Beautiful Alaska

So, here it is. A photo recap of our trip to Alaska.

Brek and I went on an Alaskan cruise with my family. The one MAJOR disappointment was that half our family didn't make it on the ship! Chelsie, Tiffany, Natalie, and their husbands were not able to reach Vancouver in time due to airline troubles, and once the ship left, they were not able to board. It really stunk, and we really missed having them there!


This photo was taken from our ship. We enjoyed beautiful scenery throughout almost the entire cruise.

We really lucked out on weather, I would have to say. I expected it to rain almost the entire time, but the only really rainy days we had were the two days we were on the ship.

The first place we stopped was called Ketchikan, a tiny little town nestled in the mountains. There is no way in or out of this city except by boat or plane. I'm not sure that would be the life for me! But it is beautiful.


The day we spent in Ketchikan just so happened to be Sunday. Soooo, we decided to venture out and try to find an LDS church. Thanks to Lance and his "google phone" we found the church, which was unlike any I've seen....completely made out of cedar inside and out. It was very pretty. We felt a little dumb in our jeans, but were glad to be there, nonetheless.

Another picture taken as we sailed along.

Each night we got cleaned up and headed to dinner where we enjoyed delicious food, and beautiful scenery, such as the picture taken below. (Brek took this picture from the window by our table.)

While in Juneau, we visited Mendenhall Glacier (quite amazing!) We then spent the afternoon whale watching, and did we ever see whales!! We saw humpback whales, some of which were jumping right out of the water! And we were extremely lucky to come upon a huge pod (30 or more) of Orka (killer) whales.



Glacial ice anyone??

That small little guy you see standing there is my stepbrother Lance, who is actually almost 7 feet tall! He looks awfully tiny standing against that great big glacier.



We were told this is not something you see everyday. We enjoyed quite the show!


That boat you see had my dad, Darla, David, and Lance aboard. Those killer whales were probably within 10 feet of their boat. Amazing! We were on two different boats, and the whales came right between us.


Happy Anniversary Dad and Darla!

In Skagway, we hiked through a rain forest for a couple of miles, then floated down a river. It was anything but an adventurous rafting trip, but when the water is only 35 degrees, you're not much up for adventure and splashing! It was beautiful, though.





Our last day on the ship we ran into quite the storm. It was pouring rain, and there were huge swells in the ocean! We did get to see another amazing glacier, however.


The trip ended in Seward, a town named after this guy Seward who was responsible for the purchase of Alaska. Pretty good move on his part I would have to say!


And last but not least, a little bit more of the Alaska wildlife. This bear swam out into the lake and splashed and played around. It was quite the sight to see.



The end.