North to Alaska

We just returned from our latest cruise.  We boarded the Norwegian Pearl in Seattle on May 27 for a seven-day cruise to Alaska.  It was our second cruise to Alaska, this one almost exactly ten years after the first.  As far as the weather was concerned, it was a good news/bad news situation.  The good news is that we didn't get a lot of rain.  The bad news is that we didn't get a lot of sun either.

After a day at sea, our first stop was in Juneau, Alaska's capitol.  We got a special tour of the Juneau area, including the Mendenhall Glacier, from Steph's friend, Paula.  Back during our college days at Bemidji State University, Steph and Paula were close friends.  Paula was one of Steph's bridesmaids when we got married.  Not long after, Steph was one of Paula's bridesmaids in her wedding.

This was the first time they had seen each other in about 38 years.

Our next stop was in Skagway, which was a gateway to the Klondike gold rush.  We boarded the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad for train ride up to White Pass.

While some of the cliffs were quite steep, the views were spectacular.

We passed by this steel bridge, which was built in 1901 and was the largest cantilever bridge in the world at the time.  Fortunately for us, it is no longer in use, and we rode on a much newer and less scary bridge!

We've arrived at our destination!  After the engines moved to the other end of the train, we rode back down to Skagway.




After Skagway, we headed off to Glacier Bay National Park, which many consider to be the highlight of an Alaska cruise.

As we approached the glaciers, there were many small icebergs in the water.  This photo demonstrates what we all learned in science class -- most of the iceberg is below the surface of the water.  Fortunately, the icebergs we encountered were not nearly large enough to turn the Pearl into a modern-day Titanic.

This is the Margerie Glacier, which is a mile wide and 21 miles long. 

Adjacent to Margerie Glacier is Grand Pacific Glacier.  Because the Grand Pacific Glacier moves much more slowly than the Margerie Glacier, it isn't able to shed the rocks and soil it carries, giving it a much "dirtier" appearance.

Our next stop was Ketchikan.  This was our one rainy day of the trip.  We just walked around downtown for awhile and didn't go on any excursions.

Our final stop was in Victoria, BC.  Because it was a brief stop and we've visited Victoria several times, we stayed on the ship.

Lastly, for all of you Dale Chihuly fans, this is one of his glass sculptures in the atrium of the Pearl. 






Our next cruise is this fall.  We're going to spend a few days in New York City and then take the Norwegian Gem on a 10-day cruise to Quebec City and back.