3.My Daily Bucket List Travelogue-October 6, 2009

Has an Alaska cruise been on your “Bucket List”?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to watch a bald eagle take flight and spread his wings to a full six foot wingspan and fly above you?

Have you ever wanted to be beside a glacier and watch portions of it break off and calve into the waters below creating icebergs the color of deep turquoise and blue and watch as it floats away in the unbelievable blue glacial waters around you?

Nothing can quite match your first glimpse of a tidewater glacier – a glimmering crystal-blue river of towering ice descending into an ocean inlet. And, should the glacier break off and calve, you’ll hear sounds from moans and groans to cracks and splashing and everyone onboard the ship will be clapping and screaming with excitement. The inlets, islands and waterways of Alaska’s Inside Passage provide one of cruising’s most picturesque routes. They are calm and serene waters, where one moment you can be sailing in a wide bay of islands and the next you’ll be cruising through a narrow waterway flanked by towering forested walls. In the Inside Passage, the scenery is constantly changing. You’ll pass small villages, islands too numerous to count and lighthouses all along the way.

In a destination as majestically monumental as Alaska, you’ll want to soak up as much insight into the people, landscapes and culture as possible.

Experienced naturalists will join the ship throughout the cruise to provide commentary and talk about Alaska’s natural wonders with a series of lectures. A National Park Ranger will join the cruise in Glacier Bay, spending the entire day sailing here with the ship to describe in great detail all of the parks legendary glaciers and to point out wildlife you might otherwise miss.

There are port excursions and options for every interest and activity level. Some people will thrill in pushing their physical limits with kayaking along a fjord or trekking on the face of a glacier; some of you may go zip-lining across a rain forest; while others might prefer a cultural performance getting to see local performers and storytellers introduce you to their native Alaska; or you might want to go panning for gold in authentic Gold Rush style. Some of you might prefer to go fishing for salmon or halibut and some of you might prefer to go whale watching. There’s something for everyone.

One of the best excursions Jim and I have been on was to go flight seeing in Prince Rupert. We flew over the beautiful valleys and rivers and lakes all dotted with snow capped mountains and many waterfalls along the way. They have a very diversing tide here in Prince Rupert and it changes up to 24 ft. - much like the reversible rapids in St. Johns New Brunswick. As we flew over a large lake there was a beautiful, huge waterfall off to one side, so we landed the plane on the water and we were able to take some pictures. Then the clouds began to lift and up the mountain we flew - up above snow-capped mountains, way above the tree-line up to Glacier #1 and Glacier #2. Simply breathtaking views anyway you looked. Deep valleys and gulleys with rivers, jagged mountains jutting out of the earth and then capped with pure white snow. The clouds dotted the sky and we had a few spotted raindrops here and there. We were up in the air about 1 1/2 hours all total. It was spectacular to experience flying above all of those magnificent snow capped peaks. I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance!