Sitka & Juneau, 6/17

On our last day in Sitka we awoke to the usual drizzle. However, this didn't stop us from taking a Ranger-guided totem pole hike through the Sitka National Historical Park. The trail took us through mist-shrouded rainforest, along spectacular coastline, and included about a dozen totem poles. At each pole the ranger explained the history and legends behind what we were seeing. At mid-day we boarded the new, fast ferry to Juneau. Midway, Jenny was christened "Sequence Champion of the World" (this is a board game introduced to us by our friends Adam & Katie that we brought along for these long ferry rides). Upon arriving in Juneau we wasted no time in seeing the sights. We took a brief walk around downtown (but it was completely deserted due to the fact that there was no cruise ship docked) and got our first glimpse of the Mendenhall Glacier, which is a large, tidewater glacier.

Sitka, 6\15-6\17 (24 photos), by Jennifer Bowne

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Sitka, Alaska: June 15-16

We arrived at 3:15am and had a much easier time setting up camp in what was only a slight drizzle. After driving to the end of the island, we found a beautiful trail to hike called "Indian River," which took us through thick, lush rain forest. In the afternoon we walked around the small downtown to view the historic sites. Sitka was the capitol of Russian America, so many of the stores sell nesting dolls and other Russian souvenirs and the town is full of buildings with Russian history and architecture. Overall, we have found Sitka much more enjoyable than Ketchikan. The houses are tidier and prettier, and it caters less to the cruise-ship crowd (i.e. fewer t-shirt and trinket shops, and more art galleries and cafes). The quality of artwork and craftsmanship is much higher here, although so are the prices to reflect this! Last night we attended the Sitka Music Festival, a concert of chamber music in the community center where the stage was backed by a 180 degree view of the Sitka Harbor and the mountains beyond. Today we began with a dance performance by a Russian dance troupe. Then we walked over to the Native Alaskan Cultural Center for a traditional Tlingit (native tribal) dance show. Next was the Raptor Center, a rehabilitation center for injured raptors, where we arrived just in time to see a bald eagle up close who had was permanently disabled and lives at the center. They are enormous, several feet high, but only weigh about 12 pounds. We walked around the grounds and observed many bald & golden eagles, ravens, owls, hawks, and other raptors recovering from various injuries, including collisions with cars and gunshot wounds. There were even several wild eagles flying around - we assuming they were visiting their friends and helping with their recovery! Tomorrow morning we'll go on a ranger-led hike around the Sitka National Historic Park, and then board the ferry to Juneau.

Ferry to Sitka, 6\14\2010 (16 photos), by Jennifer Bowne

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Ferry to Sitka: June 14

The journey began at 12:30am when our alarm went off inside our tent. It's amazing we even heard the alarm over the thundering roar of the rain! Have you ever tried putting away a tent, sleeping bags, and pads in the pitch dark in the middle of a downpour? We have...it's not fun! We were barely able to fit everything into the car because our stuff was in such disarray, and everything was completely soaked. We ended up jamming the dripping wet tent into the back of the car without attempting to fold it up! We had to arrive at the ferry terminal at 1:15am, but couldn't board until just before our 3:15am departure. We were pleasantly surprised to find a very comfy cabin with bunk beds and our own bathroom and shower. After drying off and sleeping for a few hours, we were rejuvenated and ready to see some of the beautiful Inside Passage (the protected coastline along Southeastern Alaska). During our 24-hour ferry ride, the sun finally came out. The scenery was gorgeous with snow-capped mountains behind blue water and green forested hills. We saw both humpback and killer whales (but we couldn't get good photos of either one), and several eagles feasting on salmon.

Ketchikan, 6\12 & 6\13 (24 photos), by Jennifer Bowne

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Ketchikan, Alaska: June 12-13

When we arrived on the ferry, the first place we visited was Saxman Village, a native Alaskan community of Tlingit Indians. We lucked out when we talked to a local and were invited to view an inter-tribal meeting/celebration where there was native singing and dancing. The meeting took place in what appeared to be the local high school gym and the entertainment was staged solely for the local tribe and guests without any anticipation that outsiders/tourists would attend. We slipped in through a side door after a local tribe member told us to pretend we were part of his family if anyone asked, and we just tried to lay low and blend in despite the fact that we are clearly not of native Alaskan descent and were not dressed in traditional Tlingit garb! We had a classic "are we having fun yet?" moment as we attempted to set up our tent in a driving wind and rain storm...this was after we had to shoo away a local homeless woman who had obviously set up long-term "housing" in our campsite. The night got even more interesting when, just as we were about to turn in, we discovered that our rain flap was not meant to function in the cyclone-like deluge that this Southeast Alaskan rainforest had dished out. Our sleeping bags and pads were drenched and our tent was raining from within! After somehow surviving the night, we had a respite from the rain for a few hours the next morning and took advantage of the nicer weather to go ziplining and repelling through the Tongass National Forest. For the remainder of the day we walked around downtown and enjoyed the town, despite the continuing rain, before turning in early to get a few hours sleep before waking at 1:15am to catch the ferry to Sitka.

New Blog Name!

Thanks to Caitlin for the cute blog title! We're on the 24-hour ferry to Sitka, and randomly it's the first time we've had Internet in a few days. Too bad we're too tired to post photos or details! We'll do that as soon as we have a chance to catch up on sleep.

British Columbia, Canada

Today we had our longest driving day, and Jenny drove for the first time! That's right - up to this point Gabe had done all of the driving (2,309.6 total miles)!! We drove from Jasper, Alberta to Prince Rupert, British Columbia: 697.4 miles; 14 hours of twisty, mountainous, and sometimes rainy roads. Tomorrow we finally head into Alaska. We have to be at the ferry at 5:15am and go through 3 hours of immigration, customs, and boarding for ourselves and the car. We'll arrive in Ketchikan, Alaska around 1:30pm and are hoping to spot some whales during our ferry ride. As of tomorrow we will transition from the road-trip part of our journey to the camping part, and may be without internet for several days or perhaps a week. Family: we will have our cell phones turned on, but who knows what kind of service there will be?! We'll be in touch as soon as we're able.

Icefields Parkway, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada

This is a view of a still partially frozen lake and the Rockies in the background.

drive to Prince Rupert 6\11\10 (6 photos), by Jennifer Bowne

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Banff & Jasper NP, 6\10\2010 (20 photos), by Jennifer Bowne

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Calgary to Jasper NP, Alberta, Canada - Even More Incredible Moose Sighting!

Yesterday we drove 281.1 miles...doesn't sound like much, but on windy roads it takes a very long time! We set out pretty early in order to have plenty of time to explore both Banff and Jasper National Parks. Within about a minute of entering Banff we spotted two moose right on the side of the road (see above photo...much more impressive than our previous moose sighting). We also spotted a fox running across the road - we never thought we'd get to check this off of our list of wildlife to see! We hiked out to a beautiful waterfall where we met a very friendly (and hungry) chipmunk (no, we didn't feed him). It was raining, and at one point we had hail, so our outdoor time was limited, but we spent plenty of time enjoying amazing views of the Canadian Rockies, glaciers, and lakes from the famed "Icefields Parkway."

Calgary, Alberta, Canada (6 photos), by Jennifer Bowne

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Glacier National Park (12 photos), by Jennifer Bowne

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Moose & Calgary, Canada

Yesterday, June 9, as we were passing through St. Mary's - not too far from the Canadian border - we spotted a moose running alongside the road! We couldn't get the camera out fast enough to get a close-up, but we did manage to get it while it was eating back in the trees. There were three total moose, and this was our first time ever seeing them in the wild! Mileage update: 6/7 = 163.7 miles, 6/8 = 471.3 miles, 6/9 = 353.3 miles. We are now in Calgary, Canada. The drive here was beautiful with lots of open space, although Canadians sure do have funny driving rules. They seem to think it's okay to make U-turns in the middle of the freeway! The border crossing was very fast. It was one tiny building between two farms on either side of the border. We stayed in a youth hostel in the center of the city, and we got a chance to see the downtown area where we walked 4 miles and got dinner. It seemed as though everyone in the city was watching the Stanley Cup Finals...Chicago won, if anyone back home cares!

More Yellowstone Photos

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Yellowstone Photos

Here are some photos of our first day driving around in Yellowstone National Park. We can't figure out how to get the "links" button to work on the blog right now, and our internet connection is spotty, so if you'd like to see the photos just copy and paste the link: http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=4144164007/a=51656645_51656645/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Whitefish, Montana

We spent the day yesterday exploring Yellowstone National Park, viewing tons of wildlife and geysers. This morning we continued exploring the park for a few hours, and then headed up north to stay with a childhood friend of Gabe's in Whitefish, Montana. She greeted us with a fantastic dinner of crepes - just what we needed after many more hours on the road. Then we took a ride on her tandem around a beautiful lake in the town. The photo above is of the Lower Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone NP. Tomorrow we're going to see as much of Glacier NP as possible - part of the "Going to the Sun" road through the park is closed due to snow, but we'll be able to take the main highway and stop for a hike along the way. We'll end up in Calgary for the night.

Old Faithful

It was right on schedule and we were lucky to see an eruption just after arriving at the Old Faithful Inn, where we stayed for one night.

Bears in Yellowstone

We also had 4 bear sightings, one of which was a mother and two young cubs foraging for food.

Bison in Yellowstone

Among the variety of wildlife in Yellowstone, we saw many bison close up.

We've arrived in Yellowstone

Today we drove 638.9 miles from St. George, Utah to West Yellowstone, Montana. Our northern location is very apparent by the light sky at 10:00pm. On the way here we saw our first wildlife: buffalo, a bald eagle, horses, cows, and sheep. We have seen a dramatic change of temperature. Yesterday it was 110 degrees outside of Baker, CA. When we left Utah this morning it was 91 degrees. Right now it's 47 degrees and rainy. We've got our fingers crossed for good weather tomorrow when we explore Yellowstone National Park.

Day 1 Down

Yesterday we managed to drive 401.3 miles to Saint George, Utah. We felt pretty proud since we didn't even finish packing until 4:30pm! Today the goal is Yellowstone...

Comments Please!!

We finally figured out how to post comments, so please feel free and we'll try to read them as often as possible. For those of you new to blogging, like we are, all you have to do is click on the comments link right underneath one of our postings. If no one has commented yet, it will say "0 Comments." A new window will open and you can write a comment.

Pre-Trip Ruminations

We are desperate for a vacation!! Most of you know what a hard time we've had lately in our unsuccessful efforts to get pregnant, so we need some time away from fertility talk. In addition to seeing some amazing scenery and wildlife, our goal is to return home refreshed and ready to take on the challenges of in vitro fertilization in July. Many are skeptical about our ability to drive so many miles in such a short period of time while also having enough time to experience and appreciate what we're seeing. We think we can do it! We are trying to begin our journey tomorrow in order to cut down on driving for Sunday, but since we haven't actually packed yet I'm not sure if this is realistic! This is our first time writing a blog, so bear with us and hopefully we will be able to keep everyone informed of adventures along the way.