After being at sea for a couple of days, we were all excited for the chance to get off the ship a bit when we arrived at our first official port–Skagway.
Skagway is a really small borough in Alaska with a population of 1012 as of the 2014 census. During the summer months, the number of tourists there rises to over 900,000! We didn’t sign up for any excursions at this port and chose to explore on our feet. It was a short and scenic walk from the dock to the “town” of Skagway and boy, did it feel good to be on land again! 🙂
The town of Skagway took us back to the Wild West, with saloons, horse drawn carriages, and colonial style buildings. Most of the shops sold souvenir items, but we also stumbled upon some fun ones like the popcorn store, ice cream parlor, and a cute restaurant where we indulged in Alaskan king crab and pot pies!
Although there were no exciting adventures at Skagway, we were just as content exploring the small town for the day before we embarked again to our next destination–Juneau.
Juneau is the capital city and borough of Alaska and it was in Juneau where we got to experience our first helicopter ride and glacier adventure!
The helicopter ride was noisy, but fun, with the most amazing views surrounding us. The girls loved taking turns asking the pilot questions! As for me….I was mesmerized at God’s creation in front of me the entire time. How could I not?
When we landed on the glacier, we were greeted by a very entertaining guide who took us on a hike and educated us on the amazingness of our surroundings. Despite the freezing temperature, the girls were brave enough to get down on the glacier to taste the glacier water!
The helicopter ride back was equally phenomenal. Though this was one of the most costly excursions we’ve been on, it’s also one of those once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I hope Brianne and Bridgette will remember it for years to come!
Part III will be on our gold panning excursion in Juneau, and our final Alaska port–Ketchikan!
I just did the Alaska Disney Cruise in June and it was amazing. Your pictures make me want to go back and do it again!!! I love the picture of the girls taking pictures of the flowers – so adorable.