I am so glad to have been able to see a little of the Alaska experience. I would love to come back and go farther north and do some inland exploring next time. But for now, I will be grateful for seeing John Hopkins Glacier so close. Having Nan as my travel companion. Meeting so many new people and connecting with them on this experience. Below are some of my favorite pictures.

This was a very early day for us. Up at 6am to get on a canoe and Tongass forest hike by 7:45am. The trip was 3.5 hrs long and we started out with rain. But my weather angel worked her majic and it stopped raining as we got into our canoes. The wind was our only struggle as we paddled across the lake.

So glad we booked with Holland American cruise line. They are the only cruise line who works in conjunction with the national park service and come into Glacier national park all the way to John Hopkins Glacier. We went so close to the Glacier and saw a few claving into the water.

Then wildlife watching during the late afternoon but only seeing a few sea otters. Dinner at port in Icy Point came with the whale show! And pooping rabbits!

Our 1st port of call after a rocky, rolling day at sea had us in the Juneau port at 1pm. 50 degrees and a light rain but we geared up and walked the boardwalk. Amazing totem poles all along the waterfront. This Amazing statue to the humpback whales then to the State Capital museum. I could have stayed in there another week to see everything they had displayed.

It started off with fabulous weather! Once out to sea, it was a little rough and rainy but between finding our way around the ship, spa, lectures on learning about Alaska. Our day sailing was fantastic!

I am on my way to being able to explore Alaska. Seattle is where this journey will begin. Alaska was my first point of exploration when I started this journey 4 years ago, and I can’t wait to discover what awaits me. Seattle was busy driving into it but once parked, it was nice walking to the space needle. A little pricey to go up but we had fun playing it up for the camera.

Just a quick 1 night here but was able to pack in a lot. On the way here, slight detour to Lewis and Clark national historic park Ft. Clatsop by Astoria, Oregon. After learning about their winter here and their journey to arrive here. It was onto Cape Disappointment. Which by the way, Did not disappoint. Again, way too many pictures!!

Below are the Cape Disappointment pictures.

Okay so to be honest, I almost didn’t make the hour plus drive to go here. But I had paid my $2.00 reservation fee and booked out in the morning to see and learn about lava tunnels.

I was surprised and amazed at what is left behind a thousand degree lava flow. The tunnel named Ape Cave is from a 2000 year old lava flow that hardened around the outside and left this tunnel of caves behind. Also, nearby, there’s a forest with hollow tree stumps and small tunnels to crawl through. SO very happy I made the trip!

So below are pictures of the Lava forest…unbelievable!!!

I stayed at a county park for 3 nights over the Labor Day weekend and took day trips to discover all there was to know about Mt. Saint Helen and the volcanic eruption in May of 1980. And I can tell you I learned a lot!

One, I had no idea Mt. St. Helen’s was a volcano. Hello i grew up in Michigan. Two, how much of the mountain was blown off when the eruption happened. A ranger told me to imagine1 dump truck emptying their load each Second, for 12 years. That’s how much land was displaced. He said it was the largest landslide in the world to date. Three, how much damage was incurred by not only what was blasted out of the volcano but everything else… glaciers melting, water flooding valleys, hundreds of thousands of trees snapped and carried away. Four, the amount of Ash that was blasted into the sky; I think I read it went 13 miles high when it erupted. Five, the sound waves were heard up to 60 miles away but nothing at the base of the mountain. Six, the Ash went around the world and stayed in the Stratosphere for 2 years.

And last but certainly not least, what this lush and beautiful landscape looked like afterwards. I have way too many pictures to post all of them but I hope you can gather some of the devastation and the effort that has taken place by both Mother Nature and humans to rebuild.

Okay so I was Not expecting to stop so much or for such a long time and I wish I had planned better to stay even longer in this area.