Day 10 - Hubbard Glacier, AK

We didn't take many pictures today since it was a sea day mainly at the Hubbard Glacier. We have compiled the best of our videos and pictures in this short video to watch. The glacier is much more majestic and larger than these pictures portray. Enjoy the video.

Day 9 - Skagway, AK

 Day 9 started with docking in Skagway, AK. Though the clouds threatened rain, none actually fell on us the entire day. Skagway sits in a narrow valley completely surrounded by either water or mountains. There isn't much to this town, just a handful of blocks wide. We only had about 6 hours to visit this historic town. Skagway became famous for the gold that was found in the 1800s. Thousands of people, mostly men, flocked to the area in the hopes of striking it rich. 

Our view from our balcony on the ship. The mountain tops were covered with clouds for most of the day. We had a good view of all of the ship's shore excursion buses and vans entering and leaving the port.

Our official excursion was to go horseback riding in the Tongass National Forest. For our safety, we had to wear these absolutely gorgeous helmets. :) We didn't take a lot of pictures or videos because if the phone fell while we were riding the horses then we would not get them back.

Here is Gina on her horse, Bennett. Bennett was one of the smallest horses in the group. He was very well behaved for most of the excursion; however, he did develop the munchies along the way and didn't want to follow commands when he found food.

Here is Jeff on his horse, Beef....I mean Angus. Angus was one of the largest horses in our group. Jeff and Angus got along pretty well. Angus was very agreeable and followed Jeff's commands to not snack the way Bennett did!

Here is a short clip of us riding Angus and Bennett.

When we hit the halfway point in the ride, the horses were allowed to snack at their favorite grazing area. In the distance is the town of Skagway (you can't really see it, but it where the mountain on the left drops down). We were not allowed to get off the horses, so our guides were kind enough to take this picture for us...as you can see Bennett and Angus were both not willing to stop eating to smile. 

This is the Arctic Brotherhood Building. The Brotherhood was established in 1899. We were told that to become a member (and it was men only!) one had to climb to the top of one of the mountains to obtain a code. When they got the code, they could give it to the doorman and were then permitted entry. The front of the building is decorated with more than 8,800 pieces of driftwood.

What more can be said about this picture (notice the sign on the right)?

This is the oldest building still standing in Skagway. This house was built in 1887 and was the home of Captain William Moore. He was the founder of Skagway, Alaska. The house is now the property of the National Park Service.

This is the most famous brothel (or House of Negotiable Affections) in Skagway, though it no longer operates as such. You can take a tour of the upstairs rooms, but Jeff and I chose to have a quick snack at the bar instead. 

We had to be back on board the ship at 3:30pm and left port about 4:00. The clouds were still around but had lifted enough for us to see some beautiful scenery. If you look closely, just underneath the clouds in the center you can see a glacier.

As we were eating dinner in the restaurant we managed to snap this lovely picture. The picture is tinted blue because the ships hull is painted a dark blue and it's reflected by the windows. Tomorrow is an "at sea" day and we'll be sailing to the Hubbard Glacier!