 Since we had a very early flight, we arrived in Seattle in time to drive down to Mt. Rainier National Park |
 We were fortunate that the mountain was "out" as they say and we could see it |
 Another range in the National Park |
 Narda Falls, Mt. Rainier National Park |
 View from Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center |
 Better view of Rainier |
 Rainier over partially frozen Mirror Lake |
 Roadside falls in Mt. Rainier National Park |
 Leaving the National Park we drove to Snoqualmie Falls, a 270 foot waterfall used to generate hydroelectric power |
 The next morning our first stop was of course Pike Place Market, a Seattle icon |
 What an amazing collection of seafood |
 And people .... |
 View of the Bay side of the market |
 Elliot Bay from Pike Place Market |
 The Space Needle, built for the 1962 World's Fair |
 View of Lake Union |
 Downtown |
 Towards Elliot Bay and Puget Sound |
 Seattle in glass |
 Another must visit for us was the Chihuly Gallery |
 We saw some of his work at Crystal Bridges in Arkansas, and knew we had to visit when in Seattle |
 Really breathtaking work |
 I was very happy with my Lensball pics in the gallery |
 Such vibrant colors |
 More Chihuly in my Lensball |
 Glass boat |
 Sunset from Kerry Park. If you look above the Ferris wheel you can faintly see the top of Mt. Rainier in the far distance |
 Caught a plane streak as it got dark |
 And finally the shot I was hoping for |
 Next morning took the Amtrak to Vancouver, B.C. My first train trip |
 Street in front of our Vancouver hotel |
 Street in front of our Vancouver hotel #2 |
 The next day we took a City Tour, starting in Stanley Park |
 An area known for its Totem Pole Garden |
 Impressive artwork |
 So intricate |
 We stopped at the Prospect Point Overlook with views of English Bay |
 Next stop was Granville Island |
 Where of course we found a brewery |
 Final stop was at The Lookout Tower, Vancouver's version of the Space Needle |
 The Vancouver cruise port, where we sailed from the next day |
 Downtown from the Lookout Tower |
 We finished the day with dinner along the waterfront |
 Sunday arrived, and it was time to board the Westerdam for our cruise |
 As we sailed under The Lions Gate Bridge, I was surprised to see Mt. Baker in the distance. It is located in northern Washington |
 Mt. Baker over Vancouver skyline |
 Settled back, put my feet up and enjoyed our balcony |
 Soon we popped our complimentary bottle of champagne. I could get used to this! |
 View as we cruised the Inner Passage |
 Panoramic view of the Inner Passage |
 Sunset in the Inner Passage |
 Our first Alaskan port was Ketchikan |
 The southeastern most city in Alaska |
 Ketchikan in glass |
 Main street |
 "The Rock" a history of the city |
 Located along the Tongass National Forest, which is a rain forest |
 Being a Deadliest Catch fan I had to do the crab fishing tour! |
 A king crab trying to escape |
 A crab pot |
 Bringing in a pot of smaller crabs |
 Displaying a king crab |
 A squid! |
 One of the highlights of this tour is the feeding of bald eagles |
 Have never seen anything like it |
 Such majestic birds |
 All diving for their fish |
 Sailing away from Ketchikan |
 Early the next morning we arrived in the capital city of Alaska |
 Juneau is the only state capital not reachable by road |
 View from the ship |
 There we took a whale watching tour. Saw our first spout |
![Later a breach [that's the head of a humpback whale]](https://a4.pbase.com/g10/71/558271/3/168229044.mOMZeQgW.jpg) Later a breach [that's the head of a humpback whale] |
 Back and spout |
 Diving humpback |
 And finally a tail! |
 As we headed back to shore, we spotted sea lions sunning themselves |
 From the boat we could see the Mendenhall Glacier |
 Much closer view of the Glacier |
 and the glacier melt falls |
 Downtown Juneau |
 At 4:30 a.m. local time I took this shot. Something about a Midnight Sun |
 We arrived in Skagway, Alaska, where we took a bus tour to the Canadian Yukon |
 Falls along the highway |
 Alaskan tarn |
 Alaskan Tarn #2 |
 We finally reached the Yukon where we posed for a rare picture of us |
 Silt from the glaciers cause this incredible color |
 We stopped at the Carcross "desert" , said to be the smallest in the world |
 Soon after we encountered a polar bear! Fortunately we escaped with our lives |
 We did visit a sled dog training site |
 Emerald Lake, Yukon, Canada |
 Yukon highway |
 Entering back into Alaska |
 Downtown Skagway, home of two very nice breweries |
 Next morning it was in the upper 40's and raining when we entered Glacier Bay National Park |
 Soon we saw ice chunks floating by |
 A bald eagle hunting the ice |
 Our first stop was the Margerie Glacier |
 where we heard and saw it calve, i.e. chunks break off into the sea |
 Glacier in glass |
 Panoramic of the glacier |
 As we sailed away, you could see the ice that had fallen away |
 Next was the John Hopkins Glacier |
 Finally the Lamplugh Glacier; note the fishing boat to get a sense of scale |
 As we sailed out of Glacier Bay, of course the sun made an appearance |
 Our final day was cruising the Gulf of Alaska where I shot this 11 p.m. sunset |
 We left the ship in Seward Alaska |
 Boarding the Cruise Train to Anchorage |
 I was blown away by the scenery, spending much of my time on the viewing platform |
 Reflection in the side of the train |
 Mountain reflections everywhere you looked |
 Breathtaking! |
 Such unexpected beauty |
 Unlike anything I had ever seen |
 Even some blue skies |
 Another reflection in the side of the train |
 So much water and mountains |
 I was in complete awe |
 We spent the night in Anchorage |
 View from the balcony of our hotel |
 Next morning we boarded the Mckinley Explorer for the trip to Denali |
 We rode in a glass domed double decker rail car |
 Distant mountain range |
 Talkeetna, just outside Denali |
 More stunning views |
 Only available from the railroad |
 Another train reflection |
 Finally we arrived at the Denali Depot, inside Denali National Park |
 Before we even reached our lodge, we were greeted by moose |
 We spent 3 nights at the McKinely Chalet Resort. Our room was at the top left |
 The Nenana River. We could hear it from our room |
 Another shot from the grounds |
 Common area at the Lodge |
 Visitors Center Denali National Park |
 We took an 8-hour Wilderness Tundra tour on this bus |
 More beautiful vistas |
 We were part of the 30% that get to see Mt. Denali!! |
 We saw Caribou |
 And an Arctic Ground Squirrel |
 The Denali road |
 Just a mamma grizzly snoozing |
 Those 2 dark brown lumps behind are her very young cubs |
 Standing grizzly |
 Clouded in Mt. Denali |
 Shallow river running through Denali |
 A rather important sign |
 We spent the 4th of July in Denali. Seemed appropriate |
 The next day we traveled to Fairbanks for a River Cruise |
 Aboard the Discovery III |
 We saw a seaplane demonstration |
 A sled dog training school |
 Sled dogs cooling in the river |
 We visited an Athabascan Indian village |
 Where we saw reindeer! |
 Cruising the Chena River |
 Inside the Riverboat |
 Our final day in Alaska we rented a car |
 Visiting the antler arch |
 Made of moose and caribou antlers |
 Then we drove to the North Pole! No not that one. North Pole, Alaska |
 We saw a giant Santa |
 An amazing collection of Christmas kitsch |
 A reminder that Christmas is never far away |
 And look who was working even in July! |
 This town is serious about Christmas |
 Even McDonald's gets in on the act |
 We strolled around a Waterfowl Rescue |
 Seeing and hearing a lot of songbirds |
 And soon after ran across |
 The Alaskan Pipeline. Alas our trip was over as we then boarded our flight home |