It was time to depart.  But we still had two cities scheduled to see and things to do.  We were greeted with an enormous Hummer SUV and our destination was the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, a nonprofit organization that cares for injured or orphaned animals on 144 acres located just off the Seward Highway.  I thought it was a wonderful place to visit not only because we got to get out and see so many majestic animals up close, but more importantly, knowing they were there for help.  And our patronage was serving to help as well.  We saw adorable foxes curled up cozily, a brown bear sitting on his haunches, owls blinking at us sleepily, and my favorite was the biggest moose I had ever encountered.  He was sweet and shy but I notice he was not without companionship.  There were also bison, elk, caribou and musk ox.  Any time we get a chance to support wildlife or wild places we try to do so.  They are our true national treasure.  In his book “The Wild Places” travel writer Robert Macfarlane notes:

“Wild animals, like wild places, are invaluable to us precisely because they are not us.  They are uncompromisingly different.  The paths they follow, the impulses that guide them, are of other orders.  The seal’s holding gaze, before it flukes to push another tunnel through the sea, the hare’s run, the hawk’s high gyres;  such things are wild.  Seeing them, you are made briefly aware of a world at work around and beside our own, a world operating in patterns and purposes that you do not share.  These are creatures, you realise that live by voices inaudible to you.”

My first big trip had been so magical.  I did things I never thought I would do — from zip lines to mushing sled dogs to taking a helicopter and riding in a giant Tomcat SUV up a glacier.  As for our last non stop day at sea … it was rough.  Visions of the Titanic flitted through my head as it got very choppy on board and for the first time the ship really lurched.  I remember watching the curtains sway violently while, like our time in the helicopter, I battled a secret fear of imminent death.  Poor Burk literally turned so green with sea sickness he had to see the ship’s doctor.  Then it finally felt like the “Love Boat”!  Outside the skies were grey and the water was grey.  Inside the formal dining room the chandeliers gleamed a warm, inviting light which danced off the silver and crystal.  We had gotten to know our servers and the staff and it was like saying good-bye to family.  After dinner I enjoyed my last cigar and soaked for the final time in that beautiful marble tub filled with bubbles as crisp air and the sounds of ocean swells blew through the sheer curtains from my open balcony.  One tradition Burk and I started on this trip is what we call “schlock shopping”.  I love little souvenirs — especially stuffed toy animals and magnets.  And, as a wolf lover, I had hit the jackpot!  At every port Burk would help me scout for wolf things to add to my collection.  I still have them all and I cherish each one.  They bring back a little part of our trip every time I see them.  I am so fortunate that Burk spent his own money so I could go along on this magnificent journey.  It will always hold a special place in my heart; just as he does.  The novelist and poet Cesare Pavese is credited with saying we do not remember days, we remember moments.  I think if you’re really lucky, in the special times, you remember both.

After having woken up each morning some place different for almost a week, I thought for sure I would be acclimated by then to the delightful shock of wondering where I was.  But nothing could have prepared me for this.  I will never forget going to my balcony right above the water in the early morning hours after being awakened by the booming, crackling sound of thunder.  Only it wasn’t thunder; rather it was massive chunks of a glacier breaking off and falling into the sea.  It was scary, awe inspiring, and mesmerizing for me in particular because the ice was a deep, dark shade of my favorite color — blue.  According to the National Park Service, Glacier Bay covers “3.3 million acres of rugged mountains, dynamic glaciers, temperate rainforest, wild coastlines and deep sheltered fjords.”  It is a highlight of Alaska’s Inside Passage as well as a World Heritage Site.  One of the largest international protected areas, it rests on 25 million acres.  Since our ship was smaller we were able to get closer than some of the behemoths.  I could not believe we were just passing idly by as nature was, in all her sound and fury, warning us in 2006 of things to come.  I pray we take global warming seriously.  I pray for the wildlife struggling to survive:  the wolves, the polar bears, the lynx and the wolverine.  I pray for the otters, the whales, the seals and the sea lions.  I pray for the eagles, the puffins, the herons and the gulls.  I pray for all God’s creatures and this one planet we all share.  The first female Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Wilma Mankiller, once said that in Iroquois society, leaders are encouraged to remember seven generations in the future when making decisions that affect the people.  I pray that we may not simply survive but thrive — for the sake of us all as well as the next seven generations to come.  Achukma hoke.

Sitka was next on our itinerary.  Burk and I decided to spend the morning hiking the lush Tongass National Rainforest.  Bridges took us across streams teaming with wild salmon and bald eagles were as common as blue jays in Texas.  It was August and the weather was heavenly.  Neither hot nor cold; it was sheer joy in which to be out and about.  There was a quiet hush as we walked along.  The trees were so high they blocked out the sun, enhancing the heady smell of rich, dank earth underneath our feet.  Afterward we went inside the famous Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel.  We were not allowed to take pictures and I just remember this little altar boy on a ladder polishing all the gold that encased the inside.  Of far more meaning to me was a tiny Episcopal church I discovered called Saint Peter’s-By-The-Sea.  No one was there except a woman cleaning who stopped her work and genuinely welcomed us in to pray, look around, and take pictures.  I confess it made me proud to be Episcopalian.  It was a busy day as we had also booked a wildlife quest.  A little boat took us where the river met the sea and we actually saw some sea otters holding hands and whales frolicking — albeit from a fair distance so as not to disturb them.  The whales made a bigger splash (no pun intended) but I loved the quiet gentleness of the sea otters.  Like my beloved wolves, they are a keystone species and vital to the environment.  Plus they are otterly adorable!  😉

“Nature is not a place to visit.  It is home.” ~ Gary Snyder, American Pulitzer Prize winner and environmental activist

The biggest adventure awaited us in Skagway.  I chose this picture because I thought it was charming and it inspired me to create a bottle garden of my own.  Fresh flowers lined the streets in giant barrels and hung from old timey lamp posts.  There was a tiny museum on miners and the Gold Rush that was fascinating.  Burk and I love museums and find they are always a treasure.  But the most incredible thing we have ever done was to take a helicopter to the basin of a glacier and mush sled dogs.  It was called the “Icefield Flightseeing and Dog Sled Adventure”.  Once we landed we got to take a huge red Tomcar SUV up to the base camp.  We were greeted by a cacophony of dogs’ barks, yips, and howls.  Snow fell softly as they all vied to get a chance to be out and run in the deep snow.  I remember learning about white blindness from “Little House on the Prairie” but had no idea just what it was like.  It gave the strangest sense of claustrophobia and one could not distinguish earth from sky.  The dogs led us along with a surety that was comforting and afterward we went inside a warm tent for some hot cocoa.  There was some question as to whether or not we would make it back to the ship in time due to the weather, as the helicopter had no visibility.  Fortunately the clouds lifted and the snow let up briefly enough for us to take off.  Between my fear of imminent death and Burk’s horrid motion sickness we made quite a pair.  The ride back was highly erratic and very choppy.  I literally kissed the ground once we’d landed.  It was a wild, humbling experience.  But before we left I got to hold some newborn puppies and marvel at the age-old relationship between man and canines.  I found this quote by Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show host Roger A. Caras:

“Dogs have given us their absolute all.  We are the center of their universe.  We are the focus of their love and faith and trust.  They serve us in return for scraps.  It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made.”

Our second stop was the State Capital.  It was exciting to go out all day, get dressed for dinner back on board ship at night, and then wake up the next morning at a different port of call.  The most daring thing we had planned in Juneau was a tram ride.  It turned out Mount Roberts, with its six minute ascent of 3,189 feet, has one of the most vertical tramways in the world.  Once we got to the top I found the overhang fascinatingly sickening.  We ate lunch in the restaurant and then visited the nature center and Native Cultural Center.  Afterward we hiked up to a beautiful large wooden cross overlooking the Gastineau Channel.  The trail was lovely, easy and not scary at all.  They had several to take ranging from less than a mile to about three.  For us the end result of the path we chose had the most significance.

“It is to the cross that the Christian is challenged to follow his Master:  no path of redemption can make a detour around it.” ~ The Reverend Father Hans Urs von Balthasar 

After an entire day at sea it was our first stop.  We were excited to get our land legs back and walk around town.  Built around a creek that flows through its center, the name “Ketchikan” is the Tlingit word for “creek”.  It was the first time I had even seen wild salmon in streams — literally and figuratively.  I also saw a young brown bear choosing his future lunch.  It gave a whole new meaning to “fresh caught salmon”.  What I remember most about this port was that Burk and I went on a zip line “Canopy Adventure”.  Neither of us had ever done it before.  I also discovered a whole new meaning to the term “tree hugger”.  The zip lines were over 600 feet long and the sky bridges were incredible but frankly terrifying.  I decided if I made it down in one piece I would probably check this off my “been there; done that” list with gratitude.  It was so high you could not even see the ground at times and oddly enough that made it slightly less frightening.  We were in the Tongass National Forest where the trees were so dense, so lush, so thick, and so tall as to be unbelievable.  We did not just have a bird’s eye view; we had an eagle’s.

“The eagle has no fear of adversity.  We need to be like the eagle and have a fearless spirit of a conqueror!” ~ Bible teacher Joyce Meyer 

Growing up watching “The Love Boat” I had always dreamt of taking a cruise.  I could not have imagined it would be to Alaska instead of Mexico.  We went in August of 2006 aboard the Regent Seven Seas and it was spectacular.  Each stateroom was a suite with marbled baths and French doors that opened onto private balconies.  There was a comfortable sitting area, writing desk, beautiful vanity, surprisingly large closet, television, and an incredible mini bar and fridge.  I was greeted with a bottle of Champagne and my own private maid who kept my room in exquisite fresh flowers daily.  My suite was 770 and it was home for one glorious week.  I thought our ship was huge with its glass elevators, lounges, restaurants, casino, boutiques, swimming pool and outdoor jogging track, but I came to realize it was actually rather small — which is far nicer.  We attended a lecture on Alaska with an excellent slide slow in the theater.  And I loved the two Native American women who told of their history, talked about the region, and pointed out wildlife over the ship’s public address system as we cruised slowly by.  Each evening I took immense pleasure in the quiet refuge of the cigar lounge with its cozy fireplace and butter soft leather chairs.  I would enjoy a Romeo Y Julieta and reflect on the day’s outdoor adventures and activities.  An actor named Raul Julia once said a cigar is as good as memories that you have when you smoked it.  Those were some of my finest.

“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” ~ St. Augustine

I was so excited!  It was my first real trip and I had to have a passport!  Granted it was only to Canada for a day but hey it counted.  I was getting to go with my boyfriend (who would soon become my fiancé) and his maternal family on a cruise to Alaska up the Inside Passage.  We spent a lovely day being shown about the city, seeing historical sights, doing a little shopping, and eating at Granville Island.  I was surprised at how modern the city was and delighted to discover totem poles along the heavily forested Stanley Park.  We would spend the night at The Pan Pacific Hotel before boarding our ship the next day.  A beautiful hotel overlooking the harbor, our dinner was magical, surrounded by a glassed in bird’s eye view of it all.  The next morning we got to dine outside while the gulls’ eyes prettily begged for pickings.  As someone who has grown up landlocked, I found them fascinating to watch as they gracefully swooped down to catch crumbs.  Vancouver’s cruise ship port was impressive — even a novice like me could tell.  And so we would embark on one of the best trips I have had the good fortune to take.  We were ready to set sail!