We began our trip on 8/27/07 flying from Ontario, CA to Vancouver, BC. Transfers from the airport to the ship went smoothly. Everything was arranged by Princess and it worked perfectly. We had our first dinner in the dining room, the service was wonderful and the scenery was breathtaking.

Our second day on the ship was a sea day, so we relaxed and got acquainted with the ship. We worked out in the gym and ate quite a bit. We arrived in Ketchikan on 8/29/08 and we were not expecting to see rain. Our friends who had been here before told us that the weather would be beautiful this time of year, we still had fun anyway. The town is very picturesque. We took a horse-drawn trolley ride through the city to see the highlights and then walked around and shopped.

Ketchikan is the fifth most populous city in the state of Alaska and the largest city in the southeast of that state. Ketchikan’s economy is based on tourism and fishing, and the city is known as the “Salmon Capital of the World. One of the area’s top attractions is” The Misty Fjords National Monument.

Ketchikan is named after Ketchikan Creek, which runs through the city. Ketchikan comes from the Tlingit name for the stream, Kitschk-hin, the meaning of which is unclear; it can mean “the river that belongs to Kitschk” or “Thunderous wings of an eagle”. Ketchikan is home to the world’s largest collection of standing totems found in three main locations: Saxman Village, Totem Bight, and Totem Heritage Center. Ketchikan it is 235 miles (378 km) south of Juneau, Alaska.

We arrived in Juneau on August 30th. It wasn’t raining but it was very cold. Juneau is named after the gold digger Joe Juneau, although the place was called for a time Rockwell and then Harrisburg (after Juneau co-prospector Richard Harris. The town’s Tlingit name is Dzántik’i Héeni “river where flounders gather,” and Auke Bay, north of Juneau proper, is called Aak’w “little lake” in Tlingit. The Taku River, south of Juneau, named after the cold you aakh wind, occasionally blowing from the mountains. Downtown Juneau sits at sea level, beneath steep mountains approximately 3,500 to 4,000 feet high.

At the top of these mountains is the Juneau Ice Cap, a large mass of ice from which some 30 glaciers flow; one of these, the Mendenhall Glacier, it is visible from the local highway system; this glacier has been retreating in general; its front face is decreasing in both width and height.

Juneau is the capital of Alaska and has a wide variety of things to see and do. Several monuments are located along the boardwalk and boardwalk and the famous Red Dog Saloon is nearby; State and city museums and government buildings are a short walk away, with shops along the way. We took a tour of the Mendenhall Glacier, downtown, and the salmon farm. It was very interesting especially the glacier. Mendenhall Glacier is a 20-minute drive from downtown and is the most accessible glacier to any city on the Inside Passage. Active adventures abound in Juneau. This is a great spot for whale watching, wildlife viewing, kayaking, and river rafting. Some whale watching companies offer cash refunds if you don’t see a humpback whale or orca during your tour.

On Friday September 1 we were in Skagway. It is a small town of 800 inhabitants. It was cold. We took an old trolley with a great tour guide named Peggy. She was in disguise and very knowledgeable about the area. He took us to an old cemetery and shared many stories. Peggy and her husband spend summers at Skagway. She told us that there are only 5 hours of light in the winter!

We were at Glacier Bay on Saturday September 2nd. Glacier Bay National Park is north of Juneau; Hubbard Glacier, which “flows” from Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Disenchantment Bay and Prince William Sound in south central Alaska with College Fjord and other glacier-rich sites. I was on the treadmill watching the glaciers go by, what a delight. This region of towering mountains, lush forests, endless acres of wilderness, whales in the water, and grizzly bears on the shoreline. Alaska Native cultures still live in vibrant ways. The history of the “sourdough” gold rush is still reflected in many structures and sites connected with the Klondike stampede into the Yukon.

On Sunday September 3 we were at sea and saw the College Fjords around 3:00 PM. This is our last day at the Coral Princess. We disembark at 6:45 am for a seven-day land tour.

7-Day Overland Tour from Anchorage to Deadhorse Alaska.
Our plane from Anchorage to Deadhorse / Prudhoe Bay was an hour late, and unfortunately our plan to sightsee along the way was thwarted by clouds. We arrived in a puddle jumper to one of the most desolate places we had ever been.

Prudhoe Bay is made up of miles of oil rigs and the machinery that goes with them. There is no town or village. The workers live in barracks-style buildings for two weeks and two weeks off. On the weeks off, the oil company they work for flies them to Fairbanks. No families, no pets, nothing but wind and cold.
Prudhoe Bay sits right on the Arctic Ocean. We stayed at the only place to stay called, The Arctic Caribou Inn.

It was used to house drilling rig personnel; Very basic. Two single beds placed at each end of the room, a dresser, a tiny bathroom with a toilet and a small shower, a small step to a sink.
Our meals were served by the cooks on a large metal tray. That night it was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, beans, a salad bar, a dessert box, hot tea, and coffee for only $ 18.00 each.

The tour of Prudhoe Bay was of oil rigs and vast expanses of nature. We were able to walk down a rocky beach and submerge any part of the body in the freezing Arctic Ocean.

The second day of our overland touring vacation started at 4:30 with a 9 hour drive up Dalton Highway to Coldfoot. There were no “sanitary facilities” along this road. The first trees we saw were at 8 hours of travel and over the Antigun pass.

Coldfoot started out as a tent serving truckers coffee and sandwiches on this very lonely highway, the halfway point between Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay. The “buffet” just like Prudhoe Bay,

Our bus driver on this 18 hour hike was very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna. He would have been a great school teacher. If you want to see Denali National Park, there are shuttle buses at your disposal, or you can book a tour with one of the many private buses, which can offer you the opportunity to participate in a variety of guided hikes, panning for gold. , fishing and some awesome photo opportunities.

Mount McKinley National Park is located within Denali and tours here offer incredible views of this impressive glacier-covered mountain, which is in fact the highest peak in all of North America at an incredible 20,320 feet.