaska

                                               Leaving the ship for our train excursion
 After a breakfast in our room, we headed off the ship to catch the White Pass Yukon Train at 8:00am. This railway was completed in 1899 to take gold miners out to the Yukon to prospect for gold. One hundred and ten miles of track with two tunnels, the ten million dollar project was completed even though the harsh weather (60 below), tough granite mountains, and the tremendous steep terrain tended to get in the way. This railway was designated in 1994 an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark sharing with other world marvels such as the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty and the Panama Canal.

 

 

Just love the authentic train costumes

The scenery was PHENOMINAL! The rushing Skagway River, waterfalls, snow capped mountains, and awesome views of the waterway below. Our interpreter told us we were lucky to have such a beautiful day of sunshine. She claimed that most of the time the fog blocks the view of the mountains and surrounding scenery! Luck with the weather was on our side again.

 

As we passed the snow drifts outside, the car was toasty inside.

One of the amazing feats for this railway was the completion of this bridge.

Snow had been removed from the track just days before.

Our train ride was the first trip for this season.

                              From the top of the mountain, our view back toward Skagway.

 One of the many waterfalls

We returned to the ship around noon before taking off on a walk through the old town of Skagway....having around 7 blocks, it didn't take long to explore. Population is 800.

                                                              Skagway Marina

                                                            Skagway Main Street

                                                  Unusual structure of wood built in 1879

                                                            Main Street Attraction

What fantastic mountain views right in town!

Lots of old buildings and wooded walkways led the way to restaurants, shops and yet another saloon. During the gold rush 35,000 prospectors found their way to the Klondikes through Skagway exploding the area with gamblers and over 70 saloons. Larry said, "Europe has castles, South America has cathedrals, while Alaska has saloons." Guess those prospectors had to spend their money somewhere!

                                                        Famous Red Onion Saloon


Visitors do not come to Skagway for the city life. It definitely is a place to sit back and take in the dazzling mountain scenery for it is in every direction!

Heading back to the ship

 What mountain scenery!