Alaska, The Inside Passage

 

 Our cruise followed the Inside Passage of Alaska which is a network of waterway passages which weave through the islands of the southeast panhandle of  Alaska, British Columba and Northwest Washington State.   Juneau was our first stop along our cruise.  As you can see it was overcast while we were here, though the temperatures remained in the 50's and comfortable with jackets.  Juneau is the capital of Alaska and has about 32,000 residents.  We didn't get into the city proper to tour, but did make it through the gauntlet of jewelry and souvenir stores set along the road leading from the pier.

 

 With each stop, there were numerous tour packages you could add to your main cruise tour.  We picked a whale watching tour for the afternoon.  We thought we would be disappointed as we had traveled for roughly 45 minutes without any sightings and then we came across this group of humpback whales "bubble-net feeding".  This behavior requires a group of 4-6 whales working together as they circle and tighten on a school of fish.  When the fish are close enough together, the whales move up through them with their mouths wide open, collecting as many as they can.  We followed them up the shoreline for about a half an hour.   It was fascinating to watch .  Birds stayed above the fray waiting to dive in when the whales forced the fish to the surface.

 

 Eventually, the captain stated that we needed to begin our return to port.  As he was turning the boat, three whales did what is rather unusual for humpbacks in this area of the world, they breeched, or jumped, completely out of the water.  What a view!!!  Of course, my camera was down so I didn't get any of it on "film", but realized afterwards that I would have probably missed it all if I was trying to focus through the lens.  The photo is well intact in my mind.

 

 The next day we were in Skagway, a small town of 920 residents.  The population doubles during the summer months as college students move in to serve as shop clerks and tour guides for the estimated 900,000 tourists who visit this area every year.  The clouds were low as we entered the harbor, but they quickly burned off and the day became the best day of the tour; warm, sunny and picturesque.

 

 Skagway is best known as the starting point for the thousands of hopeful miners heading over the White Pass and into Canada's Yukon Territory during the Klondike Gold Rush which began in l896.  The population at that time soared to 30,000.

 

From Skagway, we took a 3 1/2 hour train ride up to the White Pass which forms the border of the U.S. and Canada and which follows one of the routes that the miners took, on foot or horse, before the railroad was completed.

 

 On this trip we saw some of the most breathtaking scenery I have ever seen.

 

 Below is the top of the pass.  Here we waited for the engine to be moved from the front of the train to the back for the ride back to town.

 

 Here is the iconic town of Skagway.

 

 Leaving Skagway that evening.

The next morning we were positioned to travel down the Tracy Arm Fjord and view Sawyer Glacier which feeds it.  Once we were about 1 mile from the glacier, the caption began to pivot slowly around three times so everyone was able to see and experience the beauty of this glacier.

 

 After joining the crowd on the main deck, I finished the tour on the balcony of our cabin.  The best way to take in the view.

 

 A waterfall to the side of the glacier.

 

 Our last stop of the tour was in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.  Here is one of the many Totem Poles we saw on our trip.

 

 While we didn't take advantage of any tours in Victoria, we did spend about four hours walking around the port, up through some of the neighborhoods and finally to China Town (which has nothing on China Town in Bangkok!).  The day was beautiful and we found a  little café across from the main government building and on the inner harbor where we enjoyed a good lunch and the activity of the city.

By the way, the decision has been made!  It's on to the Panama Canal next year by cruise ship.