Epinephrine Adventures: September 2014

It has been on Barbara's, Andy's mom, bucket list to go to Alaska....so here we are heading off to the "Last Frontier". We decided to take a 7 day cruise followed by a 3 day trip to Denali National Park and Preserve. We flew out of Portland, Oregon and caught the ship in Vancouver, Canada.

I thought it was going to be a chore getting wheel chairs on and off the plane, cruise ship, trains and buses. It turned out to be fairly easy. There were special lines for people with mobility issues...and their families. We decided to take Barbara and Otto with us everywhere we go since it is sometimes easier...lol

Here we are; Andy's brother Larry, brother in-law Ernie, sister Tammy, mother Barbara, Dad Otto, and of course "Sir Preston the Greatest". You know that was funny !

So off on a cruise we go! The "Bombach Brigade" with us normal people, Ernie and I !

Dang, we are looking good....I mean GREAT !

He knew he was stuck with Andy, Tammy and Larry ! Might as well join them!

Oh no ! Is this what we will be doing for days.

Our first stop Ketchikan, Alaska, two nights and a day out of Vancouver, Canada. Larry and Barbara enjoyed the day checking out the gardens in the area. The rest of us were up for a little more of an adventure. We decided to spend the day on the water so we rented a boat and the captain. We did not book with the cruise ship company it would have been double.

Fishing crew..where is waldo..Oh you mean me ! Da ! "Dennis F" I am taking the picture silly man.

Can we eat him right now please...please... Sushi style. No you may not Tammy...we are still fishing !

Get him Ernie ! I know your arms are burning ! Stop crying about it! Don't give up now dude !

Yep ! Kicked Ernie's butt !

That's better sir ! Photo bombed you too ! Nice hat

Just look at that smile..biggest fish of the day. Had to use both hands for the photo shoot !

Really...no really ... I am holding him up ! He is 92. He can't keep it up! No, not that ... I mean ! Forget it !

Way to go Otto..nice fish. One of the best of the day!

Our fish in 4 hours..we even lost 6 fish !

We had a great day on the water fishing. The sun was shinning and the temperature was about 72 degrees with very light winds. Captain Tater Bait did a hell of a job keeping us on the fish and entertained. I just wish I knew his nickname while we were on the boat...I would have tortured him even more.

We got photo bombed by Captain Tater Bait !

After a fun day of fishing we were back on the ship heading to Juneau, Alaska. The next morning we arrived. Again, the weather was great and in the low to mid 70's. We decide to all hang together so we ate a late breakfast on the ship and off we went to check out the sights of Juneau.

Our first stop was to catch a short tour bus ride to Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center to view...da, the Mendenhall Glacier.

I am not so sure about this...

OK honey...it's safe

Thank you sugar plum! Do you like my horn !

Mendenhall Glacier is one of 38 large glaciers that flow from the 1,500 square mile expanse of snow and ice known as the Juneau Icefield. Average annual snowfall on the Juneau Icefield exceeds 100 feet and the mild winters results in snow accumulation. In the mid-1700's the Mendenhall Glacier reached to it's maximum point 2.5 miles down the valley from it's present position. Since then it has steadily been melting away.

Mendenhall Glacier

What a sight to see. Look how little the people look.

Gorgeous scenery of the glacier and falls. Smile Preston ! I am... you just can't tell.

Daddy-daughter glacier time!

Dang Larry, you are looking studly! Stomach in ...chest out! Breath... we can tell. lol

The hot spot in Juneau! We went in to have lunch, but way too noisy for the old people! We all decided we are elderly.

Hot mama with her ..you guessed right... water bottle. Can you guess how many pictures she has had a water bottle in her hand.

So after a long, long, long, long deliberation. Decision was made ! I think Otto liked the girl on the sign.

A wonderful choice, the crab was outstanding !

Barbara your turn

After lunch Andy and I decided to dump the family for a few hours. Not my idea guys...all hers ! What is that in her left hand...oh my. There it is again !

I think she wanted fur ! So I told her to wear that fur swimming suit behind her right shoulder...she said HELL NO ! Dang !

Next stop Skagway, Alaska. Skagway is home to 850 year-round residents and encompasses 455sq. miles of land. At the peak of the gold rush Skagway had a population of about 20,000. The White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad and the gold rush is a huge part of the city history.

Gold Rush

Our cruise ship.

As you come into town you will see this "big thing" and wonder what is this? It is a snow plow. Rotary Snowplow No.1 was built in 1898. It was used to clear the snow, as much as 12 feet, off the railroad tracks up in White Pass. It would be pushed up the mountains by two helper engines, the rotary 10 huge blades sent snow flying out to the side of the tracks by centrifugal force.

It was retired in 1965 but was run again in 2009 and 2011 to clear the rail between White Pass Summit and Lake Bennett.

Rotary snowplow No 1

Andy's parents, Otto and Barbara, and I decided to take a break from the kids. They just wore us out ! Dang kids ! We decided to take a train ride up into the mountain to check out Canada and White Pass.

As the music plays...My cane is better than your cane...my cane is better than yours. Just popped into my head

They have hands and cameras attached to the rail cars too. They are everywhere !

Mile long tunnel...pretty dark in there...no lights!

Not one of Barbara favorite things.

Such beauty !

Just one of the glaciers we saw on the way up the pass

Half way up... looking back down towards Skagway.

Ahhhh ! I caught him..this wasn't a pose. Love birds

Well, the real truth is ! Andy, Tammy, Ernie and Larry decided to take a strenuous hike up the side of a mountain and then raft down the river on the other side. Otto, Barbara and I are either too old or have too many injuries to do such a foolish thing. They had a blast !

Looking like a professional hiker....oh, what is that in her hand ?

Happy Happy Faces !

We were cruising on the ship for a couple of days to get close to many glaciers in Glacier Bay. Up to this point I have never seen a glacier this close or magnificent. I was amazed at the size and the colors. Andy has seen them before many years ago but still she was amazed as well.

We are so glad we opted for a balcony room as we could observe this magnificent view from the privacy of our very own space.

This glacier is called Reid Glacier. It was the first glacier we saw that morning in Glacier Bay.
It is a lot bigger than it appears here. This picture was taken from 3 miles away.

Reid Glacier

A close up ! I believe a mile away.

Some of the scenery in between viewing the glaciers were breathtaking and I have seen some very pretty places in my life.

This one is called, I believe, Lamplugh Glacier.

This glacier is called Margerie Glacier

Massive

What a sight to see! The dark spot is where the rock was ground down by the ice

We are heading to the next one. The girls were excited like little school girls

This one is called John Hopkins Glacier. It is the only glacier in the area that is still growing since 1966. There is nothing I can really say to express my thought of the beauty and the grand scale of these flowing rivers of ice.

The next day we were many miles north and so the weather was colder and wetter. This last Glacier we saw was the Hubbard Glacier.

Hubbard Glacier

After getting off the cruise ship we traveled over 6 hours north to Denali National Park and Preserve on a tour bus. Wow...what a long drive that was !

Here we are, the next day, on a 4 hour tour into Denali...

The fall colors...already ? I guess we are in Alaska ! Beautiful place

A very big moose...the herd bull !

Native Alaskan Indian shared her story of the generations of her family. Highlight of our Denali tour.

We took the train south out of Denali National Park and Preserve towards Anchorage.

Some highlights from the cruise:

We just had to get Otto and Barbara on the "Not so New Newlywed Game". Their kids learned things about them they never wanted to know, lol! It was hilarious!!