I have always wanted to go to Alaska so we decided to take a cruise before we started our own adventure RVing around the good old USA.  As we saw the marvelous works that God created for our enjoyment in the wildlife, glaciers, mountains and rivers, we were so blessed.  He is a loving God and had made a way for me to experience the desire of my heart after almost 50 years.

Tony and I were able to go off the ship in Juneau to go on a whale watching excursion.  We saw lots of whales but the trick was to catch them on film.  Tony was better at it than I was.  By the time I got the camera headed in the right direction they were underwater again.  Oh well, Tony did get some shots but we missed the best ones.  So I will posted pictures from a collection of photos that I was able to purchase in Glacier Bay from the National Park Service.

In Ketchikan we went to see a Lumberjack show which was really interesting and very funny.  They put on quite a show.  We were freezing out in the windy weather but they came and gave the people in the front row a blanket to use.  I had purchased an Alaska stocking cap with scarf and gloves so I pulled it out and used it right away too.

Most of you who know me understand that I get really cold.  Why I wanted to go to Alaska I will never know…  But I always wanted to and didn’t really think about how cold it gets even in the summer.  But I managed to keep warm most of the time.  We did spend a lot of time in the crows nest just looking at the scenery and taking pictures.  The rest of the time we spent eating.  I gained about 10 pounds in that week, mainly due to the awesome desserts that they had.   When I couldn’t decide which one I wanted I just had two.  LOLOL

Sorry I am so late posting this about the cruise.  We were so busy getting the RV ready and then we have spent a lot of time in areas with no internet.  I will try to catch up on our travels as fast as I can.  Hope you enjoy the pictures.   The Lord bless all of you.

I only saw killer whales once in the two summers that I spent in Glacier Bay, but that one time they put on a great show. This photo is particularly special to me due to the unusual behavior of the animal. This is called a ‘spyhop’. A spyhop occurs when a whale rises vertically out of the water, most likely to look around and see what is above the water. In this case, what probably happened was that this killer whale took notice of our boat, and decided to pop its head out and get a better view. For animals that spend most of their time with their heads underwater, it is exciting to see such an active display of them watching us.

The best place to look for brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Glacier Bay is along the beaches. They often use the intertidal zone at low tide in search of a wide variety of creatures that make up their diet. These include gunnels, barnacles and beach hoppers, to name a few. When they are in the intertidal zone, there is no tall vegetation to conceal the bears. Still, they can be difficult to spot as their fur sometimes blends in with the sandy beaches or barnacle-covered rocks.