Alaska 2023

Today we transitioned by motorcoach from the McKinley Chalet to the Westmark Hotel in Fairbanks.  Fortunately, we did not have to get up terribly early and left at 9:45am as the 3rd bus in a group of 4 busses. The first hour was clear and we saw a moose and two calves which thrilled everyone. We then did a rest stop at a cool little campground and gift shop.  I forgot to take a picture of the name, but I'll try to find it.  They had some cool & unique vintage machinery and a stuffed polar bear.  After the brief stop we did a drive through Nenana. (Last year southbound we stopped there).  As we crossed the bridge we began to encounter more and more wildfire smoke and observed lots of fire equipment.  The smoke lessened a bit as we approached Fairbanks. Brian, our driver, gave excellent commentary along the way. Food cache Fish Weir Alaskan improvision Nice green house  We skirted Fairbanks and headed north to the Silver Gulch Brewing Company where they easily served a nice fish

 Today was our all day visit to Denali.  It started with a 6:30am boarding of our Tundra Tour Bus (we were tge 8th tour of the day and there were like 48 of them starting from 4:30am until 4:30pm.  Brian was our driver, and he is a trained biologist and botanist.  He was a nonstop wealth of information.  The tour was 6 hours long and went out to mile 43 where the washout remains unfixed but due for completion in 2026.  We were provided with a snack pack and water. Along the way we had spectacular views of Mt. Denali.  The only wildlife we saw coming and going were Ptarmigans (the Alaska state bird), squirrels, grouse, and Dall Sheep.  We learned that ground squirrels are referred to a "cheese pizzas"  as they have the same caloric count. Mt. Denali  Ptarmigan chicks Jakob petting the sled dog Cuteness in a ground squirrel More cuteness We got 3 orders of Calamari as a to go lunch.  We ate it on the shuttle to the Denali visitor center where we took a second shuttle to see the

 Our trip to Denali was by rail.  We were assigned to the Foraker car which is owned by Princess Cruise Line. Princess's cars are named after mountains and Holland America's cars are named after rivers.  Our car last year was the Kenai and we passed it on our trip today. Their cars are unique in that all of the seats are in a dome car on the upper level.  The lower lever is the dining area along with 3 restrooms and an outside viewing area.  There is a guide as well as a bartender on board. Souvenirs can be purchased. After leaving Anchorage, it's quite a beautiful 6 hour ride.  We ate breakfast and lunch on the train with lunch being part of our tour cost.  It was a clear day and we had excellent views of Mt. Denali.  When we arrived at Denali, a coach picked us up and delivered us to the Canyon Lodge on the McKinley Chalet property (HAL) where we had room 871 on the 3rd or top floor.  The rooms are not air conditioned and are pretty plain.  There is no pool or hot tub but

 It was a relatively slow day today in Anchorage.  Our city tour didn't start until 1:15 so Jakob had some pool time after being able to sleep in.  The tour was nice (especially the part where we drove by and through the Lake Hood seaplane area) and concluded with a visit to the Anchorage museum which Jakob really enjoyed for the large number of hands on exhibits. We walked back to the hotel, enjoyed a group buffet dinner, and Jakob got some more pool time in. A bubble experiment  Since we have to be up early tomorrow to catch the train to Denali, we packed our suitcases and put them inside by the door for a 6am pickup, and were in bed by 9pm ish.

 Today was only our second sea day of this voyage.  Before noon we attended a multi-media presentation on the World Stage about what goes on behind the scenes on the ship.  The point of the presentation was that there are many people needed behind the scenes for us to have a successful cruise.  Erin, Cruise and Travel Director indicated that we have just over 1900 guests and around 700 crew. Surprisingly a good number of the senior staff are now from India including the Hotel General Manager, Head Chef, & Food & Beverage Head.  Afterwards, we attended a Mariner recognition ceremony in the Pinnacle Bar. After the few awards were presented, we got our picture taken with the Captain and Hotel GM. Following lunch and after dropping Jakob off at Club HAL, I spent the next few hours updating my blog and studying for an upcoming sermon I'll be preaching when we get back home. We ate a Lido dinner with Jakob (at least when he wasn't in the pool). We then spent time scenic s cru

 We arrived in Whittier before midnight last night on glass smooth seas.  This morning's disembarkations started at 6:20am and continued every 10-15 minute until 10am.  During that time several Alaska Rail Car tourist trains and a number of buses departed.  Finally at 10:05 our group of about 160 was called and we made our way down to deck A and scanned off the Noordam one last time.  We found our coach, C in our case) and took a tour of Whittier (5 minutes), and then waited in line for the 11am tunnel opening.  Traveling from Whittier is on the hour and to Whittier is on the hour.   Whittier was a secret military port constructed during WWII.  One can only get here by boat, light plane, or through the 2.5 mile long tunnel.  When our time came we passed through the tunnel and a few minutes later we were at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.  The Center is used to provide a rehabilitation home for injured animals and they participate in breeding programs to re-establish animal