Back in 2009 we were supposed to take a cruise with my Parents, but my Dad getting sick put that on a long-term hold. This past year Mom decided it was time though, and that culminated in a trip this August 2015 to Alaska on board a cruise ship. Cruise ships now depart Seattle for Alaska, so it isn't too inconvenient getting to the ship and back home. We left Seattle on Sunday August 16th, and returned a week later early on Sunday the 23rd.

The itinerary had us visiting Ketchikan, Junea, and Skagway via the Tracy Arm Fjord. Between the 1st three I am fairly certain we saw at least thirty jewlery shops - perhaps a few more. All three towns were great to see, though pretty touristy. Skagway was advertised on board as "nothing to see", but was probably the most interesting. Most of the buildings in town are original structures, as Skagway never had a large fire like quite a few towns seem to have had.

Skagway was also where Kirsti and I and the girls took a tour bus out to see a sled-dog camp. It is supposedly the largest training camp for sled dogs in Alaska, and we got to ride a 6-person (plus driver for 7) cart behind the dogs on a mile loop through the trees. The dogs were *happy*, and once they saw paying customers come along, started acting like a group of five year olds hopped up on fudge and donuts at Disneyland. The carts have safety brakes, and after setting those they tie them off to large trees so the dogs don't take off without a driver on board. We also noticed a few of these dogs looked pretty familiar, reminding us of an energetic mutt here at home that likes to run. The drivers explained that what they call "Alaskan Huskies" are really only a fraction husky, with running-hound and a combination of other breeds mixed in. Some drivers insist on using nothing but dogs rescued from the pound. The dogs are retired after about age 10, but have a life expectancy of 15-17 years - which is pretty amazing for a larger dog.

At the end of the sled dog presentation, walking back to the van, a few of the employees were lining the trail due to a local hanging out nearby. His name was Ned, a 2-year old grizzly that was close by feeding on the salmon spawning in the nearby stream. I got a few pictures, but didn't have a decent lense for these types of pictures. Pretty cool to see though, especially as this is the first brown bear we've seen in the wild despite visiting a few national parks.

After returning to town we had lunch, wandered down the board-walk, and boarded our ship for the trip south towards Victoria and home.