Day 5 - Skagway

 Today begins with a spectacular train ride. 

The previous trestle.

We booked the VIP car, the only one with drinks, munchies, small group, comfortable chairs, and server/guide/all-around cool lady.

That white strip far below is our descent.

How much have we climbed? We are three quarters of the way back down and our ship is on that water far below!

After lunch we walk about in picturesque Skagway.

Even though the ship is tied to a pier, a major rock slide has closed the pier. We must tender to and from the port.

In the afternoon we watch them retrieve the tenders. The davits are directly below our room.

We don't know where they are going to but a group of four identical helicopters make regular flights to and from somewhere. We suspect the flights are to and from a nearby glacier.

This evening dinner aboard the ship is in the French specialty restaurant. The meal is excellent.

We pass by the Meridian Lounge after dinner. Most of the passengers are on the way to the theater for the evening show. In the lounge are the two of us, a waitress, and A.C., a great bartender. He's also from the Philippines.

Day 4 - Juneau

The approach to Juneau is picturesque.

We've arrived at Alaska's state capital. It is the only state capital in the U.S. that cannot be reached by road, there being many cities on the island of Oahu in Hawaii for those who think Honolulu would also qualify. Juneau is surrounded by mountains and sea and is a long way from anywhere making any tunneling or road building both unaffordable and impractical.

Juneau may be the smallest state capitol in the U.S.

The small city is colorful. Once again apologies for the picture quality. I'm downloading from a Marriott in Seattle and the pictures continue to download blurry. There must be something happening with the blog site.

We see our first official totem pole.

We pan for gold. The flies are horrible making the experience uncomfortable.

At least the site is beautiful.

A salmon bake follows the gold panning.

We are using the balcony much more on this cruise than on previous cruises. This night we enjoy the Juneau departure and sunset.

It is low tide.

Day 7 Whittier/Anchorage/Talkeetna

We disembark Seven Seas Explorer around half past eight. We must wait in one of a group of eight cues to pass through a 2.5 mile one-lane car/train tunnel.

The ride to Anchorage is along an ocean inlet and between mountains. We stop at Alaska's Wood Bison Restoration Project, an animal rescue center.

Map

A wood bison.

At one point one of the Alaska Railroad trains passes.

We have lunch at a pub in Anchorage where featured are very good burgers and duck fat fries covered in truffled grated parmesan. 

The burgers have an 'imprinted' brioche bun.

The 2.5 hour drive to Talkeetna passes quickly since we sleep through most of it.

Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge is rustic and what one would expect in Alaska.

How do they get such gorgeous flowers in Alaska?

The lodge shuttle takes us to town and a light dinner at the local bistro. It is owned by a woman from New Zealand. It doesn't look like much but the service and food are very good.