Random Thoughts: July 2005

Our Alaskan Adventure

Here are some photos from our trip to Alaska. Like usual, we took many fewer pictures than we should have. It was a great trip, a cruise from Vancouver, British Columbia to Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau, Haines, the Hubbard Glacier, ending at Seward. We took a bus transfer to the Anchorage Airport, then rented a car and drove to Denali National Park and Preserve. The did a 13-hour, 190-mile bus tour of the Park on Saturday, then drove to the airport and flew home on Sunday.

This was a very nice ship for our cruise.

Just out of Vancouver

The mandatory lifeboat drill

Leaving Vancouver

Our dinner table--on our 30th anniversary

Whale Park, Ketchikan

The fish ladder on Ketchikan Creek

This fence makes the salmon go into the hatchery

A little rain--but not much, yet.

Russian Folk Dances

Leaving the Inside Passage on the way to Sitka

In the Sitka Sound

Happy 4th of July

St. Michael's Cathedral, Sitka

Two eagles in the rain forest at the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka

The place the US flag was first flown in Alaska when the transfer from Russia took place. Also the 49-star flag was first flown here in 1959 when Alaska became a state.

Our ship in the Sitka Sound

Enjoying a 2-hour delay leaving Sitka

The Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau

Mendenhall Glacier

Our ship (on the right) in Juneau, viewed from the Mt. Roberts Tram station 1800 feet above

It got a little cold when the boat was going 20 MPH

The ship at Haines

A view from the bow, leaving Haines

Disappointment Bay, approaching Hubbard Glacier

Approaching Hubbard Glacier in the rain. Note the very large cruise ship. The glacier is 6 miles wide, 300 feet above the water, and 100 feet below the water as it ends in Disappointment Bay.

It was a little cold--and wet. So we got closer to the glacier, the rain stopped. Apparently, the cold from the glacier acts as a barrier to the rain.