North to Alaska!

Top of the world - dog-sledding on a glacier!

A few months ago, Cheri and I took our first real cruise - through the inside passage of Alaska.  In case you're wondering, no, we didn't do any diving.  This was purely a "topside" trip.  What we did see was amazing scenery, a few wild animals, and lots of sled dogs up close and personal!  One of the high points (figuratively and literally!) was a helicopter tour up through seemingly endless jagged mountains to a summer sled-dog camp on a high glacier!

Myself, Cheri, Dick, Minnie, Rick, and Traci - "formal" dinner night, slightly different attire than on SCUBA diving boats!

It was a family vacation; we went with Cheri's family, plus her dad's friend, Minnie.  We first spent 5 days doing a land-based tour from Fairbanks down through Denali National park to Anchorage, and then - after a short visit to the Alaska Animal Conservation Center, boarded the cruise ship - Diamond Princess (more like a floating city than a big boat) to make our way down the inside passage to Vancouver, B.C. (and flew home from there).

Pair of orphaned moose calves at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

The land tour began in Fairbanks, and then we spent nights in three lodges as we made our way South through Denali, with the final leg to Anchorage by train. While on the ship, we saw huge glaciers (Hubbard, Glacier Bay)  where they meet the sea, and later by air.  Like other large natural phenomena (e.g., the Grand Canyon, "Big Sky" country in Montana), photos simply don't do justice to their massiveness and majesty.

Hubbard Glacier - 6 miles wide and high as 3 Statues of Liberty!

One thing I would encourage anyone to do who does an inside passage cruise (at least anyone who's a "dog person") is take the helicopter ride from Skagway up to the summer sled-dog camp atop the glacier.  Just the helicopter tour alone is breathtaking, but you can pay extra to visit the camp and ride around the glacier top on a real sled pulled by Alaskan huskies...and it is so worth it!  It gives you a whole new appreciation for these amazing creatures, and their love for the sport they were bred for.  We will never forget riding across the glacier on top of the world on a sled!

Summer sled-dog camp atop a glacier, dwarfed by nature's grandeur!

Cheri as "musher" and both of us "interviewing" future sled dog team members

You can see my full trip gallery HERE, including other details/photos of the above, and lots more!