This morning we went on a historical tour of Denali .  It was a brisk morning to walk the trails of the park.  Soon the sun came out, so we explored further as we waited for our train to arrive.  The temperature was in the high 60’s and the sun was out.  We had to shed our layers as we walked.  A light breeze was refreshing throughout the day.

            Then we rode a train into Fairbanks .  The ride was in a domed car so we could see all the way.  We had a wonderful dinner on the train to celebrate our last night in Alaska .  It was a wonderful finale.  Tomorrow we plan to sleep in and visit some local sights in Fairbanks before heading to the airport at 10:45pm.  Our flight leaves at 12:35 am. 

We have had a wonderful time but we are all very tired.  The sun does not set and it is amazing how hard that makes it to sleep even with thick curtains.  In two days, it is the Summer Soltace…a big day here as it is the longest day of the summer.  They have a midnight baseball game that is played without lights…because the sun is up all night. Peter is disappointed that we will not be here for that.  Other than that, we are all ready to be home in our own beds and to sleep for a few days. I cannot wait to show you all the pictures we have taken…it has been a trip of a lifetime.  Thanks for coming along for the ride!

When we took off there was a light rain falling.  It is kind of like summer showers at home…they come for a while and you can see that not to far away it is still sunny.  The temperature has been very comfortable since we have been on land.  We were concerned that our flight-seeing trip would be cloudy and rainy.  However, we had an excellent pilot that knew where and how to go to avoid the rain.  Once we were up around 10,000 feet we didn’t see another drop until we landed.

I cannot begin to tell you how amazing this trip was.  At first, the mountains were black covered with green moss about half way to the top.  Many were orange, like what you might see at the Grand Canyon .  We found out through our headsets that volcanoes and earthquakes formed much of this area.  As we moved along the Alaskan Mountain Range, they got bigger.  They were like zebras, black with white stripes of snow and ice.  Taller and taller they grew until all we could see was a sea of black striped mountains.  Next, the mountains became all white on the tops, then all the way down, until we finally reached “the great one” called Denali by the natives, later named Mount McKinley by a politician.   Mt. McKinley towers above everything in the area, guarding the land as a massive immoveable mountain of ice.  It creates the weather that surrounds it.  On this day, the sun was sparkling on the glacial ice packed onto the peak.  It was one of the rare days that the mountain was showing itself.  We were the benefactors.  It was blinding to look at and yet you could not look away.  It was too beautiful. 

Clouds were beneath us and blended into the snow making a great white sea with mountain peaks as islands.  In the center stood Denali 8,000 feet above all the others.  Our pilot was an expert at the approach and circling of the mountain.  Mere words cannot describe the beauty in every direction.  It was breathtaking.  As we wove in and out of the peaks, the views became more stunning around each turn.  In all of this, I was again amazed at the hugeness of our God.  My first thought was that cancer is really quite little in the largeness that is God. The mountains dwarf all that is around them…they have stood for thousands of years and will stand for thousands more as a testimony to God’s steadfastness. My life is but a breath on this earth, but an eternity after…the mountains are a reminder that God is forever. 

The rapids rush swiftly from the glaciers down the mountains, sending the 34-degree water plunging over rocks and around anything that stands in the way.  In my dry suit, that took 30 minutes to put on, I look like I belong on Star Trek more than in a raft.  I can barely feel my feet and hands because of the tight rubber bands on my wrists and ankles. The rubber shoes on top of two layers of socks are supposed to keep my feet dry.  The one piece suit reminds me of footy pajamas my children wore when they were babies…only it is heavy rubber.  I am zipped in up to the rubber turtle neck around my throat.  I have on a stocking hat, knit gloves, and rubber dish washing gloves on top of that.  Then comes the life jacket that has to fit “snuggly.”  Now they ask me to climb into the raft in while standing in rushing 34 degree water.  How in the world am I supposed to do that?  I can barely put my arms down by my sides.

Once we are all suited up and in place, the adrenaline packed journey begins.  We have a guide that paddles our raft with oars.  Our job is to hold on to the “chicken rope.”  No problem there for me…I am chicken.  The excitement begins right away around the first turn in the river as we approach our first class 3 rapid.  Hannah and Peter are in the front of the raft with another couple next to them.  Bill and I as well as William and Aaron are in the back.  The raft is transformed into a roller coaster as I grip the chicken rope with both hands.  The splash is large and cold.  Now we are soaked and the sweat we worked up while dressing is gone immediately.  The smiles are wide and we all yell and want to do it again.  The river does not disappoint.  Around the next turn, another in 11 miles of one class 3 after another, we get blasted again.  By the end of the trip, we are all soaked on the outside but dry on the inside.  The cold begins to set in because our dry suits are not insulated. 

When we begin our trip the sun is out, a perfect evening for rafting.  The mountains fall right down into the river.  The trees are amazing and the birds seem to follow us.  We even see a curious beaver that swims along behind us for a ways. However, the weather changes in minutes in Alaska .  After our first 2 hours on the river, the rain begins to fall.  Fortunately, it remains a light misty rain until we removed our rafts…then the thunder starts.  We make the bus ride back to the top and get out of our suits…under them we are totally dry.  Once we get our shoes back on, we begin to warm up quickly.  The smiles are wide and the excitement high as we relive each rapid. It was a once in a life time event.  Live fully!!

Today we disembarked with the sun bright in the sky.  There were mountians surrounding the port of Seward in every direction...360 degrees, not a cloud in the bright blue sky.  As we rode our motor coach, the views were spectacular.  The sun made the snow on the mountains sparkle like diamonds.  Around every turn was another gourgeous picture.  The tree line was low on the mountains so they turned from forest green to charcoal gray up to the snow covered tips.  We stopped at an animal shelter that rehabilitates animals that have been wounded or orphaned.  We got to see bears, elk, deer, muskox and buffalo.  It was good to be able to get up close.  When we arrived in Anchorage the sun was out and the temperature was 65 degrees.  Perfect weather.  We went to a Native Alaskan Museum for a while.  They had demonstrations and exhibits and crafters.  It was a great tour...except for the fact we had driven 4 hours and were exhausted.  At our hotel we are going to visit with Andrew Morris, our pastors son.  We are ordering pizza to be delivered so we won't have to walk anywhere or stand in line.  We plan to go to bed early and sleep well.  Tomorrow we leave for Denali at 9:00 am.  It is a seven hour drive...whew another long day.  We are going to go whitewater rafting when we get there.  We are all excited about that!  We are also happy that we will be in Denali for a couple of days so we can settle in and not be so rushed.  Live Fully!!!

This morning I awoke at 5:45 to go on deck.  Temperatures were very cold and the wind on the bow was strong.  Why would I be this crazy you ask?   What kind of wake up call is this?  I assure you that I would only endure such conditions for a good reason.  Our ship went to see Hubbard Glacier this morning.  We cruised into Yakatat Bay at 5:00.  Moving closer, I saw the famous glowing blue white of a massive glacier.  The flow of ice on the water below me was like ice chunks clinking and banging together.  They call them burg bits.  We didn’t see any real ice burgs…they have to be 15 feet above the water to be considered a burg.  I did see some blue glowing burg bits as we got closer.  The mountains surrounding us were covered in dense forests with huge places that were barren.  The barren places are where the glacier ripped through them years ago. The peaks and valleys are dramatic in their distance apart.  Drastic changes in the mountains are a part of the landscape created by a glacier. 

The glacier itself is one of the largest rivers of ice in North America .  Ice calves off of it creating a thunderous noise that can be heard for miles.  Today we only got within about 4 miles of this enormous ice wall because of the ice flow in the water, but I could still hear the thunder.  Visually it is a stunning view…worth the early morning rise from bed.  I think God is the best, most creative person I have ever met.  Who could think of this kind of beauty but him?

After the first couple of gray days, the sun came out and the colors changed in that minute.  The blue sky reflected off the water and at dusk, every shade of blue was in view on the horizon.

The midnight mountains rise into the air with white ice caps on their peaks.  The next rows that lift their faces to the sky are deep purple, and behind that, gray blue shades the cliffs.  Row after row of blue mountains, meet the light blue of the sky.  There are puffs of clouds floating and hovering over the portrait of the mountains. Foggy blue mist shrouds the peaks like a bridal veil. The shading of the Creator blends colors into light and shadow, creating more shades of blue that I had know before.  Monochromatic takes on a completely new meaning in this place.  The sky is powder above and begins to illuminate shades of pink as the sun lowers behind the mountains.  The small pink horizon blends into deep purple where the sky meets the land.  I cannot see the sun, but its affects are a canvas of color, mostly blues, for all to see.

The waters that fall into the sea are mostly white as they carve their way down the ridges.  Blended into the landscape these waterfalls change color, ever so slightly, to compliment the mountains…blue gray.  Ahead I can see the glowing blue of a flowing glacier.  It is the centerpiece of this artist’s landscape.  Jagged black edges contain the brilliant blue ice as if God painted it with neon paint.  It is illuminated like a stained glass window, as if it has its own light source deep within itself.   With the glow it seems all the world is blue…even the water of the sea is a midnight blue tonight.  When I look at this scene I think about what it must have been like when God created the Earth.  The waters receded and there was mist as the mountains rose from the sea.  Tonight I think this is what it must have looked like…awe inspiring. 

Skagway

The day in Skagway was cloudy and cold…no rain.  That was a good thing, nice and dry.  The wind, however, was another story.  It was whipping and trying to pierce through all of our layers.  Fortunately, the bus that took us to the dog sledding camp was heated.  We rode for 30 minutes through some of the most beautiful country we have seen so far.  Once at the camp, we rode a dog sled pulled by 16 dogs for about a mile or so.  It was thrilling to go through the back-country.  Our guide was a musher in training.  We got to pet the dogs and when we got back into the camp we got to pet some puppies.  It was cold but there was a fire.  I cannot imagine living like these guys do.  It was a beautiful ride back to town.  We went to the Red Onion Saloon for a snack.  It used to be a brothel in the gold rush days.  Now they have made it into a restaurant/museum.  We hit all the tourist shops then went back to the ship.  On board, it turned into a beautiful evening.  The wind was still high but the view was incredible as we sailed by glaciers and snow covered mountains.  Beautiful.

Icy Strait

Today we went whale watching at Icy Strait .  The SUN was shining so the temperature was comfortably cool.  This place is not as much of a tourist attraction as the others we have visited.  It was by far our favorite.  The natural beauty was the main focus here.  There was very little development, a few shops all in one building, a restaurant, a zip line that was amazing, and some trails.  We took a whale/wildlife watching tour.  We must have seen 12 or so humpback whales.  They were feeding in groups.  It was like a fireworks show when they began to dive and we watched their tales come up.  You could hear squeals of delight, and oohs and aahs.  There were sea lions, a bear, eagles, otters and all kinds of birds.  We had a wonderful time.  Tonight was our last formal night and during dinner several more whales gave a show outside our window.  It was a beautiful day and the sunset at 11:30 should be gorgeous.  Tomorrow is another day at sea.  I hope to do a little more descriptive writing.  Trying to paint you a picture is turning out to be a great writing exercise for me! 

Our hopes were high after the sun came out for us in Ketchican.  When we arrived in Juno the clouds were low, it was windy and cold…and raining.  We were disappointed because our plans for the day were to be outside for 5 hours this morning.  Bill and the boys braved the rain to salmon fish.  Hannah and I went on a photo safari, which turned out to be fabulous despite the terrible conditions.  I will not lie, it was cold and wet but it was exhilarating to see the natural beauty around us.  Our guide was a professional photographer, and because she had a degree in photography, she was a huge help to us.  She gave photo tips and was also very knowledgeable about everything.  We saw Humpback Whales first.  These amazing animals are awe-inspiring.  It is hard to get a picture of them because they move quickly.  Hannah was the first on our boat to get a tail shot!  Then we saw sea lions.  They were basking in the sun on a buoy.  Next, we went to a glacier and got some great shots of icebergs and waterfalls.  A hike through the rain forest ended our morning.  It was a great trip because our guide was interested in us making great photos.  She took us to all the spot to find wildlife and natural flora. 

The boys only caught one fish…a 5-pound king salmon.  They also saw a whale and some eagles.  Aaron shot a video with his camera of an Eagle coming down and grabbing a fish out of the water right by their boat.  We did some shopping after our tours and then came back to warm up before dinner.  Tomorrow we go to see the Husky dogs and musher camp.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate!

Ketchican

The day in Ketchican started out overcast, windy and cold.  We choose an underwater tour here…on a special boat.  We had considered snorkeling because the kids love it however, we thought through the possible weather conditions and decided against it.  I am soooo glad we did, because we would have been miserable otherwise.  Our boat was a semi-submersible.  That means it had a room below deck that had observation windows in it.  We saw some amazing jelly fish and a kelp forest with Turkish Towel as well as other kinds of plants.  There were many kinds of starfish of all colors.  The Sunflower Star had 25 legs!  The water was murky and, beyond those few items along the bottom, we didn’t see much in the way of fish.  A few halibut, some rock fish and a few salmon were all that were out and swimming.  After awhile, we went up on deck to watch for Bald Eagles.  We were not disappointed.  Our guide threw out some salmon and they came from all around to feed.  There were at least 15 adults and 5 or more juveniles.  It was a sight to see them glide down and grab the fish only to soar again.  Their white heads against the trees made them stand out.  The juveniles are all brown and therefore, a bit harder to see, however they are quicker to come in for the fish and usually eat first. 
After our tour we did a little shopping for hats and gloves…we were not fully equipped for this much cold. Hannah and I went to a museum while the boys went back to the ship. The wind died down and the sun came out…in Ketchican…the rainiest city in North America!  It turned out to be a beautiful day.  We watched the sunset about 10:30 over the ocean with puffy white clouds overhead.

As we are gliding through the water, I can hear the gulls cry out as their white bodies stand out against the green spruce.  It is raining, misty and chilly.  The wispy clouds shroud the valleys creating a surreal canvas of beauty.  Hemlocks stand tall and straight as soldiers in formation.  Behind the pine forest, monstrous peaks covered in snow reach into the mist. Giant rock cliffs are scattered among the mountains, their jagged faces of charcoal stand within the trees.  Waterfalls plummet thousands of feet and drop into the inlet as white fingers.  From the snow-covered peaks, you can watch water falling.  Down the cliffs, into the crevasses between the ridges it tumbles winding its way to the rocky beaches where it jumps to blend with the sea.  In the distance, mountain ridges rise in shades of gray, towering until they become dark shadows against the white sky.  The mist rises like smoke, floating to blend with the clouds.  On the sea, white caps are breaking dotting the cold green water like dancing lace.  All creation testifies…