Cruise Tips for Alaska

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Dog Sledding

Imagine you’re driving a team of veteran sled dogs in the last great frontiers on earth, Alaska. You're dog mushing! Mark and I mushed our own team of friendly Iditarod seasoned sled dogs along ancient Eskimo trails. We drove our snowmobiles up frozen rivers and to the top of mountain passes. This was truly an Alaska adventure travel vacation of a lifetime! We saw abundant wildlife, awesome scenery, large herds of moose, Caribou, seals, wolves and eagles. I must say that riding in the sled is more comfortable than standing on the back, but the dogs are constantly kicking up ice and snow into your face!

Dog Sledding 101

Weather & Dress

View Cruise Season Temperatures (°F)

Whale Watching

Here are some pictures of the whales while onboard a waterjet-powered catamaran through the island-studded waters of Stephen’s Passage. The onboard naturalist explained the behavior and habitat of the wildlife we encountered, including humpback and killer whales, Steller sea lions, harbor seals, bald eagles, bears and deer. The operators of the tour guaranteed we would see a whale. If not, each passenger was promised a $100 cash refund ($50 refund per child). If you're thinking about going whale-watching, don’t anticipate a refund; in the past ten years whales have been sighted on every tour!

Native Culture

Ketchikan was the first port of call for our cruise ship. Alaska's "first city," is located five hundred miles north of Seattle. Wedged between water and forested mountains, native art and culture flourishes here due to the large population of native Alaskans. The three indigenous Pacific Northwest Indian tribes are the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian who considered the areas throughout Northern British Columbia and Southeast Alaska their territory. Ketchikan is home to the world’s largest collection of totem poles, timeless monuments in cedar from the first Alaskans. They're so cool!

Mendenhall Glacier

North of Juneau along the Glacier Highway, Mendenhall Glacier is 12 miles long, 1.5 miles wide with ice up to 800 feet thick. The Juneau Icefield, from which the glacier descends, covers 1,500 square miles. We went rafting on the Mendenhall River and canoed and kayaked on Mendenhall Lake! Helicopter tours of Mendenhall and other Juneau Icefield glaciers were also available. One of many of the trails at the lake took us to the Steep Creek fish viewing site, where we watched spawning red and silver salmon.

Check Out the Glacier Cam

Why Alaska?