Western Canadian Rockies (WCR) – Mabel and Rita’s pictures

While on the Zuiderdam, Mabel and Rita went on several extra excursions then we did and were nice enough to share some of her photos. In Whistler they went on the float plane sightseeing which flew over the mountains.

They flew over one of the lakes in the mountains.  The river at the bottom of the picture shows the silt coming into the lake.

As you can see from the pictures, the scenery in the air was fantastic.  Since this is mid June and there is plenty of snow still on the mountains it is hard to say of any of these are glacial.

This mountain has a sharp peak jutting up from the ridge.

Mabel and Rita were on the float ride with us in Jasper down the Athabasca River.  They were sitting on the other side of the raft and captured Carmen (in front on the right), me (behind Carmen), Helen (my sister behind my right elbow) and Charlie (her husband on her right).

While on the cruise, I think in Juneau, Mabel and Rita went on a whale watching trip.  There they said they did not see any whales until just about when they were going to head back.  Then they saw a pod of whales and took some pictures.

They were able to capture two of the whales flipping their tails at about the same time.

They also caught the ending splash of a whale breeching.  That must have been a fantastic sight.

On another excursion, they went to a place that bred and trained dogs for dog sledding.  Here are the dogs ready to pull them in the “summer” dog sled.

 

Here everyone is sitting in the dog “buggy”.  Rita and Mabel are in the second row as the buggy is getting ready to go.

 

  They looked so cute, I think Rita couldn’t help but that their picture.

These are a couple of the dog sled puppies that were being raised.

Thanks to Mabel and Rita for sharing their pictures, it was much appreciated – Bob and Carmen.

Western Canadian Rockies (WCR) – Day 21 – Seattle

After getting off of the ship yesterday (Friday June 29), we rented a car at the airport and drove to Seattle where we will spend a couple of days.  So today (Saturday June 30), we will first visit the Seattle waterfront then head over to the Space Needle.  We parked across the street from the huge ferris wheel at the end of one of the wharfs. 

Looking down into the water from the docks, we saw a number of jellyfish.  Some of them were larger than others; this one was about 4 feet long.

We traveled along the road passing restaurants and shops.  This one had several carvings of sailors on the roof. 

Looking across Puget Sound, you can see Mt Olympus in Olympic National Park. 

The Public Market was calling us so we went.  They have all kinds of stuff here.  Booths with food, flowers, fish, anything you might want.

Walking down the main isles one can see many fresh seafood booths. 

Fresh whole salmon under ice waiting for anyone’s purchase and the shop will even filet the fish for you.  They’ll even ship the fish to your house in special packaging that will not leak of have a fishy smell.  While looking at the fish we almost missed these very large jumbo shrimp.  They were at least 6-inches long.  I could see them on my grill.

The flowers were very nice and were bundled for sale.  You would not believe the flower bouquet you could get for 5 and 10 dollars.

We left the Public Market and headed to Ivar’s Fish Bar for lunch.  Had a bowl of chowder, Jumbo prawns and chips, and onion rings.  The food was very good and reasonably priced.

Ivar started the restaurant when people came to see him feed the seagulls. After he died, his tradition continued.  At the seating area outside, people were encouraged to feed the seagulls.  You could feed the gulls and they did not come to the table, they were actually well mannered.

After lunch, we headed to the car, but first we stopped for a bathroom break.  While there, I got a picture of one of the carousel horse while it was running. 

To get to the Seattle Space Needle we had to park a number of blocks away because of a parade that passed the Space Needle and obstructed our way.  When we finally got through, we made our way up to the observation deck.

It was very clear day enough so that looking south you can see not only the cityscape, but also Mount Rainier in the background. 

Mount Rainier, at 14,409 feet, is 54 miles from Seattle, maybe a little further from the Space Needle, but from here, it still looks really large.  You can see a plane miles from away between Mt. Rainier and us.

Today with it being so clear from the Space Needle, you can see miles.  We see Mt Rainier to the south, Lake Union and Mt. Baker to the northeast, Mt. Olympus to the east, and spiders on the roof.  Ha, ha, ha, you’ve got to love a town that has a Sci-Fi museum next door to a Space Needle.

 

I got a picture of Carmen from the top of the Space Needle before we left. 

Returning to the hotel, we prepare for our flight home tomorrow.  This has been a great trip and I would either recommend the tour or cruise.

Western Canadian Rockies (WCR) – Day 19 & 20 – Last Day at Sea & Vancouver

Our last full day on the cruise (Friday June 28) has us at sea – all day.  It was cloudy and foggy all day.  We spent most of the day going to shows and I played in a Blackjack tournament.  So the only thing to report is that we saw some great shows.  As we came back to our room late at night, as with all of the other nights, we found our towel animal waiting for us.

We also had a picture of the ship alongside the glacier at Glacier Bay National Park. 

Tomorrow morning we arrive in Vancouver early and have a departure schedule of 9:30am.  From there we will go to the airport and rent a car to get to Seattle – Bob and Carmen.

Western Canadian Rockies (WCR) – Day 18 – Ketchikan

By the time we finished breakfast (Thursday June 27) and got organized, it was time to disembark.  So by 10:15 am we were walking towards town. So welcome to Ketchikan, Alaska and as the sign indicates, the Salmon Capital of the World.

Our destination in Ketchikan is the Creek Street boardwalk.  Here is Carmen at the beginning of the street.

We started sort of in the middle of Creek Street from the Mission Street entrance.  At the walkway, there were two gentlemen, one with an eagle that had about a 5-foot wingspan. 

The other had an owl about nine inches tall.

We walked around the east end of Creek Street which is really a walkway on stilts over the water.  As you can see from this picture, regardless of the condition the buildings look, it is still a neat place to visit.

This end of Creek Street became a red-light district in 1903, when the city council ordered bordellos to move across the creek from the town.  More than 30 bawdy houses, with one or two “sporting women” lined the creek.  The more famous madam in the heyday of Creek Street, Dolly Arthur, still has her house preserved on the street.  It much as she left it, featuring antiques, caches, and garish décor.  Of course, for a fee we could have gone inside, so you’ll just have to look at the sign and the bawdy imitator.

We didn’t have much time on Creek Street since we had to meet our boat for the Misty Fjords and Wilderness Explorer.  Therefore, here is a parting shot of Creek Street as we head back to the ship.

We got on the Misty Fjords Explorer on the docks near the Zuiderdam.  As you can see we were right below the bow of the ship under the tether lines.

While traveling on the boat, we found out that we were going to a float plane about 40 miles up the Behm Canal and finally into Rudyerd Bay.  It was a nice boat ride and we did spot an eagle on the way.  As we neared our entrance to Rudyerd Bay, we came upon New Eddystone Rock.

New Eddystone Rock, an ancient volcano core, rises out of Behm Canal.

As we near the float plan dock, we do have some very nice views of sheer cliff walls where one of the float planes had just flown over. 

This excursion did mention waterfalls and we finally come across one near the floating dock.

When we arrived at the float plane floating dock to drop off some of the passengers, and pick up some of the float plane passengers, we saw two planes making to land in the water

The planes take off, pass over us, and turn on a heading to Ketchikan as we also start on our return trip to Ketchikan.

Shortly before leaving Rudyerd Bay, the pilot of the boat slows down and then stops and the word is that he saw a grizzly bear.  After waiting for about 10 minutes, the bear shows its head and then walked around a bit.  We were quite some distance and with the boat moving, this is the best picture we could get.

At a known eagles nest the eagle was there along with an eaglet.  We got a picture of the two of them sitting calmly.

Then the boats radio squawked and the eagle began to fly away.

I couldn’t help but to get a picture of the eagle in flight, such a gorgeous bird.

The eagle flew across the channel then back and landed in a tree near the nest.  We could not stop staring or taking pictures, such a beautiful bird.

The eaglet remained visible in the nest by itself.

Looking back along our route, you can see some of the sights we’ve had.  Although this was a nice trip, I felt it was more of a “water taxi” to shuttle people to and from the float plane excursion that included the part of a boat ride.  Yes, we saw a couple of animals, but I could have done something else instead, like spending more time at Creek Street.  Just saying.

Tomorrow is a full day motoring out of Alaska and into British Columbia.  A day at sea, with a Captain’s lunch planned along with a dinner get together with our Globus trip mates on this cruise.  Until tomorrow, goodnight from Bob and Carmen.