End of Cruise, back on our own

Well completed the last organised tour for a while (hooray) there is only so much herding around you can take, and the groups were large, sometimes as many as 10 coaches in the place you were stopping, due to the short season....and the fact that there is only 1 road !!

01 theres gold in them hills !

They really do fill the time, we were out up to 10 hours on 2 different excursions during the day, getting into the hotel at 8pm and cases outside at 6am  !! not sure we would have done this if it was the only holiday, but ok as part of the larger journey.

We did a couple of trips on the scenic train from Fairbanks to Talkeetna, the train was nearly a mile long !! well worth doing....sat upstairs in the viewing deck, glass everywhere including the ceiling. The  guide was a wannabee singer, comedian, actor....but was really a waiter. Travelled through the snow capped mountain ranges, over gorges, truly spectacular....while drinking cocktails & smoothies, life is good......

02 360 degree views

Been panning for gold, Colin is hanging on to the $10 worth for when we get home  !

We travelled down the Nenana river to see native indian crafts & dog sledging......seen moose, cariboo, wolf, bald Eagles, bears of various colours (blocking our trails, so had to close it) been to see the highest peak in North America, the largest national park,  and of course ate too much, drunk too much, but amazing scenery everywhere you look. We have had all sorts of weather, but generally COLD.

FACTS:

Alaska has the most air traffic in the USA with 10,802 active pilots.

USA purchased from Russia for 2 cents an acre back in 1867 (bargain)

6 mountain ranges can be seen from Anchorage.

03 Denali the highest mountain in North America

There are 5 men to every woman....for women, the odds are good, but the goods are odd !

30 below zero in winter is not unusual, and cars have to be plugged in and heated to avoid engines freezing up, they even have remote control to start them !!

We were getting 22 hours of daylight....really weird, but only 4 in the winter.

Fairbanks is a desert as it has so little rain fall, and humity is often 0% so we have gone from 90% humidity to zero in 2 weeks !!

There is no other way apart from the cruise to experience the area, blue & black Glaciers miles wide, amazing fjords, you could hear loud cracking of the ice as large chunks crashed into the sea....awesome....

04 Great view from our lodge in Kenai

we saw hump back whales & orcas....too many sea otters to count, BUT would have been better not to share this experience with 3000 other people !!

Every day we had to queue to get on the ship & off the ship as we visited goldrush towns with ? yes, you guessed it, lots of brothels & bars to service the it.

The photos speak for themselves, if scenery is not your thing, then you will be bored.

Now time to move on

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05 Lodge with a view

06 Cruising in style with amazing views

07 College Fjord cruising

08 Glacier bay

09 Glacier face

10 Wrapped up warm in Galcier bay

11 Street car tour

12 Diamond Princess

Ketchikan shore trip

Old ketchikan

Totem heaven