"...go north the rush is on" *
Getting on a plane in a few minutes to fly to Alaska for a 10-day adventure cruise. Small ship, 50 passengers up the inside passage. Fishing, hiking, kayaking etc up the rivers and small bays and villages the big ships can't go.
We did a 26 day camping trip to Alaska in 2016 in the interior in a rented RV. Best trip we've ever taken but wanted to do the inside passage.
*Theme song to the movie North to Alaska staring John Wayne. Sung by Johnny Horton
"North to Alaska...
Re: "North to Alaska...
Flew into Juneau via Seattle yesterday. 4 hour time difference from back home. 4.5 hour flight to Seattle, 3 hour layover, 2.5 hours up to Juneau. Went to bed at 10pm local time which was 2 am back home. Long day of traveling.
Slept about 8 hours but was up at 6 am local time.. Dont get on the ship until tomorrow so had the day to ourselves. 53 degrees this morning.
There is a cable tram that goes up about 3/4 of the mountain in "downtown" Juneau. Juneau is in a river valley surrounded by mountains. There are a number of hiking trails on this mountain so we took the tram and then hiked. Did 6.5 miles. So that was a good stretch of the legs after a long plane ride yesterday.
It started raining pretty hard while on the tram at about 8:30 am so we got a chance to test our gear, boots, rain gear, poles, packs etc.in preparation for getting on the ship tomorrow. Of course everything was wet either by rain or sweat but not soaked.
It would have been a miserable cold and wet day anywhere but in Alaska. Spectacular views. It was a great day.
My wife reaching the top of the mountain above Juneau.
Slept about 8 hours but was up at 6 am local time.. Dont get on the ship until tomorrow so had the day to ourselves. 53 degrees this morning.
There is a cable tram that goes up about 3/4 of the mountain in "downtown" Juneau. Juneau is in a river valley surrounded by mountains. There are a number of hiking trails on this mountain so we took the tram and then hiked. Did 6.5 miles. So that was a good stretch of the legs after a long plane ride yesterday.
It started raining pretty hard while on the tram at about 8:30 am so we got a chance to test our gear, boots, rain gear, poles, packs etc.in preparation for getting on the ship tomorrow. Of course everything was wet either by rain or sweat but not soaked.
It would have been a miserable cold and wet day anywhere but in Alaska. Spectacular views. It was a great day.
My wife reaching the top of the mountain above Juneau.
Re: "North to Alaska...
Bright and sunny today but 49 degrees. We get on the ship at 4 but they are taking us for an official tour of Juneau at noon.
The tram is one stop, been there done that. The whale project, which is a board walk along the river with a statue of a breaching whale is another. That's right outside our hotel, so been there done that as well. Third stop is the historical museum. Haven't done that.
I'll post pics later.
The tram is one stop, been there done that. The whale project, which is a board walk along the river with a statue of a breaching whale is another. That's right outside our hotel, so been there done that as well. Third stop is the historical museum. Haven't done that.
I'll post pics later.
Re: "North to Alaska...
This sounds like fun trip.
Re: "North to Alaska...
We're home. Got in about 5:30 am this morning after a 4.5 hour flight from Seattle after a 5 hour layover after a 2.5 hour flight from Kitka, AK.
Grabbed a 3-4 hours of sleep after flying all night and will be trying to compensate for the 4 hour time difference.
So the question is "how was it?'
Short answer, Alaska is a magical place, saw lots of bald eagles, whales, otters, seals, salmon and other critters. Also lots of rain. Temps usually in the low 50's, did I mention lots of rain? Scenery was amazing as expected. Went a lot of places bigger boats couldn't go. There are literally thousands of islands of inlets along the intercoastal waterway/inside passage. Went to some cool glaciers as well.
Pics later after I get them sorted out.
Grabbed a 3-4 hours of sleep after flying all night and will be trying to compensate for the 4 hour time difference.
So the question is "how was it?'
Short answer, Alaska is a magical place, saw lots of bald eagles, whales, otters, seals, salmon and other critters. Also lots of rain. Temps usually in the low 50's, did I mention lots of rain? Scenery was amazing as expected. Went a lot of places bigger boats couldn't go. There are literally thousands of islands of inlets along the intercoastal waterway/inside passage. Went to some cool glaciers as well.
Pics later after I get them sorted out.
Re: "North to Alaska...
Bonus photo....
Seen on the streets of Kitna, AK
A Suzuki Domingo micro van made for the Janpanese market in the 1990s. No idea how it got to AK but there are a lot of Japanese in AK. The Aleutians, Inuit, Tnglit and all native tribes are descended from Asians. Just thought it was kinda of a cool little vehicle.
Seen on the streets of Kitna, AK
A Suzuki Domingo micro van made for the Janpanese market in the 1990s. No idea how it got to AK but there are a lot of Japanese in AK. The Aleutians, Inuit, Tnglit and all native tribes are descended from Asians. Just thought it was kinda of a cool little vehicle.
Last edited by Mac66 on Sun Sep 01, 2024 6:54 am, edited 2 times in total.
Re: "North to Alaska...
A note about the weather in AK.
Along the coast there are what's called micro climates. The thousands of islands/ mountain ranges get moisture off the ocean and process it into snow or rain to feed their rain forests. This causes fog, clouds and rain in the valleys and along the water ways on one side of the mountains but not on the other. It causes snow at the higher elevations which feed the glaciers. It changes hourly so you never know what you're going to get. We were going up one inlet where it was overcast, foggy and raining. Went past the point and the inlet on the other side was bright and sunny. But it mostly rains in SE Alaska every day. Or SW Alaska depending on your perspective. Technically the inside passage in Alaska is on the west coast of north America. But it's eastern border is up against Canada so that makes it the east most part of the state. So they call it south east Alaska.
Temps this time of year were in the upper40-low 50s every day. You see people who live in Alaska out in T-shirts in these temps and in the rain all the time. After awhile you get used to it. When the sun came out one day, I was pealing off my jacket and long sleeve shirt.
You don't get the extremes in climate farther north and inland that you get along the coast. When I was in AK a few years ago around the same time in the mainland/central AK temps were in the mid 50s to mid 60s though it did snow a couple times at night and morning but melted off during the afternoon.
Along the coast there are what's called micro climates. The thousands of islands/ mountain ranges get moisture off the ocean and process it into snow or rain to feed their rain forests. This causes fog, clouds and rain in the valleys and along the water ways on one side of the mountains but not on the other. It causes snow at the higher elevations which feed the glaciers. It changes hourly so you never know what you're going to get. We were going up one inlet where it was overcast, foggy and raining. Went past the point and the inlet on the other side was bright and sunny. But it mostly rains in SE Alaska every day. Or SW Alaska depending on your perspective. Technically the inside passage in Alaska is on the west coast of north America. But it's eastern border is up against Canada so that makes it the east most part of the state. So they call it south east Alaska.
Temps this time of year were in the upper40-low 50s every day. You see people who live in Alaska out in T-shirts in these temps and in the rain all the time. After awhile you get used to it. When the sun came out one day, I was pealing off my jacket and long sleeve shirt.
You don't get the extremes in climate farther north and inland that you get along the coast. When I was in AK a few years ago around the same time in the mainland/central AK temps were in the mid 50s to mid 60s though it did snow a couple times at night and morning but melted off during the afternoon.
Last edited by Mac66 on Sun Sep 01, 2024 7:23 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Re: "North to Alaska...
The ship was called Chichagof Dream. It was named after Chichagof Island. It's about 200 feet long and holds about 80 passengers. There were 54 passengers on this voyage. We did see quite a few big cruise ships in the ports. There we 5 in Juneau the day we left. One in Sitka when we got there.
This ship sails from Juneau to Sitka or alternately from Sitka to Juneau which are the only towns this ship goes that the big cruise ships go. The big ships stop in places like Ketchacan and other places.
There is a battle between business people who like the money the ships bring in and the locals who says it ruins the setting of the towns and makes things too crowded. Some of the locals are trying to ban the big cruise ships one day a week. Fishing which is the main business for most of these towns has tapered off so the argument is that the towns need the tourist money and the crowds only last through the summer season. The battle rages on.
BTW, prices are really expensive in SE Alaska since everything has to come by boat or plane. For example, whole milk was $15/gallon.
The captain was a fairly young guy around 30. The crew (25 total) are all seasonal workers, they had one more cruise before the season ended. Most of the crew go back to the lower 48 at the end of the season. The captain was born and raised on fishing boats in Sitka so stays pretty much all year except for taking a month off in winter to go to Florida. Surprisingly he likes to cruise on the big ships in the Caribbean. He had an open door policy so one day I spent about an hour speaking with him up on the bridge.
More later...
This ship sails from Juneau to Sitka or alternately from Sitka to Juneau which are the only towns this ship goes that the big cruise ships go. The big ships stop in places like Ketchacan and other places.
There is a battle between business people who like the money the ships bring in and the locals who says it ruins the setting of the towns and makes things too crowded. Some of the locals are trying to ban the big cruise ships one day a week. Fishing which is the main business for most of these towns has tapered off so the argument is that the towns need the tourist money and the crowds only last through the summer season. The battle rages on.
BTW, prices are really expensive in SE Alaska since everything has to come by boat or plane. For example, whole milk was $15/gallon.
The captain was a fairly young guy around 30. The crew (25 total) are all seasonal workers, they had one more cruise before the season ended. Most of the crew go back to the lower 48 at the end of the season. The captain was born and raised on fishing boats in Sitka so stays pretty much all year except for taking a month off in winter to go to Florida. Surprisingly he likes to cruise on the big ships in the Caribbean. He had an open door policy so one day I spent about an hour speaking with him up on the bridge.
More later...
Last edited by Mac66 on Tue Sep 03, 2024 11:38 am, edited 6 times in total.