A cruise we made.

[lowell holmes]

I read one of Jim Koepke's posts and remember he is in Washington State or there about.

I was on my morning walk and wondered, Jim, have you seen Denali?

That is a strange question, but those of you that have not been to or visited that
part of the world, you might appreciate it. For those woodworkers that have
not, be aware there is a lot for a woodworker to appreciate there.

I will mention the Inside Passage and Dawson City for two. The Inland Passage
is a cruise up the Inside Passage form Seattle to Vancouver.

You will see Dawson City, Denali, Alaska Pipe Line, Glaciers, Sarah Palin's house,
miles of mountain rail passes, and so on. You will end up in Alaska, very close
to Russia.

If your looking for a summer cruise, check it out. The food and service on the
cruise ships are great. The trip will be by rail and ship.

[Jim Koepke]

No, I haven't taken that trip.

Though I have been to Vancouver, B.C. twice. Vancouver, WA gets visited more often due to Costco runs or when in need of cheap lumber from Shureway Building Supply.

jtk

[Brett Luna]

I last saw Denali a few days ago during a spell of lovely clear weather. Even at about 125 miles away, it's a prominent site when it's not cloudy.

[lowell holmes]

I mis-remembered, we did fly into Vancouver Canada. Oh well, remember I am a flat land Texan near Galveston.

I have made five gulf crossings under sail, back in the day. Old age is not for the timid, but it sure beats the alternative. :)

[Jim Koepke]

I mis-remembered, we did fly into Vancouver Canada.

Not hard to do. Most people think Vancouver Canada and Vancouver, WA are close to each other when in fact they are over 300 miles apart.

jtk

[ken hatch]

Have you seen Denali? Once several years ago I drove north from Anchorage to meet Winter. It was a beautiful Fall day and one of the few times Denali was not obscured by clouds. Sometimes life is good.

BTW, Winter wasn't too far North of Anchorage :).

ken

[Mike Henderson]

I did an Alaska cruise a few years ago. It was not one of the most memorable trips I've taken. Lots of trees, lots of snow, and the small port towns are owned by the cruise lines (most of shops).

If you want winter scenery a much more interesting cruise is one around Iceland. The mid-Atlantic ridge runs through Iceland so there's lots of volcanic activity. The island is actually getting bigger each year because the two plates that create the mid-Atlantic ridge are moving apart so half of the island is moving west and the other half is moving east.

Friendly people and almost all speak English.

I went in the summer (July - sunlight until 11pm) but if you're willing to go in the off-season (think cold weather and short days), the tours are pretty cheap.

All-in-all, an extremely interesting trip and highly recommended.

Mike

[lowell holmes]

I visited Vancouver Washington one time. I had a family member at Goldbar.
I flew into the airport at Vancouver.

The river at Goldbar reminded me of the river in New Braunfels Texas. It was full
of tubers and kayakers.

And I have seen Denali as well as The Museum of the North.

[Ole Anderson]

Been to Alaska twice, once to meet my wife who was there on a school trip with the Jason Project, another time we took the cruise and ended up in Fairbanks on the train. Both times Denali was clouded in. Still enjoyed the trip. To a flatlander the mountains were worth it. Fished in Valdez the first trip and limited out on salmon. That was fun. I suspect the Alaska trip would be more affordable than the Iceland trip, but I could be wrong. Had friends that went there and loved it. Don't tell the folks in Alaska there isn't global warming by the way. Glaciers tell the story.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Denali brings back fond memories. On August 27 1969 I was on a Northwest Orient Airlines (now Northwest) flight which I had boarded in Naha Okinawa. I had just spent 12 months and 22 days as a USMC grunt in Vietnam. Because of a priority page in my orders I was one of 22 who were flying commercial. My first sight of the US was coming up Cook inlet at 30,000 feet at 4:00AM under bright sunlight with snowcapped Denali off in the distance. Absolutely spectacular.

The flight was 2 days. Naha-Osaka-Tokyo, 24 hours in Tokyo, Tokyo-Anchorage-Seattle-San Francisco.

[Scott Donley]

If you want winter scenery a much more interesting cruise is one around Iceland. The mid-Atlantic ridge runs through Iceland so there's lots of volcanic activity. The island is actually getting bigger each year because the two plates that create the mid-Atlantic ridge are moving apart so half of the island is moving west and the other half is moving east.

Friendly people and almost all speak English.

I went in the summer (July - sunlight until 11pm) but if you're willing to go in the off-season (think cold weather and short days), the tours are pretty cheap.

All-in-all, an extremely interesting trip and highly recommended.

Mike My daughter and her husband went to Iceland a couple of months ago. She said there were hardly any trees any where.361749361750

[Bruce Wrenn]

Spent two weeks in Alaska in 94. Wife's parents went with us. We rented a car in Anchorage with no particular destination. Most exciting thing was when we took car thru car wash, and half the paint came off. Went by rental place to report it, and manager asked if we wanted another color car as he already four others (same color) that the paint washed off. Didn't see darkness till we left Anchorage around 8:00 PM, and as we flew south there was a black wall ahead of us. It was something called NIGHT!

[lowell holmes]

I remember when we departed Alaska, it was pitch dark :). Thirteen hours later when we landed in Houston, the sun was blinding hot. What a dramatic change.
The only longer flight I remember was a flight to Amsterdam.

[Lee Schierer]

We flew to Vancouver, Canada and then took a cruise up the inside passage on Holland. Their ships are smaller and go way up into glacier Bay. When we arrived in Seward, we took a bus to Anchorage to pick up our rented RV. We spent two weeks seeing Alaska from an RV. The rental company made all the overnight reservations to meet our own visitation plan. Just be prepared for sticker shock when you fill up the RV and when you buy food. We got to see Denali unobstructed on our last day from a distance. The day we visited the park it was rainy and we actually had snow falling at the higher elevations.

[lowell holmes]

Lee,
That is pretty much what we did except we were either on a train or a bus. It is a great trip. If any of you readers are interested, you should make the trip. Do not miss the Museum of the North.

[Wade Lippman]

We went to Alaska for our honeymoon, and then again with our sons for our 25th anniversary. We tried to do completely different things each trip. The first we hiked in the park, the second we drove to Talkeetna and landed on a glacier on Denali. The second was a much better choice.

[Brett Luna]

Didn't see darkness till we left Anchorage around 8:00 PM, and as we flew south there was a black wall ahead of us. It was something called NIGHT!

We have the opposite problem now. The Sun will set tonight at 11:38 PM and will rise at 4:18 AM...with no honest-to-goodness darkness during the hours between...just twilight.

Before moving here in '98, my only other visit was an overnight stay on my way to South Korea...in December. I got of the plane, it was dark, and there was snow on the ground. I had dinner, watched some TV in the room, then went to bed. In the morning, it was still dark, there was more snow on the ground, and I got back on the plane.

[Patrick McCarthy]

We went to Alaska for our honeymoon, and then again with our sons for our 25th anniversary. We tried to do completely different things each trip. The first we hiked in the park, the second we drove to Talkeetna and landed on a glacier on Denali. The second was a much better choice.

Wade, I not sure you want to be telling your wife that you preferred the glacier to the honeymoon . . . . unless you want more cold . . . just sayin'