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Our adventure started in Anchorage, May 2006. The next day, to Kenai. I could not believe all of the wildlife that we saw – pods and pods of Orca whales, eagles, sea lions, seals, puffins, otters, glaciers. A whale (maybe a grey) breached right at our boat. Unbelievable!!! What a true blessing to see. Then, off for a southbound cruise from Whittier. Glacier Bay – absolutely breath taking. I think that Skagway was my favorite town. Soapy Smith. What a character he must have been. The train trip was very interesting. Then Juneau – the gardens were beautiful and Mendenhall Glacier Park was – I just loved it. Then Ketchikan – a very fun and exciting place. I loved Totem Pole National Park. And the lumberjack show; was a hoot!! I will be back soon. I can hardly wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We flew to Anchorage with another couple and rented a car and did our own agenda. Drove to Denali Nat'l Pk (237 miles) and stayed at "Salmon Bake" (cabins). Their food was terrific, we ate lots of salmon and halibut. We took bus tour into park, 95 miles in and saw Mt McKinney. Pictures cannot describe the beauty of Alaska. Drove 117 miles to Fairbanks and went on "Riverboat Discovery", stopped at a native village (was impressed with native girls that worked there in summer showing us their ancestors way of life and then attending the University of Anchorage in the fall, they are very ambitious). Left Fairbanks and started to Valdez, followed the pipeline all way to Valdez. Went on "Prince William Sound" 6 1/2 hr cruise - saw sea lions, whale, variety of birds and glacier. I would recommend this cruise to anyone. We met an "oldtimer", a man of 82 yrs, said he moved to Alaska to get away from people, and now "people" were coming to him. We had to laugh to ourselves, because he sure was friendly to us. Personally, I think he enjoyed "people". Enjoyed the climate, (nice change) since we live in Houston and we liked the uniqueness of having daylite so many hours of the day. We also enjoyed being on the highway and driving for miles and not having to deal with traffic, crowds, etc, just looking at beautiful Alaska. I would recommend to anyone that has the privilege, to go to Alaska and you will not be disappointed, whether you go on a cruise or fly there and rent a car like we did. The trip left me feeling very rested, peaceful and with a special feeling towards Alaska plus the desire to go back someday.
