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Alaska by Land and Sea
By Sandy Muller
July 2005
On our return trip to Alaska, we were accompanied by Sari and Jarred, both 13 years of age.
This time we decided to take a land tour before our cruise. Our journey began
as we boarded the Alaskan Railroad train from Anchorage to Alyeska. As we traveled between these two cities, we were enthralled by the beauty of the land. Our first stop was the beautiful Alyeska Prince Hotel which is the premier ski resort in Alaska.
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Our young companions were delighted with the summer activities. We took a cable
car to the top where we hiked around the glacier. That afternoon, we visited one
of the original gold mines in the area and were able to pan for gold.
The following day we boarded the railroad again and continued on to Seward. We arrived at approximately 11:00am, after enjoying a great breakfast in the dining car. Our luggage was sent directly to our hotel and
the four of us boarded a day boat for a wonderfully exciting excursion where we saw every type of sea creature in their natural setting including sea lions, puffins, cormorants, dolphins, and an incredible amount of whales putting on a spectacular show. The highlight of this tour was a massive glacier caving.
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The following day was spent visiting Seward and learning the history of this area. We were able to hike across the massive Exit Glacier and
visited the Iditarod Training Camp. Not only did we learn about the training process of these animals but we were able to take a ride with one of the dog Teams. The tours were given by actual Iditarod competitors
who were happy to sign autographs and take photos with Sari and Jarred. Our last day in Seward was spent visiting the Sea Life Aquarium and getting up front and personal with Alaskan sea life. This aquarium is small but really spectacular, well executed and very "hands on". We were even able to take a special "behind the scenes" tour. We all really enjoyed this visit.
In the evening, we again, boarded the railroad for our return to Anchorage, enjoying a delightful dinner in the dining car and watching the really gorgeous landscape roll by.
The following morning as we traveled to Whittier by van to board our Princess Cruise, we stopped at the Alaska Game Park where we were able to see bears, moose and other species of Alaskan wildlife in an almost natural setting. It was a great experience to be so close to these animals and watch them in their day to day activities.
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Later that day we boarded the Island Princess to begin the second part of our adventure as we sailed from Whittier to Vancouver. The Island Princess is a large enough ship so that our two young companions would have activities and special venues to make their time at sea exciting and interesting for them.
The first morning on board, we all attended a lecture slide show pertaining to the "Gold Rush" which was a great introduction to Skagway. Upon arrival in Skagway, we took the Parks Department walking tour and visited the Skagway Museum. We all agreed that the lecture gave us a less glamorous view of the Gold Rush and great insight into the hardships these miners had to endure. In the afternoon, we joined a six hour Wildlife Adventure Tour to Haines in search of brown bears. Unfortunately we didn't get to see any brown bears but we did have some great
whale and dolphin sightings. We did spot some owls and storks but the best experience of the day was watching the salmon swimming upstream.
The following day we arrived at Ketchikan which was great fun. We took a private tour in a 1959 vintage car. Our guide wore a "Poodle Skirt" which was very popular in the 1950s. We visited the totem parks and got an education as to what totem poles were all about. We visited the workshop of a totem sculptor and watched the sculpting and building process of a totem pole. That afternoon we took a seaplane to a small remote island in the middle of nowhere which we found fun and exciting.
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Our next stop was Juneau which is the capital of Alaska. The four of us piled into a helicopter for a tour of the Mendenhall Glacier and the vast ice fields. What an unbelievable experience to be able to land on a glacier and actually walk around on it.
One of the days at sea was spent sailing through Glacier National Park. A Park Department Guide boarded our ship and lectured and guided us through all of the major glaciers and explained much of the geology. Words cannot describe the beauty of the area. It is absolutely breathtaking!!
The cruise passed so quickly that before we knew it we were in Vancouver and on our way back home with wonderful memories of a very exciting trip!!
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