Today dawned dry and partly cloudy ... an auspicious beginning! As our excursion was scheduled to start at noon and last for 3.5 hours, we/I bulked up with a ginormous breakfast ... omelet, bagel,cream cheese and smoked salmon and just in case ... a belgian waffle. Thus fortified we exited the boat and met our excursion group.
We were taken to the White Pass and Yukon Route diesel train ... this train had ceased operating in the late 1980's only to be brought back again after about six years when the cruise ships started making this area a regular stop. The town has 850 residents altho' the number increases over the "summer." The train ride was about an hour up from Skagway to Mt. Fraser in British Colombia ... in a trip we were have seen magnificent scenery this one exceeded everything we had seen to date. We ascended from 0 feet above sea level in Skagway to a dizzying 2865 feet at White Pass ... Along the way we saw a cinnamon brown bear who the guide thought was about 2 years old. He (the bear, not the guide) was just sitting on some rocks looking at the train ... we were told that it is quite unusual to see a bear as the noise of the train scares them away. He (or she) was awfully cute ... just the way you see them on TV. Unfortunately it was such a quick glimpse that we didn't have a chance to snap pictures but the memory will certainly stay with us!
Once we reached Fraser we switched to a van for the return trip so that we could see the other side of the mountains. All the words that the novelists and poets use to describe these types of vistas cannot begin to describe the beauty ... lofty peaks, majestic mountains etc. The beauty of this state cannot be overstated ... while it is clearly not a place that I would choose to live, as the saying goes, it is a great place to visit. The views are truly awesome and breathtaking ...and everything (with the exception of the area of town in which of course has sprung up a host of tourist shops) is virtually untouched. Alaska itself is one quarter of the size of the total 48 below (as the contiguous states are called) and the vast majority of the state is unpopulated.
We returned to Skagway and back to the ship. By now it was about 4:30 and not having eaten since breakfast we made a mad dash for the deck where soup, sandwiches etc are served until 6 PM. We devoured soup, sandwich, sweet potato fries and a cocktail, got our books, stretched out and promptly fell asleep until 6:30 when we woke up to shower and get dressed for dinner. Altho' we were still stuffed from our late lunch and could easily have passed on dinner, not surprisingly we manned up and ate every morsel.
We rolled into the theater where we saw a magician and a ventriloquist. They were outstanding and if either one every plays in Boston we will definitely go to see them ... the show was fabulous!
And now, off to bed. Sorry ... I am not uploading any photos as the process is painfully slow and we have to be up early to get a prime location for tomorrow when the ship sails through Glacier Bay.
Until then ....
You Know You're In Alaska When...
ReplyDelete. . .the mayor greets you on the street by your first name.
. . .there is only one shopping plaza in town.
. . .the municipality buys a Zamboni before a bus.
. . .the major parish fundraiser isn't bingo - its sausage making.
. . .you find -60c a might chilly.
. . .you know the 4 seasons: Winter, Still Winter, Almost Winter, and Construction.
. . .when you drive for a mile on square tires on a -65 morning before they eventually become normal.
. . .when you have to put your sun visor down at 3:00 a.m.
. . .all of your relatives refer to you as that crazy person that lives up there.
. . .you only own four spices: salt, pepper, ketchup, and Tabasco.
. . .the mosquitoes have landing lights.
. . .you have more miles on you snowblower than your car.
. . .you have 10 favorite recipes for moose meat.
. . .driving is better in the winter because the potholes get filled with snow.
. . .you think sexy lingerie is fleece socks and a flannel nightie with only 8 buttons.
. . .the most effective mosquito repellent is a shotgun.
. . .your snow blower gets stuck on the roof.
. . .you think the start of moose season is a national holiday.
. . .your monthly phone bill is larger than your house payment.
. . .you have tennis elbow but have never played tennis, just snagged a lot of salmon.
. . .you know a honey bucket is really a bucket, but it's not really full of honey. (If you don't know, don't ask)
. . .you know that the Rat Net is not a rodent catching device.
. . .you know the Naknek twitch is an illegal fishing technique, not a spasmodic muscle in your neck.
. . .your bedroom windows are covered in aluminum foil.
. . .you had waffle soles put on your cowboy boots.
. . .you know that a "handi-man-jack" is a device designed to lift a car to change a flat, not a guy named Jack that comes around your house on Saturdays to repair minor problems.
. . .you know a "white out" has to do with winter conditions not correcting fluid for typos.
. . .you are vacationing in Hawaii when a beautiful woman in a bikini walks by and you think, "Boy, I'd sure like to see her in a snowmobile suit."
. . .you have called an 800 number you found in a catalog and then were told "Alaska? Oh, we don't ship out of the United States."
. . .you put up with the pain of a toothache until the Permanent Fund Dividend checks come out in October.
. . .you know going "outside" involves a whole lot more than opening a door and walking into the yard.
. . .you have ever worn a tie with waders.
. . .you have learned to never say to your kids, "Be home by dark."
. . .you know Bunny Boots aren't worn by bunnies or made out of bunnies.
. . .you know the meaning of the word "baleen" and it has nothing to do with making hay into large cubes.
. . .you think it's normal for a town to put all the businesses on one side of the road.
. . .there are only three seasons: winter, breakup, summer.
. . .the seat in your outhouse is lined with styrofoam so your butt won't freeze to it when you have to sit down for an amount of time.
. . .when you have to set your alarm every three hours to go start you car and let it run for 20 min. so hopefully it will start in the morning so you can go to work.
. . .when you leave the water running in the sink so your pipes won't freeze and you can't sleep because all you can hear is the water running.
. . .You open your freezer to take out something for dinner, and are faced with many choices, Pink Salmon, Silver Salmon, Red Salmon, King Salmon, Smoked Salmon, or Halibut!
. . .you're buying a house & you have to ask for water & electricity as an option.
Ok Marv, for someone that is injured you clearly have WAY TOO MUCH time on your hands!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog Mom. Sounds like it was a spectacular trip. I can picture Dad saying "I haven't eaten anything all day" when you were back at the ship at 4:30 stuffing your faces! :)
Look forward to reading the next edition. Hope today was a good one for you.
Love,
Scott