Lundy Family Alaska Vacation

When mom invited Pat and me and my brother Bruce and his wife to join her on an Alaska vacation to celebrate her birthday (at her expense!), you could have knocked me over with a feather. This page is a feeble attempt to describe that adventure.

I took our new Olympus Camedia C-700 Ultra Zoom digital camera * with me on our Alaska vacation July 23 through August 5, 2001. What follows are some pictures and comments about that trip. Notice, these pictures are moderately large. All are 800x600 pixel JPG files (scaled down from their original 1600x1200 size), except the panoramas, which are generally much wider. Click on the thumbnail images to see the full-size pictures.

These pictures are un-retouched except for scaling down, and stitching together multiple images to create the panorama image using CAMEDIA Master 2.5 (included with the camera).

Here are some brief notes I took during the trip, and have edited somewhat since getting home. I'll try to expand on them some more soon.

I was up too late packing. We had planned to take some old copies of "Reader's Digest" to read on the way and leave them to make space for purchases, but no space left in bags. :-(

We left home at 10:23am. Lunch at Max & Erma's in the airport was a disappointment - what they called a sandwich was a large bun and a piece of fish that barely covered half of it. But that left more room for the great food we would enjoy during the cruise. Our flights each started a little late, but there was no trouble making connections. We had supper at C.J. Borg's microbrewery in Seattle airport - good chili and fast service. We arrived in our room at 12:30am Tuesday! Sunset was 11:33pm but it was still fairly light. Our luggage was delivered to our rooms, but we had to stop to pick up a gift pack (a travel bag and digital alarm clock / calendar) & get forms to fill out by the next morning - info they should have already had from the local AAA office or Holland America.

Our Holland America tour guide for the land portion of the trip was Alicia Weber - an enthusiastic & helpful young woman. We stayed at the Westmark Hotel, which is owned by Holland America Westours. Our first excursion was a Riverboat Discovery cruise on the Chena and Tanana rivers - the Tanana is very muddy with silt from glaciers and the Chena is relatively clean. Where they meet the water looks very unusual, and is called the wedding of the rivers. There were several interesting sights along the cruise, including a brief stop to see a bush pilot demonstrate takeoff and landing on a very short grassy area, an Athabascan salmon trap and smoking shed, Susan Butcher's husband and some of her sled dog team, and a visit at a mock Chena Indian village. Next, we had a brief stop at the Trans Alaska pipeline, then lunch, a tour of the abandoned dredge, and panning for gold at Gold Dredge #8.

Early this morning we boarded the McKinley Explorer train to Denali National Park (about 127 mi. via route 3) and had a nice breakfast on the train. The dining room, kitchen, and restrooms are on the lower level, with observation deck above. For just sitting back and watching the world go by, this is a great train. It was a nice smooth ride. But to get good photos, I had to hang out the top half of the dutch door between cars. The view was great, but it was too noisy to hear the announcements, so much of the time I didn't know what I was seeing. If I waited in the observation deck for announcements of interesting sights, by the time I got positioned in the doorway, most likely we had already passed it. It's impossible to get a good photo through the windows - it's tricky enough getting a decent picture while rolling along at 40 MPH or more without having to deal with glare, distortion, and smudges. So I spent a lot of the train ride between cars. Maybe next time (if there is a next time), I'll sit back and enjoy the ride.

At the McKinley Chalet Resort, where we stayed the night, we had lunch before taking the afternoon Denali Tundra Wildlife tour. Our driver / guide for the tour (#30) was Neil, who was very friendly, enthusiastic, informative, and thoroughly enjoyed his job. The tour was approximately 100 miles round trip. The weather was overcast much of the time and we had occasional scattered showers - not unusual for July in Alaska. We saw two differnt caribou (antlers are fuzzy & have many branches - they help with body temperature regulation) at Savage River just after 4pm. Then Pendelton glacier at 5:47pm. Young female caribou 5:55pm - darker fur is new growth. Shortly later we saw a grizzly bear, but even at 10x magnification, it was only a speck. Although we saw lots of animals, none were very close to our bus. But that is not always the case. Some friends of ours who had taken the same tour a couple years earlier saw bears and Dall Sheep only a few feet from their bus.

We saw a wolf chasing caribou in East Fork River. Here is the one clear picture I got of that drama, which we watched for several minutes. In Neil's 12 years as a tour guide, he had never seen this before. The caribou escaped - this time. Grizzly at crest of hill 6:51pm. Several shots from then to end of card to stitch together, of Polychrome Pass. I have used about a third of the memory I brought with me so far, and this is only the 3rd day of a 14 day trip! With some contrast enhancement, it may be possible to see Mt. Mckinley 40 miles beyond where road vanishes @ 7:32-7:33pm. Its peak is seldom visible during July because of precipipitation. It's easiest to see in May-June. Bear 8:52-8:54pm. Bull moose (antlers have large solid area) about 200yd from bus 9:04-9:05pm. Our tour returned to the chalet at 11:00pm and I had a slice of pie. I had hoped to have more than that, but the restaurant was all but shut down by then, in spite of their promise to stay open until all Tundra Tours had returned. I walked to cabin (the others took the shuttle) and got lost, so took longer than expected, but at least I got some exercise.

Here is a panorama image of somewhere in Denali National Park (near Fairbanks, Alaska), which was composed of six separate pictures stitched together. Creating these panoramas was a bit of a trick. I couldn't get the program to include all six images at once. So I stitched together the first four and saved that panorama, then the last two and saved a second smaller panorama. Then I stitched the two panoramas together.

Covered wagon ride & breakfast @ golf course - good food & service, but ride and commentary only moderately interesting (not worth $90 each). Train to Anchorage - mom in dining room on train. Photos of hurricane gulch (so named because of winds), which we crossed @ 2:37pm. Great shrimp scampi supper. Trees killed by saltwater from big earthquake in 1964 6:48pm - near mudflats (like quicksand) which are especially dangerous because of rapidly rising tides. Get stuck and you're probably doomed.

Transferred from train to bus to Hilton Anchorage, room 1064 (in Anchorage tower), @ 8:05pm. Alicia had recommended the Snowgoose Restaurant near our hotel for desserts - she was right!

Visited Stewart's Photo Shop east of F on 4's Photo Shop east of F on 4th - huge assortment in small space & very helpful staff. Bought 128MB SM card & Slik U5500 tripod - Pat got 10x28 binoculars. Mailed postcard to GEMAIR just before leaving Hilton in Anchorage. 1:42-1:48pm salmon fishing where they were swimming upstream in Ship Creek, where Anchorage started. Native Alaska Heritage Center tour - 2 pictures of basket weaving. Bus to Alyeska. 5:17-5:24 Turnagain Arm by Seward Hwy south of Anchorage has 2nd (or 3rd?) highest tides in world & dangerous silt flats. Waiting to be seated @ Pond Café in Alyeska Prince Hotel, the only 4-star hotel in Alaska. Several shots of exterior of hotel & surrounding area. Although we didn't experience the "land of the midnight sun" it didn't get completely dark, as seen here at 11:03 pm.

Southern Alaska hit by an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 on the Richter scale around 11:30 pm. We felt it in hotel room! *

Bus to Begich Boggs Visitor Ctr., Portage Glacier cruise on mv Ptarmigan, & lunch @ Portage Glacier Lodge. Dark line is where two glaciers meet. Most dirt on glacier is volcanic ash from several years ago. Portage Glacier Lodge has very nice gift shop - picture of whale in glass ($1500) taken there.

Tram from hotel to Seven Glaciers Restaurant & paraglider launch site. Mom's birthday supper @ Chair Five (http://www.chairfive.com). Had a Piña Colada. Packed to leave hotel tomorrow.

We took a bus to Seward, where we had a too brief visit of Alaska Sea Life Center. Then we took a 6 hour cruise in Kenai Fjords aboard mv Kenai Explorer (harbor in Resurection Bay). A few of the things we saw in Kenai Fjords: 11:41 sea otter relaxing on its back. 12:49-12:50 dark crooked neck is cormorant, just after bald eagle in tree top. 1:30pm Pederson & Aiaik Glaciers. Next is Holgate Glacier. 3:30-3:31pm Stellar sea lions. Before that were parakeet auklet, cormorants, & puffins (I think I got 1 or more shots of each). Here is a transient killer whale (designation AT109) swimming toward us. When we returned, we took a bus a few hundred yards from mv Kenai Explorer to ms Veendam @ 6:15pm. We boarded the ship several minutes later after security check. Had a light supper in Lido Restaurant followed by lifeboat drill. Left port approx. 8:45pm. Explored ship - magnificent!

Attended Port & Shopping Talk. Submitted shore excursion requests & disembarkation info. Discovered Walter Ahart pianist / singer with powerful bass voice & good humour in piano bar after 'Las Vegas Nights' @ Rubens Lounge.

Attended excellent talk by ship's naturalist Graham Sunderland. 3:24 last few seconds of calving - as I was making this note a few moments later I saw a spectacular calving of Marjerie Glacier (~250 feet tall) but not enough time to put away my Palm & take pictures! :-( 3:31, 3:36pm debris from it. 3:37 another calving, not quite as large as the one I missed - I got this one! 5:05 five shots in SHQ panorama mode of Marjerie Glacier from Sports Deck (12). 5:19-35pm AAA cocktail party. Spent evening in piano bar after evening's very funny show featuring stand-up comedian / ventriloquist Michael Ziegfeld.

9:38, 9:42am Veendam as seen aboard St. Tatiana moored to it before starting Sea Otter & Wildlife Quest. 9:51, 10:34a Mt. Edgecumbe dormant volcano. 9:52a splash from St. Tatiana - we were zipping along at a pretty good clip. 10:15 seals. 10:27-36 gray whale. 10:40, 10:44-5 bald eagle. 10:45-48 sea otters. 10:50 another Wildlife Quest catamaran like we're on. 11:14-56am a pod of humpback whales bubble-net feeding (estimated a dozen or more whales) - very rarely seen - in Biorka Channel. Snack, shopping, Russian Dancers in Sitka. Bought a Cedar Baking Plank & cookbook (check http://www.plankcooking.com/), tanzanite earrings. Enjoyed tonight's singer Stephen Lee Garden tnger Stephen Lee Garden then listened to Walter & played 'name that tune' in piano bar. I didn't do too well at the game, but had a good time.

9:19, 23am Mendenhall Glacier (looking across Gastineau Channel) - receeding about 30ft / yr. 9:48, 51 Devil's Club has nasty barbs but also has aloe-like qualities. 9:53 Twisted Stalk. 10:00 notice shallow roots. 10:06 Skunk Cabbage. 10:18 dead trees due to soil composition & twisted grain of tree. 10:18, 21 Dome Bog & Labrador Tea. 10:26 Sun Dew bog carnivor (fuzzy). 10:34-42 Chilkat range across Gastineau Channel. 10:43 Sweet Pea. 1:26-8pm chum salmon spawning. Mt. Roberts Tram. Listened to Walter in piano bar after comedian / magician couple Bob & Sarah Trunell.

Attended Graham's talk. Took Dolly's Trolleys tour of downtown, rain forest, beach, & totems. We attended Alaskan Lumberjack Show - good show & great seats. Rotterdam dining room & Baked Alaska parade. Adjusted clocks to Pacific time after supper, then went to show 'Up on the Roof'. We enjoyed it, but not as much as Michael Ziegfeld, & Bob & Sarah Trunell. Briefly visited the Crow's Nest & noticed near full moon peeking thru clouds making interesting display on water. Enjoyed Walter again w/ sing-along. Went on deck to take some moonlight pictures, but too cloudy by then.

Last full day at sea - no shore excursions. Attended disembarkation talk shortly after breakfast, which answered some of our questions. Pat & I did some last minute shopping - I got jacket & postcard of the Veendam near glacier & Pat got book & some trail mix for tomorrow. Attended last of Graham's talks. AAA Cocktail Party. Liars Club - which of 4 people correctly defines strange words (talleywacker, etc.). It was a hoot! Packed, then visited piano bar briefly and tipped Walter - he gave me his e-mail address.

Last breakfast on ship. Talked with Jack & Peggy Moore about PDAs & exchanged contact info. Disembarked in Vancouver 9:30am - other members of our group disembarked about half an hour earlier to other buses. Canadian customs was very quick - just handed form to agent on way to bus. Bus w/ snack to Seattle - filled out U.S. Customs form. Entered U.S. Customs about 10:45am - no forms were collected - left about 10:46 after collectively answering a couple questions. Got to TWA boarding terminal about 1:30pm shortly after Jack & Peggy met us @ security. TWA 0448 Seattle to St. Louis scheduled to depart 3:05pm (airborne @ 3:17 & landed 8:40). Adjusted time to Central zone, then closed window & tried to sleep but didn't get much rest. Supper was a turkey sandwich, potato chips, cookie, & soft drink - what a change from the ship! Sky was incredibly clear - for a long time you could see to the horizon without a single cloud or haze. The camera was in the overhead bin, so I didn't get any pictures. Tried to sleep again after supper, but not much luck. I didn't get nearly enough sleep last night - up late packing. TWA 0132 St. Louis to Dayton arrived on time. Left Park Air Express 12:35 & got home 1:01am. Daisy & Jasmine were waiting at the door for us - Elizabeth was guarding the bedroom.

* I struggled with the decision of whether to take both my camcorder and still camera, or just my still camera on this trip and ended up taking only my Olympus C-700 still camera. A few months after returning home, Sony introduced their DCR-IP220 Camcorder that doubled as a fairly decent 2 megapixel still camera, but didn't do a great job of either and was way too expensive. Still, I held out hope that eventually a good combo camera would soon be forthcoming. There are now a couple of very nice moderately priced (about $500) still cameras with 10x optical zoom that do a pretty good job of filming short video clips. They are the 3 megapixel Canon PowerShot S1 IS, which has almost every feature you could want in a still camera, including Image Stabilization, and 4 megapixel Olympus C-770UZ, which features MPEG-4 video compression, allowing considerable longer video recording times. Both allow zooming while filming, and can shoot 30 fps 640x480 video with mono sound. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10 is a bulkier 4 megapixel 12x optical zoom camera with image stabilization that can shoot 320x240 movies at 30 fps, but not 640x480.

* The earthquake didn't shake as much as the ship did sometimes when using the stern thrusters, but felt similar. I'm guessing the quake lasted about 3 to 4 seconds.

Last updated April 25, 2004. Please check back from time to time as I add some more pictures, add links, and clean up the text which was originally mainly notes I took for later identifying pictures. If you care to comment about this page, please e-mail .