SKAGWAY and PRINCE RUPERT

The most photographed building in all of Alaska..or so they say

Here we are in Skagway, Alaska. As Bob says, "you be the skag, I'll be the cool guy"! What a card that guy is, huh? I just read somewhere that when Sarah Palin moved to Alaska as an infant the family settled in Skagway. Let me just say that I am very glad my parents made different choices! This was probably the poorest of the towns we visited. The town is very flat with huge mountains all around and as you can see in the photos the weather was...bleak. Are you surprised. It was colder here, only in the upper 40s and before we left the wind was gusting at a pretty good clip ( as we Vermonters say). We walked around as much of the town as we could and despite a small airport with a couple of nicer houses fronting it, the town was pretty much as bleak as the weather. So come along and take the tour.

close up of the building

Let me note that in the middle of this "Qaint little drinking town with a fishing problem ( as the T-shirts say), there is a very nice weaving shop and an imported Oriental rug store with rugs starting in the thousands. Who buys Oriental rugs in Alaska? Also several diamond stores. We bought neither!

A Museum with some lovely flowers. Bob loves taking pictures of flowers.

Who knew roses would grow in this climate?

The largest Peonies I have ever seen. Truly the size of dinner plates and blooming in the end of July.

Very striking Delphinium

The railway that takes you to the White Pass and the Yukon Territory. Not included in our budget this time around.

Ah, Canada. Please note the sun is shining and it is at least 60 degrees. I am a happy girl!

As we sail into town

This is a lovely little town that although it is far from everything seems like a livable place.

This is a sunken garden that is very pretty

Town Hall ( where they kindly keep the doors open after hours so the public restrooms are available). Very hospitable.

Large Totem pole on Town Hall grounds

Small Street Fair they have when the ships are in town. Nothing great, but don't I look chic in my brown vest? That got a lot of wear on this trip, glad I bought it.

Back on the ship we watched these huge vats of Dungeness Crabs being offfloaded from fishing boats. There were 4 of these vats that were about 12feet square and probably at least 6 feet high that they filled in a very short time while we ate Seafood Linguine and Molten Chocolate Cake ( with Ice Cream, of course).

A fishing vessel returns home...one of Bob's artsy shots.

That is it for Alaska. We cruised all day Friday and got back to Seattle bright ( it really was) and early Saturday morning. We spent the day playing in Seattle and then had dinner with my son. Bob left Sunday AM early and I stayed on at the Kitsap and Olypic Peninsulas. Not many pictures, but I will regale you with those tales another time. This successfully ends our travelogue of Alaska and British Columbia. Thanks for your attention!

Janet

JUNEAU AND THE GLACIERS

This is Juneau. Note the wet pavement, yes, it is drizzling and about 53 degrees. Hey, that's a bit warmer than Ketchikan the day before.

I wish we had taken more pictures in the city itself, but we hopped board a bus bound for the glacier.

We are walking toward the glacier...see it ?

Did you think this is what a glacier would look like? It is dirty, but I guess since it is millions of years old, it has a right to be.

Just 50 years ago the glacier covered the green area and this rocky area.

Beautiful blue Lupines everywhere, the Alaska state flower

After looking around Juneau a bit we are back to the ship to sail to Tracy Arm Fiord and head for the Sawyer Glacier

Hmmm... the deck chairs look pretty empty!

Beautiful scenery

These ice chunks are huge, maybe 30 feet long

Sheer rock walls

This is where the very large ocean liner is going. Looks pretty narrow.

Getting narrower, see ice chunks in the water

The chunks are getting bigger and more numerous. The Captain comes on the PA to explain that he is not comfortable getting any closer to the Sawyer Glacier because there is so much ice in the water. Fine with me, whatever the Captain says, lol.

Bob took this picture of the glacier with the Zoom. He is always thinking about my adoring public! Now we turn around and move back through the narrow fiord/passage. It is just breathtaking.

Tomorrow we will go to Skagway, Alaska and Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Bundle up for Skagway; it will be cold and very windy.

HISTORIC KETCHIKAN

Sunday was a "cruise all day" day as we made our way thru Canadian waters to the Inside Passage of Alaska. I spent limited time on the deck because it was not exactly balmy. But, lucky for me I was up on the deck for this. We passed a small island (one of many) and all of a sudden this boat appears and the guy starts playing "Oh Canada", then "The Star Spangled Banner" and then "When the Saints Go Marching In" on his trumpet accompanied by lots of cheering and clapping from all the people on deck. What a hoot ( or toot, lol). You can learn all about him on AlertBayTrumpeter.com

You see these planes everywhere...how else would you get anywhere? Most of these towns/cities in the Inside Passage are not connected by roads ( something we, in the Lower 48, certainly take for granted).

First view of Ketchikan from the ship, note the clouds.

Here we are ...Alaska, the Last Frontier. It is about 9:00AM and we are only in Ketchikan until 1:00, but we have plenty of time to roam the town. Please note that we are all wearing warm clothes...the temp is about 50 and it is drizzly.

Not sure I would want to hold a BBQ on that deck...looks like the weather takes a toll on anything made of wood

Waiting for customers for the "House of Ill Repute Tour"

One of many Totem Poles. Please note the "stuff" in the yard. Nowhere else to put it.

Little street of shops; a couple cool galleries and then T-shirts and fleece jackets

These dogs are bored and provide entertainment value for the town. Pretty amusing!

The sun was actually almost out for a few minutes as we walked around town and then the rains began in earnest. We ducked into a lunch place for Halibut and Chips. This is when we learned that although this is Halibut Country it is still $18 a pop for the lunch sized portion at the counter with plastic utensils...Say What??

Off we go for an afternoon and evening cruise to Juneau. It seems, looking back, that the sun came out most days as we left town. There were only two sunsets all week for Mr. Photo to capture, so that kind of tells the weather story.

Tomorrow Juneau, the Mendenhall Glacier and the Tracy Arm Fiord.

Later,