The Alaska Recap

Pull up a chair.  Dim the lights.  It's time for my Alaska slideshow. 

As a general policy I do not subject innocent bystanders to vacation pictures.  I'm a middle child, after all.  I realized long ago that every little move I make is not necessarily as fascinating to others as it is to me. So why the change of heart?

Glacier Bay. Enough said.

First, several people told me that they were considering trips to Alaska and actually asked to see my photos.  What they did not realize is that Ron got a little carried away and shot more than 1500 pictures.  Not even my mother could sit through that.  So this post was the perfect excuse to do some editing.  

Sites from the White Pass and Yukon Route, Skagway.

Second, if you are reading this blog not because you know me and feel obligated but because you actually like to garden, then I am gambling that you will find Alaska interesting.  Gardeners love nature; Alaska is all about nature; ergo, gardeners would love Alaska. Or so I rationalize. 

A ride on the White Pass and Yukon Route Railway.

If you are the adventurous type, and you are in great shape, and you have all the time in the world, then there may be a better way to see Alaska than on a cruise.  By all means hike through Denali or visit the North Pole.  For the rest of us, though, there's the traditional seven day cruise of the Inside Passage.  

The Star Princess sails majestically into Glacier Bay. Note the matching colors.

I had never been on a cruise before, so naturally I had all kinds of ideas - none of them good - about what they were like.  The way I looked at it, if I didn't die from shipwreck or salmonella, I would probably die of boredom.  Imagine my surprise when I found that staring blankly at the water puts you into a hypnotic state, and that the motion of the ship is the most relaxing thing on earth.  By the end of Day Two I was in a trance.  

Forest and rushing stream in Juneau.

Of course, I didn't come to Alaska only to stare at the ocean.  I came to stare at the land, too.  There was just so much of it - and everything was so big!  The overcrowded Northeast, where I grew up, has nothing on this scale.  When I lived in New York, I would smile benignly at wide-eyed tourists, all pointing up in awe at the Empire State Building or gaping at the carnival of life that is a New York City subway ride.  Now it was my turn to be a stranger in a strange land.

No thanks, I'll walk.

To me, Alaska is a place unto itself.  I wasn't surprised that the mountains and the glaciers would make me feel so small.  What I didn't expect was that the cities and people would make me feel so weak.  For instance, I am still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that the only way in or out of Juneau is by plane or boat.  And that being cut off from other cities, and having to hop into a boat or seaplane every time you want to leave town, is no big deal for Alaskans.  This is no country for wimps.

Margerie Glacier. It really is that color.

More Glacier Bay.

Then there is the wildlife.  Our cruise was in early May - too early for salmon and, consequently, for bears.  No matter.  Cruising the waters, we saw plenty of eagles, killer and humpback whales, and porpoises.  I was in heaven.  Ron left his zoom lens at home - a big mistake.  At least I had my binoculars. 

This pretty much sums up my experience in Alaska.

I could go on and on, but I won't.  The slideshow below has more images if you are so inclined.  I'll close by saying yes, it was definitely worth it to miss my peonies.  As it turned out, the gods were smiling - there were actually a few still blooming when I got home.  But after Alaska, they were pretty anticlimactic.