From Zero to Twelve Thousand in Four Days

On the ship,( supposedly,) while we were surrounded by mountains, one of the passengers asked what our altitude was !!!??? Well, going from Sea Level to Rocky Mountain highs in 4 days isn't necessarily the easiest trip. We flew into the Mile High City and after a day of partial acclimation, Paul headed up to the Mile High City All 4 Fun Jeep event at over 7000 ft. Mike is well equipped for this type of event with his Rubicon jeep, outfitted by Jenna's brother Chris to be able to climb tall boulders. Our motorhome spends the summer out there so that is base camp for assorted family that chose to go on this ride. All this scenic beauty is only 55 minutes from their doorstep. Over 200 jeeps join in the event and it is quite a gathering. They go on daily trail rides over unimaginable terrain. I blogged about this last year if you care to go back and look. (August 08, different locale)
I received an invite to join this rugged adventure and Mike promised me a scenic and terror-free ride. We started off on deeply rutted roads. With tires very deflated the jeep sort of sways over the gullys.

We passed abandoned mines. People still sort thru the rubble for a chance to find a nugget or two.

The climb becomes steeper, narrower and bumpier. This picture doesn't capture the texture and when it really got rough and tumble, I was hanging on and couldn't take a picture.
These are serious back roads, merely a mule trail in spots and the chance of breaking something and getting stranded are pretty real. Mike had to go down for repairs on Tuesday. This truck had a serious problem, and according to the writing in the dust on it, had been there since mid-July. The injury looked fatal and not sure how or if it will ever get off the mtn.

Once we were high up, we were able to look across to another mtn trail. Mike and Lizzie took that zig-zag ride the day before. It always feels like I'm the only one around when we go up into these mtns and then suddenly, 2 more vehicles show up or are already there. These trails are clearly mapped and Mike just plugs them into the sophisticated GPS and off we go. The GPS also allows him to leave "breadcrumbs" on the display if he goes off trail so he can find his way back.

This is a view of the camp site from up high.

We still had a ways to go to our destination. Surprisingly, I had a cell signal and was able to send out a picture, labeled 11,717 ft. Jon responded with a picture of the boys labeled 300 ft.

We are above tree line at this point.
There are many things to see besides the views. The pine and juniper are wind swept and form interesting shapes. Even the dried and dessicated are beautiful.

It seemed to be peak season for wild flowers. I used to know the names of the mountain flowers but now I just remember the Indian paintbrush which is very prolific.

Almost 1200 feet at this lovely alpine lake off in the distance.

It has been several years since we have been "in" the mountains and I have missed them. There is a saying that "time spent in the mountains is not deducted from your life" We believe it and plan to do more of it. It is truly a special place.

Victoria, British Columbia / Butchart Gardens

We arrived in Victoria at 6 pm on Saturday and left at 11:30 pm so time was of the essence if we wanted to see anything. Mostly , we just wanted to see the gardens. And apparently, so did everyone else. We boarded a bus, one of probably 10 or 20 and had a drive thru the city on our way to Butchart.

Flowers are everywhere in Victoria and especially, these gigantic impressive hanging baskets.

Jenny Buchart and her husband , in the early 1900's, had a cement business and land to mine limestone. When friends arrived by boat, she wanted a welcoming sight to greet them so she built a beautiful Japanese garden. I didn't get any decent pictures of that area as the light was fading fast.

When the limestone was exhausted, there remained a large open pit. So she planted and planted. The sides are covered in ivy that she planted while lowered in a hanging chair. There are paths meandering through out this area and masses and masses of color. It was amazing.

Everywhere there are fountains and ponds and streams and waterfalls.

AND FLOWERS

The climate is very temperate here and rarely freezes so there are blooms year round. There is also an Italian garden and a Rose garden. Most of the flowers are pretty ordinary but its just the number and the color and the design that is so stunning. I wish the light would have been brighter but the evening was coming on fast.

It was very crowded. On Saturday nights they have music and fireworks to bring out even more people.

We had an evening tour of Victoria on our way back to the ship and the town is lovely even at midnight.

One of my favorite flowers, actually, my very favorite flower is the tulip. The ship, being of Dutch registry, had these magnificent paintings in the main dining area. They were quite large and quite impressive as a group.

And returning to our rooms for one last night, we had this hanging from the window with a note from our stewards.

It was a super trip and I'm already planning the next one. Please come along.

I'm off to the mountains for a few hours of jeeping today. Pictures at 11.

Ketchikan

Ketchikan arrived bright and early Friday morning. We could see most of the area from the ship but decided to rent a 4 seat golf cart to get an overview. We ended up at a museum to preserve the history and art of totem poles. It was very well done. This is a photo of a Klinget village with the poles in prominent display. They were carved of cedar and spruce and were to commemorate a great feat, the death of someone or to humiliate someone who had done a bad deed. If that person expressed remorse or paid for his wrongs, the pole was burned. The totem poles only last about 100 years so carvers have replicated some. Others are stored in protected environments. We later walked over to Creek Street, noted for its extensive bordellos in the early 1900's. The madams now sell T-shirts. The area was scenic and

the view from the bridge was of gazillions of salmon, swimming up stream The stream was just boiling with them until.........this seal decided to amble thru and show who's boss. We were only in port for a few hours and then headed back out to sea for the 30 hour cruise down to Victoria. Here is the latest in towel art when we returned to our room.
We are currently in Denver , writing in retrospective. Tomorrow I will share the amazing sights of Victoria.

Short pictureless note

I am down to a precious few minutes left on the ship's very expensive internet connection. Not that I'm complaining, it's cheaper than gambling and more fun. Speaking of gambling, I did throw $5 at one of the slots and got NOTHING, ZERO, NADA. You'd have thought they could have given up at least a quarter.....just to keep me interested.
We are currently in a major fog bank, on our way to Victoria British Columbia. We left Ketchikan yesterday at noon. We were only there for 4 hours but it was long enough to wander the town and see more totem poles and absorb more history of the area. Weather continued to be stunning and the crew was amazed. Last week, it rained the entire week. I think it would get really confining and boring with lousy weather.
Some of you less literary readers might notice a lack of pictures today. Yes, I know a blog is all about the views and not the opinions but with my dwindling minutes I couldn't wait for pictures to download at a crawl. I'll share again when we hit land.
Tonight we are going to see Buchart Gardens lit up at night and also the fireworks in the garden. Tomorrow morning we dock in Seattle at 7 am and will be off the ship by 10 and off to the airport.
We will head to Denver where Paul will do the 2nd annual Jeeping adventure with Mike and Alex and whoever else wants to go. I will do mountains of laundry and will pursue a more healthy lifestyle. I am actually tired of food.
This has been an exceptional week. I had no expectations since we had never been on a cruise. I would do it again tomorrow.... And yes Becca, you can come along....and Nicholas, and Alex and Travis and Lizzie and Andy and Mason.
Meanwhile, come back in a day or two for more pictures.

Sitka

We awoke to gorgeous views as we entered Sitka. Along the channel are many many small islands, and as we got closer, these tiny rock formations with trees started having lovely homes on them. And a large boat at the dock. The coast reminds us a bit of the rocky Maine coast, minus the background mountains. We do not come ashore but are anchored out aways. We were the only cruise ship but they said there is room for several altho I'm not sure where.

To get to town, they tendered us in on these ....they hold 120 and are also the life boats. It was a simple and efficent operation. Paul and I wandered the delightful little village. We did manage to do a bit of shopping but knowing my luggage capacity, I was controlled. Sitka was first established by the Tlinget Indians who lived for centuries in this area. Then the Russians, who could see Alaska from their house, came across and established control. There were many years of fighting and eventually an uneasy truce. Russia eventually gave the land to the US. There is strong Russian influence in the town....a typical orthodox church and crafts made in Russia.
Paul and I did extensive exploring on foot and ended up at this National Historical Park with authenic totem poles. We will see many more in Ketchikan today.

A view from the ship of the many inhabited little islands in the area.

Late afternoon, we returned to the ship and to the Observation deck for a wine and cheese with classical music. It was lovely. Along with the wine and cheese , they served crackers.....GRAHAM crackers. Must be a new thing. I don't recommend it.

Last night was the 2nd formal night. Sandy and Tom were up for it and we all look lovely. But I have no pictures to prove that. After dinner , Jerry and Maureen and Paul and I went to the big musical production. Sort of a salute to Broadway and the movies with singing and dancing by the 14 cast members all decked out in Bob Mackie costumes. A great show.

The cruise is quite a mixture of all ages. From babies to the real elderly and everything in between. They have ample things to do for all groups. It is a well planned operation. We would love to bring our grandkids along next time.

We've just arrived in Ketchikan for a 5 hour stay. Gotta go....room service at the door.

Juneau

Early Wednesday morning, we arrived in Juneau. It is hugging the side of this channel and is quite small....by state capital standards although it encompasses the largest area of any capital at 3000 sq. miles. You cannot drive to Juneau. It is accessible only by car or boat.

There were several other cruise ships in port. Part of the lure of cruising is the chance to get off the ship and explore the area. You can of course do this on your own but the ships offer various excursions. They can be from the simple and affordable to the exotic and very expensive. Prior to the trip, I examined our options carefully, did my research and decided that we should try ziplining. Now , this is not something I would ordinarily even consider. I am not of the high adventure sort but do enjoy more physical activities, biking, hiking, skiing etc. Not bungee cord jumping, hot air ballooning or anything of that nature. So this was a true leap of faith and nerve. The ship consultant assured me that it was safe, fun and all ages could and have done it. (no one under 12 however). She made it sound like a walk in the park. But, when we met off the ship with one of the guides, she was more direct and gave us a chance to back out after explaining more of the risks. I'm not sure that Sandy and Maureen were as informed as I was but they were eager to try it. Jerry and Tom opted to pass on this one due to some orthopedic issues.

We were transported over to the site by boat and then given another opportunity to back out. We were not the oldest in our group of 9. Surprisingly , or stupidly, I was not intimidated.....yet. This is Paul on one of the first zips. We started out on a small trial one, but still high off the ground. We were harnessed in and had multiple cables connected to safe areas at all times. We wore hard hats (not that they'd have done much good if we'd smacked into a tree) and leather gloves to brake ourselves on the cable. Some companies have the guides slow your descent but on this one we did all the work......I volunteered to go first.

Here we are standing on one of the platforms. We were high up in the trees, standing on these small platforms , safely ?? attached to various cables. We had two guides to help us at all times.

And then, if 10 zip lines of lengths up to 750 ft weren't enough, we had the joy of walking two long extension bridges.....high off the ground. Again we were tethered to a cable. The entire group did fine except that we did start out at 9 people and after the first zip, a young asian man with limited English skills, couldn't go on. I think he was the result of the ship consultant's over zealous encouragement. They had to lower him off the platform.

I think this is Maureen , using her fine "recliner form". The brochure suggests that the views of Juneau, the bubbling creek, possible bears and the old gold mine and the rain forest will only add to the enjoyment. Folks, let me tell you right now....this was not about the views. This was about keeping your eye on the guide, trying not to go sideways and wanting to brake the entire way down as you are traveling at 35 MPH !!!! Yes, it is exhilerating but I can go that fast down a hill in a CAR.

This is a view of the forest floor. The plants are huge. I did not take this from a zip line .

Paul again. We all did great. Managed to use good form, didn't crash into the platform and didn't brake too soon and get stranded out in the middle.After the final zip, we were still many many feet off the ground and had to rappel (sp??) down. That was kinda fun actually. Sandy has pictures of that. And she also has pictures of the awards ceremony where we received our medals of accomplishments.

And then it was back to the ship where we retired to the Crows Nest lounge for some libation, pats on the back and scenic views of the float planes taking off and landing.
We all agreed that if given the opportunity to do it again, at half the price at least, we would have done another 10 zips immediately.

Later we strolled the town and it was unimpressive with the usual tee shirt shops , jewelry stores and too many tourists. The weather was perfect and next time, after the zipline, I'd like to do some whale watching.

Glacier Bay

This was one of our destinations as we headed into Glacier Bay National Park. We spent all day Tuesday in this magnificent area. We saw bears and an occasional whale, sea otters and kayakers and campers in remote areas, accessible only by small boat. Only 2 cruise ships are allowed in at a time. We picked up National Park Rangers who shared historical info as well as environmental and geological details. The water is a lovely cloudy aqua and the glaciers are translucent and glowing from within in that same color. I'm not sure I captured it. We spent 90 min in front of Margery Glacier. We watched and listened as it "calved". Large parts cracking loudly and falling into the water with tremendous displays and sounds like loud thunder. I didn't get pictures as you usually hear the sound and then see the splash. We often spent time in this lovely place, the Observation Lounge. There is a coffee bar, a regular bar, a computer area and a wonderfully large , very complete library with very comfy seating areas. It really is a great spot to spend some hours.

Or we go on the top deck and enjoy this. Chairs and blankets if needed. And waiters ......That is a lightly tinted glass to protect from the wind.

A typical view. Not a postcard.

After a late dinner, we have an 8 pm seating, we returned to our room and each night a different towel creation awaits us.

Jerry and Maureen in front of Margerie glacier. It is about 300 ft tall.
As I write this, we are entering Juneau. This is our first land stop and we are going ZIPLINING!!!!

Hi again.......

Finally !!!!! I know that you have all been waiting for the next installments but folks, they don't have a lot of technology up here in the land of the midnight sun. Finally, we gave in and bought the techology. We will require you to SUBSCRIBE to this missive at the bargain price of $1.00 a minute. At that rate, we will make a profit of .60 /minute and it will pay for about 1 oz of wine if all 2000 of you sign up. Not sure why we never did the cruise thing before this but we highly recommend it. Holland America has exquisite service and aside from some of the buffet stuff (skip the scrambled eggs), the food is excellent. We had an uneventful trip to the ship from the airport. It's sort of like the Disney experience in that they move you effortlessly and efficiently and even the dim light bulbs in the crowd get where they are going....and luggage follows quickly. The ship holds 1848 people and a crew of 700 but somehow they put 2078 people on......don't know where they all are because nothing is crowded.

Here we are, minus Paul , on deck for the life boat drill. Now we know why they are called Mae Wests.!! Our room is small but not crowded and has amazing storage. Bed is very comfortable and since we have adjoining rooms, we opened up the walls between and have one long veranda.

By the way, let me introduce our traveling companions. My younger sister Sandy and her husband Tom from Monterey Co, California. My youngest sister Maureen and her husband Jerry from Lockeford, Ca. (She has been Mugs since a baby but I will try and use her given name most of the time. )

We had formal night last night. It was very very nice with outstanding food and service. Unfortunately, Sandy was a bit queasy and enjoyed room service. The seas were very rough yesterday and walking was a challenge. Then throw in spiky heels and it became a dance.

Today we are entering Glacier Bay National Park and the views are to be spectacular. I've already seen whales on my morning very brisk walk around the deck.
I have alot of pictures but it takes forever to down load them. But stay tuned and we'll be back soon.

The blog will not be as highly polished as you have become accustomed to....parden the broken syntaxes, the mispelling and the out of order pictures. I need to save my money for the jewelry shopping when we hit land (NOT) and can't sit on this expensive site for long.