Vancouver & home

August 9 was our final day at sea.  2 chefs entertained us with an ice carving competition.

hacking away at the ice

an eagle

an angel fish

On the morning of August 10th we reached the port of Vancouver where we disembarked at 8:40 am and caught a free shuttle to the airport for our flight home departing at 6:15 pm local time.  Another long day as we arrived home at 3 am the following morning Toronto time! Despite being a domestic flight it took an hour to get our luggage!

In conclusion we would recommend doing the Princess CruiseTour of Alaska rather than just the cruise.  We saw so much more of Alaska and experienced much more on the 8 day land tour. The Connoisseur option provided a dedicated tour guide and meals for the 8 day land tour. Worth the price!

Purchasing our Princess CruiseTour through Costco gained us an additional $880 of shore credits which was a significant advantage.

A great way to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary!

Ketchikan

We arrived in Ketchikan the morning of August 8th. We scheduled an optional boat excursion to the Misty Fjords.  It took us 2 hours by boat to reach the Fjords area but the scenery was amazing. The area is part of 2 million acres of the Tongass National Forest. 3000' cliffs that went straight down into the ocean!  There were many float planes bringing tourists to see the area also.  It must have been quite the view from the air also!

New Eddystone Rock is a distinctive 280' basalt tower that stands at the entrance to Rudyerd Bay. It was named by Captain Vancouver

top deck of our tour boat

Da plane, boss. Da plane!

Another

Another

Another?

A float plane getting ready for takeoff

On our way back the captain took us to an area to show us historic petroglyphs of the sun drawn in red on the rocks.

Back at the town pier, the captain used remote control to dock the boat! Neat! I don't think any of the passengers even knew how the boat was docked. I wonder if he practices on his Playstation?

Juneau excursion

Juneau was our 2nd port to visit on our cruise. We arrived here on August 7th.  We took a bus excursion with 29 people. The tour included 3 stops.

The first was the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery. This was the time of the year when the salmon naturally return to the streams of their birth. In this case, these salmon were reared in the hatchery and they return here to their certain death, just as they would in the wild.It was interesting to watch the salmon make their way up the ladder.  The salmon were caught at the top of the ladder, where males were separated from the females.  The staff would slit the bellies of the females to collect the eggs in a 5-gallon bucket. The males were then "milked" of sperm to fertilize the eggs. The adult fish were sent to be processed, either as human food, animal feed, or fertilzer. Nothing went to waste.

Side note...the returning salmon numbers this year are about half of what was expected, consistent with other observations along the Pacific Coast.

Writhing pool of salmon.

Salmon competing for space on the ladder.

Hundreds in the holding tank.

After egg collection the Salmon are loaded in these bins, then on to a boat.

Thousands and thousands of fry in the rearing tank

Literally millions of fry are reared each year and released into the wild.

Starfish on display inside the viewing area.

Buckets of eggs on their way to the incubator tanks

The second stop was Mendenhall Glacier.  We were disappointed that we couldn't get up close to the glacier but the visitor centre did show a time-lapse film of how the glacier had receded over the years.  Global warming isn't something new. It has been happening for years and is evidenced by the hundreds of receding glaciers globally.

We hiked a few trails here and saw sockeye salmon in Steep Creek. We were hoping to see grizzly bears munching on the salmon but to no avail. Our bus driver said he saw a mother and two cubs heading up into the mountain, away from the woods after dropping us off. We just missed them. Bummer!

The last stop was to the Gold Creek Salmon Bake for lunch. The salmon was cooked over an  alderwood fire.  Then served with a special glaze that was based on brown sugar. Yummmmmy!  There was a buffet of various sides to complete the meal.  A great place to visit! The property originally was a gold mine and the entrance is still on display.

Old mine entrance

A nice little falls and stream run through the property.

On our way back to the ship the driver stopped at a lookout to appreciate the view of the fireweed in bloom.

Wouldn't this make a great jigsaw puzzle? Just beatiful.

The outskirts of Juneau are a swampy flood plain and the bald eagles are here by the dozens and more. We so rarely see them in the east but here they are no more common than crows.

Skagway

The morning of August 6th we arrived in Skagway. It was our first port and we were happy to get off the cruise ship to do some exploring.  We took an excursion on the White Horse Pass train which runs on narrow gauge tracks with vintage parlor carriages to Fraser BC. This trip follows the route of the horrendous trek to the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-98. Thousands climbed the mountain pass with a year's supply of food plus equipment. It took multiple trips to get it all to the top and many men died and many more horses and mules died too. In the winter, the weather was just unbearable. All to have the opportunity to strike it rich. Few ever achieved the dream and most returned home with empty packets. In some areas of the train trip, we could see the route through the rough terrain. The railroad was build during the Rush to make it easier for the miners to get up the mountain. However, its usefulness was short lived as the Rush was over by 1899 and new opportunities arose in Nome Alaska.

Now this train services hoards of tourists daily as the cruise ships stop in port for a day.

 Along the way Vic was able to stand on the platform between train cars to capture photos of the beautiful scenery.

A recently restored engine ready for special occasions

Clickity-clack we go up the tracks rising through the mountain pass. The views can be spectacular with views across the valley, a raging river, and mountain streams crossing under the tracks.

looking down on the cruise ships in the harbour

We could see the highway on the opposite side of the valley.

Heading into a tunnel

We didn't  cross this bridge

Take a close look why they built a by-pass

Sections are collapsing from years of no attention

original gold rush route from Skagway to the Klondike - traveled with pack mules

At Fraser BC we transferred to a motorcoach which took us into the Yukon to experience the suspension bridge. It spans 180 feet across the Tutshi River Canyon and is 65' above the rapids below.

We returned by motorcoach to Skagway which allowed us to stop at a few lookouts and see additional scenery that couldn't be viewed from the train.

Shortly before reaching Skagway we stopped for lunch at Poppies Restaurant at the Jewell Gardens.  The farm was originally known for it's huge rhubarb.  They now produce a variety of organic vegetables and fruit to serve in their restaurant. Due to the long summer days in Alaska produce and flowers grow very well! There are 2 glassblowing studios on site that are part of the Garden City Glassworks.

model train display

tour guides explaining the gardens

There were many glass decorations throughout the grounds

typical size of cabbage we saw in various areas of Alaska

After our train/bus tour was over, we had a chance to spend the rest of the afternoon walking through the town of Skagway.

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Seen in the photos above and below is the Arctic Brotherhool Hall.  In 1898 once you had hiked over the trails to the Yukon and made it back to Skagway, you could join the Brotherhood and tell your tale. The facade of the building is comprised of 8833 pieces of driftwood,

Snow Plow Train Blower

the Golden Princess at the dock in Skagway