Thursday In Ketchikan

BEAUTIFUL ALASKA!

This was our last stop in a port city in Alaska. We're not sure where the week went, we only know it melted by much too quickly! We will have to do the trip again and catch more of what we missed this time around!

Ketchikan was a lumber town supplying those venturing into the gold fields of the Yukon with the wood needed for sluice boxes and hopefully cabins on successful claims. It was also (like Skagway) a stopping point on the way out where men and women of ill repute would try and waggle those few successful adventurers out of their hard dug gold! In many cases it was the townspeople, never having stepped foot on Yukon soil, who "earned" more than those lured in by the possiblity of striking it rich! To this day those making a stop-over in these port cities are still being lured to spend their cash! But I guess if your season for earning is very short - you do your best to get what you can before the cold winds from the north stop even the bravest of tourists!



LARGE ...



... AND SMALL

Ketchikan has an International (yes, international!) Airport. Seeing as the airport is built between water and mountainside the taxiway is on one level and the planes have to advance up a ramp to the runway level! We also saw an abundance of small aircraft like we had seen in every port city so far (Kev will tell you exactly what they are!) For many of these towns/cities there is only two ways in or out - by sea or by air! This is really hard to comprehend coming from a province that has a widespread grid of roads connecting our vast collection of wayside towns and large cities together.



VIEW OF DOWNTOWN KETCHIKAN
FROM THE SHIP'S DECK

If you're going to go to a lumbertown what else do you do but go to a lumberjack show! Two teams squared off. The Canadian team from the "Dawson Creek Camp" competed for points against their American opponents from the "Spruce Mill Camp". It was all done in fun, but these were authentic men of the woods who enter real competitions, like you can see on TV on occasion. I'm happy to announce the Canadians won! As the men progressed from event to event the announcer (a lumberjack himself) explained the significance of the event in actual work in the forests. Sorry to say some of that slipped past me while I was cheering on our Canadians!



TEAM WORK



SPRINGBOARD ACTION



POLE CLIMBING



LOG ROLLING

After the show we we wandered around "Creek Street" to take a peek in the once former "houses of pleasure" turned into shops and cafes. The town had it's fair share of one time brothels housed in structures built on stilts on a back water in Ketchikan. This was actually very unique and interesting from a construction sense. Unlike anything we had seen before!



VIEW ALONG CREEK STREET



LOOKING TOWARDS THE SHIP
FROM CREEK STREET

Back on board that night for our evening meal we had a "Chef's Special" for supper. We all got to wear "Chef's hats" and our stewards danced around the room and performed different tricks between courses, juggling, spinning plates and generally entertaining guests.



IN OUR HATS



STEWARDS SHOWING THEIR OTHER SKILLS



YUDI AND HANS

During the late evening we started heading out to sea once again to make our way back to Canada and Vancouver Harbor. All good things must come to an end at some time! We have memories to cherish and pictures to remind us of our brief interlude, leaving behind the world back home and experiencing for a few moments a piece of the history of this last frontier as it came to be known.

Wednesday in Glacier Bay

GLIDING SLOWLY THROUGH GLACIER BAY



APPROACHING THE MARJORIE GLACIER WITH A
TOP NOTCH VIEW FROM THE BOW OF THE SHIP!



DRESSED WARM WITH CAMERA AND BINOCULARS WAITING!



MARJORIE GLACIER ABOUT 1/4 MILE AWAY.
TOWERS OF ICE TWO HUNDRED FEET TALL!
WATCHING THE GLACIER "CALVE".



WATCHING ICE BERGS DRIFT BY GOING TO SEA!

We had another exciting day aboard the Statendam! Throughout the night the ship slowly approached Glacier Bay and we were able to get a prime viewing spot on the bow of the ship after breakfast. Once we were in position to watch the Marjorie Glacier the engines were cut right back and it was peaceful and quiet. When the glacier broke off pieces and showered ice and snow down into the water a thunderous noise followed. We were able to witness one large episode of ice tumbling into the sea. A naturalist on the navigational deck announced over a sound system that we were "fortunate" to see a calving of this size. More like we were blessed to be there when it happened. Blessed with perfect weather - overcast to turn the ice many shades of blue, but not raining or snowing to block out viewing the towers of ice and crevasses across the face of the glacier! No wind to cause extreme discomfort for those of us dressed warm, but not for winter conditions. In fact while we were stopped the air was still and very comfortable for most on board. There was lots of opportunity to watch the ice chunks drift past the ship and watch them tumble in the water and join to become larger but non threatening ice bergs. No re-living the Titanic here! One ice floe was a perfect perch for a number of Bald Eagles waiting for a meal stirred up by the disturbed water.

Leaving Marjorie Glacier behind we made our way back out to the bay. We passed another inlet with a glacier also at the end tumbling into the sea (Frederick Glacier) but were not allowed into the area on account of seals giving birth at the base of the glacier and using the ice floes to protect their newborns from the Whales also looking for a meal! The further out into the open sea we went the less ice floating on the water. But we did see some dolphins jumping and splashing for our benefit. Peter and I also saw some Puffins paddling away from the ship drifting by. They are cute in a funny sort of way! Pictures don't do justice to these mammal/bird sightings even if we were able to be quick enough about getting the camera focused on them. To really appreciate it you just have to take the cruise!



RON AND BEV WITH HANS AND YUDI



PETER AND MYSELF WITH OUR STEWARDS
IN THE ROTTERDAM DINING ROOM

For supper we had our second formal dinner. Once again it was delicious beyond what any picture could envision for you! And the service continued to be without comparison to what we experience back home. At least not in our little town or even Red Deer! Again, take the cruise with Holland America and you will experience what a treat it is! You give of yourself to the staff and are pleasant to them and show them respect and they return it threefold with smiles and respect for you.

OUR DUTCH DESSERT EXTRAVAGANZA!

ICE SCULPTURES

CHOCOLATE SCULPTURES

At 10:30 in the evening after the late stage show we had our Dessert Extravaganza on the Lido Deck by the pool. There was more treats than you could begin to sample! And when you aren't used to eating so late at night you limit your choice even more. But we all did sample some of the goodies and appreciate all the hard work the chef's went to in preparing the food and setting it up so beautifully for us! There are some very talented men working in the kitchen! After a quick peek outside it was off to bed. The next day would be our last day in a port and we wanted to be reasonably rested for the tail end of the cruise! Sad - but true - all good things do come to an end at sometime!

Tuesday in Skagway Alaska

This was a very exciting day. We had booked our train ride up the White Pass well before setting sail and were looking forward to this trip. Partly because Ron and Bev had already told us a bit about it and partly because it was a trip on a narrow guage railway. Our train ride started early. 8:00 am early. Actually it was 10:00 back home so it was really coffee time! The trip was over 3 hours long going both ways and we would rise almost 3000' in 20 miles! This is a steep climb for a train!

Enjoy the trip with us!

Preparing to dock - close to downtown again!

Boarding the train (first car behind the engines)

Climbing through the forest - the whole train!

Hey, who's that at the other end of the car?

That's where we are going to go!

VERY close to the cliff at one point!

Nearing the top of White Pass.

Remnants of the actual trail of 1898.

The US/Canada Border at the top.

Switching the Engines making us the last car going down!

Trestle Bridge from early 1900's.

No longer in use!

One of two tunnels through the mountain.

Incredible construction for early 1900's!

Fantastic Scenery!

Way down there is our ship!

After our all morning trip up to the White Pass we went back on board the ship to have lunch. We realized Skagway has a very noticable tide. When we left for our train trip in the morning we got off on a ramp looking like this ...

When we came back for lunch it looked like this ...

A read of Pierre Burton's book "The Klondike" will give you a vivid description of Skagway when it was nothing more than a beach and a drifters town with approximately 30 Brothels along with a notorious smooth talking scoundral by the name of Soapy Smith!

After lunch we went back into downtown Skagway to snoop around. Again there was lots of jewellery shops. Ron got some good pictures of the restored original buildings! One stood out, being covered in driftwood! Made for a unique front facade.

Ron also found one of the few empty benches on a side street waiting for Bev and I in the fabric/quilting shop down a few doors. There weren't many resting spots in the town bubbling with four shiploads of people on a warm sunny afternoon!

When supper was done Peter and I had a quiet evening on the bow of the ship waiting to cast off. We left port an hour late because a tour bus with 6 passengers meant to be on our ship was late. I'm sure it created a stir up on the navigational deck in contrast to the peaceful evening we were experiencing without a care in the world! Here's one of my favorite pictures taken that night of my favorite guy!

Monday in Juneau

First of all, I must mention the subtle reminders we got every day in the elevators on board our ship reminding us how our week was slipping away. Every day the carpet changed to let us know what day it was. For me it was just a new carpet - I ignored the time ticking away as best as I could!



MUST WE BE REMINDED!

Our day started off with us taking a brisk walk around the Promenade Deck. Four times around was the same as one mile. So we did a couple of miles. While walking along the stern we noticed the ship slowing down. A small boat was approaching the starboard side of the Statendam to let a US Pilot on board to guide our ship through the American waters. That was a cool thing to watch!



BRINGING THE US PILOT ONBOARD

Our first port to visit and disembark was the State capital of Juneau. Why Juneau is the capital we aren't sure. Maybe because it isn't landlocked. You tell my why that choice! Whatever the case, it is a beautiful little town on a hillside making it very picturesque! Right away we noticed the vibrantly painted homes. And once we grew tired of shopping in the downtown district (which we were the "lucky" ship to be docked right in front of) we wandered around the residences bordering the shopping area. We found the Capital Building which is like our legislative buildings I guess. We also found the Governor's Mansion. All along the way there were plantings of large beautifully colored flowers. They obviously have a good growing season here! Later we found out Ron and Bev were just as bored with the shopping and wandered around among the other buildings. We could have huffed and puffed our way up and down the streets together!



FIRST GLIMPSES OF JUNEAU



ONE OF THE BRILLIANT HOMES



THE STATE CAPITAL BUILDING



THE GOVERNOR'S MANSION



FLOWERS!



ANYONE WANT TO BUY A CHURCH?

During supper we were able to enjoy the view out the large window and make guesses at what sea creature(s) was jumping and splashing in the water a few docks away from our mooring for that day. I don't think we came to a real concensious on the final possibility that was probably correct. No matter what, the meal was wonderful once again and none of us are sure how we will every be able to eat at the food establishments back home - including our own homes!

After supper we had lots of time to sit at the stern of the ship and relax in the warm sunshine watching the shops wind down their busy selling day and close up for the evening when the large cruise ships prepare to slowly pull out of port. It was very peaceful and quiet in our little corner of the ship for that brief time watching the day come to an end. We were also able to spend some time on the bow of the ship being entertained by the interplay between the ship's navigational crew up a few decks from us and a couple of very inebriated town locals down on the dock of whom one insisted on talking to the captain. This is probably a regular occurrence.



RELAXING AFTER SUPPER

As we were pulling out of Juneau we watched a large bald eagle perched on another dockyard watching us leave. All this is so new to us, but for the residents of Juneau - two legged or feathered - ships come and ships go each day for the brief summer the chilly arctic waters are able to carry curious intruders into their quiet little town.

That night we were greeted in our room by another new towel animal!



DUMBO THE ELEPHANT!

Sunny Sunday at Sea!

What do you do on a day at sea? Take in the many activities around the ship of course! After breakfast we went to the interdenominational service in the Wajang Theater. Not a large congregation gathered and the music was without accompaniment. A catholic priest did the service so it was quite interdenominational! After the short service Ron went to the Van Gogh Lounge for a talk there, Bev and Peter went to the Culinary Arts Center for a demonstration on "Fabulous Pastries" and I went outside on the Promenade Deck to watch the sea go by and get some fresh air to steady my swaying head. The only days when the ship seemed to rock were the days at sea. Once I had steadied my world I caught up with Bev and Peter and did a Behind the Scenes Kitchen Tour. Ron was busy finding out about the shores excursions coming up in the week. Later that afternoon we all took in an Alaskan Wildlife lecture on Feathers, Fins & Furs, where some of us found ourselves closing our eyes in the darkened theatre and nodding our heads - but not necessarily in agreement with the naturalist speaking!



Culinary Creation - Marzipan basket and roses. All edible!



Watermellon Flower

Ron and Bev relaxing on the Lido Deck

Peter snoozing on the Lido Deck

These things along with wandering around and watching the sea pass us by seemed to fill our day and take us up to the time to get ready for our first dress-up dinner in the Rotterdam Dining Room. No tie for the guys meant no entry! We watched fellows being turned away with the stewards at the door asking them if they could get a tie from anyone, anywhere? The line-up had quite a collection of dress-up attire. Some very formal and some looking like it had been retrieved from the back of some closet where it had been stored for years! Quite interesting to observe!

All dressed up in the Atrium

Our show in the Van Gogh lounge rounded out our evening - "Hits of Broadway, Designs of Mackie". Lots of music and dancing and me trying to keep my eyes open. We'd already lost one hour travelling to BC and then Sunday night we lost one more! The extra time didn't mean the body was adjusting! 6 am back home came at 4 on the ship! Early mornings were cause for snoozing during the shows!

And yes - we had our towel animal (a lobster) waiting for us on our turned down beds along with the schedule for the next day and a good night chocolate!