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July 2008 Photo's Archive End of Cruise landing in Vancouver, BC August 1, 2008 Cruising the Inside passage and enjoying a day on the ship July 31, 2008 Our room Steward made little towel figures on turning down our covers in the evening. Battle of the Sexes show  One of the fancy clubs on the ship Another one elevators Main lobby Looking up the lobby Manf floors on the ship The Marriage Game Show Hallway to our room Another animal Our Waiters Arthur and Gabriel Main Dining room Ice Sculpturing show Missed out on Ketchikan Misty Floyds Air Flight Due to bad weather July 30, 2008 Bear watching in Icy Strait Icy Strait, Alaska July 29, 2008 Arrived in Icy Strait and only one ship is allowed to come in a day. Walking on a bear watch tour Tour guide showing us to stay on the floating boardwalk, because the marsh has some deep holes Some guides had guns just in case a bear did not stay its distance. Some 2000+ bears on the Island and so far we did not see one. Brown bears are same as Grizzly bears Some benches nawed by bears Bear skat Trying my new camera up close feature Finally see a mother bear and two cubs Close as we can get Ship off at a distance Natives of the island in costume at the welcome center. The also had zip line rides When you got off the ship onto the island they hand you a cedar chip as custom to drop into the campfire. Dale dropping to make a wish Took a walk along the beach and woods Bear carving we seen on the bear tour Panorama of the tour walk Along the beach walk See some people coming down the zip lines from the top of the mountain. 45 min ride up and 90 seconds down for $95.00 Them flying overhead. We did not book this prior to touring, but tried after arriving to make sure we had time and it was booked up. Some fishing catch on the pier Back on route for our next stop. Some panorama shot with my new camera feature Train Ride to White Pass Skagway, Alaska July 28, 2008 White Pass Train ride was a must see adventure. Slowly going up the grade and seeing the scenery. Old railrod car they now rent out as a cottage Front of our old car we road up in. You can see our ship from this height. Dale with her sister and husband. Reached the top into the pass. Canadian border. We flipped our seat backs over and went back down The town of Skagway Older train showing the snow blower used to clear the track Getting back on our ship. Whale watching in Juneau Juneau, Alaska July 27, 2008 Whale watching in Juneau A blow of water from a humpback A Bald Eagle sitting on a rock A tail of a humpback We then went to Glacier Bay National Park A bush plane taking off downtown Juneau. There are no roads that lead to the Capital of Alaska. Only by airplane or boat  They have bear trash receptacles downtown Red Dog Saloon downtown I found a Walmart even with no roads in and bought a new camera to get rid of the mark on the lens. Hubbard Glacier July 26, 2008 Hubbard Glacier was really a view to behold. Watching the ice float by and the captain slowly went in and zig-zag so everyone can see from their patios Hunk floating by. It's blue from lack of oxygen in the ice. You can see this massive glacier in comparison of the small boat. The ice made a loud thunder when it broke off. We were all yelling to try to make it break off more. They use to blow the ships horn, but are no longer allowed. Watch Video Our ship even had rock climbing. And they were doing it during a great scenic stop. What fools. Enroute to Seward to board the cruise ship July 25, 2008 Mt. McKinney was in clear view on our stop enroute to Seward. Dale's sister and her husband was on the cruise too and let us join them. Radiance Of The Seas Ship in sight. Getting on board Got a nice room with a balcony Sorry a picture out of order. Mt. McKinney close up. I started seeing a spot form on my camera lens. Bad timing Our assigned dinning table was right by the window. Life Jacket testing Indoor pool Denali National Park July 24, 2008 Denali National Park was a stop on our pre-tour We stayed at Denali Grand Lodge on a hill The park was vary vast  Only animals we seen that day was 4 rabbits and a lost seagull Husky Homestead was a extra Excursion and we had an opportunity to hear from Jeff King who won several races Iditarod Race and Yukon Quest We got a chance to hold the husky puppies. They do this on purpose as part of the training to acclimate the dogs among people The different types of training they go through. Video of  them  pulling a ATV This old time dog was a riot on how he rode up on the merry-go round and barked at the other dogs to pull Watch Video Different types of dog sleds. Starting our Pre-Tour trip before the Cruise Fairbanks, Alaska July 23, 2008 We did laundry in town of Fairbanks and dropped off our rental car. Then checked into Pikes Waterfront Lodge in Fairbanks to start our 2 day pre tour before we board the ship in Seward The room was river view. We boarded the Discovery paddle boat and did the tour. They showed how residents on the river use bush planes to get around The famous Pump House Restaurant we had dinner at. Showing some had hot tubs heated by outdoor wood stoves for the year round. The native village we visited was interesting. They showed the furs and design unique to each tribe. The sunburst hood was great effect. The rear of the coat. How they catch salmons on the river using current from the river. Smoke house Stopped in Fairbanks and had lunch Our tour Director DJ The next stop was a Gold mining tour. Along the small train ride we experienced how it was for the pan handlers over the years. Then we seen the modern way Where they use outdoor carpet to catch the selected last dirt to sift. Then they put it in a pan and showed us how to use them The result after 5 minutes of sifting was specks of gold This is what they produced with the four sifting Then we got a try This was one nugget the owners found. Everyone can hold it to feel the weight. But you were watched carefully. At first we thought both tours were going to be so-so, but we enjoyed them. I would highly recommend the Discovery Boat tour University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska July 21, 2008 The history museum in the University of Alaska is a gem in the AAA club book a must see. The entrance Up close of a brown bear in Alaska. The brown bear is the same as a Grizzly bear. It is bigger because of eating salmon along the coast. If the brown bear is 100 mile inland then they are considered a Grizzly bear. You can see one of the most extravagance outhouses in the museum. Notice the green Styrofoam seat so your behind does not stick in -40 weather. The botanical gardens at the University is great too. The colors of the flowers are so vibrant because of the 22 hours of daylight during the summertime. The large animal research center at the University is another interesting stop. The MuskOx was interesting Along with the Caribou shedding its antlers yearly. Horns are permanent and antlers are annual. Blue / Green Regatta Alaska Vacation  July 20th, 2008 Fairbanks, Alaska In Fairbanks they have plug in spots for employees throughout parking lots so they can plug in the engine heaters for their cars or trucks. It reaches -40 F degrees during the winter. We parked in this lot to see the boat race. The blue/green regatta is an annual boat race down the river. The rules of the game is to build a boat by using duct tape to hold items together. On lookers will also plummet the boats with water balloons as they go down river. Pioneer Park is considered Old Alaska giving you a look at the history of the living in Alaska over the past. The old buildings, ferries and rail trains are on display. You can experience Alaska Winters by visiting the -40 room in Pioneer Park. This gave you and example on how hot water evaporates when thrown in the air. How you can pound a nail in wood with a banana Dale did not want to go in the room. But some one had to take my photo. It was actually -50 in the room. The first cold blast was wild, but we were ready to leave. One of the old cargo ferries at Pioneer Park Good Old Days Parade Alaska Vacation  July 19th, 2008 Fairbanks, Alaska Good Old Days Parade was happening in Fairbanks and nothing like a small town parade On our drive to Chena Hot Springs we seen a Calf Moose with her mother Entrance to Chena Hot Springs Bull Moose along the road We then stopped to see a section of the Alaskan Pipeline in Fairbanks. This is part of the 400 miles exposed of the 800 miles of pipeline This what they call a pig and they send this silicone plug through the pipeline to clear or clean the pipeline.  Looking south Mileage marker at the stop A display showing the pipeline route in Alaska. The supports are flexible for earthquakes and contractions Going back under ground We then stopped in Silver Gulch Restaurant to have dinner. Events in Fairbanks Alaska Vacation  July 18th, 2008 Fairbanks, Alaska We flew in to Fairbanks early before the pre-tour cruise on Royal Caribbean started on July 22, 2008 We rented a car and stayed at the B&B Taste of Alaska Very nice place and during the winter months you can see the Northern Lights from their B&B. One of several gardens at the B&B. During our short stay they had the Good old days festival and the Eskimo / Indian Olympics were going on This event was the both feet high kick. The gymnast has to kick the ball hanging with both feet at once and land back on their feet standing Watch video of Gymnast The men got as high as 7 feet 2 inches. This was from the old tradition of a native would return to his tribe and kick so high that they could see him from a mile away and knows he needed help beaching a whale. The ear pull was to simulate the feeling of frost bite and help endure pain. Each person would place a string behind their ear and pull it off the other opponents. We then went to the Pump House Restaurant for dinner They had relics from the mining days Dale had the steam pot dish. Dinner with Friends July 13th, 2008   We finally met Lorraine & Walt, that found our website through Worker on Wheels website link. Lorraine has kept in touch  with us via e-mail, on sharing her experiences about our travels. It was a very nice lunch and finally can put faces to our e-mails.