Juneau-Eagles-Whales-Glaciers

Our next stop was Juneau.  The only way to get into Juneau is by boat or plane.  So we did both :).  The water was pretty choppy so we did not get to go out to an island where there is a lot of Grizzly bears :( but we were able to see Eagles and Whales.  I think whenever I have the opportunity to go whale watching I will. 

 I love Eagles!!! 

 Can you see the whale? 

We did not have any whales jump out of the water but we found out the only time you see the tale is when they are going to dive deep for food.  When they dive deep they are usually under for 7-10 minutes.

 Starting to understand just how big huge these whales are.  The process is that we would track a whale and then it would dive deep and then we would see the spout of another one and we would go racing across the water hoping to catch it before it dived.

 In the middle of the whale watching we came to this island and I was able to catch this seal before it jumped into the water. 

 We got up close and personable with this whale.

 And then we realized it was a mom with a calf.  Can you see the smaller dorsal fin?

 Mom's don't deep dive with their calves.  So the closest we came to a tail shot was this.

Then it was onto the airport. 

 I know just what you want is more pictures of glaciers but to fly over them were really cool even though Mom was praying that we wouldn't die the entire time :)

 I think you will get a sense of how the glaciers move. 

 The crevices look small but they are actually hundreds of feet deep.

Back to the whales.  A video of mom and calf!!

White Pass and the Yukon

We took a bus up and train down the White Pass.  It was beautiful country to see and finally to start to understand how insane the gold rush was when they had to go over this pass.

 This train is the same train that we rode on the way back down.  It goes over these beautiful falls.

 There are a bunch of lakes that somewhat connect and a lot of the miners would use the river/lakes to carrier their cargo as far as it would take them.

 The tour guide said that during the summer he would see moose swim to that little island.

 At the very top is this gorgeous lake called Emerald lake.  They say the emerald color comes from the seashells that are found on the bottom.

 There was a home for sale that was right on the beach for 850,000

 We stopped for lunch where they had husky puppies.  I was able to hold the blue eyed one :)

 One of the ladies riding with us on the bus from Washington bought one of the puppies for 3,000 plus shipping and handling :)

 Above and Below are the things that each miner had to take across the Yukon.

 We rode the train back down the pass so we were able to see a little bit different scenery.

This was the original bridge.  I am glad we no longer use it :)

Glacier Bay

The first several pictures are of the sunrise as we headed to Glacier Bay.  Then there are a ton of pictures of the different glaciers in Glacier Bay.  I don't think words are needed. :) ENJOY!!

Denali-Whitter onto the Cruise Ship

We left Denali on the train and headed to Whitter where we met the Cruise ship.  It was a very long train ride and it was cold so I didn't take a lot of pictures.  I drank a lot of hot chocolate. :)

 The last view of Denali from the opposite side.

 Gorgeous colors

 I loved all the water winding its way through the valley

 I love the fog hovering over the trees

 Restart of the Iditarod race occurs in Wasilla.

 It finally started to warm up and a rainbow came out

 This picture is just outside Anchorage with the tide going out

We are finally on the ship.  The next day we came to the first big glacier.  I love all the different colors and stripes

 Sea lions near the glacier

 Mom and Dad in front of the glacier

You can't tell that it was cold!!