Random Pictures from Alaska

Oldest and Loni after Cha Cha lessons

My

My oldest took pictures of funny signs

My boys and I found this sign to be funny

Dolphins playing next to ship

Ballroom night in the Crow's Nest.  A friend we met on the ship, Olivia needed a dance partner, my oldest was nice enough to oblige for most of the dances.  He's such a good boy.

Mina and Oldest after waltzing.

Loni thanks the youngest for waltzing with her

The youngest does know how to smile

Fairbanks, Alaska

Our last stop was Fairbanks, Alaska.  I wish we could have spent more time in Fairbanks than the few hours we had before leaving for the airport.

When we arrived at Sophie Station Suites there was a little delay in getting off the bus due to a fire in the laundry room.  Once the fire department gave the all clear we were able to check in and go to dinner.  I must say that Zach's Restaurant was one of the better restaurants we ate in while in Alaska. The food was excellent as was the service.

Denali National Park

Denali National Park was our next stop on our Alaska land tour.

We stayed at the McKinley Chalet Resort.  Fortunately, we were able to find a place to eat that satisfied everyone, including the picky eaters, Prospectors Pizza and Alehouse.

We took an eight hour bus tundra tour through the park.  Loni and I sat in the back of the bus, where we could cause trouble. During the tour we saw an artic squirrel, bears, dall sheep, caribou, a willow ptarmigan, and moose.

It was in Denali National Park that my favorite pictures of the trip were taken.  My youngest, who like me does not like to have his picture taken, decided to pose the same way in all his pictures, so I had the family go along with it in Denali. 

Youngest, Mina, Oldest

Youngest, Loni, Oldest

Dall Sheep in Denali National Park

Oldest and Youngest on nature trail behind chalet

Oldest napping while waiting for train for Fairbanks

Oldest and Youngest waiting for train to Fairbanks

McKinley Explorer Dome Train to Denali

We left Anchorage aboard the McKinley Explorer Dome Train to Denali National Park, an eight hour train ride.  All I can say is I was really looking forward to riding the train, but after the first couple of hours all the mountains, trees and rivers start to look the same.  Also, they keep the train cool so that the dome does not fog up and obstruct the view. 

View from the train on the way to Denali

View from McKinley Explorer on way to Denali

View from train from Anchorage to Denali National Park

It was a very long ride. Mina and Stan took a nap.

Next Stop Anchorage

The next stop after the Mt. Alyeska hotel was Anchorage for the night before heading up to Denali National Park. After checking into the hotel, we walked around town for a while.  I enjoyed the artist co-ops and looking around the different shops.

We had dinner at Glacier Brewhouse.  This was definitely a restaurant where I should have insisted Loni and the youngest order from the children's menu.  The youngest was not happy with the queso as it had ale in it (hint Brewhouse in the name) and was more like fondue than what he considers queso.  It did not help that the chips came with pico and not salsa.  The two "children" aka picky eaters at the table ordered cheese quesadillas.  Unfortunately, they did not ask what kind of cheese was in the quesadillas.  Turns out it was pepper jack and was drizzled with chipotle sauce.  Loni ate it with a lot of funny faces and scraping off of the sauce.  The youngest managed to get it down without too many issues. 

After dinner the boys went off on their own, and Loni and I headed to JC Penney for cheap suitcases to send some of our things onto Fairbanks.

Once we went back to the hotel and filled up the new suitcases to lighten our load, Loni and I went back out to get dessert and upon the reference from the hotel clerk went back to the Glacier Brewhouse.  Loni had their original peanut butter pie, and fell it love with it.  I had their bread pudding.

It was very strange to be walking around Anchorage at 10:30 p.m. and it was like walking around at 5:00 p.m. because it was so light out.

Anchorage had some pretty gardens around downtown,

10:00 P.M. in downtown Anchorage

Midnight in downtown Anchorage, View from hotel window

Oldest took some pics around Anchorage

Mudflats in Anchorage

Girdwood, Alaska

While at Mt. Alyeska Hotel we spent an afternoon in Girdwood, Alaska.  Fortunately, our breakfast server at the hotel had given me the run down on the shops in Girdwood and I knew to go to the Girdwood Center for Visual Arts, a nonprofit co-op gallery of more than 40 Alaska artists. 

This was definitely one of my favorite stops in Alaska.  This is where I bought "my precious," a small teapot with a turtle that I had to protect from breakage the rest of the trip. I carried it wrapped in a blanket in my backpack.

I also was able to buy Mina a print she liked, a gift for Loni, and a Christmas ornament for myself.  I also was gifted with two turtle ornaments from Loni and the youngest.

Glass Turtle Christmas Ornaments

Turtle Teapot , Letha Cress Woolf, Potter, Mudhead Pottery, Girdwood, Alaska

Another view of "my precious" by Potter Letha Cress Woolf

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is a refuge for injured and orphaned animals. We noticed the bears just wanted to have fun.

Alaska Land Tour ~ Mt. Alyeska

As part of our Alaska land tour we spent two nights at Hotel Alyeska, the only four star hotel in Alaska.  It is a beautiful hotel, and the staff was very nice.  

We had a little issue when we arrived in that the boys luggage did not get delivered when ours was brought to the room.  There was confusion when I first reported that we did not receive the boys luggage because the youngest was in my room and took delivery of Loni's and my luggage and the hotel kept saying they delivered luggage to the boys. It took a few phone calls, but the hotel finally discovered that the luggage had been delivered to the boys room originally booked for them before they were moved to a rooms that was already cleaned when we arrived. 

There were some very nice walking trails around the hotel, but a lot of them were still closed due to ice.  

Hotel Alyeska

Pond at Hotel Alyeska

View outside window at Hotel Alyeska

Atop Mt. Alyeska ~ Memorial Day, 2012 ~ Last day of Skiing

Four out of six family members at Mt. Alyeska

Loni at Mt. Alyeska

Mina and Stan ~ Mt. Alyeska

Hotel Alyeska from the ski tram

Pretty birds at tram dock

Dance Lessons ~ Alaska Cruise Style

One of the fun things we did aboard the ms. Statendam was to take dance lessons.  Loni, Stan, the oldest and I took rhumba lessons, and Loni and I enjoyed country line dancing with D.J. Mark.  

At one point Loni asked my youngest what it would take for him to take dancing lessons with her.  He said 250.  She said $2.50 and he said "No, $250.00."  Loni said "No problem."  Of course that shocked the youngest and then it became the joke of the week.

Now as we are going through the week, the youngest is trying to find a gift for Loni for her birthday and was not being successful in finding anything that met his standards. He then decided he would gift Loni with a dance lesson.  The next two lessons to come up were waltz and Cha Cha.  It was decided the waltz would be the best for the youngest, and the oldest was willing to learn the Cha Cha with Loni.  

I am glad my boys were able to make Loni so happy on this trip.

I Only Scored a 6

On the day we were in Glacier Bay, Loni, the youngest and I spent some time up in the comfy chairs up on 8 looking out the window.  Once we decided to move on and started across the floor, I took a fall just as we came up on the dance floor.  I landed stomach down and slid across the floor with my head up like a seal. 

The youngest scored it as a 6.  He said he would have scored me higher if I had barked like a seal.

Fortunately, I wasn't injured.

Last Port ~ Seward Alaska

Our last port before beginning the land tour of our Alaskan adventure was Seward.  We only had a few hours there, and since it was Sunday morning not many of the shops were open, so Loni and I did not get to visit with the knit or quilt shop.

Seward from the Lido Deck

Sign next to the Raven mural in Seward

Raven mural in Seward, Alaska

Glacier Bay, Alaska

The weather was gloomy the day we went through Glacier Bay, but there was a lot of calving going on and the sound was incredible.

Youngest on deck in Glacier Bay

Calving in Glacier Bay

Oldest in Glacier Bay

Calving in Glacier Bay

Calving in Glacier Bay with ice chunks

Huge calving splash

Loni and youngest on deck in Glacier Bay

Helicopter to Meade Glacier ~ Alaska Excursion

The one excursion I wanted to do more than anything in Alaska was a helicopter ride and walk on a glacier.  I chose to take this excursion out of Skagway to the Meade Glacier.  I am so glad I chose to take the ride out of Skagway.  Our weather for our helicopter day was perfect.  In fact, our guide said it was the first day they had been able to fly over the mountain instead of through the river bed.  It had been very rainy before that day since the season had started.  All the helicopter excursions in Juneau the day before had been canceled due to the weather.  I felt very blessed. 

The boys and I had never been in a helicopter before.  Our pilots were wonderful, the views were spectacular, and the experience of walking on a glacier is indescribable. 

Excursion Helicopters

Inside the helicopter

View from helicopter as we climbed the mountains to get to Meade Glacier.

We land on Meade Glacier.

The boys on Meade Glacier.

The oldest and me on Meade Glacier.

The youngest on Meade Glacier.

The boys next to a large crevasse on Meade Glacier.

My youngest and me on Meade Glacier.

Me on Meade Glacier

 You can it is me, I have green gloves!

I am walking on a glacier!

Atop Meade Glacier.

Crevasse on Meade Glacier.  You don't step on the snow covered parts as they made have holes under them.

Looking down into a crevasse on Meade Glacier.

Flying up the river back to Skagway

About to land back in Skagway, Alaska