YO-HO!

 

 {first stop was to get some National Forest loot}

 

Then to the fun and entertaining lumberjack show, which is always a good time.  

 

Part of the excitement is that there are two teams: Dawson Creek USA, and Spruce Mill, Canada.  As part of the lively competition, they pass out wood chips to help keep count of how many points each team has and Kate got one of the wood chips!!!

 

{Loud and proud with one of our Dawson Creek wood chips}

 Then later in the show Jessa was called up to help out with the show!  She got to try out, and then keep, a chair lumberjack Mark carved with a chainsaw, and she was very cute and clever when they asked her questions or had her do something!  Her YO-HO!  was absolutely awesome!

 {Jessa was the star of the lumberjack show!}

 {YO HO!  We loved The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show!}

 {Great Halibut fish-n-chips and Salmon fish-n-chips from the Fish house}

 Then off to Saxman Totem park where we enjoyed visiting with and watching the carvers.

 {first little hike of the trip!}

 {ahh...the totem is eating Jessa's hand!}

 {Education and fun at the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center where we learned about everything from wildlife and temperate rainforest, to Native Culture and modern commerce. 

 {Look Dad!  We spotted the first puffin of the trip!...not a penguin}

Final stop was Totem Bight State Park, one of our favorite locations for understanding totem poles.  The girls pose in the doorway of the clan house. 

Welcome to Ketchikan

 {sea planes constantly buzzing everywhere}

 {a major cruise ship stop}

 {colorful}

 {outside my window}

 {beautiful sunsets}

The longer you stay, the more beautiful it gets!

Learn about previous adventures in Ketchikan Here.  

Canada Non-Stop

We pulled out of Friday Harbor at 4 am PST on Sunday, May 26th and motored straight through Canada both day and night.

 {majestic sailboat scene}

 If I ever reference"relaxing in the lounge" it means we are hanging out in these lawn chairs on the back deck where we get cell service.

 Tug and barge...a frequent sight.

 {Captain J}

 Captain K.  She really does drive this boat by herself.  Pillow Pets are optional.

 We hit Johnstone Strait in the dead of night, which made for some thrilling log-dodging and brother-sister bonding since we cannot run the sodium lights in Canada.  Johnstone Strait is a narrows in a logging region of Canada.  To see a logging barge, check out this post from 2010. It is pretty cool.

First Totem Pole sighting of the trip

 One of the many lovely lighthouses

 Canadian Sailboat

 I am really digging cloud photographs this year!

 E. out riding "horses" on the back deck.  That girl is utterly horse crazy.

 Uncle B.

 The back deck.

 Lots of waterfalls, but this year we hit most of them at night and thus very difficult to get good photos of.  See some awesome pics from 2011 here. 

 {testing out Captain's glasses}

{dishes, dishes, dishes!}

I'm baaaaack!

I’m baaaack!...on my way to Alaska that is!!!!!.... so don’t get all excited thinking there will be any long-term blogging taking place or something super-wild like that. 

Just keeping myself entertained in the bad radio areas as we make the drive to the Debbie Sue in Friday Harbor, Wash.   Yes, those are home-grown apples I dehydrated myself, but I will NOT be blogging about how to do that!  So sorry to disappoint all you avid domestic readers out there.

 My fellow travelers had fun watching movies during the drive...

 and pretending to be ferries on the ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor.  For those of you that have never been on a ferry, it is big boat we drive the car onto and it takes us over the the island. 

Uncle Johnny was there to meet us in Friday Harbor, help pack gear to the boat, grab a bite to eat, and calculate a departure time for our rendezvous  with the famed Seymoure Narrows.

So welcome friends, family, and fellow travelers and enjoy this little escape with us.  Sit back, relax, and enjoy the cruise!  Don’t be afraid to live vicariously through our adventures because we know we are pretty lucky to get to soak in these once-in-a-lifetime personal cruises up the Inside Passage to Alaska.  Yes, it is still once-in-a-lifetime every time.  You can check out our adventures in 2011, 2010 (or Alyssa's blog), and 2008 if you REALLY need to get away for awhile; each year has been its own unique treasure and in the past I have focused a lot more on amazing photography than I will this year, so you might enjoy some of the shots from previous years.

So whatcha say?  Read to set sail?