Alaska, Red Dog Saloon

     Happy New Year Everyone! Do you have your Christmas put away? My tree is still up....it's on the list of chores that will eventually be accomplished.
     Have you made any list for the New Year? Since Alaska is usually on someone's list, I thought I would share a nugget from Juneau.  The Red Dog Saloon originated during the busy gold mining days and provided drink and entertainment for locals and travelers.

 The menu and prices have changed somewhat, but you can dine for under $20 which is an accomplishment in this expensive state!

The floor is still sawdust so it's okay to spit if you so desire.

Our server was from Clearwater, Florida......small world.

The real attraction is the gun that was checked, but never claimed by the infamous Wyatt Earp

Imagine, a gun slinger in these here parts.....

By the way, the whale watching and salmon bake was the best part of the entire trip!

So if you go.....don't miss Juneau!

Lynda

Whale Watching-Alaska

I thought I would share another day of our amazing adventure in Alaska. These pictures are from an excursion we took in Juneau. After boarding a large bus, our tour guide drove us about 20 min. from the town to a harbor. The tide was out allowing us to view a large number of eagles that were feeding on fish that were stuck on the rocks. We boarded a double-decker boat and launched across the bay to an island. After docking the boat, we went ashore to enjoy a salmon bake lunch at the Orca Point Lodge

A view of the lodge from the boat

Wonderful buffet, even though we ate on paper plates....

When you are on a cruise.....you want to eat small amounts.....

Below: a view of Mendenhall Glazier, which will be our last stop after whale watching....

Next stop......the light house and harbor seals....these seals climb on the buoy and sun....when the sun comes out.....

The baby at the top is my favorite...how cute is that?

We start looking for whales....first for the spout of water erupting from the sea....by the time I get the shot...it's all tail......

You have to be patient....after a while, we see some amazing activity.....

This behavior is called "bubble net feeding". The whales team together, dive down and release air bubbles to trap the fish....then surface for the feed.....you can tell they are about to surface by watching the birds that circle around......

There are so many bodies in this shot, it's difficult to tell how many whales are in attendance....

All the folks on that boat are crowded on the bow....

They started swimming toward our boat....the shutters were flying....

How about this shot?     I wish it was clear....but this was manipulated in Picasso....

This is where we had fun....a few folks volunteered to take our picture....this is special as we hate to ask other folks.....then we walked around and took couple's photos for them....met some really nice folks that way....

The glaciers in Alaska are unbelievable.  I would recommend this trip before you get too old to leave the boat....There is so much to see....this is just the tip of the iceberg....

I'll be back with more of each Alaskan port.  Thanks for coming by. Leave me a comment if you would like. I would love to hear your thoughts!

Lynda-please enjoy the parties below for fabulous ideas, recipes and crafting....

Denali National Park-Mile Marker 67

More about Denali State Park: I thought I would share some more photos of our trip to marker 67. We were riding on an old school bus. The seats had been redone into plush motor coach seats for comfort. We saw caribou, bears, sheep and other questionable things in the distant horizon.

SIX  MILLION  ACRES! Gaze across a broad expanse of Denali National Park and Preserve, and you will see a living tapestry. The colors are amazing in Alaska.

Above: our bus driver Jeralyn Hath did an excellent job driving us through the park.

Igloo Creek Campground....elevation 2240. Below we spot our first white bear.

Sable Pass

Narrow road ahead.....

Wowza...glad we didn't meet them on the curve.....Can you spot the Dall sheep below?

The white spot is a sheep.

Above we stopped for a break and were allowed to walk around this area.

You can see the top of the bus.

There are areas you are not allowed to leave your vehicle. These bus tours began in 1972 as an alternative to private car traffic. It minimizes visitor impacts allowing many to experience the park that belongs to all of us without destroying it.

I was hanging out the bus window when I took this shot of the Dall sheep and fixed it in Picasso, a photo editing site. Here is the full view of them on the hill. A few were wondering along the roadside eating leaves from small bushes.

I kept wishing I had another camera with the zoom lens on it. It would have been a better picture....

The 91 mile road was constructed between McKinley Park Station and Kantishna, a mining camp from 1923 to 1938. More than 350,000 folks visit Denali each summer.

This was our last stop before returning. It was a bookstore and bathroom station stop.

You can see the small caribou in the right lower hand area in the photo walking the dry creek bed.

A caribou raises his head as we travel by.  Below my sister, Michelle and her daughter, Olivia pose for a photo midway on our journey.

I am thankful we had family with us so George and I could get a picture together...usually we are separate.....I will post another blog of the flowers I took in the park. They bloom briefly in the short summer season. Jerlyn said it gets around 65* below zero in the winter months....I wore a coat the entire time(except for photos).  My husband loved the cool weather and wore shorts most days.

Thanks for visiting and taking a tour of Alaska.

If you ever have a chance to go...sign up! We took the land tour first, then traveled to Seward to board the Celebrity Millennium and took the inside passage route. It was awesome!

Leave a comment to let me know if you've been to Alaska!

Lynda

Denali State Park

This summer was extremely busy. We moved my sister and her husband into their new home, moved my niece home from Tallahassee, went on vacation, helped with a wedding, and remodeled the pool area. I should say my son redid the pool area. Anyhoo I thought I would share a bit more of  the Alaska trip.  From Seattle, we flew into Anchorage and took the train to Denali State Park to stay in the McKinley Lodge. It was awesome. Here are some pics from the train.

We did all this in one day.....WOW....I think I took approx. 350 pictures that day. Of course I wouldn't bore you with all of them. After we arrived, we took an excursion to the home of Jeff King. I'll post about the huskies later.
     Alaska is beautiful. Cooler weather and open spaces. I know it's summer but I wore a sweater or jacket every day. We did not break a sweat. I am thinking it would be nice to have a summer home here, but the food is way too expensive. Most folks here work all summer and put up food for the winter. We stayed at the lodge 2 nights.  We also took a tour of Denali State Park....instead of a bus ride to mile marker 17, we upgraded to mile marker 67. I'll take you on the bus ride later.
     Thanks for visiting. I would love to hear what your thinking. Please feel free to leave a comment! You can also email me at Lyndalhcropshop@gmail.com.

Lynda