Skagway, Alaska (our second stop on the cruise, known poetically as "The Gateway to the Yukon") Andrew did not take this picture.
Another picture Andrew did not take, of Glacier Bay. We spent a day cruising in Glacier Bay. It was spectacular. I think most involved agreed it was the highlight of the trip, scenery-wise.
This is a view of the railroad that leads from Skagway to the Yukon, following the gold-mining roads. Courtesy of Andrew's friend, who works in Skagway, we got half-price tickets on the train. If you are wondering whether we got to go into the Yukon, we didn't, unfortunately. You could practically touch it, but it was still a few miles away. But the scenery was gorgeous and it was a wonderful train ride.
This is the train about to go into a tunnel. The tunnels were pitch dark, and extremely exciting. You couldn't see a thing.
This is our dazzlingly beautiful niece, Talya, all dressed up for a night on the cruise ship. We had two fancy dress dinners. Needless to say, I (Rachel here still) enjoyed the excuse to wear a dress TWICE in one week.
Talya and her mama (Andrew's sister Janelle), looking beautiful and happy on the cruise ship.
Happy Birthday to Andrew's mom and dad! Dave celebrated his 60th birthday the day of our departure, Lynne's takes place in January, which is definitely close enough to be included in the celebration. We had the first of many four-course meals, complete with cake in honor of the occasion.
So, my goal on our Peru trip was to see a Giant Hummingbird, and guess what? I did! My goal on this trip was to see a real live puffin. And guess what? I saw many of them! This has been a goal of mine ever since my toddler days, when I used to request the Audubon Field Guide to Birds be read to me as a bedtime story. Dreams do come true. In the above picture, it is unlikely that I just spotted my first puffin, but quite likely that I am enjoying many icebergs, kittiwakes, and other wandering pieces of nature, in Glacier Bay.
The gorgeously spectacular Glacier Bay, complete with a Black Legged Kittiwake.
More views of glaciers in Glacier Bay. We never saw an epic scene of calving, like we all hoped to, but we did see pieces break off. The sound was more impressive than the sight. When I was little, I liked to imagine thunder as God playing the drums. This was a bit like that, only in the earth instead of the sky.
I think this probably has some important geomorphic significance. Unfortunately, I am not sure exactly what it is, and I fear I will be wrong if I write down a guess. So, I will just say: amazing Alaskan scenery. Also, note the blue sky. We had sun virtually every day of the cruise, which is highly uncommon.
More beautiful Alaskan scenery, this time with mountains.
The view from one of the upper decks, looking down onto the bow. It was cold and windy out there, but worth it for the view.
The birthday celebraters, taking in the beauty of Alaska.
This is Pinky, Andrew's uncle. He and Jan, Andrew's aunt, came along for the trip, too. Pinky grew up in a small town in Alaska, near where we cruised. Apparently, when he was five, he and his seven-year-old cousin used to take a boat out, alone, on the bay. This is pretty impressive when you've been in Alaskan bays.
Dawn in Alaska. I was still asleep. Apparently I missed a Jaeger. Alas.
An artistic view of the train above Skagway. The purple stuff is fireweed. It's beautiful, and people make jelly out of it.
More railroad pictures. My husband loves trains.
The train. See for yourself, it's the gateway to the Yukon.
More Alaskan scenery, with both mountains and glaciers this time.
This water was very, very cold. I did not swim in it. Other members of the party (namely, Daniel, Liz, and Andrew) did.
Alaskans: "Guys! Guess what? The sun's out! There's no ice on the pond! Let's go for a swim!" Did I mention this water was cold? And not just cold by my standards, even Daniel thought it was cold.
We saw a bear! It was a little one, maybe a year old, and it ran under the bridge when we were hiking. One fuzzy picture later, it was out of sight.
Cold, wind, Alaskan scenery, and happy Alaska cruisers! (Namely, Rachel, Liz, and Daniel).
It's a mountain!
Talya watches the world go by.
A very little boat, by cruise ship standards.
This port is Vancouver, where we departed from and arrived to.Other highlights of the trip included the amazing food (I never quite got over the fact that you could order whatever you wanted for FOUR courses), the "thermal suite" in the spa (which we all got passes to, and we could go in there and watch the world (i.e. Alaska) go by FROM A HOT TUB), and of course, spending good time with lots of family and hiking and exploring in the amazing land of Alaska.
Also, I talked to Rebecca briefly before I left. Of all the questions she could have asked, she just wanted to know if I would see wolves and bears. So, she should be happy to know that I found the meanest looking wolf-head I could find in a tourist store, and got my picture taken with it. That didn't make it onto this post, but I will be sure to put it up somewhere, for her benefit.
And, as she has no doubt already discovered from the above pictures, I got quite close to a real live bear.
