Monday, July 28, 2008

Home From Alaska!

We climbed into bed at 3am on Sunday morning after a wonderful trip to Alaska! We went with Ken's office manager, Van and his wife a day early to go to Denali National Park! What an adventure. We saw 2 moose, a black bear, 8 or 9 grizzlies, several caribou, Dall Sheep, ptarmigan, eagles, snowshoe hares, and lots of beautiful scenery, including Mount McKinley(it's usually cloud-shrouded, so you're lucky to see it). It was amazing! We then joined the rest of the partners and wives back in Anchorage and traveled by train to our ship port in Seward. In just a little over 24 hours, we traveled by car, plane, bus, train and ship! The train ride was a beautiful four hour trip through Alaskan wilderness. We then got on a cruise ship and thoroughly enjoyed the scenery as we traveled south. My favorite part was seeing Hubbbard Glacier up close and personal. Our cruise ship navigated within 1/4 mile of the glacier. (I guess the captain didn't see the movie!) It was spectacular!!!! We watched and listened to it "calf". In fact, Ken captured a break off in one of the pictures. You see it, and then hear it- sounding much like thunder! Amazing, amazing! I just couldn't get enough of it. Ken enjoyed the deep sea fishing, but the salmon were late this year, so it wasn't as successful as he would have liked. We enjoyed being with his partners and wives and of course, loved the food! The entertainment was also wonderful- our favorite being a comedian, Fred Klett who was SO funny AND 100% clean. We got off the ship in Vancouver, British Columbia, and extended a day to travel by ferry to Victoria Island and go to Butchart Gardens. Oh my, you can't believe what you see in that Garden of Eden. Wow! What a wonderful and beautiful vacation!!!

8 comments:

Joan Morris said...

First you guys spend two weeks in Hawaii and now you've spent 10 days in Alaska cruising and touring. Man, the life of the richest man in St. George. All my husband does is work and pay taxes! I think we made it to Kuna this summer.{;
Great pictures. It looks like you had such a wonderful trip. Our Mom and Dad would have LOVED that trip. Butchart Gardens was one of their favorite places.

Michelle said...

The gardens are GORGEOUS; Wow. . . those waterfalls are AMAAZING! That fish looks pretty darn delicious, too. . . It looks like you had a wonderful time; I'm so glad!

Unknown said...

What a fun trip! The pictures are amazing!!!

Ada said...

Your pictures are wonderful! It looks like your trip was successful and lots of fun! Our hearts are with you as you begin your next adventure that probably won't include quite so many pictures. . . Hope your operation and recovery are quick and as painless as possible!

Sister Mandy Hinton said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sister Mandy Hinton said...

I don't know why this is coming up as Mandy's posting - but be assured, she is not looking at blogs while she is on her mission

We are so sad we weren't able to get together in Anchorage that day. This is definitely a trip we need to plan as siblings.

I looked at your pictures and just laughed - we have all the same poses and pictures - just take Ken and Kay out and put Clark and Nan in! Flowers, glaciers, snow covered mountains, cruise ship, 8 seater plane, Japanese gardens, waterfalls, even the driftwood building in Ketchican. You did have a couple that we don't - freshly caught salmon in hand (we just had it on the dinner plate) and a whale's tail.

Hope you are recovering nicely from your surgery. Our prayers are with you.

Nan

Natalie Sue said...

Wow! Sounds like an amazing trip! Glad you got to do something so incredible before the next surgery!

Shonna said...

I love the slideshow! It is so beautiful! I loved all the thrilling pictures--especially in Butchart Gardens. The music was perfect with it too, cuz it said "red roses too" right when a single red rose came on the slideshow. Wow mom, you're quite the blogger. What a fun vacation!