SUNDAY July 22, 2007

Last night we did our whale watching cruise. While interesting for the kids, one other passenger put it best when he said he got pictures of "fins and backs". The kids did find it fascinating and we did get very close with one humpback whale surfacing right next to the boat. A very large creature indeed. This Orca stayed with us for quite a while, but no tricks to add to the value of the trip.

SUNDAY July 22, 2007

On board the Kennicott (all the ferry ships are named after Alaskan Glaciers by law), it gets a bit colder. Meghan was not a big fan of being outside on the "vessel" as it is less than 1/2 the size of the big cruise ships. She did become more comfortable over the time we were on board. The kids met a girl Meghan's age and together they wrote a letter to the Captain and were given a tour of the bridge. Meghan assumed the role of honorary captain for a moment hoping the real one would not show up.

We did see a lot of whales from the ship in the distance -- especially as we entered the inside passage Saturday morning on the ferry. We were going on a whale watching trip in Juneau Saturday evening after arriving.

SUNDAY July 22, 2007

Final week of fun has arrived. We have had no Internet access since leaving Anchorage Thursday morning. Thursday, we went down the Kenai Penninsula to Seward and Exit Glacier before getting on the Ferry system in Whittier. One section of the Seward highway was very congested as traffic pulled over to view a herd of Dall Sheep on the rocks above the highway. We also went by the Seavey family dog sled kennel near Seward for a demonstration and tour. Mitch Seavey won the Iditarod race in 2004. The kids had a lot of fun on that tour as they were able to handle all the dogs, puppies, and even participate in a puppy naming contest. They have 100 dogs at the location.

We went to Exit Glacier near Seward and did a short hike to the glacier. We were able to get up right next to the glacier to see the blue ice and feel a dramatic change in the weather right near the glacier.

Thursday night we boarded the M/V Kennicot in Whittier for Yukatat and then on to Juneau.

My dilemma

WEDNESDAY July 18th, 2007
This 21st century vacation is interesting. Keeping gameboys, PCs, cellphones, portable DVDs, and camera batteries charged is a challenge. Just an observation. Hope all is well out there. Read my first newspaper since our flight out here July 5th (today on the train). Same screwed up world -- not missing anything.

WEDNESDAY, July 18th, 2007

Finally, a full night's sleep. The kids were in bed around 9:30 and slept til 8am. That is a first on this trip. We caught the train out of Denali at 12:15. An 8 hour ride to Anchorage, but everyone agreed, it seemed like two hours. Beautiful scenery, comfortable seating, just easy to relax. Matt met a new friend from Montana ("Timmy"). I think his dog's name is Lassie. We were all reminded of how much we enjoyed the train from Philly to NYC and how it went by too fast as well. We might have to do this train thing again!

The employees on the train actually enjoyed their jobs making you comfortable -- perhaps the airlines could take a few lessons up here.

Not the most active picture day locked on a train all day, but these were taken from the observation car. The river is at Hurricane Gulch a 900 ft span 300ft over the river. Meghan was looking for a hand to hold.

TUESDAY July 17th, 2007

I was chided for not having posted a couple other photos of our animal sightings on the bus tour yesterday, so here they are. The grizzlys were well off the roadway so they are not that clear. The moose were close, but we did not have a lot of time as they were a bit camera shy -- but did pose for this one. Look like a happy couple, eh? They must still be dating.

TUESDAY July 17, 2007

LONG tour of Denali today. Much more than we bargained for, but it was one way into the park so there was no getting out of it early. The mountain clouded over mid-morning and we got some rain early afternoon, but otherwise a fine day. Our road warrior kids took it all in stride despite the fact that the road was unpaved for 160 of the 190 miles. We did get to see a lot of wildlife, but most of it was a lot further from the road than what we saw along the AK hwy.

We panned for gold in the park and all did get lucky with some trace gold, but two of them were lost in transport to the office. I am not certain that the gold was not planted, but that would make me a cynic. I think they want us saying nice things about their tour.

I asked the kids what they would do differently if we did the RV again -- all said get a bigger RV and then started referencing the ones they liked best. It was easy to get "RV envy" on the road with some of the rigs that pull in near you. They all seemed curious about the 'dumping' process, but there were not a lot of volunteers when it was time. I thought Courtney was going to throw up when she saw one guy do it without gloves and there was some remnant runoff in the pipe dump on his hand.

Tomorrow should be another easy day as we don't catch the train til lunch time toward Anchorage. Thursday night (10pm) we leave Whittier, AK on the ferry.