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After the extra long train journey from Mount McKinley down to Whittier, we’re more than relieved to see the giant cruise ship waiting for us in the bleak weather. Although we’re both exhausted I’m buoyed by the excitement of being on my first cruise ship… and the bars are still open. Thanks to Diana and Gordon’s generosity, we have the Princess Plus package which means we can enjoy up to 15 alcoholic beers per day. Say no more, where is the nearest bar? As Alex and I sit by the window sipping our tasty concoctions we notice we’ve set sail and we toast to our maiden voyage together. We sample a couple of items from the bar menu and consider heading to bed.. but then Emma appears! Maybe there is time for another round. Feeling adventurous we explore the ship, cocktails in hand, curious to see the ‘Sky Walkers’ nightclub. Will it be full of teenagers raving away at midnight? No. There are a handful of other exhausted passengers sitting in what could be described as a “gentle” atmosphere for a club. We make our way back to our cabin, unsure if our swaying is because of the ocean or the booze we’ve quickly guzzled.

From here I’ll list out some of the highlights and observations from our wonderful cruise experience:

• Testing out the health care options (thanks to Diana) on morning one after realising the sickness was actually not just the hangover
• Deal or No Deal game show on the stage. We were desperate for one of us (Emma was nominated to represent) to get up on stage to try and win a big prize but sadly we were not chosen. Still we got to play along with the chance to win $1000 or even a free cruise!!! We won one free entry to bingo instead
• Taking part in many quizzes we were never very good at but a great way to pass the time and enjoy a cocktail or two
• Getting back to our cabin and sitting out on the balcony looking up at the stars. We may not have seen the Northern Lights but this was still an incredible sight
• The ginormous buffet with a myriad of gourmet options, so, so much food to be tried!
• Exploring the ship and getting lost on many occasions. “Head port-side in the Aft direction”, sure mate
• Going for a 5km run in Juneau. Alex scouted out a great route and it was nice to get off the boat to stretch our legs
• As well as the Horizon buffet were five or so “themed” restaurants we could go to in an evening. We tried each one at least once and enjoyed food such as sirloin steak and lobster tail, Alaskan salmon, beef wellington and so much more. Honestly the food was quite incredible which makes me very happy
• Ordering cocktails to be delivered to our room, (or wherever we were in the ship) dangerous but so good!
• An incredible train excursion with Diana and Gordon in Skagway along the old railway line used during the Gold Rush. There are stunning views all around as we climb up and up into the bleak forgotten lands of past hopes and dreams of striking it rich. We briefly pass back into Canada at this point but as we do not get off the train, we do not need to bring our passports!
• A “scenic cruise” day passing by and parking up next to giant glaciers. Also looking out for eagles, bears, seals, sea-lions, whales, dolphins and other ocean dwellers, we mostly saw seagulls but the chance was there!
• Cashing in our ‘cruise credits’ for a wonderful and relaxing massage in the spa area
• Emma showing us how to play Blackjack in the casino (we just watched the gambling happen after feeling like we had peaked in Vegas)
• Using the gym in some vain attempt to stay in shape while eating 16 courses a day
• Watching for wildlife off the back of the boat. There were rumours of whales swimming in the wake of the boat but we must have missed them
• Realising one of the bars sold an 11% Belgian beer… because I had not had enough booze by this point
• Entertaining the kids for the day while Ben and Emma went out for an adventure, it mostly involved dropping them off and picking them up from kids club, but we did our duties!
• Seeing the gorgeous Alaskan husky puppies being paraded around, sadly we weren’t allowed to hold them but my God they were adorable
• Using the spa area in the sunshine
• Watching Man Utd in the casino bar
• The fantastic lumberjack show, YOHO!
• Playing a bowling-like arcade game definitely intended for teenagers. Alex only won because in my eagerness I did not press the “start” button on my final go when I scored the required 50 points…
• Watching the evening stage shows, the musicals were not my usual thing but it was nice to see everyone enjoy them so much. I did enjoy the magician though, he was great
• One show of dances around the world really showed how difficult Irish dancing is (especially with a boat that rolling all over the place)
• Spotting the clumps of sea-otters playing around in and on the ice-bergs. One was even sun-bathing on a perfectly sized slan
• Observing a man expertly craft a grizzly bear sculpture from ice in under 30 minutes
• Taking a wonderful out-and-back through some woodland with Ben
• Speaking with a lady who had been on an excursion where you can catch salmon and even send it home to eat! I think she said her teenage boys caught something like 15 fish so they’ll be sick of salmon quite soon
• A lovely meal on the last night, after a couple of aperitifs in Diana and Gordon’s cabin
• The sunset on the last night as dolphins swim in the wake of the boat and we sip cocktails in the warmth of a Jacuzzi, it was really tough on this cruise I tell ya

Some photos from the boat trip:

Epilogue

As we depart the boat, just before we say goodbye to Gordon, Diana, Ben, Emma, Matti and Eddy, there’s time for a final group photo in front of the Vancouver sign with our vessel sitting nicely in the backdrop.

Alex and I are back to just the two of us to see out the last few hours of our epic journey. We have quite a few hours to kill until the “street art” walking tour begins. We decide to head back to the lovely Stanley Park and kill a few hours lazing around in the sun and watching the world go by. Both of us are beginning to feel the reality of coming home really start to set in, causing a heady mix of emotions.

Eventually we head back into the heart of town to join the walking tour and also meet up with Ben and Jen, BenEmma’s friends that we did the road trip to Seattle with a couple of weeks ago. The walking tour covers a bunch of murals dotted across Vancouver. One of which we were right next to the other day when we hired bikes here and didn’t even notice it. There are some incredible stories behind these stunning murals (we will add a link to them soon).

After the tour ends, we head for some dinner at a nearby Turkish restaurant and have a good chat over some yummy Mediterranean food. Alex and I abstain from alcohol after consuming a months worth on the cruise ship! Alex and I go back to the hotel where we got off the cruise ship to collect our bags and head over to Ben and Jen’s apartment. We settle down for the final night of the trip, barely able to believe it has come to an end and uncertain what the future might bring when we are back home.

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Adventure – My first cruise, and what a cruise it was, I can safely say I am converted! The stunning sunset on the final night, it felt like a fitting end to a wonderful journey.

Excitement – The thrills of the lumberjack show. Finding the cake bar and the many desert options. Waking up to clear blue skies after the mist had shifted on the third day.

Trauma – Sea sickness (it soon settled after the rough waters of the first day). Apprehension of returning home.

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The Highlights from the Whole Land and Sea Cruise

Alex – getting to enjoy some proper time with the boys, who are so wonderful and polite and adorable, thanks to the amazing team that is my bro and Emma. Can’t lie, getting a snippet of life like the wealthy of just having whatever you wanted brought to you whenever you wanted and not worrying about the cost, especially after a year of backpacking, it was a bigger treat that usual, thanks so much mum and Gordon! The Seaplane and seeing Vancouver from an amazing perspective.

Ben – Beautiful forest walks through Jurassic Park, Rafting fun, Sunny glacier views and seeing a chunk fall off!

Eddie – hot tub, pool, (big) boat

Emma – Kayaking and river rafting (both fun in different ways). Enjoying the boys having fun with you all and seeing the world through their eyes. Learning about a part of the world I have no knowledge or experience of and would never have had the opportunity to visit without your kindness, Diana and Gordon.

Gordon – I) the small river taxis around Vancouver, ii) closeness to wildlife in Alaska, iii) the seaplanes, and not forgetting Eddie’s blue ice cream experience in Denali! 😁

James – Spotting wildlife in Denali Park (while hoping for a glimpse of Mt McKinley), living the high life on the luxurious boat, spending time with everyone whether on a thrill seeking rapid ride or relaxing train journey.

Matti – Kayaking, magic show, the whole boat

Diana – (ignoring the request for just three, I bring you 15!) – 1) The walk along the forest in Denali. 2) Cruising along glacier bay towards the big glacier and the family gathering on the shared balcony enjoying the view of the glacier so near to us. 3) Seeing [everyone] happy and enjoying the last night on board with the amazing sunset, jacuzzi and dolphins swimming alongside. 4) Seeing [everyone] enjoying the food on board. 5) Movies under the stars: seeing the end of Top Gun with popcorn. 6) Seeing the boys so happy in the ship’s pool. 7) Walking endlessly along the Promenade on Deck 7 and watching the sea going by. 8) Vancouver Island – all of our day in it ending with a drink at the Fairmont. 9) Seaplane!!! 10) The shows on board with a myriad of exotic drinks. 11) Playing cards in our cabin and being introduced to “blind donkey”! 12) Cycling around Stanley Park.13) The day to Mendenhall Glacier and falls. 14) The train views along the train ride up to White Pass and the Yukon. 15) Dancing in the Piazza with Emma on the last day!!!!….just CELEBRATING LIFE!

Up next is our land cruise before joining the cruise ship in Whittier. We start this part making our way to Anchorage in Alaska from Seattle. Having all survived the night in our (hopefully) last, respective crappy motels (and hotel for one couple 😉), we say farewell to the “Lower 48” and make it up to the 49th state of Alaska. The views in from the plane are nothing short of spectacular, and James and I enjoy sharing the ride with my nephew Matti, as I teach him how to play Animal Crossing (thanks Hector!), and James shows him photos and videos from our adventures under the sea. He’s such a lovely kid.

It’s funny to now be in Hawaii’s sister joining state and hearing their admittance story from the other side. Oddly enough they seem to have a bit in common, despite their vast geographical differences. They both are an important military location, and they’re both so far away from anywhere that everything is incredibly expensive! Their way of life seems so vastly distinct from anything else in the lower 48, that it is understandable this state is hugely Republican, a state of independent people surviving in tough terrains, many living a subsistence lifestyle, needing and wanting nothing from the State but to be left alone.

Our travelling style is now vastly different from the last 11 months, everything is organised for us. Bliss! We’re almost a bit lost not having to be constantly researching our next steps and location. Happily so though, as the cruise company Princess arrange a bus to pick us up and ferry us to our hotel. So easy! But first, we need to get a safety briefing for how to survive our 13 minute bus ride. The kid delivering the long list of instructions and warnings, like a warnings label at the end of a pharmaceutical advert, finally gets going and tells us all about Anchorage and life up here. He’s also not from here, but he’s incredibly knowledgeable, as we learn all about “float planes” (what we’ve been calling sea-planes up to this point). That you can get a pilot’s licence at 14 (before a driving licence), wheel covers are used to stop dogs peeing on their wheels, which will attract bears at their destinations, jeeps cut in half to create the platforms that roll them into the water, and how Anchorage has boomed since the war on Ukraine, becoming the largest distribution centre in the world. With distribution companies (from certain companies) no longer able to refuel in Russia, they are having to come over here. This means that they have to carry more fuel and less cargo, making the journey more expensive.

Our little intro to Anchorage complete, we’re now welcomed to our hotel for the night by another staff member. They’ve done all the thinking for us! A welcome change of pace of us having to figure out the logistics ourselves. James and I are told that we have the “Junior Suite”. If our travelling has taught us anything, it’s that the names of rooms almost indirectly relates to what you get. Like an estate agent, the grander the adjectives, the worse it is. We shrug and move on from the surly hotel manager, eager to get some grub in all our bellies.

Lunch today is atop a huge brewery our bus-driver recommended, and our server is even more friendly than him. Jovan, originally from Jamaica, is the perfect host. I don’t think I’ve seen a server love his job more than anyone else, as he chats away with us and gives us the perfect amount of attention, he even entertains the kids some, telling us he has one on the way next year himself.

Having enjoyed our Alaskan salmon, yak burgers, fish and chips, and the rest, we head back to check into our rooms. James and I are a good few floors away from the family, and open our door to an actual suite! Not a proverbial one. We have our own living room! What a shift in accommodation from our stinky motel room!

We all sort out various bits and bobs for the rest of the day, whilst James and I make the most of the hotel facilities, namely the men’s and women’s “Athletic Centres”, respectively. The decor in this grand hotel harks back to a bygone age (it is named Hotel Captain Cook after all), and so we envisage smoking rooms for the men, and beauty rooms for the women. Thankfully, the only difference seems to be that James gets a huge gym playground with even a squat rack. My gym is far smaller and full of the cardio machines women often favour over building strength, but there’s enough for me to work out with. I don’t think I could even lift an empty barbell these days so it’s probably for the best!

Coach Trip

We’re up early once more before being herded onto our next coach with the rest of the silver surfers. Expecting to catch up on sleep for the next few hours as we’re carted to our next destination, we all hunker down for a snooze. “GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY….” booms the loud speaker. We get our already familiar safety briefing, and are off as our driver seems to once more be a tour guide! The next few hours are spent hearing all about everything around us and his life. We start off learning about a plant called fire weed, that was believed to signal the first snow fall in nine weeks with its flowers… it is flowering already! Moose eyes don’t reflect, making them even harder to spot in the dark. He jokes about the characters who choose to live up in this odd part of the world, cut off from everywhere and largely unpopulated. “The odds are good but the goods are odd” he jokes when referring to a bachelor auction each spring after being in the dark and isolation for the winter months before, and the tiny town of Talkeetna that we drive through has a mayor, it is a cat. On the way, we are even lucky enough to speed by a moose just munching away on the foliage roadside. Too quick to photo, we’re nevertheless excited to finally get to see these odd-shaped creatures!

Our next accommodation is a spectacular wooden cabin surrounded by woodland. We’re told that we can’t access one part of the trails around the complex because there is a baby moose up there and it wouldn’t be safe! More moose!!! Considering our initial reaction is to go and see said baby moose, they’re definitely right to close off the area for the safety of probably everyone involved.

We have lunch and kill time and energy in the nearby playground despite the rain. Teaching the kids wrestling (largely in an attempt to find a way to stop them breaking one another by introducing them to the tap-out rule, to rather marked success I might add), and testing James’s strength. This is the definition of rough-housing.

Next up we’re going to check out a talk by someone who lives up in Denali’s base camp during the climbing season, being in charge of the many planes that bring climbers in and out of base camp. It’s a desolate landscape and challenging life but she clearly loves it. We learn about what it takes to climb this elusively seen peak, that until now we had never heard of. It is the highest mountain peak in North America, it is also colder than Everest. However, you don’t need oxygen to climb Denali like you do for Everest, but you also have to carry your own gear, no sherpas in these parts! She tells us of the grueling 21 day journey, where you climb up to point B with half your stuff, go back down to A, and do it all again with the rest of your stuff, effectively climbing it twice in one go. Those that come back, desperate for bed and a pint, may find themselves stuck at base camp for n days as the weather can turn on a dime. The planes can’t land on soft snow, so part of everyone’s job (including potentially stuck climbers waiting to get off) is to walk the landing strip to compact the snow down so that the planes can land again. Toilet-wise, this area well protected and managed by the rangers, is a personal bucket that you carry with you. There’s only one dumping spot allowed on the mountain, a crevass in the glacier! One more reason to protect the glaciers from melting!

A fascinating talk into a life so completely different from our own. After, we enjoy a lovely dinner with another spectacular server, once more gifted some cards and colouring in. The clouds are somewhat parting as we check out the campfires, enjoy some smores, and head back over to the main lodge to check out the surrounding mountains.

Northern Nights

We finish the day with a film featuring the Northern Lights. It was put together by a guy who spent his life finding the best ways to capture this natural spectacular. At first, frames were your standard, more square-like ratio, which kept cutting off the sides of the amazing landscapes around him, so he created a setup of three cameras on a platform that would capture the image instantly, and he would stick them together to make the landscape aperture by hand. We take this ratio for granted now with our phones able to do it with a quick click of a button! The guy spent 30 years capturing the perfect footage, and the short film we are shown is the collection of his best works. It starts with an incredible static shot that ever-so-gradually changes, so subtly you think you just didn’t spot that one yellow plant in the corner, but soon enough you realise that this isn’t a photo, but a video of the changing seasons. Unlike other timelapse photos where a plant flaps about in front in the wind, giving away the passing time and natural growth getting in the way of the shot, literally nothing moves in the photo. It’s unlike any timelapse I’ve seen. The rest features spectacular footage of the Northern Lights, and also the World Ice Sculpture Championship.

Some info on the Northern Lights… they’re created by solar flares from the Sun, that burst out and start moving towards the Earth. Thanks to our amazing developments in astronomy, this means we’re now quite able to predict when the northern lights will occur by tracking when solar flares start making their way to Earth. The colour of the lights depends on the strength of the flare (for reasons I couldn’t follow). The energy from the flare comes towards Earth and is drawn to the top and bottom of the poles due to the magnetic fields, causing halo effects around these poles. It’s this energy that activates the ions in the air and causing the light that we see. It is only by seeing them from the side that you see the more-typical curtain effect. Of course I couldn’t film the film, and we don’t see any on our travels, so it’ll be one that remains on the bucket-list for now.

Lessons Learned

The next day the rest of the family have some activities booked, but James and I are just having a quiet day enjoying doing nothing, a rare event when backpacking around, always planning for the next days. We start off with a quick run around the grounds with Ben, passing by ‘The Treehouse’ that was previously closed due to a moose calf. It’s another beautiful wooden lodge in the forest hills above.

After our quick jaunt in the rain, we enjoy a big buffet breakfast to set everyone up for the day, and then James and I check out a couple more talks on bears and mooses. The ranger providing the talks is so enthusiastic and clearly loves his job. We learn loads about these two fascinating animals that live in this region.

Bears – Polar beers are considered marine mammals. If it’s black, fight back. If it’s brown, lie down. They can run faster than humans, 30-40mph. If you come across a bear, you want to not panic, as this will make you look like prey. Don’t scream or flap your arms. Talk to it normally, and put your arms in the air to make yourself look big. You used to be able to protect your food by hanging it between two trees but bears can climb, and they learned to cut the ropes. This is why there are so many bear boxes now! We learn how to tell the difference between a black and a grizzly. That black bears are often not black. The biggest grizzly/brown bears are found in Alaska, on Kodiak Island, so they are called Kodiak bears. The size of the brown bear depends on how much it hibernates, so the ones in the coldest areas that hibernate longer, will eat less and be smaller. The kodiak bears don’t hibernate, so just eat all your round and are the biggest. Female bears can give birth whilst in hibernation! Bears mostly eat berries, but during salmon season, brown bears will sit in the water and wait for one to swim into its belly and grab it. The black bears will be further downstream to get any remnants or leftovers as these two don’t really get on, they tolerate one another, but they don’t mix. Even amongst themselves, they’re pretty solitary creatures. The biggest predator to baby bears is male bears, as the female bears will not be able to get pregnant whilst they still have their cubs around, so the male bear will kill them so the female will go back into heat and he can impregnate her. Nice. Most incidences with black bear attacks are because someone has startled one that was near its house, usually checking out their bins. The black bear will likely be inquisitive at first, give you a tap to see your reaction and ascertain if you are prey, and decide whether to attack or not. If you get tapped, you punch it in the nose to show it you are not prey. If you get charged at by a brown bear however, you should lie down, either in a ball or face down to protect your vital organs. It will probably try and roll you over and give you a few damaging swipes, but hopefully won’t kill you. I don’t fancy my odds with that one! Bear spray is basically mace, and will likely do you more damage than the bear, so unless you want to fight a bear blind, best not to use it.

Moose – Moose are the state mammal. The largest moose in the world is from up here, the Alaskan Yukon Moose. Normal moose get to 6ft tall, the moose up here are 7 ft tall at the shoulders, with antlers they can get to 9 or 10ft tall. The older the moose the blacker it gets. Scientists don’t know what the lump dangling from its neck is for. It’s just a hairy flop of fat. One idea is that it’s a decoy or added protection if attacked from below, either way, there is no actual name for it. Moose have one coat of fur, to protect them from freezing water, but also the immense heat in summer. Because of this, they like hiding in still water to cool off, but to also get rid of mosquitos. Autumn lasts only 2 weeks up here. The moose eat bark and twigs during winter. Their antlers can get up to 70lbs, and 7 feet across. They shed and regrow them every year! They grow to their biggest at 10-12 years old, they live to about 16. They grow half an inch every day, only growing them for 4 months! How they can grow these huge antlers in 4 months is very impressive! The antlers are covered in something called velvet, which they need to rub off to allow the antlers to grow, except this is like pulling off a layer of skin as the keratin below has a blood supply, and so they rub them off on willow bushes (which is where aspirin comes from!), revealing bloody, red antlers underneath. If you see a photo of a moose with bleeding antlers, it is from this process, not because they’ve just slaughtered a tourist. The mating ‘dance’ for moose is that they all get together, the males practice fight, pee into the mud and spray themselves with their new muddy-wee combo, they proper fight, the females then roll themselves in the muddy-wee combo of the winner. Lovely. The winner gets all the females. Baby moose are so imbalanced it takes them longer to start walking than horses (still only two days). At day five they can outrun humans. Within four months they are 10 times their birthmass. The calf stays with the mum until just before the mum has another calf, they can only look after one round of calves at a time. Although they often have twins and sometimes triplets. Once the mum is ready for her next round of impregnation, she will kick the calf away until it gets the message to piss off. Serious rejection! If a moose attacks, you RUN, you want to get something in between the moose and you, like a tree, not your partner. More people are killed by moose than bears, probably because people think moose aren’t dangerous, but it’s easy to tell if a bear is about to attack, where moose will just flip a switch and go for you with no warning. Despite their mopey appearance, they are serious business. Don’t “risk it for a biscuit”, as our ranger says. It is only the male moose that have antlers (with caribou, males and females do).

That evening we enjoy another yummy dinner, and play cards with Ben and Emma in the main lodge. Mid-game, everyone in the lodge is suddenly up at the windows looking out. One other thing we’ve learnt from travelling is that the best way to spot something is following the tourists’ gaze. And we are rewarded once more. There is a baby moose outside!

The ranger in the building tells us that the mother moose was around before, but she’s not been seen for a while. In all likelihood, she has been the victim of a traffic accident. Which means that in all likelihood for the calf, they will be the victim of a predator attack without the protection of its mother. The circle of life at its finest. Soon enough, a staff member comes whizzing by in a golf cart to scare the poor calf away. The ranger explains that they don’t want it getting familiar and comfortable around humans, it needs to maintain its fear. Sadly, I suspect this is the safest place for it right now, without its mother to protect it, but we inflict enough on nature without breaking the food chain for the other animals in the region on top.

Denali National Park

Next up on the coach trip is moving on up to Denali National Park. Compared to our remote lodge in the woods, this area is a buzzing metropolis. Princess have their own village of stores, eateries, bars and cafes to choose from, on this location just by the river. We arrive and are directed to our different buildings once more, and lumber our way in the (now all too familiar) rain to our room. Loe and behold, we have another suite!

We can’t figure out our luck on this trip, but we’ll take it. No time to relax though, as Ben, Emma, James and I are booked to go rafting!

If one thing has been consistent on this trip, it’s the kind of people who work at commercial rafting companies. They are too cool for school and forever young, as they instruct us on the order of play for the day, and also how to get ourselves dressed into our first ever dry suits. The dry suits are giant baby grows, with tight wrist and neck holes, and all-in-one rubber booties. To protect these rubber feet from getting a hole in them, we’re all given old, decrepit shoes. Whilst everyone else gets battered running shoes, I am given some Converse! The suits are a one-size-fits-all kind of job, which means we all look FABULOUS.

It’s a quick ride to our setting off point, but not before our newly qualified teacher (woop woop) Emma is voluntold to tick off the items from the safety briefing. Unlike in Costa Rica, this one doesn’t make us think we’re going to die. But we are told that if we fall in, we should swim! I guess it’s a lot colder up here to just calmly float down the freezing river. We are grouped up with another adult-family group consisting of two sisters, one of their husbands, and their dad Joel, who must be in his eighties. Our guide is called Mike, and he’s the eldest raft guide of the group, by a solid margin. He is ever the professional, which puts our other group a bit more at ease, as one of them is conquering a fear having never rafted before. Joel, the dad, sits behind me, as Ben volunteers himself up front in the splash zone, with James jumping to the call to be at his side. Emma and I sit in the middle behind the boys. It is a rip-roaring ride, with Emma goading Mike to take us into bigger rapids, as the daughter behinds holds her nerve, and Joel whoops with excitement.

The river itself is a murky grey, the colour of many a post-sink-clothes-wash, and it is coooooold. It doesn’t take long before we get our first splash soaking those of us up front and making sure we’re well and truly awake. Ben definitely takes the brunt of the splashes, but the family behind us don’t manage to get away with it for much longer. Due to all the rain, the river is high and fast, but we still get a really long ride. Ripples that look like nothing give us huge face-fulls of water, and we roll right over many an intimidating looking wave. Mike really knows his stuff in directing us down this ever changing commute.

At one point, Joel asks for some bigger waves, to which Emma laughingly asks over the roaring water, “are you trying to kill us Joel?!”, his response… “well I think I’ve lived long enough! 😉”. Joel is loving life. The way he whoops and cheers with unbound glee as though he were 8, not 80 is surely inspiring, he really is young at heart, teaching me once more to not judge an older person by their age. He had more energy and excitement than all of us, including Emma!

We make it to the end where Mike teases, if anyone did want a swim, now is the time. I think he’s joking, but Ben and Emma go for it! They lower themselves into the freezing water and float alongside us. James gets a huge bout of FOMO and jumps in after, giving himself some serious cold water shock instead. Everyone is hauled back onto the boat as we park up the rafts and head back to warmth. Despite us all insisting our booties must have holes in them as our toes are damp and freezing… all our feet are bone dry. Mike explains, “our bodies can’t tell the difference between cold and wet”, another lesson learned!

Natural History Tour

Our next day is spent getting to know the National Park we are now staying in. We finally get some clarity around the naming of this here land, and also around the infamous (except to us) elusiveness of being able to see the namesake of the park.

Prior to being a National Park and Preserve, this land and mountain was called Denali by the native people on this land. Prospectors came in the gold rush age, and one who did manage to strike it rich, wanted to ensure the now familiar ‘gold-standard’ was brought in to secure his wealth, instead of the alternatively prospective ‘silver-standard’. In order to influence the decision, this prospector offered to name the mountain after presidential candidate McKinley. And so it was done. Until the age of reckoning, where the white folk started realising the harms they had done to the native Americans, and starting un-naming places, renaming McKinley Park back to Denali Park. The mountain, however, kept its President’s name for a while longer, until Obama finally signed off on the mountain also being given back its original name in 2015. A small but meaningful move.

Our driver and guide today is a wonderfully calm and informative voice in our bus. We’re informed to yell “Stop!” if we see anything, and indeed this is yelled a few times. Largely for some birds, but also for some Caribou (as expertly spotted by Ben!). Fun fact, Caribou are reindeer.

We make a brief stop for a little bimble in the woods as we are taught about spotting moose action that has stripped some willow bushes bare. But also, a snapped portion, that gives away not just the presence of a hare, but also the snow-line where the hare would have been a good foot or so in the air by comparison. It’s incredible to imagine this vast land covered in feet of snow and how anything can survive out here during those long months. We are also given an introduction to a log cabin (rebuilt for educational purposes) showing how life used to be like. The windows are lined with nails sticking out to stop bears coming in.

On our way back round, a spruce grouse comes to show off its tail-feathers.

The views of the area are really beautiful and expansive, as we move up through elevation out of the tree-line and into the vast flat-lands above, reminding us of images we’ve seen of Scottish Highlands.

Next stop is to listen to a brief talk from a native Athabaskan who lives in this area, Greg, continuing on the traditions of his ancestors, but also sharing a small part of their lives with us tourists for awareness.

He is a true character keeping everyone engaged and seemingly enjoying himself to boot. He tells the brief history of his people, one that now has become all too familiar. Of a culture that didn’t write, but shared their knowledge through stories and the verbal word. This meant that when the white folks came enforcing Christianity on them, banning their original way of life for 80 years, much of their knowledge and history was lost, as a generation of people were unable to pass down their traditions to the next as had been done for so many years before. This man before us, and many others, are doing their best to piece together their culture and document it for future generations, not only to be able to pass down the almost lost knowledge, but to bring awareness to their existence. Surviving in this area without modern amenities is a hard-fought life, but they have done it for centuries, and thanks to the Athabaskan people like our man here today, and the protections they are (sometimes) afforded, will hopefully continue to do so for many centuries more. He tells us how they survive the years by the seasons, foraging certain fruits, nuts and berries, hunting animals, and processing and storing them all for winter. It sounds a full and hard life!

A Trip to the Dogs

We make the most of being in the National Park by heading to the dog kennels after the tour. There’s at least 15 dogs with their kennels, raring to go for a run and display. We get to see them pull a sled around the yard, and get some info on why these gorgeous dogs are important to the parks service.

We learn that only hand tools for construction, and sled dogs for transport amd used to maintain the quiet of the back country – part of the 60 year Wilderness Act. No chainsaws and industrial machinery for construction.

We’re taught about the importance of travelling by sled dog was to the indigenous people here as travelling by sled dog, generations were able to talk and pass on information, such as noticing what is around them and being able to say “this is where this happens, and this plant does this”. This was lost when people used skidoos, you can’t talk to one another on a skidoo.

There is research in the world to not just protect the night skies, but also the natural soundscapes. Sled dogs help us protect the quiet.

The dog at the back directs the sled as it turns out. During winter, the dogs lay track to the different cabins. They also help carry materials to construction areas.

James, mum and I decide to eke out as much of being in the park as possible, by walking back to the visitor centre instead of returning to the bus. As luck would have it, the rain finally clears and we are blessed with even more stunning views.

We finish the day with a lovely dinner all together at King Salmon, celebrating the many reasons we have to cheers over a bottle of bubbley.

9 Hours…10 Hours… 13 Hours Galore

It’s time to head to the ship! Unfortunately, our journey has taken us inland, away from the coast, which means it’s a long way back to shore! We’re scheduled for a nine hour train ride back through the National Park to the dock in Whittier, where our ship awaits. Our ship of endless free food, drink, and no more packing, we can’t wait!

Someone clearly told the engine pulling us along, because it decides to break down, and extend our wait by a further four hours. We really feel for the staff who have been up and about hours before us, and have to get another hour-long bus back to Anchorage after dropping us off, before they finally get to clock off. Some of them are starting again at 4am! The staff do a fantastic job of keeping spirits up, and the kids are so well behaved (having a ratio of 6 adults to 2 kids definitely helped though!). What follows are the photos of this lengthy train ride.

We make it to the final tunnel, and are told that the tunnel is so small that cars and trains have to alternate through, with one being allowed through on the hour, and the other being allowed through on the half hour. They do us a favour and get us through without further delay. The crew hope they can make it back through on the next slot, otherwise they have an even longer wait before getting home! We hope they did!

Our minds however are more on the blustering and rainy gale outside as we try queue our way to the giant ship, that is now, at long last, in front of us. We make it on, dump our stuff, and head straight to the bar. We’ve made it!!!!

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Adventure – journeying through the wilderness by train

Excitement – finally making it onto the ship and learning about the 15 drink ‘target’ (I mean limit). Seeing moose!

Trauma – despite the long ride, it actually wasn’t that traumatic, but was the worst part of the day.

This is a summary of our road trip stints in the Lower 48, covering LA -> San Fran + Blaine -> Seattle, excluding the cruise which has its own post and summary. The lower 48 was a while ago now, but I loved it, at least parts of it. Waking up in the woods in the thick of nature, my soul felt full. It no doubt helped that I slept the best I have in a long time. Down with the sun, up with the sun, pure silence in between (until the ravens woke up of course). Living out of the back of the jeep stripped back our travels to another level in a beautiful way.

I had high expectations for the USA, at first it lacked hugely. In response to my dismay, brother Ben was spot on, “give it time”. The vast, expansive, varied, and naturally beautiful land is hard to not fall in love with. The individualistic culture, the homelessness, the lack of support for the most vulnerable, the terrible food, the fake American dream, is all hard to ignore. It’s helped me understand the country a bit more. A nation of people being setup to fail. Seeing people struggling with physical and mental health, victims to a system prioritising financial gain, inflicting the causes of these struggles onto them, and then washing its hands of the fallout. In the name of money, of ‘freedom’. The ‘freedom’ line seemed mostly to be used to defend being selfish at the expense of others. The freedom for companies to make money at the expense of society. It’s a country built on people who wanted the freedom to live how they wanted, and so it should be no surprise this continues on as the core of its culture, but it still does when you see it up close. More than anything, it showed me how different we are (or were) in the UK from the USA, and how sad it is that we are seemingly diverging from our more similar European neighbours following this broken giant… in pursuit of what? This isn’t a dream I want to fall for anymore, and I hope I can continue to fight its trappings when home.

Thankfully, out in the parks, you can get away from all of that. So, I don’t know where I stand on it, other than I would happily spend longer road-tripping the parks and the gorgeous scenery, living a whole different kind of American dream.

Rule of Three

Highlights (Alex): Being in Yosemite Valley. That thrill of the casino win. The amazing scenery out on the road, so different and breath-taking, all from the ease of our own vehicle, I would go back in a heartbeat.

Highlights (James): The incredible nature of the national parks, all of them were amazing but Bryce Canyon really stood out for me. Getting caught up in the craziness of Vegas. Hiking in Yosemite.

Lowlights (Alex): Stan, the RV Park attendant, who I had to bite my tongue with as he talked to us in a way that we should be grateful he was overcharging us and then being berated for not wanting to pay an extra surprise $10 to be able to use the toilet. The journey out of LA. Trying to get a car rental in Vegas.

Lowlights (James): The bugs and beasties relentlessly hounding us at the campsites. Trying to sleep in a tent when it’s 40 degrees plus. Car hire debacle.

Takeaways (Alex): The people out here are trying really, really hard to be healthier, to be better, to earn more, to be more comfortable, but they live in a system designed to profit, and it’s those same people that pay the price in more ways than one, I’d be angry and frustrated too. Don’t let the principle to be ‘free’ blind you to the needs and freedom of others, there needs to be some empathy and open ears alongside the debates of what we can be ‘free’ to do in a society, our ‘freedom’ should be a compromise with the community, not an individualistic right to do what we want. This country is great, it is beautiful, but the American Dream isn’t real, it was once upon a time, but not anymore, you’ve more chance in Latam of social mobility than in the USA or UK. (Bonus 4th: I think I might want to live in the woods, away from it all)

Takeaways (James): America is a country (system) designed for the middle class and above. If you find yourself below the poverty line you’re going to have a bad time as there is little to no support. Public transport is an obvious example, infrequent and scary at best, non-existent at worst. Basically you NEED a car to exist here. On another note, everyone knows the food is bad here but my god… Everything is either covered in sugar, cheese, salt, sauce or all of the above. Very little of the food is natural, let alone organic. As advertised in a San Fran supermarket “why not cover this gala apple in peanut butter?”. Says it all. Final point, how do you govern a country this large? We spent over four weeks here, saw a handful of states but we’ve barely scratched the surface. Considering how you could begin to address the needs of so many different people with various beliefs, backgrounds and ambitions is mind boggling.

Description (Alex): A country of two halves (in more ways than one) – beautiful and ugly, natural and sterile, selfless and selfish, rich and poor, real and fake…, absolutely massive, challenging

Description (James): Unbelievably huge, incredible geography for miles and miles and miles. Vast areas completely untouched by civilization. The towns and cities are hard to love, fast food joints and Starbucks on every corner and a lot of issues with poverty.

Entertainment

TV: The Simpsons, The Boys (that only James is allowed to watch), The Great British Bake Off Baking Show

Books: The Wastelands (Dark Tower Series)

Podcasts: [the usual], Off-Menu

Where We Stayed

Katie and Pete’s: 5 ⭐️ like home, beautiful, cosy, dogs!, great company

Plaza (Las Vegas): 3.5 ⭐️ meh, good location but otherwise a bit tired and general annoyance with Vegas approach to lack of kettles or fridges

Ramada by Wyndham (Cedar City): 4 ⭐️ surprisingly good breakfast, fine room.

Comfort Inn Hotel & Suites (Page): 4 ⭐️ Good indoor pool and jacuzzi, breakfast lacking compared to Ramada

Gouldings Lodge (Monument Valley): 5 ⭐️ spectacular views.

Ramada by Wyndham (Flagstaff): 3 ⭐️

Luxor (Las Vegas): 4 ⭐️ brilliant hotel, but again with no fridge or kettle.

Lodgepole Campground 1 (SEKI): 4 ⭐️

Lodgepole Campground 2 (SEKI): 4.5 ⭐️ lovely spot, creek for paddling, good facilities and location for hikes

Stony Creek Campground (SEKI): 3 ⭐️ so many flies, big flies, little flies, then mosquitoes. Plus vault toilets. Lovely hosts though.

Codorniz Campground (Eastman Lake): 3 ⭐️ unbearably hot, raccoons instead of bears, free showers, flat pitch-ground with brilliant view over the lake and decent privacy

Upper Pines Campground (Yosemite Valley): 4.5 ⭐️ staying in the valley can’t be beaten. Showers would have been nice.

Hodgdon Campground (Yosemite National Park): 3.5 ⭐️ bit far, tiny pitch at an angle, no flies though!

Crane Flat Campground (Yosemite National Park): 4.5 ⭐️ big pitch, well laid out, more flies

Fallen Leaf Campground (South Lake Tahoe): 5 ⭐️ huge pitch, good facilities including showers, nothing to complain about!

RV Park (San Jose): 1 ⭐️ safer than Walmart I suppose

San Remo Hotel (San Francisco): 4.5 ⭐️ weird but cute hotel retaining its original style

The Bunker Airbnb (Blaine): 5 ⭐️ massive and beautifully put together, could have spent a lot more time here enjoying the place

Auld Holland Inn (Oak Harbor): 4 ⭐️ fun and odd designs, overly strong cleaning smell, bathroom vent sounding like a jet engine, standard brekkie

Waterfront at Potlatch: 5 ⭐️ beautiful views, beautiful room, fun times with everyone, another solid find by Ben

SeaTac Inn (Seattle): 1 ⭐️ rude staff, poor management, smelt bad, overpriced for a crap motel

Cutting Room Floor

• Thunder on a blazing sunny hike
• James getting so excited by the mpg
• Weird idealised perception of the past, the good ol’ days of the wild west. Really…?
• “Happy to be here” parking attendant at Horseshoe Bend
• Being too short to take a good photo for the tall family who took a good photo for us
• Speeding Bears (or rather, Speeding Kills Bears, when you can see the whole sign)
• “Happy trails”
• The swifts living up to their name on clouds rest
• “come on SAKA!!!” from the old geezer standing next to us watching the finals of the Euros
• On our walk to the viewpoint with BenJen, BenEmma et al, leaving a human behind at each crossroads like breadcrumbs after we realised only one of us knew the route

Photos

A Roof with a View

I absolutely loved waking up in nature everyday. Unzipping that noisy vent to see the trees all around, beautiful.

Our Beauty

San Fran

Seattle – Museum of Popular Culture

Seattle – Space Needle

Seattle – Chihuly Gardens of Glass

Excuse my indulgence for one of my favourite artists

Gay dads 🌈 😎

Saying farewell to Diana and Gordon (for now) at the Pinnacle Hotel, Ben, Alex and I head across town in a newly acquired Jeep. It’s a newer model than the one we had for camping with a giant screen in the front, though it does not have an extendable tent on the roof 🤷🏻‍♂️

We make our way over to meet Ben (another one) and Jen, a couple that Ben and Emma met on a skiing holiday many moons ago. We pick them up, along with the kids and we’re on the road heading back towards the USA. Alex and Emma travel with Ben and Jen while it’s the rest of the boys in the big Jeep.

There isn’t much to report along the way, Ben and I have a good catch-up while the boys mostly behave themselves in the backseats. Emma helpfully messages from the car ahead that Ben and I look like a couple of gay dads with our matching sunglasses, cruising along in our Wrangler. I think she’s just jealous of us riding in the cool vehicle!

Having ignored the sign in the car rental shop that read “Don’t cross into the USA” we’re slightly nervous about crossing the border. Anxiety levels increase as we’re told to pull over for further processing. Luckily it’s nothing to do with the car and more to do with the complications of where we’re from and where we have travelled in the last few weeks. With a surprisingly joyful border guard helping us through the process, we relax and are soon across the border back into the US of A.

Our Airbnb for the night is literally just across the border. Emma has a quick joyride in the Jeep, and I have a quick game of table tennis with Matti before being summoned to the kitchen. After a few hours in the car and only a small lunch, a few hangry bears have appeared, so Alex, Jen and I head out to the nearest supermarket.

We return with handfuls of pizzas, snacks and beers while excitedly being told we HAVE to see the ‘bunker’! It’s hard to describe the utter madness that exists underneath this lovely and normal looking house. That is until you descend down into the depths. It’s a labyrinth of corridors, doors – some of which are locked and have strict instructions not to open them; some of them are giant metal blocks like the vaults in a bank, huge areas for passing the time while the bombs drop, and some rather questionable rooms that look like something straight out of The Silence of the Lambs. Strange to think what would convince someone to build a shelter like this. According to a video shared by the owners, they built it all single handedly in fear of a devastating war that never came. It’s super creepy but the boys love it and get lost in the corridors and tunnels like a giant game of hide and seek.

New Frontiers

In the morning, after a few more games of ping pong and a big breakfast, it’s back on the road again. Ben has discovered that the roof can be detached from the Jeep and to the boys delight they can travel with the roof off today. We continue our journey south and stop for lunch at an old frontier town called La Conner.

After lunch we have a bit of a wander around the small town. Ben and Jen buy a washing powder that apparently lasts for a whole year… They somehow find a way to make this two hour trip each year to top up on this magical washing powder, it must be good! A few of the group get ice creams, including huckleberry flavour, and it’s a race against time to eat them before they turn to liquid on this warm afternoon. Alex opted out of buying an ice cream but is delighted to polish off all of the unfinished treats from the others. Buzzing with sugar, we explore an art gallery and then a giant antiques shop selling all sorts, from a Zoltar fortune teller machine to vintage Playboy magazines!

We hop back in the cars and drive across to Fidalgo island. Here we take a short hike to a stunning viewpoint where we can see many islands, some of which are in the US and others belong to Canada. Slightly confusing geographically but it makes for a great view. I teach the boys how to make a cairn from loose rocks with relative success.

Our accomodation this evening is the appropriately named Auld Holland Hotel, featuring a large windmill on the roof and various other Dutch paraphernalia. The rest of the group go for dinner in the nearby Mexican restaurant, but Alex is feeling a little poorly so we stay in the room watching a marathon omnibus of The Office, and eating the leftover pizza from the night before.

Ferry and fog

Our journey today involves crossing the Puget Sound (a fancy name for a bit of water left behind by a glacier) over to the mainland. The geography is pretty wild around here, worth a look on Google Maps, search for Port Townsend to see what I mean. We have not reserved a space on the ferry and with a warning that it could take up to six hours to find a space on one we nervously set off. There isn’t any room on the first ferry we see but luckily they think they can get us onto the next one. We have some time to kill so we explore the nearby beach and hunt for crabs under the rocks, play the shuttlecock game from Vietnam and even bring out Wilson the beach ball for some keepy uppy. Matti throws himself around all over the sandy beach desperate to keep the ball in the air, you have to admire the dedication. It’s soon time to board the ferry and we spend most of the short journey surrounded by fog, eerie!

Port Townsend is another town full of character. Originally built with the intention of being the main port in the North West it had to reinvent itself and is now a bustling tourist attraction. I’m sure the ferry route has massively helped keep this place going. We find a nice spot for lunch overlooking the waterfront while helicopters, boats and planes dart around.

After a good look around the place we divide and conquer. Alex and I will go with BenJen to the supermarket to stock up for a night of spag bol, homemade garlic bread and wine. While BenEmma will entertain the kids and meet us at the hotel. Ben W has found another amazing hotel, this time by the waterfront at Potlatch. We settle in to the spacious rooms and get ready to relax. Only then do we notice the advertised ‘kitchenette’ is infact just a microwave and a coffee machine. It might be difficult to cook a spag bol for 8 people with just a microwave and no crockery. There’s a brief panic before we remember how resourceful we can be in times of desperation. We hunt around the property for anything else we can use, and finding a communal room with an electric hob and one giant pot we know we’ll be able to cook something up! Through a lot of scavenging, innovation, borrowing and begging we somehow end up able to throw together a pretty decent spag bol. Eaten on borrowed plates and with disposable cutlery I’m reminded WAS a good idea to carry around for weeks on end!

Some of the group are brave enough to go for a swim in the chilly water, Alex and I have had quite enough of that and instead watch from the shore. There’s a beautiful sunset and we can spot otters (or seals we’re not sure) pottering about in the water. Afterwards we have a few games of cards and polish off whatever booze we had left.

Sleepless in Seattle

Our destination this morning is the big city of Seattle. We arrive to the deafening sound of fighter jets flying over our heads, the already loud sound of sonic boom amplified by the many tall buildings around us. We say our goodbyes to Ben and Jen who are not only kind enough to drive the Jeep all the way back up to Vancouver, but offer to host us for the final night of our trip in a couple of weeks time.

Alex and I head over to check-in at our dodgy motel in close proximity to the airport. The man behind the counter immediately treats us with suspicion and says our booking was canceled. Great. In fact our initial booking attempt was automatically cancelled and we rebooked instantly. But they’ve perceived it that we’ve cancelled three times… Long story short after a bit of faffing around they say they’ll “sort something out” and we nervously leave our bags behind the counter. While all of this is going on there’s an argument between the receptionist and a guest about the room smelling of smoke, she (missing the point entirely) says it isn’t smoke but just “a lot of weed”. We can’t wait to come back later on for what is bound to be a wonderful night’s sleep 🤔

Leaving that chaos behind us, we rejoin BenEmma and their boys and head into the heart of Seattle and what’s it’s most famous for… The Needle. Though as we noticed upon driving into the City, the once super tall Needle is now dwarfed by the myriad of skyscrapers built in recent years. Once again there are some hangry bears amongst us so Ben and I try our first McDonald’s in America. I must say it’s quite disappointing, over £10 for a very average burger and fries with a drink. Like a lot of things recently, the price has shot up while the quantity and/or standards remain the same. I do however get to try root beer for the first time and quite like it, despite the similarity to the taste of toothpaste. At this point, Alex, Ben and I head to the Museum of Popular Culture and spend a couple of hours perusing the exhibitions of music, Seattle culture, sci-fi and fantasy.

After the museum we regroup with BenEmma and the boys. Alex and Emma are keen to take the elevator up the Needle and check out the view from the top. Having seen a similar view in Tokyo for free, I pass on paying nearly $50 to repeat the experience. Ben and I take the boys to a nearby playground and are quite entertained watching them climb and scramble up the nets and ladders which look far too big for them!

Once the girls are done checking out the views from the Needle, Ben and his family head to their dodgy motel while Alex has one more tourist attraction to cover. The glassworks by the artist Chihluy, over to some pictures to explain why…

Finally after a long day of touristing we take the monorail back across town to our motel. They have found a room for us and after a quick bite to eat at Denny’s diner we see what kind of room awaits us. It’s not as bad as feared, with a 2.3/5 rating on Google we feared the worst. It is very basic and not overly clean considering the $95 per night fee but it’s fine, and the proximity to the airport is the main reason we booked it. We have to get up at 5am and I don’t think either of us sleep particularly well… But now it’s finally time for the luxury part of our trip with Princess cruises land and sea tour!

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Adventure – Creating a spag bol with a few challenges. Road trip with friends and family.

Excitement – Getting to visit Seattle, cool place. Playing on the beach while waiting for the ferry. Fighter jets roaring above us in Seattle.

Trauma – Motel from hell. Alex feeling a bit worse for wear.