Friday, March 17, 2017

Fabulous Friday - Skagway, Alaska

Skagway - Thursday September 8.  This is one of my favorite days. I highly recommend the Glacier Point Wilderness Adventure. These excursions do cost extra but are worth the bucks spent. How else to truly experience Alaska? You have to get out there...into the rugged wild...albeit with guides. Prior to coming on a big trip like this I do recommend walking. Get into some semblance of shape - you'll want  to keep up and be worthy.

7:30 am  and off the boat. We board a harbor boat with Elise, our young perky guide, and twenty other intrepid explorers. Captain Dan pushes back and we zoom for 1-1/2 hours through fjords, inlets, passing waterfalls, mountains, misty clouds, and harbor seals lounging on shore. It's not too choppy. Yes, I took my dramamine.

On land we meet our dudes - the wilderness guides. These are twenty something guys who are college grads and not ready to settle down. They work hard in Alaska from May through end of September. They enjoy hiking, nature, and sharing  this wilderness with tourists. They've obviously done their research and their enthusiasm is contagious.

So, first stop is to put on waterproof boots. Then we hike on a narrow tree rooted path downhill to a river. Canoes await and we board. Matt is our guide - a dreadlocked white dude from the Midwest. He's very laid back and cool.  We paddle a bit and then he kicks on the motor. We zoom to the glacier.
The scale of this area is monumental. You think you are close to a glacier but you are a mile or so away. Chunks of ice float by. Matt stops briefly and hauls in a big chunk - it is crystal clear. The purity here is reassuring. Mankind has  not ruined everything.





Canoe lands and we slog ashore to walk about a mile on river walk. It's not easy - hence, you should have trained a bit for this. Blue ice gleamed.  Stunning  turquoise blue shades. Lapis hues take your breath away.  Rocks are the size of buildings. This glacier is HUGE. I'm out of adjectives to describe this.   Any pictures you see - they are true and more. Breathtakingly fabulous.

It was all exhiliarating.  We lingered  - hating to return to the canoe, paddling back, boarding our harbor boat and returning  to Skagway. Refreshed and tired for a good reason, we stumbled back to the ship by 3:30 for a nap.

I can't emphasize enough - book excursions. Get out there. Chat with your guides - it's an engaging group of young folks  seeing  the world and learning  a lot.
So, nighttime on the ship. Dinner - brie appetizer, trout with spaghetti, and a strawberry mousse. This is not buffet. The sit-down dinners are really nice.

7 pm  - Pub Trivia.  Victory!
8 pm - Mike Bliss - comedy, juggling, and magic. We are amused
9 pm - Group Trivia. Alas a tie...that's okay

10 pm - Goodnight

15 comments:

  1. Such a joy to read and again awesome pictures, Thanks for sharing.

    Yvonne.

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  2. Hi Joanne - sounds wonderful ... love the picture of the two of you ... but to walk with a glacier sounds just brilliant - thank goodness for the rest before the rest of the day's entertainment. It does seem that you're taking full advantage of what's on offer ... cheers Hilary

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    1. We lucked on weather that day. Yes we embrace the chance to see and do stuff!

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  3. Wow!!!! How beautiful! It sounds like this would be a little out of our element...we don't canoe or do difficult hikes! lol

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  4. Sounds exciting and the photos look wonderful. I don't know that I'm quite the intrepid soul these days for such an adventure, but the dinner on the ship I could probably handle okay.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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    1. The guides work with everyone. They want tourists happy and safe.

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  5. Sure sounds fun. Amazing how many people never think to get in shape a bit, as there is always plenty of walking.

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    1. Ray and I have learned and we want to do active cool stuff

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  6. Those are impressive pictures!! I can see why one would want to be in shape (and lose a few pounds before eating the delicious food aboard the ship) before embarking on such adventures. I agree with you; if you are going to spend the money on the cruise, you might as well get out and enjoy the local "scenery" so to speak.

    betty

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    1. Make the most of all chances. Food was tasty but I did not gain. All in moderation

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  7. Amazing pictures! What an adventure.

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  8. I'm so glad I went back to catch up with this post. The blue here is absolutely stunning.

    OMG, you got to play trivia on the ship? Awesome. My head is absolutely stuffed with useless information, so I love trivia games. (Unfortunately, nobody wanted to play with me, so I gave all of my games to our older son, who also has a head full of useless information and no one to play with. HA! Too bad he lives so far away...)

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