Alaska & Oregon 12-day Itinerary
When my in-laws suggested we take a 7-day cruise to Alaska, I knew I wanted to combine this with a long-awaited trip to Oregon. We packed a lot in a…
One Day in Ketchikan
Ketchikan was my favorite port of call in Alaska and if you’re looking for Native American totem poles, this is the place. Additionally, the Tongass National Forest surrounds the town that is only 6 square miles.
The town is also famous for the millions of adult salmon returning upstream to spawn during the summer months. King, Silver, Sockeye, Chum and Pink Salmon arrive during the annual salmon run to the delight of fishermen who have dubbed the town as “The Salmon Capital of the World.”
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One Day in Juneau
Our next Port of Call on the Disney Alaskan cruise was the capital city of Juneau. Surprisingly, only 32,000 people live in Alaska’s second-largest city.
I remember visiting here with my parents. We took a small plane to explore the glaciers. As we took off, the window opened a few inches and my mom screamed. That’s all I remember – nothing else.
Since we hadn’t researched anything until the trip, we quickly decided to visit Mendenhall Glacier, which is 13 miles away. After looking up shore excursion and shuttle costs, we found renting a van with my brother-in-law’s family was the most cost-effective option.
I realized we’ve gotten spoiled in our larger metropolitan cities with choices of car rentals – and cars for that matter. Although the rental center didn’t look like much, a clean minivan awaited us.
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One Day in Skagway, Alaska
It was Day 4 of our Alaskan cruise and we finally reached our first port of call at Skagway.
Everything I read described Skagway as a pioneer, western town from the 1890s. While that is true, nothing prepared me to feel so small as the vast AB Mountain, Face Mountain and others loomed nearby.
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