Alaska Land & Sea Photo Blog

After we all gathered in Fairbanks from three different arrival flights, we headed down the Chena River on a working paddlewheel boat.

One in 58 Alaskans are pilots. We had a float plane demo on the river.

Native-operated fish wheel to catch salmon in the Chena River. The tents represent a summer “fish camp” when salmon is gathered for people food and dog food.

I love taking groups to Alaska. There are so many great experiences on our tours.

We were amazed by the true tale of two moose who locked horns and drowned in the river. Here they are after being taxidermied and put on display for tourists.

An actual Iditarod dog sled and replica of the finish line arch in Nome. Susan Butcher won four times and is shown here with her lead dogs.

After the riverboat tour and a hearty camp lunch, some chose to see what 40 degrees below zero feels like. We didn’t stay in very long!

Yes, we saw Denali in all its glory! The views were limitless during our Wilderness Tour of Denali National Park.

Early in the morning at Denali Park we loaded onto buses to go search for wildlife and, hopefully, to see Denali. Only 35% of visitors see “the mountain”, and we did! Also many wildlife sightings. See slides at the end for photos.

The small boat harbor and cruise port at Whittier. We arrived by train after passing through the 2.5-mile tunnel in the mountains. It’s the longest tunnel in North America.

The deep green water around Whittier, Seward, and nearby coastlines in so beautiful!

We had to maneuver through many icebergs to see Hubbard Glacier up close in a small boat. The Noordam stayed back 8 miles. Later two other big cruise ships were damaged trying to get close to the glacier and had to limp back to Seattle.

Hubbard Glacier. One of the few glaciers still growing.

Calving at Hubbard Glacier. It sounded like a thunderstorm with all the cracking going on.

Glacier Bay. We toured the bay for an entire day and were surrounded by snowy mountains and glaciers.

Early in the morning at Denali Park we loaded onto buses to go search for wildlife and, hopefully, to see Denali. Only 35% of visitors see “the mountain”, and we did! Also many wildlife sightings. See slides at the end for photos.

Historic downtown Skagway and the famous Red Onion Saloon.

One of the more colorful totem poles found throughout Southeast Alaska.

This rotary snowplow keeps the rail line open in the winter. The route runs from Whittier, Alaska, to Whitehorse, Yukon Territories.

The White Pass and Yukon Railroad out of Skagway follows the gold miner’s “Trail of 98” and crosses many tressels through rugged mountains.

Several tunnels along the way help keep the grade reasonable.

Older color scheme of the White Pass & Yukon Railroad. With 11, 000 tourists in town that day, there were many trains running up and down the mountain passes to wow the visitors! With so many, we passed them whenever there was room for 2 parallel tracks.

Lots of trestles needed to cross deep gorges with raging rivers below.

This is one trestle we decided not to cross!

Our rail route followed the Trail of 98 that hopeful gold miners trekked up on foot to reach the gold fields in the Yukon. A rugged and treacherous journey, for sure.

An historic goldmining dredge in Skagway. Ones like it in Nome were reactivated when the price of gold went up dramatically.

We saw so many gorgeous waterfalls whereever we went on our journey! This one is in Skagway.

Auke Bay in Juneau is surrounded by snow-covered mountains and the bay is full of whales, sea lions, eagles, and salmon.

Lighthouses along the “inside passage” are critical for safety. This one is automated so a group is restoring the building to possibly make it a B&B on Auke Bay!

Juneau’s Mendenhall Glacier.

Ketchikan’s cruiseport and iconic statues to the local history and culture.

Ketchikan’s famous Creek Street, now restored with a variety of shops along the boardwalk.

Each totem pole is unique and symbolizes an important aspect of native culture.

Vancouver, Canada, cruiseport where our journey concluded. Did you notice all the blue skies throughout the photo array? We had amazing weather the entire 12 days.

Mama Moose and her calf in Denali Park.

And Papa Moose!

Caribou in Denali Park. We saw more caribou than any other animals.

The high rocky slopes had many mountain goats – just a little too far away to get a great photo, though.

What do you call an extremely dense cluster of sea lions? Something to research. They were making quite a noise, too, with their barking.

This whale was hugging the coastline as he spouted.

A tale to tell of a whale’s tail! We tracked down several in Auke Bay on a small catamaran.

One whale spouting and another diving down. What a sight.

Two majestic eagles on a buoy along with several sea lions resting on the base.

This eagle is in a rehab center in Ketchikan. They rehab and release as many as will survive in the wild again. This fellow can’t be released due to his injuries, but seems to be enjoying his new digs.

I laugh every time I look at this picture! But he’s preening, like all birds do.

The Noordam is an elegant ship, and it was fun to dress up for two formal dinners.

A fitting end to our journey – beautiful Alpenglow gracing the mountaintops.