Our Alaskan Adventure, Part 2

     So, where did I leave off--We had just been to the salmon bake, right?  When we left Juneau, we spent the afternoon on the boat heading towards Sawyer Glacier.  There was the hope of seeing whales (I think we saw 1), seals (saw several of those) and the big glacier at the end which was pretty amazing.  It was much colder as we got closer to the monster-sized ice but we had kids swimming in the pool below!  The pools are heated but getting out, now that is cold!  (besides, who goes to Alaska for the swimming anyway??)  Here are some photos from that afternoon.

      Our next port was Skagway.  The town looked like an old western town out of a movie.  It was very cute and we picked up a few souvenirs but our biggest adventure was to happen that afternoon.  We went up in helicopters to a glacier and went dog-sledding!  The sights from the helicopter were amazing (first timer, here!)  and as we were enveloped in cloud cover, we landed on the glacier where we took a snow cat to the mushers camp.  There were over 200 dogs there!  They were "Alaskan huskies" which basically means they bred huskies with other types of dogs for their assets such as strength, endurance, etc.  

     We divided up onto 3 sleds and were each joined by a musher and off we went!  We really couldn't see a lot because the clouds were so thick up there but it was fun and we each got to "drive" the sled for part of the run.  We took some photos and played with the dogs and then it was time to go back to the boat!

     Our final port of the cruise was Victoria, BC, Canada.  There are a lot of whale watching operations there and we had heard good things about one of them so we decided to give it a try.  Well, of course, the one we had a recommendation for was booked up so we went with a different company.  We did see whales, but with some bad weather coming in, our trip had to be cut short and the ride back was a little scary.  We had two kids crying because they were scared while we were all getting soaked in this small boat...not the most pleasant boating experience...but,we did see whales.  And here they are...

And a couple seals...

     Overall, it was a beautiful vacation!  The kids loved the social aspect of the cruise--they made friends and had a great time.  Most of all, it was wonderful to share the experience, something none of us had ever done before, with my family.  It was something we will treasure forever!  Thanks for joining the journey!