Welcome! our great Alaska vacation Vancouver BC to Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, Vancouver
Paul Suckow - Vancouver BC
Donna Suckow - Vancouver BC
Vancouver BC
"The World" was docked there as we arrived.
our hotel - Vancouver BC
Susara our dear friend in Vancouver BC
aquarium - Vancouver BC
a Celocanth (living fossil), my closest evolutionary fish relation
me and Lord Stanley in Vancouver BC
Paul & Donna in Stanley Park, Vancouver BC
Stanley Park - Vancouver BC
library - Vancouver BC
ice cream shop - Vancouver BC
great shopping - Vancouver BC
me holding up a totem pole (carving shop) - Vancouver BC
time to board - Vancouver BC
Holland America's Zuiderdam to Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay and Ketchikan
our cabin, from the balcony
our first dinner on board
our tablemates on the cruise, from CA
first night on board...dark around midnight, sun's back up before 4 am mid-summer
cruising along in Canadian waters
heading to Alaska through the Inside Passage
scale is breathtaking - Alaska's Inside Passage
iceberg dead ahead! - Alaska's Inside Passage
water falls - Alaska's Inside Passage
view from the bow - Alaska's Inside Passage
bundled-up Donna, as blue ice floats on by
it was hard to take a bad shot in any direction you looked
loved the clouds near the sea - Alaska's Inside Passage
passers-by - Alaska Marine Highway
otherwise, not too many people - Alaska's Inside Passage
serene Alaska's Inside Passage
VIDEO - 360 degrees (not F or C) - Alaska's Inside Passage
Donna & Paul self-pic Alaska's Inside Passage
Inside Passage
Alaska the Beautiful
then inside for breakfast!
me picturing you in Alaska
loved the clouds, sea, rock and snow
sweeping beauty
our first view of a glacier...the blue icebergs had fallen off
blue icebergs - Inside Passage
our cabin
Juneau suburbs
landing at Juneau
state Capitol building is on the left...it's domeless
sailing out to whale-watch
a lighthouse station
Donna watching for whales
or sea lions of course
more glaciers seen from whale watching boat
Stellar sea lions
playing "king of the bouy"
"and stay off"
naturalist explains
whales sighted! a mom and baby!
Mom and Baby Humpback, diving.
Mom and Baby Humpback
VIDEO whale watching - 7 Humpback whales blowing and diving
Baby is learning from mom how to dive and catch fish
bald eagles everywhere in southern Alaska - I've got better shot, if I can locate it
back to Juneau marina
and on to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor's Center - Juneau, AK
that glacier is about 1.5 miles wide
"river of ice" 12 miles back to Mendenhall Lake. see the snowmelt waterfall on the right?
snowmelt waterfall
Paul & Donna at Mendenhall Glacier, Tongass National Forest
glacial ice up close...it's only blue when seen en masse under cloudy conditions
Donna leaving the Mendenhall visitor's center - Juneau, AK
last look...the icemelt waterfall at margin of Mendenhall Glacier - Juneau, AK
back to our 'boat' - Juneau, AK
at night, we'd find these strange towel creatures in our room
up to Skagway, taking the White Pass Railway built for the gold rush
looking back to Skagway and the ships from our train
the White Pass Railway is a feat of structural engineering like the Eiffel Tower or Statue of Liberty
across a trestle and into a tunnel
the vintage railroad cars
VIDEO riding to the White Pass on the train
scene from the train - White Pass Railway
a glacial stream below - White Pass Railway
Alaska youth painted this in the 1930s - White Pass Railway
White Pass Railway is narrow gauge - don't slip!
along the White Pass Railway
ever upward - White Pass Railway
snowpack below - White Pass Railway
diesel engines - White Pass Railway
mountain stream - White Pass Railway
mountain stream from White Pass Railway
up at the US-Canada border - White Pass - turning around
headed back down - White Pass Railway
back down in Skagway...an old snowblower engine
just like in 1898
Skagway, AK
turn of the (last) century Skagway, AK
enough tourism for one day, it's back to the ship
for our Anniversary dinner...yeah that's lobster
our Anniversary night in Alaska
This time it was a towel lobster in our cabin!
next morning, we're in Glacier Bay National Park
no one is interested in the pool as we pass by the glaciers
a glacier mixes rock and ice
^^ for scale, that's a 2-man kayak in the water
i'll zoom in
icemelt waterfall 50' high coming out of the middle of this glacier
i'm so happy but best is yet to come
icemelt waterfall
seagull
Glacier Bay is what the glaciers have left for us
coming and going through a 65 mile long fjord
observing from the deck
yet another snaking glacier
"river of ice"
closeup
one of the few advancing glaciers in Alaska
back to the Alaska Marine Highway...the Inside Passage
closeup of sea lions seen from the ship
sea lion islands
once we're too cold out in the breeze, we hightail it back to our cozy cabin
Coast Guard boat bringing park rangers to our ship for the day
me, taking pictures on the balcony of our cabin
VIDEO of sunsets like this
as the sun finally set, the moon appeared in the clouds
Ketchikan is a fishing village
doggie in a Ketchikan window
not so much a street as a stair, Married Man's Lane, Ketchikan, AK
a tree with a sense of humor
Ketchikan, AK
Donna & Paul, Ketchikan, AK
native arts in the Totem Heritage Center
original totem poles that stood around Ketchikan
wood box decorated with bear and raven tribal insignia
me with a Raven totem pole
Donna near the same
Ketchikan has the largest concentration of totem poles in the world.
modern natives maintain the tradition
more doggies in Kethcikan windows
back to our ship
the port of Ketchikan, AK
It's time for flightseeing!
the plane we'll board
aerial Ketchikan, AK
i'm the copilot today
Alaska has some 3 million lakes...but who's counting, MN?
volcanic opening under this lake
misty fjords of southern Alaska
it was an unusually clear and sunny day, oh yeah
VIDEO tried to catch the feel of flying in the turboprop for you
our pilot..."everyone here learns to fly"
flightseeing
Lake 2,989,301...j/k
misty fjord
crossing a ridge
stereo fjords, empty and dry
our plane shadow, caught on the snow
our plane's shadow, caught on the rockface
our plane's shadow, caught on a mossbed
we landed on this lake during our flightseeing journey
that's our pilot, on the rear of the float
VIDEO some of what it was like to be there
snowmelt waterfalls
back up in the air
flightseeing in the misty fjords
back to Ketchikan, AK
docking the floatplane
last look at our flightseeing plane
back on the boat
sunset
moonrise, almost 40 years since the first moon landing
end of cruise entertainment, crew thank you's
Shane the cruise director
Donna and the audience in the foreward lounge
^^ Dan, our waitstaff in the blue shirt...crew farewell song
on last night of cruise
our last morning on board...awww.
beautiful British Columbia.
remembering beautiful British Columbia
back to Vancouver BC
local berries - Vancouver, BC
organic - Vancouver, BC
bread rack - Vancouver, BC
seagull - Vancouver, BC
bridge - Vancouver, BC
water taxi - Vancouver, BC
doggie - Vancouver, BC
electric buses - Vancouver, BC
boats - Vancouver, BC
skyline - Vancouver, BC
remembering Vancouver, BC
seagull awaits a treat - Vancouver, BC
seagull finds fresh fish bits - Vancouver, BC
sports dome and Harbour Centre tower - Vancouver, BC
bicycle - Vancouver, BC
apartments - Vancouver, BC
street banners - Vancouver, BC
conservatory - Vancouver, BC
let's go see Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, BC
Donna & Paul - Vancouver, BC
Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, BC
one rhubarb leaf - Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, BC
Susara - Vancouver, BC
bee at work - Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, BC
panorama - Vancouver, BC
lunch before leaving - Vancouver, BC
glazed wild salmon - Vancouver, BC
picture - Vancouver, BC
farewell view - Vancouver, BC
and back home in Houston! Thanks for enjoying our vacation with us!
