Alaska May 2019

Alaska may just be the most dramatic, wild and exellerating place I've ever visited. From the moment we decided to take an Alaskan cruise I knew it wouldn't be a typical vacation. The documentaries I've watched and articles I've read about Alaska convinced me that we would have to spend at least a week on land before the cruise. As I began to piece together the things I wanted to do I was very quickly overwhelmed by the logistics involved.

I started the planning process six months before the scheduled trip. We usually prefer warm weather vacations that can feed our scuba diving habit. A friend was considering her first cruise and asked me for some tips. As an experienced cruiser with over 50 cruises, I started investigating a safe, nice way to introduce her to the delights of cruising. It was Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving 2018, and the travel deals were abundant. She also loves vacationing in warm, sunny locations. Living in Texas, we can jump in the car and catch a cruise ship in Galveston on a moment's notice. I certainly considered that option for her, but my mind kept coming back to a cruise that would minimize the likelihood of sea sickness and maximize the wow factor. 

We decided on May as the ideal time for a trip, and eventually Alaska as the perfect destination. From the moment we booked the cruise I was sifting through trip reports, hotel recommendations and potential activities. At first I just kept my notes in a Word document, but evenually I needed a more organized way to refer back to the dates/times/costs involved. An Excel spreadsheet listed the dates/times down the left side, and the cost/confirmation status across the top. 

Initially we booked the cruise with just a $25 refundable deposit through Celebrity Cruises. If we changed our minds we could cancel without penalty up until mid-February. As it turned out our friends did cancel, but by that time I was too invested in the research and reservations to back out. May 10th we would fly to Anchorage, spend a week touring the highlights of Alaska, then catch the Celebrity Millennium and sail down to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. From there we would fly back to San Antonio. 

As I confirmed our reservations at various hotels, secured our car rental and determined our itinerary I decided to keep my notes in a 3-ring binder with page protectors, pockets and dividers for each day. 

Next my biggest concerned was what to wear. Would May in Alaska be too cold for short sleeves or too hot for down jackets? People always recommend layering your outfits, but what should the bottom layer be? Tank top? T-shirt? Long underware? I decided I'd have to take a little of each, but I knew jeans and sweat shirts would work with warm or cooler temps.

The next issue, as it is for most women, is what shoes to pack. This would be both a land-based trip with hiking and sight-seeing as well as a cruise with formal nights. I would discover that Alaska cruises are very casual. Jeans in the dining room are the norm. Even formal nights were much less formal than cruises in Europe or the Caribbean. I bought a pair of hiking boots which I would wear on the plane, and decided to pack my tennis shoes, some low heels and some casual boots. I also packed some flip flops in the off chance we would use the hotel and ship pools.

We were extremely blessed with great weather in Alaska. The hiking boots were used extensively, as were the tennis shoes and casual boots. The heels and flip flops came in handy on the cruise. For outer wear I had packed a puffy vest, a squishable down jacket, gloves, scarves, a knit hat, a ball cap and a headband (the kind skiers use). Most importantly I packed a very light, oversized, hooded rain jacket (Frogg Togg) that would fit over any of my other jackets. Whatever you bring, be sure it is actually waterproof and windproof. I wore a hooded, warm, winter jacket but could have purchased the same thing in Alaska for around $30 (similar to this one):

I brought four pair of jeans but three would have worked. I wore one hoodie (should have brought two) almost constantly with either a short or long sleeve T-shirt. The lined leggins were worn just once. I packed two formal dresses (one would have been fine) and a pair of black pants with several dressy shirts (really just one would have worked). Most of the evenings on the cruise I wore what I had been wearing all day -- jeans. 

In determining what to pack I also planned to do a load of laundry somewhere on the trip, either at one of the hotels or on the ship. As Elite members on Celebrity we get free laundry service (one bag for each of us). I did do laundry at one of the hotels, which was a nightmare, but I'll get to that story later. We ended up with one mid-sized piece of luggage, a wheeled garment bag, two carry-on bags and a backpack. Considering that we usually haul two bags of dive gear as well, this amount of luggage seemed light to us. 

My point in describing what to pack is that you really won't need a lot of clothes because everyone in Alaska dressed very casual. As others have said, a good, waterproof raincoat is essential although it only rained on us one day. The down jacket was unnecessary, but if you are traveling in one of the shoulder months (May, Sept) you may find that a warmer jacket feels good. While we were hiking the puffy vest and sweat shirt with an undershirt was perfect. On the 26-glacier boat cruise the warmer coat covered by the raincoat was great. I did end up wearing the gloves, headband, scarves and ball cap because the wind can be cold and I didn't want to spend much time messing with my hair. 

Finally, I set up a Dropbox and Mega account so I could access my documents on the Internet if needed. I also set-up a few Google MyMaps but as it turned out we had phone reception nearly everywhere. As email confirmations were received I dropped a PDF copy into one of the cloud-based storage accounts along with flight details, tickets purchased and tour maps.  My planning also included recommended restaurants, sights not to be missed and alternative transportation options (city bus, if Uber was available, train and tour bus options).  

People frequently ask me where I look to research locations. I use TripAdvisor.com, CruiseCritic.com and Google. Between those three I can usually find the answers to my questions. For this trip I used Expedia to book some things (rental cars, one of the hotels) and Hotels.com to book most of the hotels. 

Most of this planning was done months before the trip because tour operators fill up quickly. I didn't want to miss out on anything just because I hadn't reserved our spot. I'd like to say the time passed quicky until the trip, but it did not. Although I was always busy, it felt like years waiting for the trip to finally begin. 

Next entry: https://travelwordsandpictures.blogspot.com/2019/05/anchorage-alaska.html

The Travel Bug

“Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life.”   Michael Palin

I'm beginning this blog with the hope of sharing with you the amazing adventures we experience. I know what it's like to live vicariously through the experiences of others. Just reading trip reviews and travel advice can brighten my day.  For me, planning a trip is nearly as much fun as taking it. We usually ponder our next trip before we're even back from the current one. Even our misadventures produce fond memories. We've yet to experience a trip that wasn't well worth the cost and the effort. I've heard it said that travel is the only thing you can spend money on that makes you richer. It's true.

I can't recall exactly when the travel bug bit me, but I think it was sometime in elementary school. My parents made even a simple camping trip into an adventure. I suppose most kids love the idea of taking a vacation. When and how do we lose that sense of adventure?  Perhaps the crush of life's responsibilities snuffs out our hope of escaping into another world. Maybe the stress of "just getting by" reminds us that we can't really afford to travel. The uncertainty of travelling in a foreign land where people speak a different language can create such anxiety that the trip hardly seems worth the risk. Each trip holds countless details with even more decisions to be made. Pre-planning involves hours of research, budgeting, reservation making, shopping and packing. I do understand why some folks just don't want the hassle.

But those of us who read of far away places with fascinating histories know that all the planning and expenses pale when we are traveling. Others' trip reports whet our appetite and we know we must experience it for ourselves. Whether you are an "armchair" traveler or just awaiting the opportunity to act on your dreams, this blog is dedicated to you. The places we've been have changed us. The people we've met along the way have enriched our lives. I hope I can adequately describe with words and pictures each travel experience so that you can experience it too.

Anchorage, Alaska

Downtown Anchorage

Anchorage was our jumping off point.  We flew Alaska Airlines from San Antonio to Anchorage, with what was supposed to be a short transfer in Seattle. As it turned out the second leg of our flight was delayed so we didn't arrive in Anchorage until 3:30 a.m. (which felt like 6:30 with the time change). Strangely, it was somewhat light outside. I knew Alaska nights were short in the summer, but sunrise at 4:30 was quite an adjustment. The Comfort Inn Shipcreek shuttle was there within 15 minutes of our call. Soon we were at the hotel where we crashed until 8:30 a.m.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the complementary breakfast buffet and headed out on the town, beginning with a walk through downtown Anchorage and then the Coastal Trail. Immediately we were awed by the surrounding snow-capped mountains. Everywhere we looked was another majestic peak competing with the neighboring mountains. Although the day was cloudy it wasn't too cold. Later when the wind picked up we would not have wanted to be on the trail beside the ocean.

Coastal Trail

We only walked as far as the Margaret Eagan Sullivan park because we wanted to pick up our rental car. You could continue down to Earthquake Park if you have more time. The trail was an easy walk. You can rent bikes at the beginning. Since we had seen Cook's Monument in Hawaii we were particularly interested in the one in Anchorage. It's amazing to me that Cook covered so much of the world in his explorations.

  

We walked back through town, stopped for coffee at The Daily Grind and then headed over to the Avis car rental on 5th and B St. Back at the hotel we decided we still had time to drive the Seward Highway next to the Turnagain Arm. Traffic was light and the scenery was gorgeous! I had read about places to stop along the highway. We hit quite a few of these but the biggest treat was seeing a Dali sheep at Windy Point. He was a bit too far to get a good shot, but we were excited to see our first big animal.

We turned around at Bird Point and headed back to Anchorage. In Anchorage we stopped at the Walmart for some groceries and then Moose's Tooth for a pizza which we took back to the hotel. It was delicious, however it did take almost 45 minutes so order ahead. From here on out our plan was to minimize expenses by eating PB&J sandwiches, Top Ramen and Mac & Cheese. I bought cereal for breakfasts and banana bread. For the most part we were successful. We stayed that night in Anchorage and then headed to Talkeetna the next morning. 

Talkeetna, Alaska

Again we awoke to a beautiful day! We took the Glenn Highway (1) north but stopped at the Eagle River Nature Center. It wasn't open yet so we decided to hike the Rodak Nature Trail. Because it was early morning not many people were out on the trail. In fact we were just a little concerned about running into a bear given all the posted warnings. The Beaver Viewing Deck over the river was our first stop.

Me keeping an eye out for bears.    

       

Once back on the highway we saw sign after sign warning of moose crossings. In one area they had had over 300 moose accidents. It wasn't until we reached the turnoff for Talkeetna that we saw our first moose – two in fact. Of course I couldn't get the camera out in time to snap a picture. On the way into town we stopped at Cubbys (grocery) for milk and cheese. 

In Talkeetna, a very small, quaint town, we checked into our little cabin at Chinook Winds.  

We were very pleased with this set-up. Quiet with a well furnished little kitchen – just too cute! 

We walked down the main street, checked out a few of the trinket shops and confirmed our flight around Mt. McKinley that was scheduled for 4 pm. 

Brian toyed with the idea of a new profession, but decided it would be just too cold in the winter.


At 4 pm we drove the 1/4 mile to the little airport and I saw the small airplane we'd be flying in. I wasn't too sure about this. Would my fear of heights ruin the experience for me? The K2 flight crew were very reassuring. At first they weren't sure we could do the flight because the mountain had been cloudy all day but was clearing. Some backpackers had been waiting all day for a chance to land up on the mountain.

Finally we got the go-ahead. The pilot introduced himself to us and said we'd be the only ones on this flight. Of course, the plane he was flying was only a 4-seater. Here's a photo of us with our pilot, Wil. He had over 40 years experience so that helped calm my fears. The sun came out and the mountain presented itself in all it's glistening white spendor. Brian was like a little kid. He told me of his many trips with his pilot buddies in Washington on a plane just like this one. I thought I would have to tie him to the seat or he would float away!

 

I sucked it up and decided something is going to kill us eventually, either disease, accident, etc. I might as well go while watching Brian have the time of his life. A peace came over me and I just prayed, "Lord, if it's my time I'm ready, but if not please help me enjoy this experience," and He did.

There's a scene in the old Robert Redford/Meryl Streep movie, "Out of Africa," where the two are flying on a small airplane just like this one. Karen (played by Streep) makes the comment that she saw the world as God sees it. I felt the exact same way. This is what God sees, His amazing creation in all it's beauty, just waiting for us to discover it.

Before I knew it we were decending back into the valley and the runway appeared ahead. Now if we can just have a smooth landing...

We did it! What a thrill! I would highly recommend this experience to anyone visiting Alaska.

Here I am feeling high as a kite because I didn't freak out!

We celebrated out on the porch that night with our Top Ramen noodles, cheese, rolls and a bottle of wine. It was a fine day and there was still so much to come! Stay tuned...

Denali National Park

Because it stays light so long in Alaska we found ourselves awaking early and going to bed late. As you can imagine that meant we were tired by mid-afternoon. I tried to plan all our vigorous activities for the morning so we could chill later in the day. Monday morning we ate breakfast in our little cabin and then checked out for Denali National Park. The temperature was a brisk 37 degrees. The trip to Denali was a little over two hours with a few stops along the way to take pictures. Here's some of what we saw:

Still snow in many areas.

Once in Denali we were treated to quite a few wildlife sightings. We saw a herd of Caribou in the park. 

The Denali park road is usually closed to private cars, but because we were there before the tourist season we were able to drive to Mile marker 30. Half of this is a gravel road. We stopped quite a few times to take in the scenery and to eat our PB&J lunch. At 25 miles an hour it took us a while to get through the park.

We decided to hike the McKinley Station Trail right near the park entrance.

Here's a few pictures from the hike, which wasn't long. You can see by the wooden pathway it wasn't exactly strenuous.

It was late afternoon before we checked into our hotel, the Denali Princess Lodge. This hotel is usually filled with pre-cruise tours, and more expensive than we can afford, but we managed to get in before the crowds started showing up. The prices were about half what they usually are. We liked the hotel, but not as much as our little cabin in Talkeetna.

After a short nap we headed out to our evening activity – a dinner theater in Denali Village. I'd heard good reviews about the show so I booked it months in advance. It does sell out quickly. I had a half-price coupon from the Alaska Toursaver book, which saved us money on both this, the Denali flight the day before and the whale watching excursion we did in Juneau. Well worth the money for the book.

The dinner and the show were excellent. BBQ ribs, salmon, homemade biscuits, beans, potatoes and apple crisp for dessert. The actors served as waiters, as well as musicians and singers. They were all so talented and personable. The storyline was kinda korny but the songs were all about Alaska and warmed our hearts. We were delighted with the presentation and the food! After the show it was still very light outside (10:30) and getting much colder. We saw a few more Caribou by the road on the way back to the hotel.

Back to Anchorage

If we could have driven directly to Alyeska we would have, but because we were looking at a 4 hour drive just to Anchorage, then 2 hours after that, we decided to spend the night in Anchorage. We stayed at what probably was the most dismal hotel of the entire trip. Although it got good reviews on TripAdvisor, The Aptel Studio Hotel was plain and on the far eastern edge of Anchorage.

The location was fine for us since we were heading south the next day, but the little kitchen had no utensils whatsoever. I'm not sure why it even had a kitchen. It had a fullsize refrigerator, a microwave, two burners and a kitchen sink. Not one pan, microwaveable bowl or piece of silverware. I was disappointed because the reason I booked it was so we could save money on meals. As it was I had no way to cook the Easy Mac, so we opted for Dominos pizza. I know, you're probably dying about that given that we were in the heart of fresh seafood country.

All the restaurants, in fact almost everything in Alaska, is very expensive. Alaskan King Crab was about $70/pound in the restaurants. I paid $16/pound at the grocery store yesterday. Go figure? Anyway, we picked up some milk for breakfast and a piece of chocolate cake at the local grocery store. I decided since the hotel had a laundry room that I would do a load of laundry.  Big mistake. I guess it's been a while since I used a laundry mat. I bought the powered soap from the dispenser and then proceeded to follow the directions on the washing machine. Four dollars later I returned to the machine to find all my clothes covered with soap particles. I'm not sure if I should have liquified the soap first or if the machine just wasn't filling with enough water, but the result was that I had to hand rinse every piece and then hang it in the bathroom before I could dry them.

Several hours later they had dripped enough to go into the dryer, but they still required an hour to dry. $10 later I was thinking that we probably could have skipped this experience. There comes a point where you really can be penny wise but dollar foolish. Lesson learned – never do your own laundry on vacation unless you have no other choice.

Back to the fun part. On the drive back from Denali we stopped at a few sights, one of which was the north view of Mt. McKinley. The road to the viewpoint was closed because of snow, but we decided we could walk down the road leading to the view. The sky was clear and the snow was melting so it wasn't a problem, but once we got to the viewing area we realized Mt. McKinley was covered in clouds. Still, it was a nice little walk in the snow.

We had lunch in a campground along the way that was deserted and then drove through Willow and Wassila. Both pretty small towns with just one main road.

Here's some of the majestic mountain ranges we passed along the way.

Eventually we came to Thunderbird Falls and decided to do this hike. According to the website, "Located inside Chugach State Park north of Eagle River and just south of Eklutna, the trail climbs steeply at first, gaining about 100 feet in elevation. Then the route levels out and becomes an easy walk." 

This was an exhausting hike to me even though it was only a mile each way. However, Brian didn't seem to mind the mostly uphill path (both ways!). The falls were lovely and the day had warmed up nicely so it was a good experience.

Once our clothes were dry we re-packed and went to bed, still fighting the daylight that leaked around the curtains in the hotel. The next day we would drive to Whittier for a 26-glacier tour and then spend the night in Alyeska. If I had it to do over we would have pressed on for Alyeska because that hotel was unbelieveably superb!

26-Glacier Cruise Tour

Wednesday morning we ate a quick breakfast in the hotel then headed south to Whittier, which is on Prince William Sound. I had booked this 26-glacier excursion based on positive reviews and it didn't disappoint. The drive to Whittier was cloudy, but the tide was out in the Turnagain Arm beside the highway.  The water was so calm we could see the reflection of nearby mountains as if in a mirror.

Because of the low tide we could see the mud flats, and over a dozen bald eagles fishing right beside the road. Here are a few of those sightings (the darker bird in the first photo is a juvenile bald eagle).

To reach Whittier you have to go through a one-way tunnel shared by trains and automobiles.  It is 2.5 miles long, the longest highway tunnel in North America (photo below). Traffic is controlled on each side so you can only enter when your side is released, about once an hour. We made the 9:30 release and were in Whittier a good 90 minutes before our tour. 

With little to see in this industrial port, we stopped at a local cafe for coffee and a snack. Lunch was included with the tour, and I had already scoped out a good fish & chips place for dinner. We used Phillips Cruises for this tour and they were wonderful – very hospitable and well versed in the science of glaciers. In five hours we saw over 20 glaciers up close and personal. Unfortunately this was the one day on the trip that it rained. The comfortably furnished boat is enclosed, but when we went out on deck to take pictures we about froze from the wind and the rain. 

You can see in this picture how bundled up we were. The glaciers were stunning and the wildlife (otters, seals, mountain goats, eagles) equally outstanding. 

Every so often you could hear the glaciers "calving," a sound like thunder. This happens as old ice slides off into the water – pushed by new ice forming behind it. It looks like the glaciers are dirty in some spots, but that is just rock and soil picked up and trapped along the way. 

The crew served a scrumptious salmon chowder lunch and I tried a Glacier Ice Margarita. As you'd expect it was made with glacier ice (the clean ice I hope). It was pretty good. Here's a few photos from the tour. Unfortunately these pictures don't capture the vibrant color of the ice, which is a cerulean, almost aquamarine blue inside. The gray skies meant that the glaciers tended to blend in with the background. The glaciers leave chunks of ice in the water that float off as icebergs. We sailed through fields of icebergs, which made me more than a little nervous. You can see a few pictures of the harbor seals and sea otters below. 

After the cruise we drove a few blocks to the Swiftwater Cafe for lightly breaded, non-greasy fish & chips. So delicious! I can highly recommend this place, which is fairly reasonable by Alaska standards – $50 for both of us (including a glass of wine). After dinner we made the 7 p.m. tunnel release and drove the 30 minutes or so to Girdwood/Alyeska. I'll write more about this in the next post. Stay tuned...

To see the rest of the post on our trip to Alaska check out the sidebar menu to the right of the first post.