Heading home after a tour – Anchorage-Vancouver-Whitehorse
I spent 3/4 of an hour posting yesterday, then lost the whole thing to a power failure just as I hit “Publish”. Ah, the joys of technology – I guess I should go back to writing the posts in Notepad instead of online.
On Friday, the group left for Seward with Doc at 9:00am, to board the Summit at about 2:30. As usual with the Maher groups, I’ll be driving to Skagway with my huskies Kayla and Monty to meet them before they leave on their bus-rail excursion. It’s so much nicer to be able to say “see you in a few days” rather than “goodbye”.
I took advantage of the 3 hours I had before taking a cab to the airport to buy a new suit at JC Penney’s half-price sale. After our first couple of cruises my old suit shrunk a bit – must be the salt air affecting the fabric 🙂 – but now I’m all set for our cruise next week.
I was able to share the cab ride with a couple from the UK who had just finished an Alaska adventure that included a Brooks Falls grizzly viewing trip. They were also on their way to Vancouver, on the same flight I was. It was a very pleasant encounter, and saved me 12 bucks – an excellent combination.
Being “ship day”, the lineups at ANC were terrible, but in half an hour I was through Customs, heading for the observation deck. Anchorage is a “bird”-watcher’s paradise, with lots of traffic and lots of aircraft seldom seen elsewhere. Heavy freighters in particular are in abundance, and I added 115 more photos to my collection, including many of heavies almost hidden by spray as they slowed after landing in the heavy rain.
The ground vanished shortly after our 2:15 takeoff, and the weather forecast that morning led me to believe that I wouldn’t see it again until we were on approach into Vancouver. A few minutes after the movie I watched ended, though, the mountains and coast just south of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, appeared below. I tuned into XM satellite radio’s country station and watched the world slip by. Even from about 30,000 feet, the incredible cliffs and waterfalls of Princess Louisa Inlet were unmistakeable.
Travel excites me, and air travel is simply a wonder. People who see me taking pictures – lots of pictures – at an airport or in the air probably think that I don’t get out much, but having a record of all the places and events I see is an important part of travelling. The spectacular coast below us as the clouds parted was just vague lines or white spaces on the maps of 300 years ago, and was still causing great hardships to people a century ago – now we can get to any part of it on a day trip from major cities.
I had a 4-hour layover at YVR before catching my flight to YXY. That flight must be odd for people who have never been north – seeing it getting lighter as midnight approaches rather than darker.
Cathy, Kayla and Monty met me in the terminal. Nothing says “welcome home” quite like 2 very excited huskies, and some of the people from Outside seem to really enjoy seeing this Northern tradition.
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