North to Alaska

Today is the day! We fly to Seattle this afternoon, and have all day tomorrow there before taking the train up to Vancouver, B.C. on Monday morning. We'll have until Wednesday afternoon in Vancouver - our ship sails at 5:30!

We're pretty well ready to go - just washing the sheets & towels, mowing the yard, double-checking to make sure we have everything, etc.

Kris & Oliver went on ahead of the rest of us and have posted from Seattle on their blog - click on the "North 2 Alaska" link on the right.

Next post from the northwest!!

It's Getting Really Close!

This Alaska adventure group consists of the three Keiser sisters, their husbands, and a good friend from Denver. The first of the sisters heads off for the northwest tomorrow and the rest of us will follow soon. Can't wait! One of the reasons for the itinerary we planned was to have some time in Anchorage, where our parents met and were married during WWII. We think we have an "in" to the base and hope that some of the 1940's buildings are still there, particularly the base chapel that we've seen so often in photos.

Our Itinerary for the Alaska Adventure

Leave for Seattle on May 23 with Mark & Kathy; Kris & Oliver already there.
Train to Vancouver Monday, May 25
Sail on Carnival's "Spirit" on Wednesday, May 27
May 28 - at sea Inside Passage - hope we see orcas!
May 29 - Ketchikan (Misty Fjords seaplane adventure)
May 30 - Juneau (whale watching boat trip)
May 31 - Skagway (White Pass and Yukon train)
June 1 - Sitka
June 2 - at sea College Fjord - glaciers and wildlife
June 3 - Anchorage & Talkeetna
June 4-6 - Denali National Park(flightseeing to Mount McKinley, white water rafting, tour the park)
June 7 - 11 - Anchorage - V's home on 6/7; R's home on 6/10 and B's on 6/11

More Colorado photos

Just practicing some more - our trip to Alaska is next week and I need to know how to do this! Here is a photo of Gary and me on one of our hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Flip-flops in the snow!

On the way to Colorado

Last summer (June of 2008) our whole family spent a wonderful week in Colorado - the first time we have gone on a trip with all of our kids and grandkids. We left home early on a Saturday morning, met up with Rod and Jen and the girls in Salina, and took off. The little girls did amazingly well on the long trip. Of course, we had to stop in Burlington at the playground that has been a traditional stop on all of our trips to the mountains.

We arrived in Estes Park early in the evening and were so excited to find that our cabin was right by the river! This three-bedroom cabin with a fireplace was our cozy home for a week.

Of course, the focus of the week was on the outdoors - the mountains, the wildlife, hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, fishing for trout and panning for gold. We took several long hikes and loved seeing all the elk everywhere. A couple of evenings we even saw elk walking right past our cabin as they browsed their way down the river!

No trip to Estes Park would be complete without visiting the famous Stanley Hotel and taking the ghost tour. Although we didn't see anything spooky, the girls were pretty intrigued with the stories.

Of course, we had to do some shopping in Estes Park for t-shirts and saltwater taffy and hit the fun park for goofy golf and the giant slide.

We all hated to leave the mountains when the week was over!