Sunday, June 26, 2011

Tracy Arm Fjiord

For those of you who don't know..... Juneau is land locked.  We're part of the mainland, but there are no roads in or out of Juneau.  The only way you can leave is by plane or boat.  This makes it not only expensive, but also difficult, to get away for the weekend.  For those of us without a boat, a day trip is usually a drive "out the road."  From one end to the other of our road system is about 60 miles. 

Another option for a day trip is to take a cruise to Tracy Arm.  This is a full day of pure enjoyment as you join Adventure Bound Alaska for some of the most beautiful scenery in the world! 

That's what we did on Monday.  My sister is visiting Juneau and it was a challenge to come up with some kind of activity that would keep her mind occupied for the day.  This was important because it was the one-year anniversary of her husband's passing....  We knew it would be a difficult day for her.  That there could be a lot of deep sadness. 
So we packed some survival food.... and headed to the Captain Cook, a 65' sightseeing boat.  Along the journey we saw so many whales....
And icebergs....  Deep deep blue in color.  They say 80 percent of the berg is under water so just imagine the damage this berg could do to our little boat! 

I love finding shapes in objects--like this mushroom. 

We saw some of the most incredible scenery, with sheer cliffs etched out from glaciers long ago.  There were deep deep cracks in walls of rock that look like it would break away at any minute.  Dainty yellow, orange, blue and red wild flowers creeping along any inch of surface they could find. 
This is a trip everyone should take.  At least once in their life time.  I know Steve (my sister's husband) would have enjoyed this trip immensely as he was a mountain climber in his younger days.  I bet he would have imagined himself climbing these very sheer cliffs. 

But Steve is in another place now.  Or so we thought....  Imagine my surprise when I learned that the Captain's name on the boat was Captain Steve!  Coincidence?  I think not.  I hope my sister found peace on this day. 

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