Wow, three ports in three days! This port was pretty terrific and we had the
best weather of all the Alaska ports today.
Not a drop of rain and it was warm enough to go out in just
shirtsleeves!
When we docked at 7 this morning there were wisps of fog
hanging over the water and the little town.
It was quite beautiful. We were
in no rush to disembark since our tour wasn’t until early afternoon. We played trivia at 9am and fell apart!! Good grief we need a little luck and a lot
more brains!
Our excursion this afternoon was to the sled dog mushers
camp and we’ve been looking forward to this one. We were picked up dockside and driven about
10 miles out of town and then we ran out of pavement so we were on dirt roads
until we reached the entrance to the camp.
At this point we were transferred to huge vehicles that would take us
the rest of the way into the beautiful forested hills. We went through a gorgeous rainforest where
the ground is covered by 2 feet of sphagnum moss! Even in a large noisy vehicle you could still
“feel” the silence. Prior to getting on
the vehicle we crossed a small river tributary on a homemade bridge and we
could have walked across on the backs of all the salmon that were there! What an amazing time of the year to be here
with all the salmon running back to their birthplaces! We were told today that they actually “smell”
their way back to their natal waters!!
Amazing Mother Nature!
Once our vehicles made it to the musher’s camp we saw four
four-wheeled carts all ready to go and attached to each of the carts were about
14-16 yelping dogs! They were apparently
very happy to see passengers because they love pulling the “sleds”!! We boarded the carts that held 6 passengers
and then we were off! We were pulled
around a track for about 15 minutes and the dogs really acted like they were
enjoying the whole thing! My Mason story
for today is that he quickly learned the names of the lead dogs, Proof and
Spider, and was directing them nearly as well as our musher/driver!!
When the ride was over we were transported down the hill so
we could spend some time talking to the mushers about the Iditarod and all the
other races that go on in the winter.
Then it was time for the cute stuff!! The puppies! There were 8 week old pups that we could
watch and 2 week old puppies we could hold.
Two other dogs were in a holding area since they were due to whelp in
1-2 days. Very nice trip!
Kevin and Lisa opted for a walking tour around Skagway and
they had a great time exploring all around the town. Del did pretty much the same and also enjoyed
her day. Jim and Kevin got off the boat
this morning and found someone to take them over to the town of Haines which is
the eagle capital of Alaska! I haven’t
had a chance to talk to them about their day but Jim did text me a gorgeous
shot of a bald eagle!!
Back on the ship at about 5 pm and time to get ready for
dinner. We had a nice meal in the dining
room and we always love Italian night since they make some scrumptious
pastas!
The trip is now seeming to fly by! We only have three full days left and time
seems to have accelerated.
Tomorrow will be an early rising day since we will enter
Tracy Arm at 5am to begin a five hour scenic trip down the fjord and back out
again. It is such a narrow passage that
only one ship at a time is allowed.
There are also shoals that must be crossed to enter the area so the
tides must be just right. Lots of
logistics for a large ship in a small space!
Found out tonight at dinner that our waiter remembers us
from the Emerald Princess last Sept/Oct.
It sure is nice when that happens!
All for now…….
XOXOXO
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