Introduction

This is a blog of the Jazzbeaux trip to Alaska in June and July 2013. We flew to Anchorage, rented a car for several days to Talkeetna and Denali, then took the train to Whittier for a cruise on Coral Princess that visited Glacier Bay, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan and ended in Vancouver.

During the trip, Jazzbelle kept detailed notes and I [Jazzbeau] took lots of pictures. After returning home, I revised the notes to remove names [to protect the guilty, as they say…] and put it in my voice to avoid confusion. Jazzbelle became “DW” in internet parlance [“Dear Wife”]. We were accompanied on this trip by a dear friend [“DF”]

Thursday June 20 – Anchorage

We arrived in Anchorage after agita because, first Delta wouldn’t let us bring on our carry-ons [free checking to Anchorage, but we had planned on using some of that stuff en route!]; then they decided that our plane was too heavy [maybe I shouldn’t have had that second muffin at breakfast…] and asked 6-8 pax to deplane for a $400 future credit; then we were still too heavy so we sat on the runway burning off 500 lbs. of fuel [another poor air-quality day in NYC – wonder why?]. We finally took off almost an hour late which meant we would miss our connection, but somehow we made it to Minneapolis just about on time. We rushed through the airport [easy with no carry-ons…], but had plenty of time because our second flight was a little late leaving. [That flight also arrived on time – the new schedules are obviously designed to prevent those dreaded FAA lateness statistics…] So all in all everything worked out ok, but we could have done without the drama.

The Anchorage Hilton is a wonderful hotel, and we were able to get a very nice dinner despite the late hour at Fletcher’s restaurant at the Captain Cook Hotel [spectacular Haddock].

Friday June 21 – Driving to Talkeetna

We had Enterprise pick us up at the hotel (with our luggage). We took one look at the Kia something they claimed is a “full-size” car [I pointed out an old Bonneville cruising by – that is a real full-size car!] and realized no way our luggage was going to fit. They very nicely let us upgrade to a GMC Acadia with 154 total miles on the OD – cost a lot more, but I think we kept the Costco discount off list. The car was very nice, and our luggage filled the rear completely [take that, Rick Steves!].

We stopped at the Iditarod Trail Headquarters in Wasilla to get the background on this famous race and the dogs that lead them to the finish line. The museum was smaller than I expected, but the video is very interesting. There was no real chance to interact with the dogs on premises, but we were able to fix that at the Denali NP kennel.

We made really good time driving from Anchorage to Talkeetna, except for one long construction zone – more agita there, but in the end it only cost us 10 minutes.

We got to Talkeetna Air Taxi (TAT) a little ahead of our scheduled check-in time for the Grand Denali flight. They said “The Mountain” had been great early am but then closed in at mid-day, so they weren’t sure if we would fly at all or if we could land on the glacier. Luckily by the time of our 3pm flight the fog was gone. There were the three of us, another party of six fellows, and the pilot Paul on this small plane (de Havilland Otter). Paul took us across the river and tundra landscape into the mountains, up the Ruth Glacier (like a frozen river), all the way around Denali, and gave us views of the other big peaks – Hunter and Foraker – as well. It was amazing! It only got better when we touched down on a pristine snow-covered glacier and got out to walk around. Our friend built a small snow person, and two of the guys lay down and made snow angels. It was a mystical experience! We were there for a half hour. Then Paul seemed to head straight for a rock face as he took off, before easily turning the plane for our exit above the frozen river. I sat on the right side of the plane, but Paul tried to make sure that both sides got good views. I also tended to get disoriented among all the peaks, and they look different close up than in the postcard views. We returned to Talkeetna after two hours. A real highlight to start the trip!

We had a nice dinner in Talkeetna at the Wildflower Cafe – great seafood and an amazing beer selection – and then headed home to Denali Fireside Cottages just outside downtown [which means one block away from the one block…] Denali Fireside has one large building with four rooms plus some separate cabins. They are very spacious and very well appointed and maintained. I definitely recommend them for a stop in Talkeetna. No food service on premises, because “everybody wants to have breakfast at the Roadhouse” – so who were we to differ?

Saturday June 22 – Talkeetna

We had a hearty breakfast at the Roadside Cafe and chatted with people at our table. [Meals are served at large tables, where you find some open seats and join the party in progress.] We ate with a guy who lives in Anchorage and has a cabin near Talkeetna and his daughter, who is doing a legal internship in Anchorage as she earns her law degree from Ohio State (where her husband is getting a PhD in physics).

We had planned to hike the Little Coal Creek Trail, which has fine views of Denali, until we discovered that the trailhead is about 80 miles from Talkeetna. So instead we took the three mile Talkeetna Lakes Quest hike around lakes X, Y and Z [that’s their real names, although there seems to be some confusion as to which is X and which is Y; perhaps they need Abbott and Costello to straighten them out…] We covered ourselves in DEET and mosquito netting. Those buggers are numerous and fierce up here – DW even had to put OFF on her ears that night to get to sleep! It was a very nice hike and helped us work off the stiffness of several days of sitting on planes and in cars.

After our hike we returned to town to visit the outdoor crafts fair [where the prices were very reasonable and you were buying from the actual Alaskan craftsperson], and the Talkeetna Ranger Station [with a good video and other exhibits about climbing Denali], and to treat ourselves to something special. I went to the Denali Brewing Company beer garden for a flight of beers (Mother Ale [I guess somebody’s mother is a blonde], Kentucky Sour, Twister Creek IPA, and Chuli Stout – all were good examples of type and I had a very enjoyable time sitting in the shade [no mosquitoes in town, just a blizzard of cottonwood pollen]. DW and our DF headed to the Wildflower Cafe for cake with whipped cream, which they liked equally well.

We returned to Denali Fireside for showers. Our DF and I did fine, but when DW got into the tub there was no water pressure! The problem seemed to be widespread, but was fixed by the time we got back from dinner. [We sat with her anyway…]

We went to the West Rib Cafe for an unimpressive dinner (undercooked Caribou steaks) followed by homemade coconut ice cream at the food truck across the street. The ice cream was delicious!

Sunday June 23 – On to Denali

We went to the 9am Mass at St. Bernard’s in Talkeetna. They don’t have their own priest so one usually drives up over 100 miles from Anchorage – 2 1/2 hours if traffic is decent.

We then checked out of Denali Fireside and got breakfast at the Roadhouse, again eating family style with strangers at our table. One meets some interesting people that way. This time out we had a flower child from the ’60s who had relocated to Alaska from Connecticut and was shocked to hear us say we could never think of living up here. She was rabid in her conviction that this was the only place one could be happy. We noticed this trait frequently among the Alaska transplants.

Talkeetna is a really fun(ky) town. I recommend a visit both for the access to Denali (flightseeing and the Ranger Station) and for the town itself. The long days of summer up here are wonderful [especially as we were there for the summer Solstice], but I can’t imagine paying the price when winter comes and there are only 4 hours of daylight!

DW then drove north to Denali National Park, stopping at several viewpoints because The Mountain was out again. We arrived at the park’s Sled Dog Kennels just in time for the last show of the day. What a treat! These are marvelous animals who live to pull and run. Their strength and energy seems unlimited. The young female park rangers seem equally strong and determined and handle them with authority and love.

We stopped at the Denali Visitor Center for the video and exhibits, and then drove another ten miles to find our lodging – the Denali Dome Home B&B in Healy. Wow! What a B&B! It’s a giant dome building with seven bedrooms with private baths, plus a large great room built onto the side with nice views of the extensive property (and occasional wildlife visitors). We stayed there two nights and had a great time. The owners are very helpful, and even though it was full we felt like we had the run of the place to ourselves. Terry cooks breakfast to order, and he also dispenses advice about sightseeing and dining. Highly recommended.

Restaurants are limited in Healy and Glitter Gulch didn’t appeal, so we dined at the Black Diamond Grill at the local golf course both evenings and had good meals. One night we tried Bison! [And no, it doesn’t taste like chicken – not even Buffalo wings! – it tastes like a lean steak.]

Monday June 24 – Denali National Park

We took the shuttle bus into Denali National Park. We had hoped to see lots of wildlife but were disappointed in spotting only a handful of caribou and The Mountain was completely obscured by clouds, so we didn’t proceed on to Wonder Lake but spent some time at Eielson Visitor Center and then took another bus back. To add insult to injury, the driver of that bus was reviewing all the wildlife they had seen on their way in, but again we saw very little on the way out. But the terrain was amazing and the school bus was more comfortable than we expected. It was a worthwhile experience. We did spot a moose on the road outside the park – at this time of year they are very mangy looking as they shed their winter coats.

 

Tuesday June 25 – Back to Anchorage

We drove the 5 hours back to Anchorage where we stopped at Wal-Mart for bottles of water, returned our rental car, and checked back in to the Anchorage Hilton. [The first time DW and I had a nice corner room, but this time my Hilton Gold status got us upgraded to a full suite – how sweet it was!]. Anchorage is a very well designed city, easy to navigate on foot or in a car [not only are the streets laid out in a grid pattern, they are also named logically and buildings are numbered by block] We visited the Oomingmak Musk-Ox Producers Coop – musk ox wool is incredibly soft and warm [even more so than cashmere], but the products didn’t appeal so we escaped without damage to the wallet.

At the Downtown Visitor Info Center we were advised to take the free shuttle to the Ulu Knife Factory as a quick way to get to Ship Creek to view the salmon run. We visited the factory but DW didn’t think these knives would work for her, so we escaped unscathed again. We couldn’t see any salmon in the creek or on the fish ladders, but what do we know: during our delicious salmon dinner at The Bridge restaurant we saw lots of local fishermen standing in Ship Creek – catching salmon!

Wednesday June 26 – Prince William Sound

We were up early to take the train to Whittier. There is a tent outside the Alaska Railroad station where you can check your luggage with Princess, and they take it in a truck right to the ship while you enjoy your day. [This worked smoothly for us, but we heard that on a recent cruise one of the Princess trucks got held up by an accident in the tunnel and some passengers didn’t get their luggage until the next port – three days later in Skagway! Worse yet, some of the passengers were trying to drive to Whittier so they missed the ship altogether. We were very glad we had taken the early train.] The 2 1/2 hour train ride was smooth and scenic [and, I must admit, restful…], and then we popped out of the tunnel and saw Coral Princess awaiting us!

But first, we took Major Marine’s 4 1/2 hour Blackstone Glacier cruise on Kenai Star. The three of us had an assigned table for 4, but the boat wasn’t full so everybody could move around as they liked. DW was afraid that it might be somewhat boring, but we all enjoyed it thoroughly. We visited three huge glaciers and stayed at each for a long period of time so that we might experience the glacier calving, i.e., smaller sections of ice breaking off and falling into the sea. We saw all kinds of wildlife: black bear, harbor seals, bald eagle, kittiwakes, jellyfish and our favorite – sea otters [DW just fell in love with them! Good thing there aren’t pups for sale that can be shipped home…]

The cruise included a very delicious lunch of prime rib, salmon, rice/beans, salad, sourdough bread [all very good] – and desserts including tropical fruit salad, chocolate/walnut brownie, cheesecake [none very good]. DW had hot chocolate to help warm her on deck, but the weather was clear and much warmer than we had feared. The crew and the National Forest Ranger were helpful and knowledgeable. I highly recommend this tour, because the little Kenai Star can get much closer to the glaciers than a big ship like Coral Princess [we were allowed to approach to 1/4 mile, and the captain had extra controls on the side that gave him a good view as he maneuvered right up to icebergs and a waterfall]

Upon our return at 5:15pm we boarded Coral Princess and found that our luggage had been brought to our very nicely designed and appointed cabin. We were in Baja 433, an inside cabin right near the midship elevators; the location was excellent and the cabin was very quiet, although in future I think I would prefer a lower deck to be more centrally located between the Atrium and the top decks [need to take the stairs to work off dinner, but let’s not overdo it!] This is the nicest inside cabin we have seen [the bathroom on Norwegian Dawn was larger, but that space was stolen from the cabin which made it very cramped] We were amazed at the amount of storage space – even with our record over-packing we didn’t fill up all the shelves!

The muster drill took longer than expected to get started and DW and I both dozed off while waiting [a crew member awakened us in time so we didn’t have to stay after school…]

Afterwards the three of us ate in the Bordeaux anytime dining room with a couple who were doing a back-to-back. Our DF had Pork Loin and DW and I ordered Grilled Beef Filet Medallions from the Always Available portion of the menu [this night served with Green Peppercorn Sauce] They were closer to medium than medium-rare, but with thin medallions it doesn’t take much to overdo it and this was the MDR not a specialty steakhouse. We were surprised that the wine list had a good selection and reasonable prices. I had Warm Passion Fruit Soufflé for dessert, which was very nice.

We then poked around the shops a bit before retiring for the night. [We didn’t attend any of the shows, so you don’t need to parse this review looking for them…]

Thursday June 27 – Sea Day

We had breakfast in Horizon Court [this was true every day of the cruise] and then to the Cruise Critic Meet-and-Greet that I had organized. We were originally scheduled for the Wheelhouse Bar, but a few days before the cruise I got an email that it was moved to Crooners. This was actually a better location, but it was too late to get the news out to the Roll Call so I was worried that this would cut attendance. Princess put up a sign at the entrance to the Wheelhouse and the staff there knew where to send folks, so it all worked out and we had 22 attend. It was great to put real faces to fake names, and it was nice to run into familiar faces throughout the cruise.

We then went to the Bayou for the British-Style Pub Lunch. We all ordered the Ploughman’s lunch and were shocked to see the cold plate that came with a few slices of deli ham [the basic stuff that’s always on sale], a small wedge of American cheese [not the “aged cheddar” promised] and some paté. Hardly the hearty sandwich we expected! DW and I shared a bread-and-butter pudding, which was really nice. [Maybe this is authentic British-Style cuisine. We remember from a trip to London several decades ago that the dinner meat and veg items were overcooked, but it turned into a benefit because we had more room for the wonderful desserts covered with heavy cream!]

Next we headed to Naturalist Ann Burgess’ presentation “Otters, Orcas & Humpback Whales.” She was excellent, and the Princess Theater was packed. Her later talks were just as good, but the house was practically empty [perhaps because people learned you could watch them later on TV in your cabin].

DW and our DF went for dance lessons – salsa, cha cha and gangnam – while I had a nap. [We later learned in the Trivia game that you burn more calories sleeping than watching TV, so I count this as my exercise!]

We had had great weather every day since arriving in Alaska, but unfortunately heavy fog and floating ice prevented our entering Yakutat Bay so we missed out on the vibrant blue colors of Hubbard Glacier. Since we had such a rewarding excursion on Wednesday we were not too disappointed.

We went to Provence for afternoon tea – scones with strawberry jam and whipped cream. There were also sandwiches and sweets available but we refrained. [I made afternoon tea a priority and managed to get there most days. I l-u-v-e cream tea!] Then it was off to Afternoon Trivia; we didn’t win but we had lots of laughs. [The winners looked like one of the “professional” trivia teams I had read about, so we didn’t bother going back to lose to them again…]

DW finally had to bite the bullet and do laundry. Her timing was perfect, as no one else was there. She violated her principles and put all the colors and textures together in one load, and everything came out fine!

Dinner was at Sabatini’s. Service here was excellent compared to sometimes indifferent wait staff elsewhere on the Coral. We all had salads and shared calamari (the best ever!), artichoke soufflé and mushroom tart. There was also an amuse bouche of prosciutto and olives, and the bread basket had an interesting selection. We were stuffed and the entrees hadn’t even arrived! Our DF had sliced breast of duck, which was lovely. DW and I shared the salt-encrusted bronzino for two, which took a long time to prepare. It wasn’t worth the wait: the whole fish is encased in a thick layer of salt, but the waiter carefully removed that along with the skin; as a result the fish wasn’t salty, but it was just bland. I guess it was a good choice after all the appetizers, since it was light, and left room for espresso crème brûlée for dessert. [That English thing about saving room again…] DW got a raspberry frangipane to go, which came wrapped in an aluminum foil peacock! We immediately planned to return to Sabatini’s – but not to eat bronzino.

This was the first Formal night, and since we were in Sabatini’s I can’t open up that hornet’s nest… A waiter told us later than it had been French night in the main dining rooms.

This was also No Smoking Night in the Casino – a great idea that other cruise lines should copy – but we were too tired from doing nothing all day so we turned in early.

[no pictures – fog!]

Friday June 28 – Glacier Bay

The morning was very foggy as we entered Glacier Bay, and we were afraid it would be another bust. But the fog cleared during breakfast, and DW and DF were treated to seals, sea otters and at least 20 Humpback whales from their window seat! [I slept in. You snooze, you lose. But I saw plenty of wildlife at the Taste of Alaska Buffet – on my plate…]

We all went to the Glacier Bay Park Ranger’s Presentation, which was a good introduction to what we were going to see.

Glacier Bay was magnificent! We headed north to Margerie Glacier where we stayed for almost an hour. I moved around between the “secret balcony” at the front of deck 11 and the Promenade on deck 7, and got a ton of good pictures of the beautiful colors and textures, and of several calvings. Next to it was Grand Pacific Glacier, which is huge but nowhere near as beautiful because it is entirely covered in dirt and no longer reaches the water (so no calving). The ship then stopped at Lamplugh Glacier, another blue beauty, on the way out of Glacier Bay. No calvings here, but the peace and quiet were mystical.

We saw many more whales as we exited Glacier Bay. What a treat! After we thought we had passed the hot spot for whales, DW stayed out for her daily walk and was rewarded with whales fluking and spouting, and pods of whales traveling near the Coral Princess! She was very impressed.

We enjoyed a good dinner in Bordeaux (scallops and shrimp in light cream sauce; beef pot roast braised in Barolo wine; veal scaloppini with marsala sauce). We knew we had to be up early for the next day’s outing from Skagway, so it was off to bed.