alaska cruise: skagway and glacier bay

When we arrived in Skagway, we took a train up the mountain pass that was originally followed by gold-seekers during the Klondike Gold Rush. It was interesting to learn from our guide that John Nordstrom was one of the gold-seekers who made a small fortune. He earned enough money to start his shoe store business, which eventually evolved into the well-known department store. We also learned that the Klondike gold-rush trail was so densely packed in places (see an old photograph here), that if someone stepped off of the trail for a moment, it could take up to 3 1/2 hours before a space would open up again in the trail traffic.

If you look closely, you can see me and Sam sitting on the train. J loved the old-school typeface on the train cars.

After about thirty minutes on the train, Sam got bored and asked to watch a video on J's iPod. He wanted to watch "Thomas the Train." I love that "Thomas the Train" was more exciting than the actual train. Oh, the irony.

A view from the train

The next day our cruise boat toured around Glacier Bay National Park. It was so amazing to see the large glaciers up-close, and to observe how the ice had shaped the land. Pictures don't do justice to this experience. There was even a little bit of calving on some glaciers while we were there, which was neat to see. I was hoping to hear a loud crack when the ice broke off, but we weren't privy to such drama.

In front of the Margerie Glacier

An interesting juxtaposition of the cruise ship deck and the Margerie Glacier. It makes humans (and cruise tourists) seem rather silly, don't you think?

This is one of my favorite photos that J took on our trip. We saw so many different colors of blue water while we were on our trip, and the turquoise color at Glacier Bay was stunning. I think the turquoise is highlighted nicely against the red color of the boat.

That night, we dressed up and had a fancy dinner in one of the restaurants. We celebrated Sam's "very sad day" - it was his last day of being one year old.

On our way back to the stateroom, after dinner. I thought this was a fun shot of us in our dressy clothes

Each night, the stateroom attendants would fold a towel into a little animal. Sam loved these little friends. He lay on the bed and chatted with this mouse for quite a while.