Alaska

Well, here is an account of Jordan and my trip to Alaska. Sarah, just so everyone knows, stayed with her Nana in Logan and had the time of her life with her Bompa and Nana and cousin Abby. She still is jibber-jabbering about them. Thanks Nana and Bompa!!

Our tip started May 23rd when we flew out to Seattle, WA. We got in a little before 11am and we spent the rest of the day being tourists through the city. We rented a car, which was the most brilliant color of blue (I’ve officially decided we’re getting a blue car next time).

We went to Pike’s Market in Seattle and let me tell you, it was a bustling place! It was so crowded, but there was also an arts festival on Mercer Street, which is only a few blocks away. So, we made our way through everyone and saw some pretty neat things. Here are some pictures.

The first picture is of Pike’s Market. It is really busy, as you can tell. Everyone was selling these bouquets of flowers for $15!!! That is unheard of here in UT, but I guess their nurseries are more readily available to them and they don’t have to worry about the cost of shipping as well. We saw a lot of fish markets!! I wish I could’ve caught a King Salmon like these!

This is a pepper stack. It takes about 6 months to dry, which you hang the stack in your kitchen, and then you have dried peppers you can crush and use anytime in your cooking. I loved the bright colors…aren’t they beautiful?!

We ate at the same restaurant that they filmed ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ in with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. This year they are celebrating 100 years in business. I had the fish and chips, couldn’t resist considering its all fresh!!

Of course we had to see the Space Needle. It’s pretty neat, huh.

On Sunday before we deported we stopped by and saw the Seattle Temple. I was surprised when we got there and discovered the temple grounds are closed on Sunday. I guess having them open nearly all the time is a privilege in Utah. But, I snapped this picture from the highway since that is the only front angle I could get without climbing over the temple fence and trespassing. I’m not sure the Lord would’ve liked that.

We left for our cruise about 1pm and then began cruising at 4pm on Sunday May 24th. Here are some first cruise pictures of us leaving our port in Seattle.

The next day we cruised all day, which I didn’t mind, but Jordan gets sea-sick. So he took some medicine and it made him really tired (go figure). So, he spent Monday taking a really long, extra long, did I mention long(?) nap. Here is some footage of a tour of our steward-room. It was pretty nice and I was surprised at how large it was.

That evening was formal night. So, I got all dressed up in red and Jordan and I headed down to dinner. It was a lovely dinner and I enjoyed some halibut (some of the best I've ever had!). Jordan went for the steak. Anyway, here we are all dressed up together.

The next day we woke up and were in Ketichan, AK. Jordan and I decided that we’d forgo getting a patio cabin for our room and instead spend our money on excursions. So, every port we went to, we did something special to that area. In Ketichan we got our own little boat, Jordan was the Skipper, and we followed a guide into the channel and ended at a secluded beach in the perma-rainforest.It was so neat!! They completely loaded us up in gear! I had wool socks, rubber boots, a bib, rain jacket, wool hat, protective glasses, and wool gloves. Needless to say, we looked like yellow marshmallows. But, we were warm and dry.

On our little trip, we saw a pod of Orca (killer whales) with their young. We were so close to them! I wanted to swim with them, naturally, but I couldn’t. You know common sense eventually rains over me and I didn’t want to become fish food. So, I decided to film it and take pictures instead.

We got to hike around the rainforest for a bit too. It was really neat! In Ketichan it is a local joke that they measure the amount of rainfall in feet, not inches. They receive about 12-14ft of rain a year! Wow, that is something, now isn’t it?!

Creek Street is a famous street in Ketichan that was built completely on wooden stilts. Since then, the street has been maintained and the buildings refurbished. But, the same olde time ambience still exists and the buildings still creak a little when you walk around. Ketichan was a old gold boom town and was a large part of the rush in 1898. Supplies were brought in, miners came, and so did the sports women (that was a nice term for a Madame). Ketichan had some pretty neat “wild-west” stories, except it was more “wild-north”.

After our fun excursion we had to get back on the boat and cruise to Tracy Arm Fjord. Of course we couldn’t dock and get off the cruise ship there, but we saw some of the most beautiful country cruising through this Fjord. Ice chunks were scattered in the water, their brilliant glacier blue was awe inspiring. 9/10ths of icebergs are underwater. Our cruise ship had to stop a little earlier than planned to anchor down because of ice, but that is okay. We stopped in a beautiful area! It was raining, and very cold, but that is okay. I’m from UT and can handle temps from -20.

After stopping and anchoring down in Tracy Arm Fjord, we cruised on to Juneau, AK. Juneau got its name from Joe Juneau, who after buying everyone a round of beer before the city name elections, has swayed everyone to name the city after him. Perhaps when everyone sobered up they thought otherwise, but their votes were casted and the city was now named after a gold prospector, Joe Juneau.

In Juneau we went whale watching. It was really neat and exciting. We saw a total of 17 Humpback whales, some with their young. I got some good footage, but the pictures kind of are bad. My camera isn’t the best, so use your imagination. The water spewing into the air is the 3 gallons of water they hold in their spout. When they exhale, a large spray of water that reaches between 12-20ft in the air, is what guides you to the whales.

After we watched the whales, we went to Mendenhall Glacier. It was really neat! We hiked up to a large waterfall that was close to the glacier, since we couldn’t hike on the glacier (crevasses are a pretty serious danger). We learned the glacier recedes about 250ft a year and only moves 1-2ft a year as well. The ice from the glacier is so brilliantly blue that my camera wasn’t able to capture the pure grandeur of these natural wonders. I’d love to spend another lifetime studying glaciers and the wildlife surrounding them.

Our time in Juneau slipped away from us and we were soon back on the cruise ship and headed towards Skagway, AK. Skagway is a city that was created during the gold rush in 1898. It was the last city before the wild frontier and the great Klondike pass. Here is a little more info from their website: A place exists in Alaska where the past lives on, where the cries of "gold in the Yukon" still echo from steep canyon walls, where the sounds of barroom pianos and boomtown crowds ring out in the night. A place where the romance and excitement of yesteryear linger around every street corner, every bend in the trail. That place is Skagway!

The population of Skagway is about 1,000 residence. It nearly doubles in the summer seasons when tourism picks up, but then staggers when the harsh Alaskan winters come. Skagway was an old boom town which at one time had 52 saloons in a 4 mile radius. Ketichan was much the same and was known to be the gold rush towns that thrived for 2-4 years before all the hungry gold rush miners left when the gold was gone.

Right before we arrived, we learned the railroad was damaged due to a landslide and it would take 2 months for the locals to fix it. So, everyone was scurrying to find another excursion to go on. Jordan and I already had fishing scheduled, so we lucked out. I wanted to go on the train ride afterwards, but I suppose it was never meant to be. At least the locals got an extra boom of shoppers this go around. This is a picture of me standing next to a 'snow-blower'. I'd hate to get in this machines way!!

In Skagway, Jordan and I went King Salmon fishing. Of course we were about 3 weeks too early for fishing, so we put our lines in the water for show and watched the eagles. The locals named one of the eagles Fred and his mate’s name is Wilma. They’d watch you fish and wait for you to hook one, then they’d graciously steal your fish off your line and enjoy a free meal on you. Hey, in the Caribbean it’s sharks and in Alaska its eagles. Either way, you’re sharing your fish with something else.

Our Skipper fed Fred some bait, which was frozen herring, and we got to see an eagle in the wild up and close. Here’s some pictures and footage of Fred.

Skagway is also the location of where the natives find all the ancient wooly-mammoth ivory tusks. There are only 2 months out of the year that the ground is thawed out enough that they’re able to dig without breaking their shovels for ivory. It was really neat seeing all the jewelry and ivory tusks in the stores. But, let me warn you, ivory isn’t cheap, but it makes some of the most beautiful jewelry!

After Skagway, we cruised another day at sea headed back towards Seattle. Jordan didn’t get too sea-sick, but he took more medicine and slept some more. I enjoyed some quiet down time and read while I could and enjoyed the cruise ship alone. But, when Jordan awoke from his nap, we saw the sun! We looked out our window and saw the most beautiful country ever!

So, I grabbed the camera and off we went to the upper deck where we could get some pictures. The water was so smooth that I was able to take pictures and get a reflection of the mountains in the water! It was simply stunning and breathtaking! I could hardly believe that some people never even went outside to view this breathtaking country. Here are some of my pictures.

The next day we arrived in Victoria, B.C., Canada. We had to go to the Butchart Gardens. In fact, I told Jordan it was a must! So off we went. When we got off the bus, the smell of flora immersed you. It’s hard to describe the sweet, fresh smells of all the flowers in bloom, but know it was heavenly. The history if the garden is very intriguing and I invite everyone to search it out. Here is a little history of who the garden began: As Mr. Butchart exhausted the limestone in the quarry near their house, his enterprising wife, Jennie, conceived an unprecedented plan for refurbishing the bleak pit. From farmland nearby she requisitioned tons of top soil, had it brought to Tod Inlet by horse and cart, and used it to line the floor of the abandoned quarry. Little by little, under Jennie Butchart's supervision, the abandoned quarry blossomed into the spectacular Sunken Garden.

After we spent a few hours in Victoria, we were cruising back to Seattle. The next morning we ate breakfast and then waited for our departure time. We flew home in the afternoon and touched down in SLC around 4pm. It was nice to come home, especially since I missed my little girl immensely. Even though I had the time of my life and saw some wonderful, spectacular things, I was glad to see the mountains of home once again. I recommend Alaska to everyone!