Even the name, Alaska, means large one, in the words of its Native Americans. It is an understatement to even
use the words large, enormous, or maybe even immense. The sky and mountains and forests go on forever. We travelled by air, by foot, by more busses than I can count, by train,and finally by cruise ship. Miles and miles of natural beauty in every minute. We saw bright yellow foliage across the Fairbanks area which made us think we were back in New England, except without the reds or oranges. (Because of the cold and altitude, none of our deciduous trees cab grow there). We saw glaciers that were white, blue, gray,silver, and black -all at the same time. We even walked on the Mendanhal Glacier in Juneau, a half hour spent in heaven.
We went down a river by raft that is through an area only reached by boat, surrounded by wildlife and nearly untouched by any human influences. We passed through fjords (deep, long, fingerlike harbors) to see glaciers , that from our twelth floor deck were at eye level; twice the ship did a slow circle turn with a panoramic view of the glaciers from one side of the ship across to the other. We saw moose, reindeer, beaver, eagles, whales, and stuffed bears (real, but not still alive). We learned about the salmon (5 different varieties), the caribou (who summer in Denali ,then winter in the North), and wild birds (who summer in Fairbanks, then winter all over the globe). We rode in a helicopter and stood on a glacier. We had a dog sled ride (in a summer training cart). We saw a Lumberjack competition iin Ketchican. We saw where the Gold Rush began in Skagway. We ate ourselves full for days and days. We walked so much we didin't even put on weight. But the absolute best thing we saw was Mount McKinley, or as they prefer to call it Denali, the Great One, standing tall and bright at 20,320 feet. Pictures, and more sharing to follow soon....
