July 29, 2009 Glacier Bay!

Note for new readers: You can "blow up" any picture by clicking on it. You probably will need to on this page to see the whale blows and the ship in by the glacier.

What a great day. After listening to the fog horn all night, we awoke to this sight out our window:


It was the precursor of a bright sunny day. Glacier Bay, where we cruised all day, lived up to its rep.

We were greeted at the entrance by this blow from a whale:


We passed several glaciers that came right down to the water's edge as we progressed up the bay, but this was the largest, about 300 feet high and 1/2 mile wide:

Note the boat in the picture for some perspective....

Where do the glaciers come from? Lots of snow on the mountaintops collects and starts a slow slide down the mountain and valleys. Because of the cold weather, the snow accumulates rather than melting, the weight turning the lower layers to ice. Here's a picture of the source of this one:


Some of the glaciers take a longer and more tortured path down the mountain. Here's one:

The "snow road" around both sides of the mountain in the middle is, or are, glaciers working their way down.

As we left the bay late today, another whale blew a farewell kiss:


As we departed the bay, we saw the first nice sunset of the trip:


Tomorrow, Skagway!

Love to you all,

MMG and DDG

July 28, 2009 Cruisin' at Last College Bay Galciers

Up at 6 this morning to be greeted by this sight out our cabin window:


One of six glaciers in College Bay, all named after Ivy League schools. I can't remember the name of the one above, but it turned out to be one of the smaller ones. The quality of the picture is not the result of poor pictorial technique or the photographer's skill, but the fog that plagued us all day. This was the clearest part of the day.

Of course, the glaciers were "calving", or dropping chunks into the bay. Here's a pic of one that we got near. The blue of the ice is the result of the glacier compacting the snow of many years to a hardness that causes it to absorb all of the color spectrum except this shade of blue:


The highlight of the Bay, and indeed the day, was the Harvard Glacier, about 1/2 mile wide and easily twice as high as the Ship.

Just a small section of the Harvard Glacier showing one of the the clean parts (the center) of the glacier.

Here's what the edge (the part in contact with the bottom or side of the valleys) looks like:

The above also shows in the background the source of the glacier up in the mountains.

Below, a closer look at the face of the glacier. Notice the blue of the ice and the many cracks and fissures where the ice will eventually fall off into the bay:


About 7:30 we turned to leave the bay. Here's what the rest of the day looked like:


Tomorrow is promised to be more clear as we enter the famous Glacier Bay. Let's hope so!

A couple good news/bad news items. First, we're only about 150 feet and up one flight of stairs from the 24 hour buffet! Second, the food quality is sub-Golden Corral!

(I've been copying the texts of these postings from original emails. I never completed the second good news/bad news item and cannot remember what it might have been!)

More when we can!

MMG and DDG

July 27, 2009 Denali to Whittier to the Island Princess

On the train by 8 AM, arrived Whittier about 6 PM. Seems like we traversed all of Alaska!

Here are a few of the sights:

Our train car:

Outside:

Inside:

At least MMG is smiling -- and the trip hasn't even started yet!

The omnipresent fireweed:


Who says the glaciers have all melted? Look here:

One of about 10 that we saw today.

Hometown of "Guess Who"?

The latest in mountain fashion, the cloud chapeau:

Reflections:

The Island Princess at last!

Note the terrific weather! Here's the view from our cabin's deck:

Here's hoping tomorrow clears up a bit!

My fears came true. The boat has wifi, but it is satellite and purchase of minutes is required @ $.55 per minute with a 100 minute minimum. I just ain't paying it!

I'll do a letter everyday and send then to you when we get where I can send them without doing business with highway robbers!

MMG and DDG

July 26, 2009 Our Day at Denali NP

We spent the morning kind of resting up for our 5 hour school bus ride through a part of Denali NP this afternoon.

When we went to the Denali Visitor Center DDG was most disappointed to find that the animal exhibits, which in all the other NPs we have visited have been very fine examples of the taxidernists' art, are here all made of fiberglass.

First, here's a shot of one of the Denali Princess buildings at the foot of Mt Healy which seems to look over our shoulders all day. Not bad, eh?


On our 5 hour jaunt (by bus) through the Park, we saw almost no wildlife for the first 4 hours. Here's the exception, woohoo:


However, on the way out, we were fortunate enough to hit the two biggies, a Moose and a Grizzlie:


Got back to the hotel about 7:00, dinner and early to bed so we can have the luggage outside the room by 6:30 and be on the bus to the train station by 7:30. On the train by 8:00 where we will spend the day, arriving in Whittier where we'll get on the cruise boat around 5:15.

This is as good a place as any to apologize for the quality of the pictures in this Alaskan trip Blog. There are two factors at work. First, we did not bring MMG's "Big Lens" and camera, so we're making do with a smaller camera, our new Canon Powershot G10, which, while it is a very fine camera with many capabilities, just can't get us "up close and personal" like MMG's could. Second, most of the pictures have been taken through the windows of whatever bus or train we were on, adding the problems of shooting around fellow travelers, through windows with reflections, at whatever speed we are moving down the track or road.

Not sure about the wifi situation on the boat, so this may be the last you get for a while.

Love to all,

MMG and DDG

July 25, 2009 Mt McKinley to Denali NP

Before we leave the Mt McKinley Princess, a few more pictures of the scenery. First, a neat cast eagle statue on the grounds:


The view from the Lodge deck this morning -- "Misty Morn".

That's a little splash of pink fireweed in the lower left. It is rampant this time of year.

And, finally, a little taste of what we would be seeing in clear weather!


Today was kind of a nothing day. Gray, cloudy ride on a bus from the Mt McKinley Princess Lodge to the Denali Princess Lodge. Scenery not very inspiring, but we did see our first Moose of the trip!


And our first glacier, The Buckaroo, along the 2400 foot high Broad Pass road:

The Buckaroo was about 10 miles distant. I moved us close with computer magic so you can see the two branches of the glacier merging and flowing down toward the valley below.

Arrival at Denali was anticlimactic. The 460 room hotel complex on one side of the road and about 25 tourist trap type stores on the other. Another Gatlinburg main street in the making. Too bad......

We did find an interesting place for lunch:

Then we shopped in 23 of the 25 tourist traps, went back to the hotel and took naps!

Tomorrow, into the Park.

MMG and DDG

July 24, 2009 Talkeetna and the 3 River Boat Ride

What a beautiful day today! Weather forecast was for cool, mostly cloudy and a good chance of rain. We got mostly sun and a high near 70!

Late this morning we rode a bus 50 miles down to Talkeetna, the starting point for a 3 hour boat ride on 3 local rivers.

Talkeetna? Pictures speak more loudly than words:
But we found a great place for lunch:
The blue table cloth to MMG's right is hiding the pool table! The food was really great; the best restaurant experience of the trip!

The, after a little shopping it was on to the boat ride. Here's our ride and, no, it is not a former gun runner:
With three Cummins Diesels driving three water jets, this baby would hit 40 mph with 38 people aboard! And in about 18 inches of water.

The idea of the trip was to see the sights and wildlife. The sights were so-so, and the wildlife was limited to Eagles, not too bad from MMG and DDG's perspective:
Also, during a shore sightseeing session, MMG found the downsized house we've been looking for:
After three hours of loud diesel music, we weren't too sorry for our boat ride to end.

Tomorrow is another travel day, this time a bus ride to the Denali Princess Lodge.

Love to all,

MMG and DDG

July 23, 2009 Seattle to Anchorage to Mt. McKinley Princess Lodge

Up early again, then 3 hours on the airplane to Anchorage -- and another 1 hour time change.

Spent about 3 hours in the downtown Anchorage area sightseeing and shopping. We were all just amazed by the profusion and healthy look of all the flowers!

The above "sod house", note the roof, is the Anchorage Visitor Center.

We found that some of our familial ancestors had been here before us and made good! Here's proof!

Of course, we found time for lunch in a local place recommended by a local merchant:

The bus ride to the Lodge took 3 hours and the last town we passed through was 50 miles from the Lodge! The Lodge is so far out it is off "the power grid" and has to provide all of its own power with generators.

Why be out here? Because they wanted to be near Mt McKinley, the highest point in North America. They really play it up, too. This picture of one of the restaurants on the property makes the point:

The "20320" is not the zip code, its the height of My McKinley. The altitude of the Lodge is about 700 feet, so Mt McKinley is mighty impressive from here, if we ever get to see it through the clouds and rain......

We could see the "foot hills", as the locals call them -- the 12,000 to 14,000 foot high mountains that "guard" Mt McKinley. In the picture below, MT Mckinley is directly behind these mountains, hidden by the clouds -- it rises at least another MILE above these.

That's it for today -- 11 PM local time and it is still light outside........

Hope you all are well and happy.

MMG and DDG