Hubbard Glacier

Our last "stop" well drive by really was Hubbard Glacier.  We woke up early as our scheduled arrival at the Glacier was 7AM.  We could tell we were near a glacier as ice was now floating in the water.

The front of the ship was crowded that day.  It was a little chilly but not bad.  I think most people over dressed.

We heard  about this at dinner the previous night.  The crew sets out to get a block of ice to do an ice carving.

It was a little weird boating for ice and talking with the passengers with a bullhorn.

They were unsuccessful in obtaining ice.  As we learned later at the captain's talk, the ship needed to leave the bay to avoid ice.

This is a view of Hubbard Glacier.  It is the longest and most active tidewater glacier in Alaska.  It is 76 miles from its source to the sea.  It stretches from Mount Logan in the Yukon to Disenchantment Bay. The glacier is 7 miles long at the mouth.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Alaskan Cruise.  We hope you have enjoyed all our pictures.  Here's to 15 years.

Skagway, Alaska

Our last port, sniff, sniff.  "What would you do for a Klondike bar?"  Remember that jingle?  It had to be said.  Today's goal was to rent a car and drive the South Klondike Highway.  We were driving into Canada so passports were in order.

Cruisers opted to take the train, bus or rent a car to see the South Klondike Highway.  We are glad we had the freedom of a car and comparing notes to other cruisers we got farther up the highway than the train riders.

"I see dead people" or wait that is a show.  First stop on our highway journey Pioneer Cemetery.

In case you would like to see the directory.

Lower Reid Falls which was up from the cemetery.  There is always a fall near by.

The summit is 3,292 feet.  It was too foggy to see this sign on the way up, we took this on the return.

I think this is Summit Creek.

The whole state looked like a Christmas tree farm.

This might be Tutshi River (Too-shy).  Coordinating my notes with our pictures is much harder than I thought.

Mount Racine? Bove Island?  Yukon River?  Take your pick.

Lunch time!  We ate in Carcross, the oldest community in the Yukon.  Caribou Coffee had great food.  Locally grown, organic, large portions, it was delicious.  We went back later for fresh out of the oven Cinnamon Rolls made with fresh cranberries.

The owner had a sense of humor.

Sign says Retirement Home.

We had a second option.

The pinnacle of our road trip, Emerald Lake.  "The high concentration of calcium carbonate in the water here comes from limestone gravels eroded from the nearby mountains and deposited here 14,000 years ago by the glaciers of the last ice age. Glacial erosion was likewise responsible for scooping out the shallow lakebed."

Finally on our way back.

Bridal Veil Falls.

Then and now pictures in Skagway.

Broadway Street.  Skagway became the first incorporated city in Alaska.

And we are off to Hubbard Glacier.  Aren't you glad you made it to the end?

Juneau, Alaska

We have hit the big city, Juneau the Capital.  What we liked best about this stop was the proximity to the city.  We could practically fall off the ship into town, it was very close and centrally located.

Mendenhall Glacier and Falls and the kindness of strangers taking photos.

The brown portions are where the glacier is receding.  Sad that someday these will be gone.

You can tell who the locals are, shorts and dogs.

On our way back we took the beach path that only the locals seemed to know about.

There was a visitor center but there was an entrance fee.  We opted to skip it but did glance at the gift shop.  Cookbooks on rhubarb were popular, did not know Alaska grew rhubarb.  Copies of Jack London's books were every where Call of the Wild and White Fang. I think Jacob and I are going to do a summer read of Call of the Wild.

We ate lunch on the ship then headed back into the city.  Found this community board that looked interesting.

We went to Juneau-Douglas City Museum.  Juneau was founded in 1880 by the Gold Rush.  This sign displays the whistle signals for being in a mine.

The museum did a nice job giving the history of the city.  Well worth it.

Pretty homes.

This sign says: Shooting Prohibited Within 1/2 mile of Roadway.  Not something you would see in California.  We headed toward Mt. Roberts Trailhead but did not do the trail.

Another hilly city.  This vacation was a workout.

After dinner we went back out again to do some shopping.  Set sail was not until 8 PM so we enjoyed a nice long day in Juneau.