Ron & Anita's Alaska Sojourn

July 6 - Salt Lake City to Chattanooga

2009-07-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

We got going in the morning, loaded the car for the short trip to the airport, and promptly took the wrong turn onto highway 15 north. Once we got headed in the right direction, we got the car checked in and found a looooooooooonnnnnnnggg line at the Delta check-in counter. Fortunately the line outside at the Red Cap station was very short, so we used that option and minutes later were waiting in another looooooonnnnnnngggg line for the security line. We discussed numerous issues of world-wide significance while we waited, and once they'd scanned our possessions we made our way to the gate. We loaded onto a Boeing 757 in good order, endured a three-hour flight to Atlanta, made our way to the gate where we were scheduled to catch our ride to Chattanooga, and settled in to wait for that plane to leave.

Since we were near the end of the concourse, I went down and took a few shots of airplanes on the taxiways and runways. Here's a Delta Airlines departure.

This World Airlines Lockheed was being towed along.

A United Airlines departure.

Continental Airlines pulling his gear up on departure.

This Airtran unit almost has his gear fully retracted as he heads "Up, Up, and Away!"

Shortly after I took these pix, a localized storm rolled across the airport and effectively closed it for nearly an hour. Our plane was supposed to leave at 5:30, didn't, and was finally cancelled around 7:00 PM. We were given "seat requests" and directed to another gate where there was a scheduled departure for Chattanooga at 8:20. And although the person at the desk acted like we all were unlikely to get onto the plane, in fact we were all accomodated. So we made it home, later than we wanted but with luggage intact. Thanks to neighbors Marc and Mary for so graciously picking us up and delivering us home. It's good to sleep in our own bed again.

July 5 - Little America

2009-07-10T10:57:00.001-07:00

We checked in at the Little America Inn which Anita had booked through Orbitz.com, and they put us in the most elegant room that either of us had ever enjoyed. Cost less than $70.00 with taxes - what a deal!

Our room had a small balcony with a breathtaking view of the mountains to the south-west of the city.

When we got back from dinner, we found the moon rising over the Wasatch mountains.

A short time later, the light rail train rumbled by the hotel.

Early to bed tonight; we leave for Tennessee tomorrow (via Atlanta-Hartford airport, of course).

July 5 - Ely, Nevada to Salt Lake City, Utah

2009-07-10T10:36:00.001-07:00

Once our excursion was done, we gassed the car and headed north. Whenever you drive in this part of the country, it's a good idea to make sure you don't run out of fuel 'cuz theres not a gas station on every corner. Most of the scenery is like that in the photo below.

If you look far in the distance, way down at the end of this very straight road at the base of those hills, you will see a town. It's West Wendover, Nevada, and it's twenty miles ahead of us.

We turned right onto Interstate 80 at West Wendover and drove on into Salt Lake City, passing the Bonneville Salt Flats and skirting the south side of the Great Salt Lake.

July 5 - Afternoon Excursion

2009-07-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

Our excursion to McGill (actually, toward McGill) consisted of SD-9 #204 with two coaches, an open car, and the bright yellow caboose. McGill is north of East Ely, and in this view we see the tracks through the broad Steptoe Valley and low mountain range to the east.

One of several advertising posters in our car.

We reached a siding in the middle of nowhere, and the 204 ran around the train to take us back to East Ely.

The hogger exchanges greetings with passengers on the open car.

Met some interesting folks on the train. One guy grew up in Edina. MN and has lived in Las Vegas since 1961! He related an interesting story about the house he grew up in, very near the Northern Pacific railroad.

July 5 - Trip to Ruth

2009-07-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

Large copper mines once existed near the town of Ruth, or "New Ruth" as the town is now called. The big yellow hill behind this marker is waste rock left after the mineral-bearing ore is stripped from the open-pit mines.

The marker reads as follows:

Copper Country

The famed open-pit copper mines of eastern Nevada, including the Liberty Pit, largest in the state, are located two miles south of this point. Through the first half of the 20th century, this area produced nearly a billion dollars in copper, gold and silver.The huge mounds seen from here are waste rock which was removed to uncover the ore.

Two miles east of here, near Lane City, was the Elijah, the first mine discovered in the Robinson Mining District. Lane City, originally called Mineral City, was settled in 1869 and had a population of 400. At Mineral City was the Ragsdale Station, one hotel and a stage station.

This old grader was parked in a small park. Needs restoration, eh?

A view of part of the open-pit mine.

We had to leave here and rush back to East Ely in order to make our 1:00 PM excursion.

July 5 - Trip to McGill

2009-07-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

There used to be a copper smelting operation in McGill, which employed most of the people in the area. We drove up here to see what remained of the operation and found this small yard.

I turned to my left and shot a picture of this old depot building. Don't know what it is now being used for, but it's in quite good condition.

Another turn to my left revealed this railroad-looking building. Might have been a freight house or some such?

July 5 - Nevada Northern

2009-07-10T09:33:00.001-07:00

I walked down to the depot in the morning and found this ex-Southern Pacific SD-9 running in the Nevada Northern yard.

The engineer walks down to the crew meeting in front of the steam engine.

NCCCo #93 left with her morning trip to Ruth and I caught her coming back to town.

July 4 - Afternoon Excursion

2009-07-10T06:40:00.000-07:00

After the parade we relaxed back at the Steptoe Valley Inn for a while. Before long, I heard the train returning from the afternoon excursion to the mines at Ruth, so I headed back to the yard for a couple more pix. Here's the train drifting downgrade to the switch.

As the train pushes back into the station, the cannoneer recharges his weapon. The flatcar with the "cake" and the cannon signify and celebrate the 100th birthday (January 17, 2009) of Alco steam locomotive #93. Read more about the restoration and rededication of the locomotive at the Museum Web Site.

The conductor keeps an eagle eye on the track from the steps of the wide-vision caboose.

Four 36-foot wood-sheathed boxcars are parked next to the restored freight depot.

By the time our excursion was ready to board the train, it had started to rain.

I made a bunch of pictures on our excursion to Ruth, but because of the roughness of the ride and the fading daylight, they didn't come out well. After the trip to Ruth, our train was pushed down the mainline to the golf course, where we enjoyed a fireworks display before returning to the depot. We learned later that it had rained hard, with some hail, at Ely while we rode to Ruth.

July 4 - Ely Parade

2009-07-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

We found ourselves a place on the shady side of the street, across from the JailhouseMotel Casino. Not quite as grand as some on Las Vegas, but with all the basic features ;-)

Lots of people brought pets to the parade. This guy is known as "Little Bear."

A float in honor of the unknown Soldier, guarded by a proud Marine. Semper Fi!

Many fire and rescue vehicles in the parade. This antique hauls a load of future firefighters.

Pretty little horsewoman proudly proclaims, "My Mom's in the Navy!"

July 4 - Ely Parade Preparation

2009-07-08T09:15:00.001-07:00

The Fourth of July is a big day for celebratory patriotic parades across this great country, and Ely, Nevada is no exception. Since our train ride wouldn't start until much later, we took the opportunity to check out parade preparations and make some pix of some very nice old cars. Here's a 1946 Chevrolet pickup truck.

A luxurious ride in 1951 was this Oldsmobile 88 2-door hardtop coupe.

How about this 1955 Pontiac convertible?

These two sweeties are the grandchildren of some folks who are staying at the same B&B as Anita and I. They'll be participating in the parade today.

Remember the movie, "American Grafitti"? How do you like this 1958 Chevrolet Bel Aire Coupe?

July 3/4 - Steptoe Valley Inn and BBQ

2009-07-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

Our landlord at the Steptoe Valley Inn has a BBQ next door. He had his smoker custom built by Buzzard BBQ up in Seattle and it holds a ton of very tasty vittles.

Buzzard BBQ has a very catchy logo.

July fourth is one of their busiest days. "Old Smokey" is loaded and fired up.

The locomotive design is well adapted to his BBQ business. The pork butts go in the upper cab area, and the beef is in the smokebox. Wood and a gas burner go in the lower cab area, just like the fuel in a steam lokie. And the tie-in to the nearby Railway Museum no doubt helps, too.

Out in the yard, #93 is backing down to the coal chute.

July 3 - Ely, Nevada

2009-07-07T18:48:00.000-07:00

We got to Ely mid-afternoon, and checked into our B&B which was only a block from the East Ely depot of the Nevada Northern Railway.

I hustled down to the depot to find that the local high school was holding a reunion for all the folks who graduated in a year ending in nine. I met folks from the classes of 1949, 1959, and more. Hearing the rumble of an old Alco, I walked back of the depot to find this RS-3 shunting cars in and out of the shop across the tracks.

Pretty soon Alco steamer #93 pulled up to the station with her train (two coaches, an open car, a wide-vision caboose, and a short flatcar holding a replica of a birthday cake and a two-inch cannon! #93 is a hundred years old this year (as of January 17, I've been informed).

The train crew held a meeting before loading the train for this evenings excursion.

The passengers are loaded onto the train, the conductor has given the high sign, and the engineer clears the cylinders before shoving the train back out onto the mainline.

The Nevada Northern Railway is run by a dedicated group of volunteers. We're looking forward to our excursion tomorrow.

July 3 - Las Vegas to Ely, Nevada

2009-07-07T17:27:00.001-07:00

We slept in a bit, and were ready to go by 11:00 AM. We met Jeff at a gas station along the way to say goodby, then drove north-east on I-15 to the intersection with highway 93 where we would turn north toward Ely. We passed a train on I-15 and caught him here at the junction.

The train had several of the ARMN reefers in the consist.

A GE pulling and an EMD pushing. It's quite a climb out of the basin that Las Vegas lives in.

When we got to Caliente, we found a string of lokies playing with a short work train. This SD70ACe was the cleanest of the six units.

There is a very nice depot here, now used by the city as a museum. My 1948 railroad atlas tells me this is the Union Pacific line from Barstow, California through Las Vegas to Salt Lake City, Utah.

We took the long way to Ely, and enjoyed the beauty of the western desert scenery.

July 2 - Las Vegas

2009-07-07T16:08:00.001-07:00

We spent the day with Jeff again, and when Amy got off work we met at the Bellagio to enjoy one of their famous Buffet dinners. It took a long wait but we all felt it was time well spent. This shot was made while we stood in line with many other folks.

I made a couple of shots from the roof of the parking garage before we got in line. Here's the Eiffel tower from across the street.

And Caesar's Palace...

And more of the Las Vegas construction, behind the Jockey Club.

After Dinner we wandered around the Bellagio. Here's a shot of the glass artwork on one ceiling.

Later we watched the water show in front of the Casino.

They have quite a crowd, and run the show every fifteen minutes.

Our last night in Las Vegas, so we make an early evening of it.

July 1 - Las Vegas

2009-07-07T13:55:00.000-07:00

We got up rather late and hooked up with Jeff for a tour of some of the casinos. First, though, I convinced Anita and Jeff that we should ride the monorail that connects some of the larger casinos. We got ourselves day passes and climbed aboard.

I was amazed at the amount of construction taking place all around the city. When we came in yesterday, we got hung up in traffic due to road widening projects on interstate 15, and there are a significant number of high-rise buildings under construction. Roadwork on the street past the Wyndham makes getting in and out a bit of a hassle; the sidewalks are tiny except for the ones on "The Strip."

Dollar day at the Sahara: Beers for a buck, hot dogs for a buck, blackjack for a buck a bet.

Waterfall in the golf course behind one of the casinos.

We could look out the back window of our condo (on the twelvth floor) and see airplanes coming and going at the airport. They have a very busy place here.

That evening we went out to eat at a classy restaurant near the "Old Strip," and had a really grand time. Afterward we strolled around that part of the city and enjoyed "people watching" (or what some unkindly call the freak show).

June 30 - Salt Lake City to Las Vegas

2009-07-07T11:39:00.000-07:00

Since we already had our rental car (2009 Hyundai Sonata, quite nicely appointed with XM radio so Anita could annoy me no matter how far we got from civilization), we were able to depart Salt Lake City without any hassle at all. We got onto Interstate 15 south a mere half-dozen blocks from the hotel and, as they say, "boogied."

Not too far south of the city, we spotted this local freight heading for the yard in SLC. I had to make a picture in spite of heavy traffic and narrow road shoulders.

A bit further on was a long string of refrigerated cars, stored on a siding and waiting for an upturn in business. Lots of them, which I didn't stop to photograph. Should have, though.

Further south the mountains became more distinctive, making this a very nice drive. Hot, though. I'd hate to be stranded in this desolate countryside.

Marty Robbins sings, "The red hills of Utah are calling me." I think these may be the hills he sang about.

Interstate 15 crosses the corner of Arizona as it takes us to Las Vegas. Very pretty in its own way.

After we got into town, we checked into the Wyndham Grand Desert, a timesharing venture that we bought into down in Destin, FL. Jeff met us there that afternoon, and we headed out for a short tour of the town while Amy finished her days work. Jeff then went home to feed the puppies and get Amy, and Anita made this pic when they returned. We went out to eat, had an excellent dinner at a historic Italian restaurant.

June 29/30 - Salt Lake City, Utah

2009-07-05T10:33:00.001-07:00

The first thing we did when we got to SLC was to go get the car we needed to drive down to Las Vegas to visit our son, Jeff, and his wife Amy. The second thingwe did was to drive around a bit looking at the sights. Here's the Utah State Capital Building.

Here's the former Rio Grande and Western Railway Passenger Depot, from the west (track) side.

Before leaving the next morning, we drove by in order to get a nice sunny shot of the beautiful depot from the east side.

June 29 - Jackson, WY to Salt Lake City, UT

2009-07-05T10:16:00.001-07:00

After a restful night at Jackson, we ere up and on the bus at 7:45, and departed at 8:00AM. We had our first stop at Afton, WY to view the Antler Arch across the main drag.

From Afton we drove to south and west to Bear Lake (which is in Idaho and Utah), then up a winding road to a very scenic overlook.

A guy drove into the rest stop with this very nice 1955 Chevy Bel Air. It has a 427 "Vette Motor" and he says it drives very well.

Lots of little blue flowers in the rocky soil.

One of many groves of Aspens.

On south into Salt Lake City where we stayed at another Red Lion Hotel. This was the end of our motorcoach tour.

June 28 - West Yellowstone, MT to Jackson, WY

2009-07-05T09:38:00.000-07:00

We slept in a bit for a change this morning. After breakfast at the hotel we boarded the busses (second seat back on the right side) and headed back into the park. We drove down Firehole Canyon, past Firehole Falls to Old Faithful Lodge where we had lunch, watched the eruption, and then celebrated with ice cream. Back on the bus we headed down to the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake, then out of the park at the South Entrance.

I had to grab a pic of this buffalo cow with her calf.

This bull Elk was grazing conveniently near one of our scheduled stops. About fifty people were trying to get closer and closer to him.

He finally looked up as if to say, "What's up with all these people?" Times like this call for a telephoto lens ;-)

Down the highway through the Grand Tetons, we stopped at a visitors center where we got pix of Jackson Lake, then continued south along the east side of the Snake River. At one point there was a traffic jam as people stopped for pictures of a pair of Bison crossing the road ahead of us.

Once across the road, they continued grazing as though no one was watching. Tamer than some cows I've known.

We continued on south to Jackson where we stayed overnight. Anita and I, and some others from our bus, had dinner at the Cowboy Bar.

June 27 - Butte to West Yellowstone, MT

2009-07-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

Coming east out of Butte, we turned south at Livingston where I talked with a guy from Los Angeles who retired here, and now has a business in custom made Cigars. On the road down to the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park, we spotted these rafters in the river.

We continued on south to Gardiner, where we had lunch, toured the gift shops (Met a young lady working in one of them who was from Tennessee), and finally entered Yellowstone National park at the north gate. I made this next picture in the restaurant where we ate.

Just a few miles on we stopped at the park headquarters, Mammoth Hot Springs, where we photographed the Great Horned Owl in the following picture, an elk, some prairie dogs and a Magpie.

We drove on to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, where we found this marvelous waterfall.

A couple miles further on, we spotted this Buffalo (aka Bison) grazing peacefully in a meadow.

We spent the night at West Yellowstone, Montana. Anita and I made a point to visit the excellent museum which is housed in the former Union Pacific train depot there. They had an excellent collection of railroad china, and movies on the 1959 earthquake and the great fires of 1988.

After dinner at a nice restaurant, we strolled through the tourist district (stores full of jewelry and tee shirts) before getting to bed. Also met a young man working at the hotel who is a recent graduate of the University of Georgia and working here for the summer tourist season before heading to seminary.

June 26 - Spokane, WA to Butte, MT

2009-07-04T15:15:00.000-07:00

We got up at six, showered and were ready to go by half-after. Anita went over to Perkins for a cherry muffin and a cinnamon roll. It was a clear, sunny day, but cool. Once On the bus, we headed east and then stopped at the city park at Couer d'ALene, Idaho, right on the lake.

I grabbed this shot of Anita posing with a brass moose they had in the park. The moose had a mouse on his nose; I have no idea what that's all about.

Climbing out of the valley, we were able to see the Lake for a long while.

We stopped at Wallace, Idaho, a town steeped in Silver mining history. Visited their local museum, and also the Northern Pacific RR depot which has been relocated a hundred feet or so, so that they could build I-90 through town. They had a lot of interesting architecture in town, and claim that a manhole cover in the middle of town is at "The Center of the Universe." Here's a shot of their old Northern Pacific railroad depot.

We stopped for lunch at the Huckleberry Patch restaurant, another interesting little place with a well-stocked gift shop. We're beginning to see a pattern to these tour promoters.

On the way to Butte, we drove through a town called Deer Lodge, where there is a ranch that can be visited, a prison museum, and a Milwaukee "Road Little Joe" electric locomotive. Of course we didn't have time to stop.

June 25 - Penticton, BC to Spokane, Washington

2009-07-04T14:37:00.000-07:00

We had very nice weather on Thursday morning. Onto the bus at 8:30; heading south through lots of orchards.

We stopped to cross the border into the USA at Osoyoos, but first were given the opportunity to visit the duty-free shop. We got back onto the busses, drove about 100 yards, and then had to get off the bus again with our carry-on belongings so the customs people could run them through the scanner. We then reloaded onto the bus and continued south.

We had lunch at a little town in northern Washington, then continued on down along the Columbia River to Grand Coulee Dam where we stopped for an hour at the visitors center.

I grabbed a couple shots of our motorcoaches while the light was favorable. They are operated by the Oregon, California & Washington coach line, which is a sub-contractor to the Your Man Tour group that organized the entire cruise-motorcoach tour.

Leaving the dam, we headed south along Brooks Reservoir to highway 2 and detoured slightly so we could stop at Dry Falls to view the big hole in the ground.

Not on a par with the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, but quite impressive nevertheless.

Back onto the busses, we continued to Spokane where we had a short tour of the riverside area and then were delivered to the Red Lion River Inn.

We were picked up there by Ed and Debbie Schofield who were kind enought to take us to Kinko's so we could send some excess, cold-weather clothes home, then to their house for dinner. We had a wonderful time with them, and after Debbie delivered us back to the hotel, we hit the hay in preparation for another long day.

June 24 - Vancouver to Penticton, BC

2009-07-04T14:19:00.000-07:00

Our Cruise came to an end on an overcast, rainy day. We got up early to put our luggage out, then went for breakfast on the Lido deck buffet. We disembarked and went through Canadian customs, then loaded onto Motorcoaches and headed out of the city through Stanley park. I made this shot of the Volendam through the window of the bus.

The drivers stopped in Stanley Park so we could photograph some totem poles.

While we were there, they got a phone call that a missing bag had been located, so our bus headed back to the port building to pick it up. After a delay of about an hour, we finally got out onto highway 1 heading east.

We stopped at Minter Gardens, near Chiliwack, for lunch and a stroll; by this time we had nearly driven out of the rain. We took highway 3 east as the weather continued to clear and stayed overnight at Penticton. Anita and I had dinner at a quaint little place called "Salty's" where we were charged $1.95 for bread, and they also charged extra for a refill on sodas.

Probably won't eat there again ;-)

June 23 - Cruising to Vancouver

2009-06-29T22:29:00.001-07:00

Tuesday was a dark, dreary day, with intermittant rain throughout. We did a lot of stuff onboard the Volendam, but I didn't make a single, solitary picture. We stayed inside the whole day.

There was a disembarkation meeting held, which at least one representative from each cabin was supposed to attend in order to ensure that we encountered no problems leaving the ship after docking in Vancouver on te 24th. Anita ably represented our cabin at this meeting while I caught up on some much needed reading.

We enjoyed a sit-down breakfast in the dining room, with two couples from Australia. They will be visiting the daughter of one couple, who is teaching school for a year in Calgary, Alberta.

We had a sit-down lunch with three folks from Saskatchawan and a couple who, like us, are from eastern Tennessee. Had an interesting conversation about socialized health care.

We spent happy-hour with Tony and Sandy Vetter, new friends from Albany, Minnesota who've been our tablemates at dinner for the entire cruise. With the weather as foul as it was, we looked for whales as we sailed through the foggy fiords. Afterward, we had a special dinner as our waiters and stewards put on a special presentation.

OK, I lied. Anita had her camera at dinner and we made a few pix. Here's Tony Vetter and myself.

Here are Anita and Sandy Vetter.

And here's our talented and versatile waiter, Prima. He's a native of Indonesia and has been working on cruise ships for nearly ten years.

June 22 - Out of Ketchikan

2009-06-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

Each evening, when we returned to our cabin after dinner, we would find another of these "Towel Pets" that had been fashioned by our cabin stewards. One time it was an elephant, another time a whale, an octopus, a dog. This time we found this funny monkey. Guess which is which ;-)

Once when I was on deck with my netbook computer, waiter Val asked about it and we talked "geek" for a while. This evening, he made me a very nice Flaming Spanish Coffee drink. Cocktails and a show for $6.50 - what a deal.

After the late stage show, the culinary crew displayed their talents by presenting a special arrangement of deserts, highlighted by decadent chocolate confections.

Here is one of four ice sculptures created for our late-night desert.

More of the tables full of delicious deserts.

June 22 - Ketchikan

2009-06-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

We sailed into Ketchikan under dark and heavy skies, sometimes including sprinkles. Since I didn't need to be on shore immediately, and not wanting to fight the crowds of folks who thought they did, I repaired to the upper deck for a few shots of the city.

We were the third ship in port today. Already berthed as we arrived were the Norwegian Star and the Diamond Princess, seen here behind our ship.

This shot was made from the upper observation deck, looking south. When we leave later this afternoon, we will sail out the inlet seen directly above the end of the pier. There will soon be a fourth ship in port, docked just ahead of ours.

A shot of folks leaving the ship for their shopping trips ashore. One lady made a joking comment about buying "jewelry and tee shirts" at every port...more than a little truth to her humor.

June 22 - Ketchikan II

2009-06-29T20:44:00.000-07:00

Some of our Florida friends had flown to Fairbanks and taken the Alaska Railroad south through Denali National Park, and then sailed south from Anchorage. When we found out that we would be in Ketchikan at the same time, we made arrangements to meet for lunch at Annabelle's Restaurant. I made this picture as their ship came around the point headed for Ketchikan.

Here's a closer shot of their ship, the Carnival Spirit, arriving. Our ship, Holland America's Volendam, was about an hour ahead of the Spirit.

Here are Carolyn and Weldon Holland, Bob and Lynn Burnet, and Anita Kohlin after lunch.

A favorite of tourists here in Ketchikan.

June 21 - Glacier Bay

2009-06-28T22:13:00.000-07:00

The mountains around Glacier Bay were clothed in lovely clouds as we began our journey into the bay. Although it was quite cool, the day held promise for sunshine later in the day.

Contrast between the trees on some of the banks and the snow covering others of the mountainous terrain.

This is the first glacier we encountered.

It's hard to explain the beauty of this cruise to someone who hasn't been on it. These poor pictures can't express the wonder of God's creation.

June 21 - Glacier Bay II

2009-06-28T22:04:00.000-07:00

The sun was more evident as we approached this glacier.

The top of the mountain is still clothed in clouds.

A relatively small sailboat cruises near the base of the glacier.

Can you see the two Brown Bears in this photo? There looks like slim pickings for these big bruins in this barren landscape.

This black apparition is a glacier! Working its way down the valley, it had picked up a lot of dirt, rocks, and sediment.

June 21 - Glacier Bay III

2009-06-28T21:56:00.001-07:00

We had hoped that we would see one or another of the glaciers as they "calved" off some icebergs, but nothing major happened. This was one example of a small berg coming apart from the parent berg.

We had a wonderful day, and as the temperature improved, the pool on the Lido deck was exposed to more and more of the sun.

What a contrast! Beautiful snow-covered mountains and a tropical pool.

Anita enjoys the pool from the upper promenade deck.

A crowd gathered to spend the afternoon on deck.

June 20 - Skagway

2009-06-26T21:40:00.001-07:00

As we left Skagway, the sun was setting in the west and highlighting the beautiful, snow-covered mountains ahead of us. Anita sent me out onto the wind-swept deck to grab this shot.

As long as I was there, I took the opportunity to make a picture of this little waterfall as well.

June 20 - Skagway

2009-06-26T21:23:00.000-07:00

Several of these interesting vehicles were available to transport tourists around the city. I understand that the young ladies who drive them and tell about the various points of interest are very knowledgeable. They also dress in period costumes ;-)

This interesting building, housing the Alaskan Brotherhood, is covered with pieces of driftwood picked up from the local beaches.

This is the interior of a Saloon Museum.

I found it hard to believe that this establishment knew I was coming and yet was closed on a warm Saturday afternoon. What were they thinking?

This building, now housing the gold rush museum and city offices, was once a private school.

June 20 - White Pass & Yukon Route

2009-06-26T21:07:00.001-07:00

After cruising all night from Juneau, we docked early at Skagway and prepared for our rail excursion to White Pass summit. After a quick breakfast, we disembarked and found our way to the train, parked just feet away from the gangway. Once all their passengers were aboard, the train crew had us on our way out of town, up the mountain.

Even this railfan had to admit that the fantastic scenery eclipsed the marvelous old narrow-guage trains that carried us on our journey.

Had we arrived on Friday or Sunday, we would have ridden behind vintage steam power. As we were in port on Saturday, we had to make do with these three Alco diesels. They were more than up to the task.

Across a trestle, and into one of several tunnels we would travel through on our trip today.

Before the rails were laid, prospectors had to travel on foot over the summit, carrying enough supplies and provisions to last them through the winter. Can you make out the path they used, just below the sign?

June 19 - Juneau

2009-06-26T20:35:00.001-07:00

The Mendenhall Gardens were fabulous. Inside a hothouse at the entrance were countless pots of many different varieties of flowers. Like these lovelies...

One of the most interesting features of the gardens are these "Alaskan Palm Trees." The owners of the gardens formed them by inverting complete trees and using the exposed root systems as bases for lichen, moss, dirt, and lovely flowers.

How about a closer view of the fancy flowerpots?

My lovely bride shares this exposure with more of the Alaskan Palms...
Being somewhat thirsty after our excursion to the gardens, we decided to stop at the Red Dog Saloon for some sustenance. Here's a pic I made of the interior.

June 19 - Juneau

2009-06-26T20:20:00.000-07:00

After cruising up the Tracy Arm, we found ourselves approaching Alaska's capitol city of Juneau. Beautiful scenery wherever you look.

A sightseeing aircraft takes off from Juneau, flying past the tramway that goes high up the mountain near our ship's berth.

As we approach the harbor, we notice another cruiser is in port. The Volendam will dock right behind this boat.
A Bald Eagle circles near the the tramway.

Once on shore, we caught a city bus to the Mendenhall Glacier Gardens. This photo of Juneau looks back down the inlet we came in on.

June 19 - Cruising Tracy Arm

2009-06-24T23:40:00.001-07:00

The day began very cloudy, very windy. Folks on the deck were bundled up, or if not, they were in and out in order to see the spectacular scenery and avoiding the extreme temperatures.

Here's a shot of some of the navigation equipment on the upper deck.

A look aft from the same deck. The glass covers can be pulled back to open the pool to the outside, but not today ;-)

A waterfall, from melting snow on top of the mountain, spills into the frigid waters of the Tracy Arm.

Another waterfall, split near the bottom of its fall into the water.

Snow in a valley, and an interesting cloud.

June 18 - Cruising the Inside Passage

2009-06-24T23:23:00.001-07:00

It rained all day Thursday, making it a bit nasty for going outside. Instead, I got a few shots of my lovely wife as we spent the day getting to know our surroundings.

Our trip was arranged around a Knoxville radio personality, Phil Williams. We met him this morning.

Fresh flowers can be found all around the ship. Here's a vase with some small lovelies.

And on another table, these...

June 17 - Departure from Vancouver

2009-06-24T22:47:00.000-07:00

Because we were unwilling to spend an outrageous amount of money on shipboard internet access, we wound up waiting until now to post pictures from our excursion. On Wednesday morning, June 17, we loaded up onto a motor coach and headed for Vancouver. After passing through Canadian customs, we arrived at the port and loaded onto the motor ship Volendam for our cruise to three ports in south-eastern Alaska: Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan. By 6:00 PM we were heading out of port; here's Anita leaning on the rail as we've just passed under Lion's Gate Bridge:

I couldn't resist a pic of this fishing boat headed out of the port.

Years ago we used to go to North Vancouver to ride from there to Squamish on a passenger train behind the Royal Hudson steam locomotive, # 2860. It ran north along Howe Sound, seen here as we head out of Burrard Inlet.

The Winter Olympic games will be held in the Vancouver area in 2010. This mountain is (I think) Whistler, where some of the action will take place.

This cloud-shrouded sunset capped the day.

We will spend tomorrow cruising the inside passage on our way north.

We're off the Boat!

2009-06-24T21:39:00.000-07:00

...and able to blog again. Rates for internet access from the boat (M/S Volendam) were astronomical, and now that we're back on terra firma I'm able to get my email and somewhat caught up with the world.

We're spending the evening in Penticton, BC. We got off the boat early this morning, loaded onto the motorcoach that will be our transportation for the next few days, and after a short tour of Vancouver that included Stanley Park, we headed east and south. We're on our way tomorrow to Grand Coulee Dam, after which we will spend the evening in Spokane, Washington.

June 16 - Tuesday at Sea-Tac Airport

2009-06-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

We checked out of our hotel in Tacoma this morning, prepared to head for the airport where we would hook up with our tour folks. We had time for breakfast first, and a visit to the Washington State History Museum in downtown Tacoma. I even managed to snag another pic of Mount Ranier. I bet these houses have a nice view out the other side, eh?

The museum is very nice, with an excellent section on the early railroads into the state, a very nice HO scale model train, and some "then and now" photos from all around the state. I highly recommend the museum to anyone who happens to be in the area with some time to kill and an urge to learn more about the area.

Our group was to meet at the DoubleTree Hotel across from the airport. Once checked in and having returned the rental scooter, I found we had a small balcony with a great view of the airport. Prevailing winds meant departures to the south, and I was able to make a few pix of departing aircraft as well as movements in the immediate area. Here's a Delta 757 climbing out; it's very much like the one we arrived in.

Another 757 being wheeled back from the gate.

A Frontier Airlines 737 taxies past on his way to the active runway.

Tomorrow we have to get up early to board the busses to Vancouver where we will catch our cruise ship. If the sun is kind, and the overcast less than thick, I may be able to catch a couple more of these shots. We'll see.

June 15 - Tacoma Union Station

2009-06-15T23:41:00.001-07:00

About seven PM we drove down to see Tacoma's Union Station, a very impressive structure. Built in 1911 at the terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad, Union Station is one of downtown Tacoma's shining jewels.

On the advice of a friendly local native, we went behind Union Station to a bridge that spans the railroad tracks to The Museum of Glass. Along the way we found a Union Pacific train passing beneath us.

There were displays of blown glass artwork along the bridge, demonstrating the skills of these artisans. Here's a shot of one of the pieces; notice my lovely wife reflected alongside it.

We climbed onto the Tacoma Link trolley (it's free) to ride from Union Station to the theater district, and found that Mount Ranier was visible! On the way back I snapped several pix; this one turned out best. The overcast was blocking a view of the top, and a heavy fog bank obscurred the base of the mountain. We were happy to see the middle of it, and offer it for your enjoyment.

Anita waits for the trolley to pick us up near the Tacoma Convention Center.

Tomorrow we're planning to go to the Tacoma History museum, the Museum of Glass, and hopefully the Art Museum.

June 15 - Return to Tacoma

2009-06-15T18:26:00.001-07:00

A railroad track runs near Cliff and Dorine's home. I stopped and grabbed a shot of this neat old trestle that spans a farmer's access road.

As we came past the Olympia Regional Airport, we noted that they had a small flying museum on site. A quick u-turn and we were there. This is a shot of one of their aircraft, an L-39 Albatros painted in 'Agressor' colors, as used in fighter training by the USAF.

Here's the left side of their SNJ-6 (theNavy's version of the Republic T-6 'Texan') with Felix the Cat delivering the destructive hardware.

Right side of the same aircraft. Notice the models hanging from the ceiling.

A very nice museum if you ever get to the area. All their aircraft are airworthy and will participate in a local airshow next weekend. We were disappointed to find that they have a P-51 which was in the maintenance shop today, being prepped for the airshow.

June 15 - Tenino Cousins

2009-06-15T18:03:00.001-07:00

We got up this morning to overcast skies, but by the time we were ready to head to Tenino to visit with Cliff and Dorine Fournier, the sun had come out. I grabbed a quick shot of Anita with our little "Seattle Scooter" rental car.

Less than an hour south of Seattle is the state capitol, Olympia. Nearby is the hamlet of Tenino, and Cliff and Dorine have lived nearby on Offut Lake for the last eighteen years. We think we last visited with them back in 1992. We spent a couple of hours reminiscing, then went for a wonderful lunch at the best Chinese restaurant I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying.

Dorine has been an artist for many years. I snapped pix of a couple of the efforts she has hanging in her home. This one is a very nice winter scene.

Dorine painted this picture of her Wisconsin home from a picture taken many, many years ago.

Cliff's family moved to the Tacoma area from San Francisco in 1937, when he was 15 years old. He went into the Army in 1942 and served his country in the Battle of the Bulge, at Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands, and in the South Pacific. Dorine moved to this area with her family about the same time, from Wisconsin. Dorine became friends with Cliff's mother and met Cliff when he was home on leave. Cliff and Dorine were married in 1944; Anita got a lot of genealogical updates on their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

June 15 - Anna Buskirk McDonald and Mia

2009-06-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

Here's BB and Judy's granddaughter Mia concentrating on a work of art with her mother, Anna, in Judy's studio.

Mia with her father, Michael. Mia is 22 months old, and a real joy not only to Mom and Dan, and to her grandparents but to visiting cousins as well.

It's bit overcast again today. We're leaving soon to visit Cliff and Dorine at Tenino.

June 14 - Washington Cousins

2009-06-14T20:55:00.001-07:00

We were trying to remember how long it's been since we visited with Howard Dettmer's cousin, Ione Prowse of Bremerton, Washington. We know it's been at least fifteen years - Anita will have to check her Christmas letters to be sure. At any rate, we came early specifically to renew our friendship, and also to meet for the first time Ione's daughter and her family. Ione, Judy, and BB picked us up at our hotel and we went for dinner. We were joined at the restaurant by BB and Judy's daughter Anne and her lovely daugher, Mia. And if you could believe it, we were having such a good time that we forgot to get a picture of Anna and Mia. Fortunately, when they dropped us back to the motel the omission came to mind, and so we made these pix. Judy promised to forward a pic or two of Anna and Mia (grandparents always have pix) and they will be added whenever we get a round tuit.

Here's Judy, Anita, Ione, and yours truly...

BB and I swapped places and I made this picture. Judy, Anita, Ione, and BB.

What fun to find cousins with whom we have so much in common, and who are such great people. Tomorrow we'll go visit Ione's sister, Dorine, and her husband Cliff. It's been equally as long since we've seen them, and we're looking forward to seeing them, too.

June 14 - Voyager!

2009-06-14T19:20:00.001-07:00

As we walked through the airport toward the luggage carousel and rental car counters, I was surprised to find the Voyager. This is the Burt Rutan-designed aircraft that was flown around the world, without refueling, by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager.

Searching the internet indicates this aircraft is supposed to be gracing the halls of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. I don't know if this is a reproduction, or it it is the original and on loan from Washington. This view is a cropped close-up of the craft. I was amazed at it's small size.

Also hanging from the ceiling was this Curtiss biplane sporting an OX-5 V-8 engine.

More to come. Once we got checked in at the hotel, we went out to dinner with Anita's cousins!

June 14 - Scenery near Seattle

2009-06-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

Our flight from Atlanta to Seattle was dull and unimpressive. It was comfortable, except for a somewhat bumpy ride most of the way, and there were very few places where the ground was not obscurred by clouds. So when we got close to Seattle, you can believe we were pleasantly surprised to have a view of Mount Ranier out our window. Well, at least the top of Mount Ranier.

I don't know which of these will show up best, so I've included several. It's hard to get an auto-focus camera to "do it's thing" when it has to look through thick plexiglass.

At least one of these (I don't remember which) is manually focussed and (I hope) will look better to you than the others.

Yet to come: a couple pix from the Sea-Tac Airport.

June 14 - Chattanooga to Atlanta

2009-06-14T18:54:00.000-07:00

Today's the day we travel to Seattle. Bright and early, friends Marc and Mary picked us up and brought us to Chattanooga's airport. After making our way through the security rigamarole, we found ourselves with a few minutes to relax before boarding our plane to Atlanta. Here's my lovely bride (41 years removed) waiting for the plane.

And here's the sturdy bird that will carry us to Atlanta. The ground crew is waiting for luggage to be delivered.

Naturally, I had to check e-mail before we left. Fortunately the airport has wi-fi available.

We got to Atlanta with plenty of time to make our connecting flight. The next post will show you what we got after several hours in the air.

June 7 - We're Going To Alaska!

2009-06-07T11:26:00.000-07:00

Anita and I are big fans of talk radio. Although a local AM station carries our favorite program, we like to listen on WNOX-FM out of Knoxville, Tennessee. They have an afternoon show, hosted by Phil Williams, that we also enjoy whenever we are able. Last summer, Mr. Williams started advertising a trip that will include a cruise to Alaska followed by a motorcoach tour of southern British Columbia, down through the Rocky Mountains and ending at Salt Lake City. We decided to join the tour, and will be leaving next Sunday. We're actually leaving early so we can spend time with Anita's cousins near Tacoma, and will be extending the end of the trip in order to travel down to Las Vegas, where son Jeff and daughter-in-law Amy are now living. We'll also take time for a train trip on the fourth of July ;-)

Stay tuned for a record of our Excellent Adventure!