A Day in Denali - Tundra Wilderness Tour

When we booked a Tundra Wilderness Tour a couple months back we knew very little about it:

• We could choose a time but the actual time will be assigned 24-48 hours before the tour begins.
• It goes into Denali National Park.
• The tour uses an old school bus.
• There was some kind of snack or lunch or something.
• It was supposed to be a good tour.

That's it. We didn't know a darn thing else.

After doing the tour today I can report it was a good tour. Actually, a great tour. I highly recommend it.

Yep, our assigned time was different than the time we signed up for. Thank goodness! We had chosen a 6:40 am time (yikes, right?) but our actual assigned time was 9:10 am (whew).

Yep, it was an old school bus with student seats replaced with coach seats.

We had brought a box lunch from McKinley Creekside Cafe, just in case. They made amazing box lunches.

Look at the size of the brownie they put in our box!

 And the turkey and red onion!

But we really didn't need them as when we got on the bus there were boxes of snacks on our seats. Good snacks? Yep, and bottles (actually cans) of water to boot.

Just look at the variety of snacks each of us got.

Why would we need such a robust box of snacks for a bus ride? Because this bus ride went 52 miles into Denali National Park. On gravel roads and dirt roads, roads inaccessible to private vehicles. Through the forests and tundra and snowy vistas. For seven hours! (Later in the season the road opens a bit deeper into the park, but not in May.)

We saw bears. Lots of bears.

Lots of caribou.

Lots of Dall sheep.

How about porcupines? Yep.

Ptarmigans? Yep. Lots.

And if you didn't have a good view from your seat, the driver stopped the bus and used a zoom lens camera to get up close video. That video is broadcast right then and there on screens throughout the bus.

They had a heavy snow winter and it made for spectacular views.

No climbing up to the top of this viewpoint.

The roads were in good shape. But some of them were a bit scary. Glad I wasn't driving! 

See the road in the side of the mountain? Scary!

 It was an amazing day. Even heading south towards our hotel in Talkeetna was super pretty. Alaska is just gorgeous this time of year.

What to do with 19 Hours of Daylight in Alaska

While we're in between cruises we've been doing some touring around Alaska. Wildlife and scenery and food and quirkiness and lots of daylight.

First stop, car rental pickup in Whittier, Alaska at the convenience store/bait shop/hardware store/harbor store/car rental counter. Yep, it's just as crazy looking inside as it is outside.

Next up, drive the tunnel. The only way out of Whittier is through the train tunnel. I've driven it before and it is always scary driving on the train tracks.

My photo from 2012

Current photo. Scary!

Then breakfast for the road from the Alpine Bakery in Girdwood, Alaska. A gigantic blueberry scone and an apple fritter.

A stop to try and snap a photo of Mt. McKinley. Nope, too cloudy.

Another stop, more scenery, and lots more snow on the ground.

Careful of that moose crossing the road. 

Check into McKinley Creekside Cabins. A cozy queen bed cabin and an amazing view of the creek and mountains right out the door.

Dinner at the onsite cafe. Delicious cheeseburger, Turkey Pot Pie with the flakiest crust ever, and a unbelievable apple pie made by their brand-new baker.

No better way to spend the 19 daylight hours in Alaska.

Island Princess to Alaska: Post-Cruise Wrap Up

It was a bit of a sad day today. Not necessarily because the cruise itself is over but because we have a couple dear crew members we wish we could have had more time with. And at the most traveled guest brunch we saw one we had lost track of. We are so bummed we didn’t see him earlier in the trip! We did get his contact info so we can keep in touch and will be sure to follow him to his next contract. Yeah, we’re unusual cruisers. We don’t choose a ship for the itinerary; we choose it for who is working on the ship. Since our focus is the crew, we don’t get too upset if things go wonky with food or weather or the cabin or entertainment. We head onto the Golden Princess on Saturday. Why? Because a particular crew member we’ve sailed with is working on the ship. It’s his last week on the ship before vacation so we wanted to be on that voyage before he heads home.

If you’re looking to know what time groups started disembarking, here’s the info sheet from this cruise.

While we are not the typical cruiser, I did make some notes about the trip that may be of interest to others:

*Weather: We’ve made this voyage many times and have found that no matter the month, the weather is a crapshoot. We’ve been sunburned in May, fogged in in June, and frozen in July. That’s one reason we do the two-week trips so often is because it gives us a better chance of finding some good weather somewhere. The weather was spectacularly sunny for the first few days then turned out icky the last few. This sailing was remarkably smooth up until the point we left Glacier Bay.

*Naturalist: We’ve sailed with Mark Harris before. He not only does bridge commentary but also does multiple presentations in the theater throughout the cruise. On some ships we’ve had someone coming on anytime there have been pods of whales around the ship but we didn’t get any of that this trip. We did see more orcas at the first part of the trip than I think we’ve ever seen. The waters were smooth so it certainly made it easier to spot them. Plus I spent a lot of time early on in the cruise on a lounger writing in the covered pool area so my eyes were always glancing up.

*Food: Food is subjective so unless something really stinks we don’t complain much. We did do specialty dining one night at the Bayou Café. We booked when we got on the ship but by then there weren’t many early times left. If you have a specific night, time, and venue that is important to you, book ahead. As for dressing for dinner, some people dressed up and some people dressed more casually. We didn’t eat in the main dining room so I don’t know if anyone was turned away for not wearing something fancy on formal night. We mostly ate at the buffet which was always crowded. They’ve done away with the hand sanitizing stations and only have sinks for handwashing. Crew direct passengers to wash but weren’t consistent with everyone. I washed my hands before but also used my own hand sanitizer after going through. There were several people eating in the buffet, munching on rolls, crackers, and even fries. They need to do a better job at telling people to not eat until out of the line. Since there is no International Café on this ship, hubby just bypassed Deck 5 coffee and would give a server at the buffet his coffee card and never had a problem getting his Americano pretty quickly. There is a bar area near the breakfast bakery items/dessert area where they go to get it.

*Cruise director and activities: Callie Smit was our cruise director. We’ve been with him before on both Caribbean and Panama Canal cruises. We don’t participate much in activities but we do sometimes watch. He is the most involved cruise director we’ve ever seen. He doesn’t just leave his staff to go do the activities – he’s out there participating with them. And the number of activities planned was, well, a lot. Not just bingo and trivia on this cruise. As for the shows, we’ve been to all the shows many times over. We feel old and we get tired so we don’t go anymore.

*Cabin: We had an obstructed oceanview cabin, E509. It was nice and close to the elevators and near the library. The bed is placed under the window like you would find with obstructed oceanview on the Coral. The cabin steward wasn’t the best. It was his first cruise back from vacation and it seemed like he struggled to get back into the groove of things and even remember simple things like ice and replacing the toilet paper. Nothing big enough to complain about, just enough to make it noticeable.

*Passengers: Mostly older folks and a lot of newbie cruisers, which is typical for a May Alaska cruise. There were probably no more than a dozen kids (if that many) total. Once school is out there will be plenty of families on board, but it’s just a bit too early for that. It was a quiet group which was nice. As former teachers with over 60 years of experience between us we rather enjoy the quiet respite from kiddos.

*Dry dock changes: The Island had a dry dock back in November. There is new carpet, mattresses, and new huge TVs in the cabins. The new TVs are like the TVs on the Royal and Regal – except they’ve put these new TVs in the corner where the older ones were. They don’t fit. And they still don’t have the on-demand feature that is on the Royal and Regal. So it is basically the nice TV without all the nice programming. Hubby was bummed when the sports and news channels weren’t available when we were docked in Skagway.

A couple oddities:
*When we switched out our elite minibar for some Diet Coke, it was Diet Coke from Chile (Coca Cola Sin Azucar). Island did the South America 60 day voyage this year and they are still using up their supplies from that trip. It definitely tastes different than the American Diet Coke. According to a knowledgeable source, the minibar swaps and bars on the ship are using up the South America stock and dining rooms have access to the regular US stuff. I’m guessing they have to be getting close to using it up.

*The first time I used the shower it felt like it wasn’t draining but I wear glasses and couldn’t tell for sure. I stopped the shower and grabbed my glasses and by that time it had overflowed and flooded the bathroom with about an inch of water. I threw the bathroom towels down and a couple pool towels that had been left in the cabin and it still didn’t soak it all up. (I probably should have dried myself off first!) I called passenger services and they sent someone up within a half hour or so. By that time the water had drained out of the shower and I noticed the drain was full of long hair. I have short spiked hair so it was from a previous guest. Yuck. Maintenance plunged it and someone else cleaned up the bathroom and we never had a problem after that.

*And not an oddity but something that surprises me every time – passenger conversations. Everyone is an expert, or so they think. One night we overheard a guy in Crooners talking about the “Johnson Act”. He meant the Jones Act, which means he really meant the PSVA. I really wanted to insert myself in the conversation to correct him – he was giving out so much wrong information – but I just let it go. Who is going to believe that a young-looking 52 year old female knows more about cruising than a gray haired 70 year old man? Not that I know it all, but I do know a lot.

If you’re looking for the log of the cruise, you can find it here.

Decoupage a Flowerpot with Fabric and Mod Podge - Tutorial Tuesday

When we lived in our bigger house, we had big gardens. A vegetable garden, a wildflower garden, an herb garden, a perennial/annual flower garden, and a rose garden. A big rose garden. 75 rose bushes. Who does that?

Now that we're in our smaller place we have one small garden spot. With nothing in it. Go figure. Doesn't mean we don't use flowerpots, though.

Here is a way to perk up those ugly, old flowerpots. (Full disclosure  - I picked this one up at the thrift store for $1.00.)

Disclosure: Deb's Days is a participant in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to affiliated sites. This means that, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you sewing and crafting content.

Looking for more craft ideas? Check out these projects!

Check out the step-by-step how to video to make your own handmade fabric covered decoupaged flower pot:

Island Princess to Alaska - Last Day

Hubby and I are on the younger side (at least in the cruising world). Other passengers sometimes assume it’s our first cruise. Start bragging to us about them being Elite. 16 cruises they say. And they proceed to tell us all about Princess and the ship and blah, blah, blah. Sometimes their language is condescending and they treat us like we’re stupid and don’t know anything. I’ve now started becoming a bit bolder when they behave that way. I’ve been using the Oh, you’re just baby cruisers line on them. Which leads them to asking how many cruises we’ve been on. When I tell them how many (it’s a high number) it shuts them up. I don’t like having to pull that line but sometimes I can’t stand being treated like an idiot. Anyone who knows me knows I’m about as far from an idiot as you can get. So now we try and avoid conversations with passengers as much as possible and choose a table for two no matter the venue.

Today was the Most Traveled Guest Brunch, the gathering for the 40 passengers with the most days at sea on Princess Cruises. (Side note: most traveled guest had 1024 days.) I don’t know where we fell in the mix but on Alaskan cruises we are nearer to the top of the forty than the bottom. At these parties we get questioned a lot. I can see the wheels turning in the minds of some of the passengers at these gatherings, trying to figure out how we could be in the same room with them. Last year on this same ship I had a gentlemen practically insist I tell him how many days I’ve been with Princess. He couldn’t let it go. So even at these most traveled parties we try and get a table to ourselves.

And today we were lucky enough to snag one. We’ve been to the cocktail party, the luncheon, and the brunch before. We’ve learned to always go on an empty stomach.

They started by bringing around some breakfast items. Parfait, mini blueberry pancakes, some fruit, eggs benedict. (We skipped the eggs, so I added the fruit and seafood salad to the breakfast photos.)

We also had some tasty chicken in a nice sauce, bacon-wrapped scallops, a yummy spicy potato triangle thingy, and a mini lamb chop in another nice sauce. They came around with several other items that we skipped.

They also served desserts. Tasty, tasty, tasty.

This evening the ship will be doing scenic cruising in College Fjord. The weather doesn’t look the best so the fjord won’t be nearly as beautiful as on the sunny days. I have some interviews to finish up with crew so I may not make it outside during that time. I have plenty of pictures from years past so I’m okay not taking any others. (Update - I made it outside just long enough to snap one photo.)

And it was good old packing day. We usually stay two weeks on the ship in Alaska, but we are joining the Golden in a few days to meet up with another of our dear crew members so packing time it is. Since we don’t shop, and we came to the ship with a suitcase stuffed full of goodies for the two crew members on the Island, we now get to leave with a half empty suitcase. Sure like that!

Here is today’s Patter. This week has gone way too fast. If I can get some wi-fi tomorrow I will do a trip wrap-up.

Island Princess to Alaska - Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay is always a special day. Park rangers were on all morning giving commentary but fog and drizzle and rain and a very biting wind made it not the best day for seeing the beauty all around. We’ve been here before so we know how spectacular it can be on sunny days when you can see forever. While the voyage through Glacier Bay was a bit of a bust, Margerie Glacier’s frequent calving made up for it. Today I was able to capture the blue of the glacier and then a second photo of the glacier calving at the same moment a seagull was flying by. My best photos of the day, I think.

There is nothing like hearing the crack of the glacier and then seeing the chunks crashing into the water. I never get tired of listening to it and watching it fall.

Today is pub lunch (the line was huge so we skipped it), the Elite Wine Tasting (skipping it because it’s always the same) the Captains Circle Party (skipping it because we get tired of the how many cruises have you been on questions) and formal night (I don’t have a good excuse why we’re skipping that one). I guess it kind of sounds like we’re pretty boring cruisers.

There is probably some truth in that. I’m working on two new books right now so a lot of my time is being spent writing and doing interviews on the ship. It has been a fun way to spend the days but it also means I don’t do much else. There is a crafts class today I might partake in. My tagline is cruising and crafting so it might be a good idea to get to a craft class while on a cruise.

Tomorrow is College Fjord scenic cruising, packing day, and the Most Traveled Passenger Brunch (which we will attend).

Here is today’s Patter.

Island Princess to Alaska - Skagway and Dogsledding

Skagway is another port where we’ve done everything possible. The last few years we have just gone into town to eat. We either go to the place with the best patty melt in the world (by my standards) at Sweet Tooth Café or have the best Thai food in Alaska (again, by my standards) at Starfire. But today I had to knock something off my non-bucket list.

Dogsledding.

My first choice for dogsledding has been flying in a helicopter, landing on a glacier, and being pulled by sled dogs. But every year I look at the price of that excursion – in excess of $500 per person – and my first choice gets bumped out of the running. I can’t justify spending that kind of money on something that only lasts a partial day. I can either cruise for a week or go on a dogsledding adventure for the same price. It’s not a hard decision. So choice number two.

Dogsledding on dirt. Pulled by dogs while riding on a wheeled sled on a rainy day. Not the same – not even close – but it did the trick. And we got to hold puppies afterwards. Gotta count that as a good day! (Although I did have to shower as soon as I got back to the ship because I smelled like wet dog.)

After the shower was a quick stop at Crooners for a tasty martini 

then off to Bayou for dinner. We both went with steak (which was super delicious) but the sides still need some work. My dessert, a peach fried pie was just, well, peachy. Yummy, yummy.

Tomorrow is Glacier Bay. It’ll be an early morning.

Here is today’s Patter.

Island Princess to Alaska - Juneau and Nugget Falls

I was up super early this morning working on the new book. I’ve been camping out on a lounger at the covered pool and had a great view of our approach into Juneau. Can’t beat being able to write with a view like this! By the time our arrival was announced at 8:20ish I had already put in a couple good hours of work.

One of the best things about being a writer is a view like this

On our previous visits to Juneau we’ve been to Mendenhall Glacier, the Salmon Hatchery, rode up the Mt. Roberts tramway, walked the town, been out drinking and eating with the crew, and watched whales. The one thing we’ve planned, but never got to do, was walking the trail to Nugget Falls at Mendenhall. So today’s goal was one thing and one thing only.

Get to the falls.

Boy, did we have a beautiful day for it. We walked to the tour booths down by the Mt. Roberts tramway and bought tickets for the Glacier Shuttle Express. The $45 per person cost was an ugh moment. But the idea of being able to take our time and not have to worry about car rental or city bus or taxi made it worth it. Sometimes convenience costs more than we’d like. We hopped the 9:30 am white bus with only six other folks. We thought it was an old school bus but it actually was an old prison bus. The hard seats had been removed and padded coach seats were added. It dropped us off at a stop in the visitor’s center parking lot.

Glacier Express drop spot for Mendenhall

Mendenhall Glacier

Having never walked the trail before, we were a bit worried about how hubby would be able to handle it. It was a nice wide path that ranged from packed gravel to loose gravel to packed dirt and then turned to sand once we hit the last stretch to the falls. The trail was mostly flat but there were a few somewhat gentle inclines along the way.

Along the Nugget Falls trail

Even though there was only one bench along the two mile roundtrip path there were several boulders where he could sit and rest. It would have been nice to have more benches for those with mobility issues, but we know it’s a wilderness trail so we can’t expect it to be too easy.

Was it worth it? Absolutely.

But by the time we got back to the ship we had walked almost five miles. We are both pretty much dead. The Royal Wedding was rebroadcast in Explorers this afternoon and we missed it. (Actually, even if we were full of energy we still would have wanted to miss it.) Libby Riddles is this evening and we will be skipping her presentation. We have a couple meet-ups with crew members later tonight so we’ll make those. Right now it’s five o’clock and our privacy sign is out and it is staying there for a while.

Tomorrow is Skagway. After two days of walking in ports, hubby needs a break so he’ll be staying on the ship. I’m scheduled for a dogsledding run in the afternoon. Not the expensive $500 one but the cheaper one where they run on dirt. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow so it may wind up being cancelled. Let’s hope not.

Island Princess to Alaska - Icy Strait Point

This week is our 14th cruise to Alaska and it’s the first time we’ve had Icy Strait Point as a port. We originally booked a wildlife tram excursion, but after reading the detail onboard we decided to cancel. The description stated there was a walk over uneven terrain and with hubby’s limited mobility we couldn’t risk it. We have to take great care with him when we travel. We bring our handicap placard with us everywhere when driving, we go places where we can avoid stairs and only use handicapped ramps, and can only walk places that have spots to sit all along the way. It’s rare for him to leave the ship unless we’ve scoped things out ahead of time.

After canceling our excursion we didn’t do any planning and we never received a port guide so we just had to wing it. While there is a bit of a walk to get to land, there was a little shuttle for folks with disabilities.

Walkway to land

Another view

Thankfully it was a spectacularly beautiful day. We waited forever to get on the handicapped shuttle and even had to wait for a second one to come around some 15 or so minutes later as some passengers seemed to think they were more disabled than others and pushed to the front of the line. Listening to the conversation of those cutting the line was quite, well, interesting. Someone was legally blind. Someone just conquered cancer. Someone had spinal surgery. My hubby, who has cerebral palsy, just rolled his eyes at me each time one of the folks tried to one-up each other. And wouldn’t you know it, when the shuttle showed up every single one of those people made a mad dash for it. Some appeared even spritely at that moment. They were so pushy and hubby has to move so slowly I almost thought we would have to wait for a third shuttle.

The shuttle dropped at a couple different points along the way and we chose the stop where the shopping was. We’re not shoppers but there was a beach that had some benches along it. It was so warm I think we might have even gotten ourselves sunburned.

View from the beach

We saw some whales, watched some local kids playing in the water, and did some people watching. I made a stop in the Icy Strait Museum which was basically a bunch of stores with a museum at the end.

You have to go through the building full of shops to get to the good stuff

After the mess of catching the handicapped shuttle we opted to just walk back to the ship. We walked the upper level of the beach area where there were lots of benches and logs to sit on along the way. We even stopped at a campfire for a bit, which was probably good because as soon as we rounded the end of the beach we ran into some biting wind for the rest of the walk back. Brrr and double brrr.

There was also a shuttle that took passengers into the village itself for $5 but we opted to skip it as we had already walked a couple miles and hubby was done for the day. If we visit again, I’ll take the village shuttle on my own so I can explore a little farther out than the cruise ship area.

All aboard isn’t until 9:30 pm tonight and we have an 8:00 am arrival in Juneau in the morning. Looks like we’ll have good weather for one more day so we’re hoping to make it to Nugget Falls if hubby is up for it. So no big plans for the evening, just some rest and some conversation with our Crooners guy. Let's not forget a Violetta martini.

*An evening note - the lady at the handicapped shuttle who cut the line, the one in the wheelchair who complained to everyone that she's had to use it everywhere she went on this trip, just ran past me, carrying a cane (no wheelchair in sight), trying to follow a bald eagle that was flying towards the front of the ship. Can't wait to tell my eye-rolling husband.

Today's Patters can be found HERE.