The Lovely Z1BEBE has been wanting to go for a long time. After I was sure her new bionic knee was stable, I surprised her with a planned cruise/land tour that coincided with an anniversary trip an old friend, VJMC VP and his wife had planned.
The two weeks:
We left Vancouver, BC on the ship, ports-of-call being Ketchikan, Juno, Skagway, Glacier Bay, College Fjord and Whittier. From there it was motor coach to Anchorage and Talkeetna, then train to Denali National Park. From there on to Fairbanks, where we ended the trip with a red-eye to Chicago O'Hare.
Way too much to cover here. Briefly:
Saw a pod humpback whales "bubble feeding" from a distance of about 50 yds.
Moose, Grizzly Bears, Caribou, Sea Otters, Porpoises, Sea Lions.
Eagles too numerous to count.
Many glaciers and icebergs. Saw glacial calving into College Fjord.
Mt McKinley in Denali.
Skagway Railroad through White Pass.
It never got dark. At 01:00 it was still light enough to see to drive. Then the sun rose again. That really throws off the ol' body clock.
Lots of adventure bikes, few big twins or sportbikes.
Touched the Alaska Pipeline.
If you're ever in Fairbanks don't miss the Alaska University's Museum of The North. We spent 4 hrs. there and still didn't do it justice.
Fresh cod and salmon!!!
I'm not really a cruise kinda guy; I did it for her. I hate being on someone else's schedule. There were things we would liked to have seen and done, but we had to get back to the ship/coach/train. I see a ride up the Alcan Hwy. in our near future to see more of AK. Maybe even the haul road to Dead Horse, but likely to do that in a Jeep, not 2-up on a street bike.
Many pics are scattered among five (!) cameras. Once we get them organized I'll post a few of the best ones.
I'd considered posting before we left to try to connect with any members who might be in AK who might be interested. But, I realized that our time wouldn't really be our own, so a FTF with any interested members will have to wait 'till we return in the near future.
Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE
