I love the desert and much prefer being hot to cold. However, there comes a time almost every summer when I start dreaming of someplace cold. I don't want to live there, I just want to go and be cold for awhile.
Two years ago I went to Alaska with one of my best friends. We did a Princess cruise from Whittier (Anchorage) down to Vancouver. I had a free cabin from Princess' travel agent academy and my friend paid the upgrade so we could have a balcony. I went from 105 degrees in Phoenix to 50-60 degree high temps on the cruise!
I fell in love with glaciers on this trip. While we didn't have a lot of sunshine, the cloudy skies provided us with more depth of colors while cruising the glaciers. Our itinerary took us first to Hubbard Glacier and then to Glacier Bay National Park.
Hubbard Glacier
Hubbard Glacier is North America's largest tidewater glacier. It is 76 miles long, 7 miles wide and and 600 feet tall. You only are seeing 350 feet of it as the rest is below water.
Glacier Bay National Park
My favorite glacier in Glacier Bay is the Marjorie Glacier (below). It is 21 miles long, 1 mile wide, and 350 feet deep (250 feet is above water). We saw a fishing boat in front of the glacier and it looked like a toy. It really put the glacier's size into perspective. Later we saw some kayakers from an Uncruise ship, paddling along side the glacier. I had to use my zoom lens to get a look at them. That must have been an incredible experience, being that close to the glacier.
Mendenhall Glacier
While we were in Juneau, we did an excursion that took us whale watching and then on a nature walk down to Lake Mendenhall, directly across from Mendenhall Glacier. Most people just go to the Visitors Center to view the glacier from there, but there is something really cool seeing it from across the way and not from above.
Of course, glaciers weren't the only marvels in Alaska. I'll share my photos of the flora and fauna in another post.
Cruising Alaska
If you are looking for an Alaska cruise, there are 3 basic itineraries: roundtrip out of Seattle or Vancouver, or a north/south cruise between Vancouver and Anchorage (porting in either Seward or Whittier). If you can, do either the roundtrip out of Vancouver or a north/south cruise. The cruises out of Seattle, while more convenient, spend more time at sea and less time in port. Believe me, this is one cruise where you want more time where you can see things!
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