Alaska

Alaska is derived from the Aleut word Aleyska, which translates as "Great Land". After visiting, I felt the name to fit perfectly.
Although Alaska's largest and most recognised city is Anchorage, it's capital is Juneau. Alaska is the largest of the United States of America by area.

Alaska (The Great Land)

This sign is at the Canadian / Alaskan border, at the re-entry point from the Klondike.
Approaching Neets Bay by sea plane, hopefully to see bears fishing for salmon
Claw marks declaring dominance of the area
Brown bear approaching the Neets Bay river salmon hatchery.

This Brown Bear seemed a little apprehensive about entering the river with an audience.
Another surprisingly comfortable seaplane journey back to our ship after a morning's bear watching.
Alaska has an abundance of rainforest, something I would have only associated with warmer climates.

This bear was asleep in his tree as we approached the Conservation Centre in Whittier. Most of the animals here were found orphaned or injured and are part of an intense program to re-introduce them to their natural habitat.
The Bald Eagle. Large numbers of these graceful birds were to be seen fishing, flying or just sitting on trees overlooking Alaska's fish teeming waters.

Adonis arrived at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Centre in 1995. He was found near a remote village in Alaska and had been shot. His left wing required full amputation. Even though it is illegal to harm an Eagle under the Bald Eagle Protection Act, an estimated 2000 - 3000 Eagles are shot every year in the US. Since Adonis cannot fly, he has found a permanent home at the centre in Whittier, Alaska
The famous Yukon River, the starting point of the Klondike Gold Rush. Prospectors, travelling through the White Pass from Skagway, would reach this point where they built rafts and boats that would take them the final 500-plus miles down the Yukon to Dawson City, near the gold fields.
Ketchikan is a town virtually on stilts. The wooden "street" is literally held on stilts out of the river which was teeming with salmon, making their way to their spawning grounds.

Glaciers end their slow march to the ocean. The Glaciers are receding dramatically, lending weight to the theories on Global Warming
Spectacular glaciers still try to reach the ocean.

In the absolute silence, a sudden rumble, like very close thunder, was heard.
A very loud crack, like the snap of a bullwhip, filled the air. The chunk of ice at the top of the photo, just right of centre is actually falling.
Splash!
The birth of an Iceberg. 9/10ths of the berg is actually below the water.

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Alaska

Ketchikan

First stop in Alaska was Ketchikan, Alaska's First City. Boasting a beautiful setting and a mild climate, Ketchikan has rainforests, fjords, glaciers and numerous waterfalls. One of Ketchikan's landmarks is Creek Street, a former red light district which actually sits over Ketchikan Creek, supported by piles or stilts. From Ketchikan we took a surprisingly comfortable sea - plane to Neets Bay. Neets Bay has a salmon hatchery, which also acts as a bear magnet. We were then priveliged to watch as a hungry Black Bear approached and began fishing for his breakfast.

Juneau

Diving Whale, Juneau, Alaska

Situated between the base of Mount Juneau and the Gastineau Channel, Alaska's Capital, Juneau is an ideal place to go Whale watching. North Pacific Humpbacks come to Alaska to feed and the waters around Juneau are rich in Krill, which is the Humpback's favourite food. We were fortunate to see these wonderful creatures go about their business. We also managed to see a pod of Orca, or Killer Whales hunting in a pack. Awesome sights.

Skagway

Yukon Suspension Bridge

From Juneau, we moved on to Skagway, which was one of the major towns during the great Gold Rush. From Skagway we took a trip to the Klondike, which is actually inside Canada, and stopped at the Yukon River where the prospectors built their boats & rafts to take them on to the Gold Fields.

Glacier Bay

Glacier

The marine wilderness of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve includes tidewater glaciers, snow-capped mountain ranges, ocean coastlines, deep fjords, and freshwater rivers and lakes. This diverse land and seascape hosts a mosaic of plant communities and a variety of marine and terrestrial wildlife

College Fjord

Birth of an Iceberg

On entering College Fjord our cruise ship stopped no less than 50 feet from the face of Harvard Glacier for some superb photos. We were fortunate to see the birth of icebergs as they 'calved' from the main body of ice. The entire place was absolutely silent until a loud, bullwhip - like crack was heard, followed by what sounded like terrific thunder. At that point, a huge chunk of ice simply fell away from the main body of the glacier before making an almighty splash in the sea. An iceberg was born!

Anchorage

Moose, Whittier Conservation Centre, Alaska

Anchorage was mainly a stopover before flying back to the UK, but on the way there, we stopped at the Animal Conservation Centre in Whittier. Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through public education. AWCC takes in injured and orphaned animals year-round and provides spacious enclosures and quality animal care. Animals that cannot be released into the wild are given a permanent home at the center.

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