Family Fun in Icy Strait Point, Alaska

Our cruise ship docked at Icy Strait Point, Alaska, on Thursday, June 30, 2022. As I mentioned earlier, this was our second time visiting the port. The previous visit was in 2007, when Trevor was 13 months old. 

During that visit, we toured the small museum, took a nature walk, played with rocks by the shore, and learned about Haida rituals around a campfire. 

I looked for photos from our day in port in 2007 and obviously found the two I posted above, but I was distracted by all the adorable photos of Trevor on his first cruise. One of my all-time favorite photos of the three of us was from that night. It sits on our mantel. 

And this one of Trevor learning to play shuffleboard will always make me smile. He was obsessed!

That photo, in turn, reminded me of the time I won second place in a Princess Cruises' photo competition with a picture of 20-month old Trevor playing shuffleboard....

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But enough about the past. What had changed at Icy Strait Point in 15 years besides Trevor's height and my weight? A lot. First, there is now a proper dock. Being able to walk on and off the cruise ship is huge. With tenders going back and forth, there's a lot of waiting, both for the boat and on the boat. If I board too early and the boat bobs around while others board, I'm almost sure to get seasick, which is no fun for anyone. I've actually skipped going ashore in some ports where the ship has to anchor and transport passengers by tender. That short choppy boat ride can mean hours of misery for me. 

There is a LOT more to do now. Restaurants, kayaking, theaters, a ropes course and zip line, hiking, and two gondolas, just to name a few. 

The nature trail that we enjoyed last time is longer now... 

... and had a lot more bear warnings than I remember. We found plenty of evidence of bears, but didn't actually see any. 

The museum was much larger and more extensive than before. It does a great job of explaining the history of the area. 

The many gift shops were nice, too. They had a wide variety of items for sale. 

There was also a lot of art on display. I want to make my own projects, inspired by these: 

As I mentioned, there are two gondolas. The lower one is free and takes you to the base of the upper one. The upper gondola is pricy ($50). Only Brian, Mom, Allison, and Trevor rode that one. 

At the top, they checked to see if Allison was big enough for the zip line (no). They were hoping to walk the nature trail, but it was closed due to bear activity. I'm unclear on the details since I wasn't there, but it sounded like all hiking had to be in guided groups of at least 10 due to bear danger. Once again, Brian missed out on seeing a bear. He also missed getting mauled, so it balances out. 

There's plenty to see and do at sea level. It's a neat place. 

  

After Icy Strait Point, we had a full sea day, then the brief stop in Victoria before disembarking in Seattle on Sunday, July 3. You won't believe how much we packed into that day. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.

Family Fun in Juneau, Alaska

On Wednesday, June 29, we visited Juneau, Alaska. This was my 7th time visiting Alaska's state capital. Small in population but enormous in area, Juneau is a charming town with lots to see and do. During past visits, we've been gold mining, visited the Capitol and the State Museum, explored the rainforest, been to the city museum, gone eagle spotting, visited Mendenhall Glacier, searched for geocaches, and even taken a ride with sled dogs.  

This time, Brian (my brother-in-law) disembarked as soon as we docked in order to rent a car. Mom, Kari, Allison, Steve, Trevor, and I waited on the dock for him. 

We piled in and headed toward our first destination, Mendenhall Glacier. But first, we stopped at a gas station. Not for gas, but to admire the dozens of bald eagles sitting casually in the trees. There are at least three in this photo. Can you spot them?

Juneau is one of the best places to spot eagles. In fact, it is hard NOT to see eagles. There are at least 18 in this photo. 

And this was in June, before the salmon were running. It's even easier to see eagles (and bears) when the salmon are such easy pickings. 

After admiring a whole bunch of eagles, we headed to Mendenhall Glacier. As I said, we've been there before. In fact, the first time I visited was in 1988 when I was 16. It has receded about a mile over the past 34 years. This is the view from the visitor center now.   

There are a bunch of trails surrounding the visitor center, all very well-maintained and beautiful. 

 

  

Steve hiked to the waterfall while the rest of us watched the Mendenhall Glacier movie in the visitor center. 

Next, we went to stunning Eagle Beach State Recreational Area. All of us except Brian have seen bears during trips to Alaska and he was determined to see a bear. He'd heard that if you would see one anywhere, it would be here. While it was absolutely gorgeous, it was bear-free when we visited. 

Well, probably not. It would be more accurate to say that there were likely bears all around us who were not interested in being seen. 

Poor Brian. He sat alone with the binoculars, willing a bear to come. None did. 

The area was so pretty and almost completely deserted. We saw exactly 2 other people the whole time we were there. (And no bears. But plenty of eagles.)

  

We'd hoped to get back into town in order to pop into the Capitol before it closed. Last time we were there, it was under construction and we wanted to see what the new interior looked like. But we missed it by a minute or two. Not a big deal though. I'd much rather see the beauty of Alaska's landscape than the architecture of its Capitol. 

Our next port of call was Icy Strait Point. We'd only been there once before, in 2007. We were among the very first cruise ships ever to dock there. And I use the word "dock" loosely, as there wasn't a dock. Technically, we anchored there. We were all excited to see what changes, if any, had taken place in 15 years. What we saw amazed us. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. 

Family Fun in Ketchikan, Alaska

Our cruise ship docked in Ketchikan, Alaska on Tuesday, June 28. If you're visiting Ketchikan for the first time, a guided tour is a great choice. But this was my fifth time in Ketchikan, not my first. It was Steve and Trevor's third time. During previous visits, we'd seen the outstanding Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, visited the fabulous Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, and been in and out of all the shops along Creek Street. They're my top recommendations when visiting Ketchikan. 

Ketchikan is a very walkable city, making it perfect for an Urban Adventure Quest. But there aren't any Quests in Alaska (so far). We've completed Quests in 20 cities, so we have a pretty good idea of what one entails. So we thought it would be fun to try to write our own. The three of us set out, along with Mom, Uncle Don, and Aunt Vickie, to start making up questions. 

With all the experience we've had, it was easy for us to identify the artwork, buildings, signs, and other permanent features that would work well as questions. 

The hard part was actually writing those questions. 

  

    

We grossly underestimated the amount of time it would take to map out a route, write challenging questions, and test and retest those questions until we were sure they were accurate. We also grossly underestimated our interest in doing all of this in the rain. I have even more respect for the folks at Urban Adventure Quest for the work that goes into creating each one! 

As the rain increased, our success at thinking up challenges decreased. We popped into the small museum at the Ketchikan Fire Department to look around. 

Then we made a much longer visit to Tongass Historical Museum. What a neat place!

  

The rain got heavier as the day went on. This wasn't a surprise, but it dampened (haha!) our interest in taking extensive notes and photos. 

  

We had a really fun time in Ketchikan. Our next port of call was Juneau, another city we'd visited many times before. Tomorrow I'll tell you what we did there.