well we are back from Alaska! we went from here to Toronto then from there to Vancouver then to the cruise ship. the ship was huge with at least 3 pools, 4 hot tubs, a paddle ball court and a track for walking or jogging. there were lots of restaurants and a buffet plus lots of shops too. there were lots of shows and demonstrations so we saw some really good shows while on board mostly at night. in Ketchikan we went on a tour where the guide showed us a park full of totem poles made by native clans. the totems were replicas because every 60 years or so they are carved again because of the weather and they wear down. we also got to go inside one of the homes made by one of the clans. in the afternoon we took a horse drawn trolley tour of Ketchikan. it was kind of cold and drizzling that day.

another day we went to the Mendenhall Glacier, the weather was awesome and the view was even better. we also took a tour of one of the salmon hatcheries. it was interesting to see how that worked. later in the evening we went on a whale watch and we saw several humpbacks. at one point we followed a pod of about 13 for awhile and we actually got to see them bubblefeeding. it was so cool to see and we were told that this was a rare thing to see, most of the crew on the boat had never seen something like that before. we got to see them feed at least 5 times on the trip. it was very exciting.

the next day we went on the White Pass Scenic Railroad. the view was incredible and from the height we were we saw some glaciers. after we came back we saw a show about the days of the gold rush and Alaska. it was a well done play and it was enjoyable. my sister was picked to go onto the stage and dance the can-can with the girls, that was hilarious.

we were in Glacier Bay the day after and the water was so calm. we saw things called bergy bits which are the chunks of ice that fall from glaciers and float in the water. the glaciers themselves were huge and we even got to see one "calving". this is when the pieces of ice break off and fall into the ocean. the sound it makes hitting the water sounds alot like loud thunder. we also saw some seals. later when we left the bay we saw some orcas and humpbacks. the humpbacks did alot of spouting and deep diving, one slapped the water with its tail and another breached but it was hard to see since it was far away, all we could really make out was the splash. not long after we passed an island with some seals on it and we saw blood in the water near the island and figured it to be seal blood because the orcas were heading that way and they eat seals. before dinner that night my sister and I were sitting in our room when we heard people being really loud outside. so we went out there and we saw two humpbacks breaching out by a large piece of land. one was also on its back slapping its pectoral fins on the water. they breached many times, one of them coming completely out of the water with the exception of the very tip of a pec fin, it was sideways so we could see the entire belly. we didn't get any pics of that because it happened so suddenly and we didn't want to miss anything. eventually the fog rolled in and we lost them but man it was so cool!

day after we pretty much just relaxed and bummed around, sleeping in and hanging around in one of the hot tubs. the time in Alaska is four hours earlier than the time in Pennsylvania so it kind of threw us off because the sun doesn't set until 10pm sometimes in some areas it doesn't set until after midnight. we were in College Fjord that day and we saw tons of sea otters and some porpoises.

the 21st was a long day of travel, we took a small boat from Whittier to Valdez and saw some porpoises on the way and some fish jumping out of the water then we took a bus to Copper River. along the way we saw Horse Tail Falls and Worthington Glacier. i slept on the bus alot. that day was the end of our cruise portion of the trip. we ended up at a lodge in Copper River and we had a great view of some mountains in the distance. we used the rest of the day to relax.

the day after we went on a tour of Copper River and its center to where there was a small museum. we went to the surrounding areas as well, Alaska's towns are small with not many people. Most towns in the area have one well to get water and they only have a few towns with DSL. they have no utilities so they have large generators for electricity and power. there are no pools so no one really knows how to swim unless they take lessons about 2 1/2 hours away. they have to pay to have their trash taken away and there are no disposals for appliances or cars so refridgerators and stuff like that sit out on people's lawns. in the afternoon we took a jet boat tour of 3 rivers in the area then went on a short nature hike where we saw old remains from when prospectors came through. we panned for gold in the same area they had many years ago and a few people did find some gold flakes. Most of the places are fixed so you always find something but this was the real deal from the actual place so very few of us found anything. we also saw some pelts from animals that the tour guides' grandfather had trapped and skinned. Red fox, marten, ermine, beaver, mink, lynx, coyote and a huge grey wolf. on the way back on the jet boat we saw a bald eagle eating a salmon.

the next day we had a 9 hour bus ride to Denali. for the most part we had a good trip, we even heard wolves howling in the distance at one of the stops. at another stop for lunch we met a woman who had a small team of alaskan huskies with her and across the river we saw her summer kennels. the dogs were all very friendly. the woman is training for the Iditarod this year. after we left that place everything was going fine until we got to a smaller part of the Denali highway. now, not all of the highway is paved, most of it is gravel and dirt and there are no guardrails. i had just closed my eyes since I had slept most of the ride so far but then I heard people getting really loud. i opened my eyes and looked out the window to see the gravel road coming up at me. our bus was leaning towards one side. i saw our driver trying to maneuver the bus back onto the road but the back end slid off the edge of the road and there was nothing but a ravine on that side. the bus was tilted so that the door was stuck open and the bottom edge of the bus was stuck in the mud because it had been raining for about 15 minutes by then. there were about 40 people on the bus and we were all cramming ourselves to the left side to avoid going over the edge and rolling. we got out of the bus as quickly and safely as possible but it was scary because of the angle we were at. the left front wheel of the bus was all the way up in the air and we were not able to get any of our stuff out except for some of us who got our purses out. my dad went up the road to a small building but ended up coming back saying that it was locked and looked abandoned. we were pretty much in the middle of nowhere and still at least 3 1/2 hours away from Denali. the driver tried to get help using his satellite phone but wasn't getting anything. and those of us with cell phones could not get any reception, there are several places in Alaska where you have no service. eventually a car came by and stopped. we told him what happened and he went to get help. in the meantime we all headed back to that place my dad stopped at and broke into their shed so some of us could get out of the rain. eventually we had a line of cars that came down and shuttled us to our next stop, luckily just 3 miles down the road. we were supposed to arrive in Denali around 5:30-6pm but we didn't end up getting there until around 9 because it took so long for them to get another bus out to us. but while we were at our stop we learned that a woman had been coming down the middle of the highway (which is only about a lane and a half wide and we were on a large tour bus) with a cell phone in hand, probably trying to get reception and not paying attention. our driver had seen this and tried to move over some so she could pass but in the end slid down the part of the road that was soft. the woman didn't even stop or look back to see what happened, she just kept going! the nerve of some people! if things would have been worse she could have seriously injured or killed 40 people! later on when we got to Denali we didn't get our stuff until 12:30-1am and we were missing my sister's camera and my aunt and uncle's camera. we were really angry because together we have at least 2000 pics so our whole trip was on her camera. she got some really great pics. as it turns out someone had shoved her camera into someone else's case so we did get it back but my aunt didn't get her camera back until 6pm the next evening. what a day...

while in Denali we went to see Jeff King's husky homestead. he is a four time winner of the Iditarod and we got to see how he trained his dogs and runs his kennels. when we got off the bus to get there we were all handed an Alaskan husky puppy. they were soo cute! they have about 100 dogs in their kennels and they said that handing them to people helps to socialize them and starts the training process for becoming sled dogs. in the evening we went to a dinner show where the actors told us the story of Mt. Denali. the next day we went on a covered wagon tour drawn by horses and at the end we had breakfast in a cabin. it was really cool. in the afternoon we left Denali by train and headed to Fairbanks. the train ride was really cool, there were two levels of the train, the top level is to sit and it has huge windows all the way to the ceiling so you can see all the scenery, the bottom level was where they served dinner. the next day we took a riverboat tour and we made some stops along the way like the home of Susan Butcher, she was an Iditarod champion but sadly passed away last year of leukemia. her husband still runs things and he showed us how they trained their dogs. we also stopped at a native alaskan village where we learned about the people and how they made a living. when we got off the riverboat we got lunch then headed to the El Dorado gold mine where we panned for gold and we all got some. combined the four of us in my family found about 40 dollars work of gold flakes. it was pretty cool. and we had a good time. on the way back we stopped at the Alaskan Pipeline for some quick pics.

yesterday we came home. we flew from Fairbanks to Minniapolis where we ended up staying for 3 hours before our next flight. originally we had 2 hours to wait anyway but then found out that an earlier flight to Philadephia had been cancelled because of the weather so they overbooked our flight and pushed it back another hour because they were trying to get people to give up their seats and fly out the next day. eventually we got on the plane and were off but we ended up flying through some thunderstorms and that was a little unnerving and then we had to circle above the philly airport because of the weather and congestion on the runway. when we did finally make it onto the runway we were stuck there for another 45 minutes waiting to get to a gate. after we got out of the plane of course there was the forever long task of getting our luggage and then we spent another hour out in the lot waiting for my aunt and uncle to pick us up because they got stuck in all the traffic infront of the terminal. we were supposed to get in about 11pm but we didn't get into our house until 1:30-2am. so it was crazy.

sorry for the really long post but I had so much to tell from the two weeks I was away lol! i hope you stuck with me through my novel! and I know you are all expecting pics but that might take a few days, as I said I have at least 2000 pics to go through but they will definitely be posted!

__________________

yes i am a she ^_^

~My Babies~

1 Rosy Boa (male) Chaos
1 Snow Corn (male) Blizzard
1 Anertherystic Corn (male) Bullet
1 Senegal Parrot (male) Shadow
2 dogs (male) Spot and Bear

Always wanted to take that cruise. Sounds like a real good time. But hey I'm headin to Paradise, PA on monday (ok maybe no comparison.)

__________________
Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

lol except for the bus incident and the long travel it was very nice. i'm working on editing alot of my pics now so I can get them posted asap.

__________________

yes i am a she ^_^

~My Babies~

1 Rosy Boa (male) Chaos
1 Snow Corn (male) Blizzard
1 Anertherystic Corn (male) Bullet
1 Senegal Parrot (male) Shadow
2 dogs (male) Spot and Bear

Alaska is truly an amazing place. Glad to hear you enjoyed the trip.

After my visit there, I always say that no words or pictures can ever capture the stunning beauty and magnificence of that place! It is truly amazing to see in person.

__________________
Regards,
Dominick
_____________________________________________
"Do you watch too much television? Did you do so as a toddler? Evidence tonight that it could be the cause of learning disorders, like attention deficit and hyperact-Ooooh, a kitty!" - Keith Olbermann

Hello,

Sounds like you had a great time. We look forward to the pics!



Note:

For those that don't know what "bubble feeding" is, here is a quick understanding.

The whales shoot air out their spouts around a school of fish. Multiple whales work together to do this and the air creates "bubbles" that surround the school of fish. The bubbles appear to be a "container" to the fish and it disorients them allowing the whales the ability to feed on them without having to chase them down.

__________________
.:: Rich ::.

+ Spread The Info

Wow, sounds wonderful, I can't wait for those pics!

__________________

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

~Lacey~

My Photos

thanks Rich thats exactly what it is, i had meant to put that in there but I had gotten all distracted writing everything. we have pictures of them doing that i've got to get them off my sister's computer since she was the only one fast enough to get pics lol.

and Dominick it is true, there are no pictures or words to describe what you see. i have taken hundreds of pics but they don't really compare to what there actually is out there.

__________________

yes i am a she ^_^

~My Babies~

1 Rosy Boa (male) Chaos
1 Snow Corn (male) Blizzard
1 Anertherystic Corn (male) Bullet
1 Senegal Parrot (male) Shadow
2 dogs (male) Spot and Bear

excellent story. Can't wait to see the photos.

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

i've been working on editing photos and uploading them all day and i'm still working lol. luckily all I have left is what is on my sister's camera so I can get the pics from the whale watch. what i've got so far from me and my mom's are being loaded onto photobucket as I type so hopefully within the next couple days I can have some pics up for you guys. there are ALOT!!! definitely will be in a new thread.

__________________

yes i am a she ^_^

~My Babies~

1 Rosy Boa (male) Chaos
1 Snow Corn (male) Blizzard
1 Anertherystic Corn (male) Bullet
1 Senegal Parrot (male) Shadow
2 dogs (male) Spot and Bear