Tok

We were stranded in Tok yesterday but in some ways it was a good thing. There is not a whole lot to do here so we got to rest which was good because we are all sick except Gary ...so far. They did all they could to divert an uprising on the bus. We were fed and got drinks as well as two movies in the lobby with pocorn candy lemonade and whatever you might think of including warm fresh cookies. Today we are off to Dawson. We will be driving all the way rather than taking the river boat from Eagle. We will have one less night in Dawson which is a bummer but we will have to make the sacrifice. Looking forward to Diamond Tooth Gertie's in Dawson. We need to get our passports out since the Yukon is in Canada and this will be the last we see of Alaska. Sorry I have not been able to put pictures on but my phone won't do it or I have not been able to figure that out yet.

fairbanks to Tok

Yesterday we drove from Fairbanks to Tok. I was sick the entire time and tried to sleep during the trip. Once we arrived in Tok we went to dinner at Mexican Resturaunt and immediately went to bed. Today we are on our way to Dawson. The roiad is out so they will be flying us there

fairbanks

We arrived las night in Fairbanks after an uneventful trip on the train. It took us about 4 hours to travel here from Denali. This morning we went on a paddle boat excirsion in which we learned about athabaskan indian life and life in general for Alaskans here. We were surprised to see some very lovely homes along the Chena river, which is both fed by snow melt. This afternoon we went to a gold mine and learned about mining for gold and had a miners lunch provided. We also panned for gold and Bob and I were able to get about 24 dollars worth which we had put in a locket as a souveneir.

Denali day 2

Today we got up at the crack of dawn and went on a tundra wilderness tour. This was an 8 hour tour into the Denali National park. We saw a moose with a full rack within the first ten miles. He was just grazing by the road. Next we saw some dahl sheep, and we encountered many more throughtout the day. The fall colors on the mountains was amazing. Much of the trip in the morning was fogged in soi we couldn't see as much as we would like. On the return trip we saw a grizzly with her two young. At first we saw only the young cubs playing on the hill and then the mother came into view off to the side and behind. Shortly after that we saw a cariboiu running in the meadow. A golden eagle was flying nearby looking for prey also.
After our tour we caught a bus to watch a dog sled demonstration by the national park ranger. They keep dogs for mushing and working in the park in the winter. We all had an opportunity to pet the dogs. I miss our Floyd so much.
This evening we went to a dinner theatre called Cabin Nite. It was depicting an old Alaskan road house. We had good family style meal and entertainment. Now it is time for bed.

Anchorage to Denali

Today we took the train from Anchorage to Denali National Park for 8 hours. It was a double decker train with glass domed viewing on top and the dining car on the bottom. It was great for viewing the magnificient scenery which included Mt McKinley. It was the first couple of days they have had sunshine and clear skies here for a while so we were fortunate to see McKinley numerous times along the way.
Once we arrived we dressed warmly and went down for some whitewater rafting on the Nenana river. Bob and I chose to do the middle activity level trip so we basically bhad a floast trip with some rapids. We were dressed in dry suits so the theory was we would not get wet. It was a beautiful trip and fun. We met some nice people from Oregon and Australia who shared a raft with us. Tomorrow we get up at 430 to go on a Tundra Tour. Off to bed with us now.

Anchorage

Monnday we spent the day in Anchorage. We rented some bikes at a local shop and biked on the Tony Knowles Coastal trail. We were able to get mountain bikes only but we did well. We got some beautiful views of Mt McKinley and other mountains in that range. The day was sunny and we rode in short sleeves for the most part. We also saw a mamma moose and her two babies along side the trail. We spent a good deal of time watching and taking pictures. We also had a black bear come across the bike path while we were watching the moose. He made a hasty retreat when the moose did not want her presence there. On the return trip we did not see the moose or bear but saw another moose within 10 feet of the trail. We ate dinner at the local Irish pub. It was not as good as Paddy's. Then we did a walking tour of the city and read about the history. Today we are taking the train to Mt. McKinley.

alaska

A lot has happened since someone last blogged. I will go backward from today and catch you all up. We arrived in Anchorge yesterday afyer a 3 hour bus ride from Seward. So far we have not done much excet walk aroun and have dinner. It is expemsive here to eat because the cost of living is high.
Yesterday we left the ship early to start on our land tour. We landed in Seward. We immediately got on a small boat for a tour of Lenai Fyord. At first we were dissapointed by a few sightings of dolphin and whale that we personally did not see. Then things started to come together. We passed by some seal habitating on a rock near hundreds of birds including puffins, gulls and cormorants. An eagle sat nearby in a tree waiting for a meal. We saw a large glacier among many in Kenai Fyord. It was about a mile wide and we did see som calving. On the return trip we were able to see a humpback whale breach and watch her and her young whale swimming in the water and diving a few times. Then we saw a pod of Orcas swimming around and under our boat. They were truly impressive. Hope I got good video.
The previous day we were still on the cruise ship and we sailed up into College Fyord to see the glaciers there. We sat for quite a while in front of Harvard glacier and watched the calving there. The color of the glaciers is amn amazkng color of blue which is now my favorite color.
The day before that was also a day at sea and we went to glaacier bay national park. There we saw some whales, sea otters, puffins. Everything wad far away merely because of the size of the ship. The Margerie glacier we saw was fabulous. We whitnessed some calving there.
Prior to this we were in Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan. We did activities in each town some of which being kayaking biking hiking tram rides to the top of mt ronerts and a train ride up to white pass. The beauty of this place is too immense to describe. It is all my favorite places quantified exponentially. I am looking forward to the adventure continuing

Out to sea heading to College Fyord

Currently out to sea heading to College Fyord and then will get off the ship

Mendenhall Glacier

Blogging again for mom:

Went for a bike ride this morning to the Mendenhall Glacier. Beautiful color of blue on the glacier. Then we rode up the mountain in the tram and did some hiking. We also went for a beer tasting at a Brewing company. Right now we are all getting ready to go to dinner. I really love having a balcony. Raining all day, lots of clouds in and out but still beautiful.

Sailing through Ketchikan

I am updating the blog for mom... here is what she had to say today:

Today is a day at sea. We are sailing through the inside passage to Ketchikan. We have spent some time paying silly games on the Lido deck. Gary won a water bottle for a golf contest to get a wiffle ball into the pool and some other targets. Clara came close. I tied for a ping pong contest to get the ball into a target but lost on the challenge. Ilkt is very beautiful here. Imagine the North Channel but quite a bit prettier and the mountains higher. We also booked some shore excursions for the next couple of days including sea kayaking and mountain biking

Sailing through Ketchikan

I am updating the blog for mom... here is what she had to say today:

Today is a day at sea. We are sailing through the inside passage to Ketchikan. We have spent some time paying silly games on the Lido deck. Gary won a water bottle for a golf contest to get a wiffle ball into the pool and some other targets. Clara came close. I tied for a ping pong contest to get the ball into a target but lost on the challenge. Ilkt is very beautiful here. Imagine the North Channel but quite a bit prettier and the mountains higher. We also booked some shore excursions for the next couple of days including sea kayaking and mountain biking

Vancouver Island

Yesterday we went to Vancouver Island and Butchard gardens. The gardens are the most beautiful I have seen. The sunken garden was my favorite with the dancing fountain and waterfall. They also had a wonderful Japanese garden. Victoria had a wonderful old buildings. The dragon boat festival was going on so we watched races while eating lunch.

Arrival for our trip

Met Jeremy last night for dinner. He has anew job  Rigging monsters for scifi TV. We went to dinner last night. I got confused this morning and got all ready to go till I realized that instead of 7 it was only 4. So now I am back in bed fully dressed. We had so $any glitches in our flight yesterday. We arrived here about 330 instead of noon. They had to hold the cruise ship for some passengers because of our lateness. Wish Liesl happy birthday for me. The camera in my phone died. I will try to reboot later. We are going on a 12 hour tour today. Jeremy spent the night and we hope he is here when we get back

Port Sanilac Monday 8-2-2010

Today Liesl, Bob and I went to the boat and did a bit of sailing and fun in the sun