Once in awhile-now and again-this is us

I forgot or ran of room on the last post to show you a few pictures of the visitor center.

the 17 mile ice field that feeds the mendenhall glacier. the little rectangle by the green is the visitor center

and of course

stay tuned now for the capitol

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we went back to the glacier this morming, which neither of us minded, because it was a such a beautiful day. it was only a few miles from our campground.

driving up to the glacier parking lot you get your first glimpse of the mendenhall glacier. wow, they do exist. wow, they are big. wow, we are really here.

if you look close at this next picture you can see on the left side where just a few days ago an ice cave collapsed. it’s the dark spot by the rock at water’s edge

30 years ago we would have been standing on ice here

you could walk a couple of miles to get to this waterfall. we didn’t.

we took a walk looking for bears and salmon. we didn’t see either.

the glaciers look dirty from rocks and boulders riding on top and from ground rock dust blowing across the surface.

this experience is right up there with mt. rushmore, the statue of liberty, the grand canyon, niagara falls, the florida keys, and many more. it was awe inspiring. breathtaking to be in it’s presence. glaciers are classed at living things because they move. and 37 of the 38 glaciers here in alaska,  are retreating, moving backwards. in case you want to know, the menenhall has retreated more that a mile and thinned about 700 vertical feet.

1986-2012

it has been retreating since 1850 but the rate of ice loss has increased dramatically in recent decades in part to climate warning. believe it or not.

we see the capitol next

so stay tuned

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we got in so late to prince Rupert, we just followed some of the motorhomes to the wal mart parking lot. when we got up we realized there was not much of interest to us there. we drove around in a not so charming city. it’s more industrial and dirty. we went into the small town and I did the post about the sand castles. we found a local restaurant, dolly’s, to try the halibut, which the town is famous for. we had fish and chips and it was very good.

we went into the gift store across the street and had fun looking  at all the goodies, which I am not buying on this trip.

some cute aprons and a cow

a cute coffe mug cover. I think you could duplicate this kara.

I bought Martha a birthday card and then forgot to mail it.

we found out we could get in line that night for the next days trip, so we spent the night at the ferry terminal. we always like those free options. but we were woke up at 2:00am to move to another line. the ferry was late so we waited another 2 hours to board.

waiting

going in again

doesn’t it look like a tank could fit in there?

we get a cabin on this ship

#27 with a window

we haven’t been eating big breakfasts very often this trip. no cracker barrels to get our ‘eggs in a basket’. but jerry couldn’t resist the biscuits and gravy with two eggs on top.

we watched our flag blow in the wind as we ate.

the pictures weren’t as interesting on this voyage. the ship was 5o years old, so it creaked and moaned a lot. as to the first being first class this was coach. but we sure slept good. we’ll go back on this ship too.

we arrived early in Juneau yesterday.it was cold when we saw mendenhall glacier and the most important thing, our 48th capitol. then it started raining when we drove into town. so we decided to wait until today to do that. then I deleted the glacier and capitol pictures this morning by mistake. damn computers. so were going back today to get some more. it’s sunny today so maybe the pictures will be better anyway. the glacier is absolutely amazing. wow.

so stay tuned for that.

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we were on the ship for 15 hours, which actually went by fast. the people  in the lounge were all nice.  announcements are made when we would pass by a point of interest or when a whale was spotted. when that happens everyone jumps up to take a picture. it’s really hard to catch a whale when we are both moving. this picture is all I got.

I did get a picture of a bald eagle that no one else got. that’s pretty hard too.

and of course the clouds always capture my attention

we passed by several lighthouses

passed a lot of boats and barges

we had lunch in one of three restruant’s on board. it was such a nice day we ate outside. a delicious salmon Caesar salad. it was great.

we went back to the lounge and enjoyed the rest of the trip. jumping up when a whale was spotted, taking more pictures of interesting things.

we passed very close to some things

the side window was our tv

I took a nap when it got dark. woke up just as we were getting into prince Rupert.

there will be more later

so stay tuned

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we reached port hardy where we were going to catch the ferry at 5am the next morning. we had another nice campground amongst the trees for the night.

there were beautiful trees

there were real blue jays

there was a nice river

and there were hearts

it always seems like such an adventure to wait in line, be called, drive into the ship, go up and see where you want to sit.

it’s a newer ship

there we are amongst the giants

going in

jerry found his seat

jerry found the aurora lounge at the front of the ship. you pay extra, and get to sit in the only seats facing forward with windows and reclining seats. you even get your own key to keep out the riff raff. plus three times they brought us bottles of water and snacks. it was very quiet, with well behaved people. kind of like first class i would imagine.

it didn’t take long in those comfortable seats zzzzzzzzzzzz

there were lots of things to look at along the inside passage. i’ll put those in the next post.

stay tuned

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there aren’t a abundance of towns on the highway, but they are all so cute. about lunch time we were in parksvile so we stopped at the beach to eat. a lot of people were out enjoying the day. after we ate we got out and walked around.

a panoramic attempt

and just our luck they were having a sand sculpturing contest. what fun it was to view all the finished works of art. here are a few. a lot of the sculptures were in the shadows and didn’t photograph well.

jerry voted for this one

I voted for this one

the back

a 3D ipad

we see so many dogs to greet. here is a bernese mountain dog

he was so beautiful but I don’t think he wanted me to take his picture

so stay tuned

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we didn’t need a camp so we found a wal mart in the town of nanaimo for the night. a few motorhomes left before I took this picture.

I did my last post in the starbucks across the street.

I liked their umbrellas

the starbucks was attached to the one of the biggest book stores I have ever seen. jerry browsed while I did the post. he bought clive  cusslers new novel. it’s the first time he’s ever paid full price. I wish I could have put these next pictures in a row but couldn’t. notice the runners near the ceiling. that holds the biggest accordion doors I’ve ever seen. it was neat when they opened them. I should have got a picture of that.

the right picture

the middle picture

the left picture

all the products in canada have French printed under the English words, just llike we have everything printed in spanish. it was an adventure browsing the aisles.

we bought the one on the right

you pour the soup over mashed potatoes. we bought the one on the left

we have some sauce to put on this

I love the name of this soap

we couldn’t buy much fruit or anything fresh for that matter. we’ll be on the ferry for 15 hours and the fridge will be turned off. the wal marts are much nicer up here. they don’t sell beer or wine in them. you have to go to a state controlled liquor store for that. also every gas station we have seen the price is the same. exactly.

we had some good luck the next day

stay tuned for that

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we started our drive up the coast of vancouver island to port hardy, where we will catch a 15 hour ferry to prince Rupert on thursday.  from there, we catch another ferry to juneau. this is the long one, 1day 6hrs, through the inside passage. we booked a cabin with a little help from our great neighbors.  we opened your envelope kara. thank you, thank you, thank you. and  thank you, thank you, thank you frank and linda for the gift cards. and the kids gave jerry gift cards for fathers day. wow.  on the 27th we get on the ferry in juneau, with a cabin again, and come back to prince rupert.  from there we will drive into canada and end up in vancouver.  it’s a 926 mile drive so no telling how long it will take us.

anyway we’re taking our time to drive the 250 mile trip.  the water comes in and out of view along the roads and we stop at some of the view points for the most wonderful slices of nature. this stop we made, was interesting. we were reading all the info,  and then we saw the ferry. the kids sure gave us a nice camera to bring these things in.

we also stop at some of the cutest little towns. chemainus was a logging town that lost that industry and reinvented itself as a mural town. they invited artists from all over to paint murals on the walls of town. now they have 40. we walked through the town and took a few pictures.

this is the most famous mural

isn’t this sweet

these blue hydrangeas are everywhere in the northwest

and we see lots of these on the roads

we stay at wal mart and go shopping

so stay tuned

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after such a great time, we walked over to find where the fireworks were going to be.

the hanging tuberous begonias

a beautiful orchid

what flower is that?

here it is

a good view

the fireworks were the best I have ever seen. they lasted a full half hour, and they were non-stop. things on the ground were going while the sky would be full of the best colors and shapes of sparkle. I didn’t take pictures of the ones in the sky, I didn’t want to miss anything. but the ones on the ground lasted long enough so I took a few. they also used the trees by lighting them up slowly,     oh I can’t describe it. it was a whole visual thing going on at the same time. it was fantastic, amazing, a better than Disney extravaganza. worth the price of a $30 admission.

if you look at the area again and imagine it full of the best fireworks ever. at one point the whole sky was filled with the most gorgeous color of gold exploding fireworks of every shape and size sizzling, drizzling, and curly-cueing down to the ground. can you tell we liked them?

stay tuned for more sizzling adventures

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another great experience. if you like flowers that is. the color parings are so artistic and beautiful. it was a joy to walk the paths and see something new around every turn. it was a hot day but there is so much shade, you survive nicely. I had trouble picking out the pictures for this. so excuse me now if I  put too many in.

we went to the rose garden first

i fell in love with this rose, hot cocoa

we couldn’t reach the snail, so we got the pig

the house where we had a fabulous dinner

but wait there’s more. as a bonus in july and august they have fireworks every night at 10:00. it doesn’t get dark until then.

so stay tuned for that

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