My friend Melinda and I had talked of driving up to Alaska in the summer, but when I began researching it and truly learned how far away Alaska was and how long it would take us to drive there by car, we put it off.
Then in the spring the notion of an Alaskan cruise came to mind. It was an odd thought mostly because Melinda had told me in the past she would never consider a cruise. I filed the thought away with a quick prayer that went something like this, "God, if you want us to see Alaska this summer and a cruise is the method, you're going to have to win Melinda over on the cruise idea." Just a couple of weeks later, Melinda came over to my place for a visit - and she pulled out a brochure for an Alaskan cruise! I'm pretty sure I whooped with joy and said, "Really?" Real it was!
To make a long story short, we tried to find and book something that would work within our small window of opportunity, but weren't having much success. Then we found Audra - an amazing travel consultant - who searched and searched and finally found us the perfect cruise within our time frame.
One of the most exciting opportunities for me was the option to take a day trip into the Yukon from our stop in Skagway at the northern part of the Inside Passage. Sign me up!
We had a beautiful day for our bus ride from Skagway, Alaska through a bit of northern British Columbia (BC) and into the Yukon territory. Here was our first stop - the customary get-a-picture-with-the-sign-to-prove-you-were-really-there stop!
Our visit to the Yukon included stops at a tourist-type village for lunch, at the town of Carcross, and at the very beautiful Emerald Lake.
The return trip was by bus to Fraser, BC and then by train through the mountains from Fraser back to Skagway - something else I've always wanted to do: take a train ride through the mountains!
It was a most delightful trip from beginning to end - I only wish it would have been a bit longer. I'll just have to go back someday...
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