Alaska, the Coastal Version

Nick in the ship's pool

For our big summer vacation this year our family decided to go to Alaska.  We went 2 years ago and did the interior region Denali/Fairbanks area, so this time we did the coastal areas.  All I can say is WOW!  If you only get to Alaska once in your life, this is the place to see.  The glaciers are amazing!  Living in the shadow of Mt Timp as a girl my friends always told me that there was a glacier on the backside.  Now that I have actually seen a glacier, um no, that little patch of snow on the back of Mt Timp is most certainly NOT a glacier.  A glacier is one of the most beautiful and powerful pieces of mother nature in action that I have ever beheld. The glaciers are about 100ft tall and the most beautiful blue.  When a piece drops off, the new ice underneath is the deepest purest blue, I could have watched the glaciers for days. 

Near the iceburgs

We started out on a cruise ship from Vancouver to Anchorage.  We had a stop in Juneau where we kayaked in the glacial lake of Mendenhall glacier.  We got very close to the floating iceburgs as well as the actual glacier.  As we took the kayaks out, we were told to be careful because the iceburgs roll over unexpectedly and that pieces of the glacier can fall down and hit you.  After we saw the glacier calve we understood the danger.  The noise it makes is like a gunshot and then the piece that falls is the size of a house.  The resultant wave is like a tsunami when you are in a kayak. 

See the deep blue where the glacier recently calved

-Kayak next to a glacier=one check off Tom's bucket list

We were hoping to see the famous salmon run but were a few weeks too early.  Oh well.  We did see a lot of bald eagles and even a moose and bear.  We also saw a lot of porpoise and orca whales.

Looking at historic totem poles

At another stop we were lucky enough to stumble onto some tide pools.  We spent 4 hours squirting sea anemones and harrassing sea urchins and sea stars.  Those beaches had not seen a human in quite some time as the sea life was abundant, just waiting for our little guys to come along and capture them.  We chased crabs and sea cucumbers and even saw a few eels.  The little guys thought it was so cool and were very sad when the tide came in and the rocks were covered up.  It is so nice when you find an unexpected treasure like that. 

Check out the seastars and the sea cucumbers

We did have one fail.  At Skagway we rented some bikes so that we could ride to a ghost town.  On the map it looked like a very manageable ride.  Once we got there we found that the road actually went over a small mountain.  We rode about 1/4 the way and then decided that this was NOT fun.  We were on vacation after all so we turned around and had a great time coasting back down the mountain.  We then visited a gold miner cemetary and learned about the lawlessness in the gold rush towns.  Behind the cemetary was a waterfall that we hiked to.  Not what was planned but an OK substitute.  I guess we should have looked at the topographical map when we made our plans, who knew?

In Alaska at this time of year the sun sets at 1130 and rises at 430.  When it has "set" it actually remains in a twilight state, it never gets really dark.  Try and keep your kids on a regular bedtime schedule with hours like that, impossible.  The little guys spent a lot of time sleeping in their car seat.  It was nice to come home and actually sleep in the dark again. 

Superhero night at kids club