I have been reading all the fine reviews that have been posted as part of Klugers write-off in honor of his wife Ahlstromomy, who has been coping with health issues and will be undergoing surgery in the near future. .She loves nature so the reviews have been in that theme, which is one of my all time favorite subjects.. What a great idea I thought and have decided to crash this write-off in her honor.(actually my friend Susie told Kluger I was interested in joining and I did receive an invitation. This review is about part of my Alaskan cruise vacation that was filled with nature, and some of the spectacular sights I saw during that period.



Cruising Alaska has to be one of the best venues for nature and animal sightings. I’ve taken a quite a few Caribbean cruises and two in the Gulf of Mexico but those just didn’t compare with the beauty of the sights and sounds of the waters near Alaska‘s inside passage. Since we were to be visiting relatives in the Los Angeles area we decided to combine our cruise with that family vacation….After bidding a fond farewell to all the cousins, sisters and brothers we boarded our ship and took off on my all time favorite cruise experience..We left Los Angeles and just skirted the California coast which was lovely in itself. Then, after a stop in San Francisco and 2 more days at sea we finally made it past the lower 48 states into the waters just beyond the great Pacific Northwest.. Along the way we saw birds filling the skies, excitedly dipping into the water for their daily catch, we passed dolphins who played in the wake of the water near our ship, spotted eagles and even a few whales far in the distance until our first port of call appeared in the horizon.


Sitka. We had made plans to take a nature excursion that I was really looking forward to, our Sea Otter Quest, since it promised some good wildlife sightings. So, on that early misty morning, in our first Alaskan port we were ready to board a much smaller boat, a jet boat, called the Dolphin, to visit the kelp beds and the home to the multitudes of sea otters and other little sea creatures that lived in this area. Sure enough, after just a few minutes out there, we spotted them, the little adorable critters, floating on their backs, preening themselves and their babies,(who lie on their mothers bellies while they are small), eating and playing, just as cute as can be. Amidst them all were seals, sea lions, and many varieties of sea birds flying overhead, hoping to catch a scrap or two of food, that was left behind by the larger sea animals.


It was an exhilarating morning and when our sea quest was over, we still had the rest of the afternoon to explore the town of Sitka. The town was fascinating in itself, with it's strong Russian influence since it was settled by some of the nations first the Russian immigrants in 1799. It is the only major Panhandle town with direct access to the Pacific Ocean, therefore was a stop off point for many Russians over the years. The first Russian Orthodox Church in North America was built here in 1848, the onion domed St Michael’s Cathedral, and modern Sitka treasures it’s rich Russian heritage so much so, that after a fire destroyed most of the Cathedral in 1966, it was completely rebuilt the way it was before..Luckily most of the priceless artifacts and paintings were saved from the fire and are on display today.


Then of course there was the shopping that had to be done in the many interesting stores along the Main street. I discovered a very interesting item to buy and collect in one of those many stores that sell figurines of every conceivable kind....Since this is a town with such a strong Russian influence, these figures are imported from Russia. I was holding one in my hand, a little duck, when the proprietor asked me to look on the bottom to see what the markings were, when I told her it said USSR, she made a big fuss about it, said that this little duck would be worth a lot of money someday because now that Russia is no longer called the USSR, the items that have USSR imprinted on the bottom are older and much more of a rarity. The newer ones say Russia....Besides that, if you could find them, they cost no more than the more recently made ones. The name of these porcelain figures is Lomonosov and they have been manufactured in Russia since 1744, when the factory created the designs and figures for the Czar...Well, I spent the rest of the day in and out of the shops looking for that little mark..I found 4, a dolphin, a seal, a bear, and, of course, my little duck! So, now I have my own little collection but I love them and wouldn’t think of selling them regardless of what they may be worth!


But wait! Our next stop, Juneau turned out to be even more thrilling, in an exceedingly different way. As we exited the ship that morning, I was a bit apprehensive as to what we were about to do, a seaplane ride. We were going to fly over the Mendenhall Glacier in a seaplane! So, heart pounding, a bit apprehensive, and clutching my camera, I got in the back seat of this little plane, my husband and the pilot in the front 2 seats and, as I held on to my seat for dear life, we set out for a sight too beautiful and awe inspiring to imagine. Our bush pilot, called it "a flight back to the ice age," and we watched in wonder, as centuries old glaciers passed by beneath us. We looked directly into deep blue ice crevasses, some of them hundreds of feet deep, till we reached the Juneau Ice Fields, actual remnants of the ice age! Fifteen square miles of solid ice, thousands of feet thick. This "mother ice field," as they call it, feeds all the areas glaciers with millions of tons of centuries old ice. It was starkly beautiful yet totally inhospitable, where no animals live or could live even if they chose to. By then, I was a little more confident on the plane but still held on tight as we descended over the spectacular canyons on the back side of Juneau to conclude with a thrilling water landing. I must say I was little sad to see our flight end, but happy at the same time to see our ship sitting calmly in the harbor.


Juneau itself is a very interesting city, and is the capitol of Alaska. Though small in size,Juneau has much to offer it's visitors. With Victorian mansions built alongside log cabins, both competing for space with hulking state office buildings, it is the only state capital in the nation inaccessible by road, the only way in or out is by sea or in the air.


After our exciting and exhilarating morning we choose to just meander about the city, we saw an incredibly beautiful and famous wall mural that tells the legend of man's relation to the whale. We then looked for and found a famous bar we has been told about by our steward on board the ship,"The Red Dog Saloon". This bar with sawdust on the floor, was wild..We "bellied' up to the bar and ordered the drink it's known for,(I kid you not), the "Duck fart." Don't ask me what is in it, I only know I'm happy we made it back to the ship!


But, we were not done yet, Ketchikan our next port, was another day ahead that was filled with yet another thrilling adventure. Ketchikan is Alaska’s fourth largest town and claims the largest number of surviving historic structures. It was once called the “Canned Salmon Capitol of the World” and if you don’t enjoy a Salmon meal while you are there you will certainly be missing something.


We decided to explore the waters near the town, the Thomas Basin, by taking a Sea Kayaking Excursion , this would prove to be the funniest experience of them all.


We had never been kayaking in our lives until that day when we set off in a two man kayak. We were with a group of about eight other kayaks and one guide. Everything went smoothly for a little while, as we tried to keep up with the others but soon, we realized we had gotten a little behind and slowly separated from the group, little by little, they were further and further ahead of us, until we started to drift out to sea, our guide finally realized what was happening and had to double back, throw us a rope and tow us to the rest of the group. Embarrassed, but a little relieved, we finally got into the swing of things and enjoyed the rest of our kayak adventure...When it ended, we were in the middle of what was once the "red-light" district, during the heyday of the gold rush.


Now all those rustic wooden "houses" built on the edge of the water are reputable gift shops and boutiques but you could just imagine what it must have been like in it's wild and woolly hayday during the Gold Rush... One such establishment, Dolly’s house, is now a museum but it isn’t hard to imagine the laughter, the music, the scruffy men and of course, the "ladies" that once filled this old house of ill repute....The whole setting around this area is interesting as it is built on stilts around the water to keep the water out during high tide. As I meandered around these unique little shops I looked for more of those Russian figurines in every shop I entered but wasn’t fortunate enough to find any.. I guess they are only available in Sitka.




There was so much more to see and do in Ketchikan.The Totem Pole Heritage center, Salmon Hatcheries, beautiful parks, enough to keep you busy for week rather than just one day but that was all the time we had on this trip. The rest of the cruise heading back south was as scenic as it was going north, we passed through the Misty Fjords, spotting the white heads of Eagles in the tall trees wherever you looked, dolphins swimming in the wake of the ship, endless beauty as far as the eye can see. It was all so wonderful. Everything I had expected it to be and more, except for the fact that close up encounters with the whales remained elusive to me on this trip. I think now that was because this was a repositioning cruise and took place in the late spring before many of the whales had returned to their summer time locale after migrating south for the winter..I truly hope one day to return to Alaska and would love to head inland to and explore the National Parks and the Wildlife that live on those lands.


Yes, North to Alaska, that is another of my travel wishes, my wish to return!




Happy and Safe Travels


There are many wonderful entries in this Nature Write-off, please check out Klugers profile page for links to each one and thanks for letting me partake in this W/O giving me chance to relive some of these very fond and exciting memories and to wish a speedy, healthful recovery to Ahlstromomy

http://www.epinions.com/user-klueger


Recommended: Yes