Final Alaska photos and Clearwater beach

Posted on by Lea Ann Reynolds

We spent the weekend touring our new home state of Florida. Clearwater was just a trolley ride away. Thank goodness they are air conditioned. It took about an hour to get there but its better than fighting the tourist traffic and paying to park, if one could find a parking spot.  We ate at Crabby’s. Great seafood and atmosphere.


The beach and water was pretty but the crowds are unbelievable.  The umbrellas were stacked 4 rows deep!

Kids play area
Crabby’s Restaurant



Beach

I noticed the difference in the gulf side of Florida and the east side is the color of the water. I’m so accustomed to the beautiful blue water, this will take some getting used to. Its still pretty. We’ll go back when the kids go back to school and the beaches are less crowded.
Clearwater beach taken from Pier 60


Now back to finishing up Alaska. The last parts of our trip were to Skagway, Alaska. Day 6 of our cruise. We (as a family) all decided to take a road trip. I find a lot of questions and answers about excursions, with and without the cruise line, on the Facebook group Crown & Anchor Society for Royal Caribbean. This one in particular was a self guided tour that gave many stopping points and what mile marker to stop at. It was a beautiful trip with scenery that was absolutely beautiful.

Waterfall in Canada. There were too many to count.




We crossed over into parts of Canada so we had to have our passports. One of the longest delays (that prevented us from visiting Emerald Lake) were the long lines at the border. The trip was well worth those delays.

Beautiful snowcapped mountains with a river by the railroad tracks

Don’t think we’ll have any Avalanches this time of year. Lots of waterfalls though.

Yukon suspension bridge over the Tutshi river. 
We stopped at the Yukon suspension bridge over the Tutshi river. Near the suspension bridge was a restroom stop and shops but you had to pay to get in. Some of us snuck in. Some things just cant wait….. We all were shaking our heads as to why they didn’t have the gift shop before you arrived at the suspension bridge to at least have revenue from the curious.

One could sit and stare at the mountains and their beauty for hours. 
The waterfalls tucked away in the mountains were everywhere!
The water was so still and it was so quiet you wanted to stay in that spot forever. The reflections were absolutely beautiful.


Chuck & I getting the tourist photo!

Made it to the Yukon

More of Gods creation. Such a beauty!


 Large Inuksuk’s

During our drive, we spotted a bear cub along the roadside. He didn’t appear to be afraid of us at all, although we decided it was best to stay in the car and let him be, since mama probably wasn’t far behind. The cubs come out after hibernation to feed on the green grass.

Skagway is known for the White Pass and Yukon railroads and gold rush days. 

White Pass Train

The White Pass train was used to move snow off the tracks for the gold miners so they could continue working. We all really enjoyed exploring together as a family in Skagway. Although we didn’t make it to Emerald Lake, this was an experience of a lifetime. What a fun day!


Back on the ship, the captain tried hard to get as close as possible to the Hubbard Glacier and we did see a lot of blue glaciers and chunks of ice everywhere. The glacier was awe inspiring and it was truly amazing how blue it was. 

Hubbard Glacier

We didn’t hear the cracking and “kaboom” that you normally would. The captain explained we were too far away.

The crew picked up a chunk of the floating pieces of the glacier and brought it aboard. You’ll see it later in the pictures

Took this photo to put into perspective just how large this phenomenon is. The crew in the boat look tiny.

Me in a sweatshirt and robe. Note that Chuck has a short sleeved T-Shirt on. We were standing on the balcony watching the glaciers.
The crew brought the piece of ice on board. I thought we were going to see some ice carving but not this trip. 

Chuck learned how to make sushi. He is really getting into this cooking thing. He had a blast and he’s excited to try out his new skills at home.

The sad part of a cruise….. the morning you wake up and have to walk off the ship. We arrived in Seward early. We said goodbye to Joe and Debbie over dinner the night before. They have lots to do on their new land in Texas and have to get home. We had lunch and dinner most every day of the trip. We had such a fun time picking on each other again and lots of good conversation. I would do this again in a heartbeat! 

As for us and Lonnie and Susan, we will continue on to the tour part of the “cruisetour” – three days on land. We left from the cruise ship and boarded a nice comfortable bus. Our tour guide and driver were very knowledgable and great at what they do. It’s a huge endeavor to keep this many people organized and on the right track. Kudos to Royal Caribbean on this part of the trip. It was great.

We left Seward and traveled to Anchorage. After lunch and a little shopping around Anchorage we hopped over to the Alaska Wildlife Center. Today it was raining and cold. We drank coffee/hot chocolate and wandered around to the wildlife. The first  thing we saw was a huge bear. He really liked playing around in the mud and water. A porcupine was hidden in a little home. He was hard to see and asleep so no use trying to see him.

These purple flowers were hanging everywhere. So colorful

Many of the wildlife were hard to see and with the cold and rain, we didn’t stay here long. The gift shop was cute and had lots of things you could take home as souvenirs. As for us, these photos and the memories are all we need. 

Now back on the bus, we need to get to Talkeetna. We will be staying at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge. It was so cute and a nice place. We were impressed. 
Susan loves daisies so we couldn’t leave without taking some pictures and admiring the beauty.

Lunch at a Pub and Grill in town. 
We also had homemade gourmet ice cream at Shelbys homemade ice cream shop. Susan tasted a flavor called Fireweed. Its a real pretty pink flower. The ice cream was the best I’ve ever had. I highly recommend it when visiting Talkeetna. 
Lonnie & Susan at the Lodge

Chuck and I at the Lodge
The Lodge was very cozy and lots of nature to explore. When we retired for the evening the mountains couldn’t be seen. You could have a wake up call during the night or early morning when/if they could be seen. We chose to forego the wake up call. Much to our surprise, the next morning was a whole new experience. The Denali mountains were magnificent! It is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet. Forget all that. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!
Denali Mountains

And of course, we have to get the selfie to make sure everyone knows we were there! 
Its hard to say what was my most favorite of the trip but seeing these snowy mountains may have been it. Such beauty that only God can create. I am thankful He allowed us to experience this beauty on this day! 

Soon, the mountains disappeared behind the clouds and we were off to experience the Denali National History tour.

We chose to extend our tour to go deeper into the park. 6-8 hours. It was a long day. But, well worth it! 
We saw many moose wandering and grazing along the roadways. (and my brothers reflection)

The clouds always made a good showing while in Alaska. They are as magical as the mountains themselves.

The Dall sheep were high up on the mountain. To the naked eye, they looked like little white fleas.

Our stop at Polychrome Pass was a little over 1/2 way up. At 3695 feet, some could feel their ears popping.

More majestic beauty from the higher elevation

This Caribou’s antlers were huge! 

We spotted several Caribou. They are often called Reindeer. It still has fur or “velvet” on the horns. The velvet will come off during “rutting” season when the deer rub it off.

Male and Female Caribou both have antlers unlike other deer where the male only has antlers.

Some of the antlers at one of the stores we stopped at.


Grizzly Cubs playing and rolling down the hillside. We also saw a fox den (too far away for pictures)

In front of Polychrome Pass

More Moose. They we like little dogs running around like they owned the place.

The lodge we stayed at during our trip
The second night we stayed at Denali Park Village. Such a cute lodge with a beautiful fireplace indoors. And a little shop indoors for shopping.  We bought some key chains and a book for the kids.


Another family photo before leaving the lodge. Notice we had coats on today. It was chilly

One last view of the beautiful scenery. 
On to Talkeetna to catch the Wilderness Express to Anchorage. Our tour director talked us into buying sandwiches for the trip and save our money to eat on the train. 
Here she comes! This is what everyone talks about when visiting Alaska. Ride the train!

I’m guessing the conductor liked his picture taken.

We would sit at the top of the railcar and eat downstairs

Lonnie and Susan in the Wilderness Express  – Notice the domed glass above. This allowed us to see so much.



Dr. Suess House

Along the way we spotted a tall house. The Story goes that a man that lived along the river in the Denali forest had a house that faced the mountains. He built the home shortly after a forest fire and had an amazing view of the Mt. McKinley and Denali National Park. The story goes that when the trees grew back, he added stories to the house so that he could keep his pristine view as they grew taller ending up with 12 stories. It is referred to as the Dr. Seuss House. Guess he really wanted that view. But, can you imagine climbing all those stairs? EEK! 

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This cute statue on the train is made out of fossilized whale and walrus bone.

 

Godiva hot chocolate


After being in the cold, we were ready for a good meal. First off, the Godiva hot chocolate was exceptional. The prime rib and the ice cream brownie were delicious although we really weren’t hungry. We have been eating for 10 days non-stop.

Unfortunately all good things come to an end.  This trip was so amazing and I cant wait to see what our future holds for our next adventure along this journey. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the trip. We are so excited to start our travels so that I can share more.

Until next time. May God bless you always!

Chuck & Lea Ann



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