Grand Princess NB cruise tour 7/18-8/1/15

[mimmy52]

July 27

Denali and Fairbanks

 

It was raining when I went to bed last night and raining when I woke up this morning. If it hadn't been raining so hard, I would have taken some pictures of the gigantic puddles that had formed in the roadways/walkways.

 

Jo had been ambivalent about the included Natural History Tour that was scheduled for 7:30 this morning. When she saw it was raining, she decided a better idea was going back to bed. I had a Husky Homestead tour scheduled that left at 8:20. Since our suitcases had to be outside our door by 8:00, I put mine out and went to breakfast at King Salmon restaurant (and had to wade through a puddle to get there).

 

 

 

I really liked their chandelier.

 

 

The Base Camp Restaurant is in the same building as King Salmon.

 

 

These gift shops displays were right across the way.

 

[mimmy52]

It was still raining after breakfast as I made my way to the main building to meet up with my tour. You can see Glitter Gulch across the street in this picture.

 

 

The River Run Espresso in the main building was doing a brisk business.

 

 

Pick up by Husky Homestead came right on time. There was a large group going from the Princess Lodge. It was about a 20 minute drive to the Homestead with no construction delays. As we entered the Homestead, we passed cabins where some of the workers live, then we passed the pens where they keep the dogs that are in heat. They're very particular and want to breed the best males with the best females.

 

On the covered porch, we were each given two week old puppies to hold (and we were given a "diaper" to hold also). Wish I could have held on to this puppy the whole time.

 

 

After we were forced to give up the puppies, we were seated in benches under a metal awning for a welcome from Jeff King, a four-time Iditarod winner.

 

Part of the Husky Homestead

 

 

A welcome from Jeff King

 

[mimmy52]

We each had our photograph taken with a puppy but the photographer was also happy to take a picture with your own camera. It was a chilly morning, and when King offered blankets, several people accepted.

 

After King's welcome, one of his trainers took over and explained how the dogs are trained. It was difficult to hear him at first because they were hitching up some of the dogs to pull a vehicle and they all wanted to be picked. You have to be a physically strong person to handle these excited dogs.

 

 

They took off so quickly, they were almost out of sight before I got a picture. They're way over to the left in this photo.

 

 

Once the dogs pulled the ATV out of sight, the other dogs became quiet while the trainer talked about how they handled the dogs. And soon the "sled" was back.

 

 

They brought some of the adult dogs around to be petted.

 

 

Another trainer showed how one dog, Kroner, loved lovin's.

 

[mimmy52]

Still Kroner.

 

 

All the dogs get their chance to be hitched up and run each day but they also have an exercise wheel.

 

 

We were invited inside for Jeff King's presentation. I thought it was great that they invited any child 12 and under to have puppy play time rather than listen to the presentation. The play time today was with 12 week old puppies.

 

King started his presentation by showing his sled and talking about the modifications for it that he invented. One modification is the ability to sit down when going uphill. He has room for equipment in the front, then the seat, then a "caboose" with room for more equipment in the back. He said a lot of mushers now use a sled like this. He is 59 years old and has already signed up for the 2016 Iditarod.

 

 

He talked about how dogs are cared for on the race, the conditions of the race, and other information such as checkpoints and how they ship food ahead. A worker came in to model the clothing that King wears on races.

 

 

At one point in the presentation, a woman's phone rang. She answered it and was talking. King stopped talking, looked at her, and said, "Really?" He told her if she needed to take the call, she was welcome to go outside. She ended her call. He finished up with some video footage from Iditarods. He was an excellent speaker, and I did buy his book at the end.

 

I had time to visit the puppy play yard and see the 12 week old pups.

 

[mimmy52]

The pups have their own exercise wheel.

 

 

Some of the pups were over at the fence and we were reaching our hands through to pet them, so a few were picked up so we could reach them better.

 

 

After that it was time to go back to the Lodge. I think Jeff King does three of these presentations each day.

 

It was a little after 11:00 when I got back and Jo was just getting ready to leave the room. She said housekeeping had already been around twice wanting to get in, although check out time wasn't until 11. It was pouring rain again and Jo's jacket with hood was in her checked suitcase. She improvised with a shower cap to protect her hair which I thought was very clever.

 

We wanted to have lunch at the Base Camp Restaurant, but it didn't open until noon so we went to King Salmon. I had a grilled portabella mushroom sandwich that was delicious. We still had time after lunch before our 2:00 departure, so we checked out the general store in the lower level of the main building, then went upstairs to read while we waited.

 

Waiting in the main lodge building

 

 

[mimmy52]

We left Denali Princess Lodge at 2:15 on our way to Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge. We were told the trip would take about three hours. The bus windows were fogged the entire way, so whenever the driver pointed out something of interest, unless the window was cleared with a sleeve, we couldn't see much. Apparently the young driver didn't know how the side window defoggers worked.

 

We stopped for a 20 minute rest break at the Nenana Cultural Center where in addition to using the restrooms, you could buy refreshments, shop their gift store, and for $2.50 place a guess on when the Chena River will thaw in 2016.

 

 

This is the building with the restrooms. Another building housed the gift shop, refreshment counter, and it also had bathrooms.

 

 

We were a caravan of busses, either three or four, and we were glad our bus got to the restrooms first. It gave us time to buy some snacks and look around the very small gift shop. Perhaps because the driver in Denali had mentioned respiratory illness, I noticed a couple of people were coughing a lot on this bus ride.

 

We got to the Fairbanks Princess about 5:00, so actual drive time was less than three hours.

 

 

A Princess rep once again got on the bus to give us our packets containing room keys, luggage tags, and information. This lodge is more modern in appearance than the other two and all the rooms are in the same building, which is not to say that the building is small. It has four levels and there are several wings.

 

 

[mimmy52]

Our room was on the first floor. Although we'd been told our luggage might not arrive for a couple of hours since it had been held up, it was already waiting in our room.

 

 

 

 

 

The rooms in every Princess lodge had the same set up. We walked around the hotel to get familiar with it.

 

The registration desk.

 

[mimmy52]

The lobby.

 

 

 

We walked out onto the Terrace Deck which would be a lovely place to hang out if the weather cooperated.

 

 

 

Continuing our tour, the tour desk.

 

[mimmy52]

The internet area

 

 

No Espresso Bar here, but they had a counter in the gift shop where you could get coffee and other drinks, some breakfast foods, and snacks.

 

 

There were two restaurants, Trackers which was very small and had a bar, and Edgewater Grill which was much larger. Jo and I had dinner in the Edgewater Grill. I was surprised at how few people there were in it. Most seemed crowded into Trackers or else they walked to a restaurant that was down the road.

 

Edgewater

 

 

 

I ordered the Glacier salad which was very good.

 

 

Jo had fish n chips. She said there was too much batter on the fish and the fries had come to the table lukewarm. She mentioned this to the waiter and her dinner was comped.

[mimmy52]

It was raining too hard to make a trail walk seem tempting, so I just walked around the hotel a little more and took pictures before going back to our room.

 

The hospitality room. It's on the second floor.

 

 

 

There's a laundry on the lower (basement) level that can be tricky to find. In addition to the washers and dryers, there's an ironing board and iron.

 

 

 

The fitness room is also on the lower level, but it's reached by a staircase off the lobby.

 

[mimmy52]

July 28

 

A gloomy morning and rain was predicted. Finally a day when we didn't need to put our luggage out early. We're staying two nights in Fairbanks. Jo and I got some pastries and yogurt from the breakfast bar in the gift shop. Our day of touring (included) didn't start until 9:40, so I walked a couple of the trails around the hotel.

 

I started with the River Walk

 

 

 

 

Then joined the Lodge Trail

 

 

 

[mimmy52]

Near the end of the Lodge Trail are some reproductions of pioneer cabins.

 

 

A view of the lodge from the end of the trail.

 

 

Patio seating in front of the lodge, outside the gift shop

 

 

At 9:40 we boarded our busses for the ride to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and Gold Dredge #8.

 

 

 

[mimmy52]

We first had a presentation about the pipeline and the complications of permafrost in building it. The pipeline goes from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez where it is all shipped out. Each person whose residence is in Alaska gets a share of the income from the pipeline.

 

 

Next we hopped on an open-car train that would take us to the gold dredge. There was an entertainer with a guitar on the first car, and he was very good.

 

 

 

The train moved slowly toward the gold dredge, stopping along the way to showcase various examples of how gold had been extracted. One of the demonstration areas

 

 

The gold dredge

 

[mimmy52]

Before we got off the train, we were given a demonstration of how we should pan for gold.

 

 

When we got off the train, we were each handed a pouch and found a spot alongside long tables.

 

 

It was harder than it looked. I kept thinking that any gold in the pan was going to fall out with the rocks. Several workers walked around and made suggestions. The life of a gold panner must have been a tedious one.

 

 

Once we had panned and found our gold, we put it into a container that looked much like an old film container. We took it inside to be weighed. Jo had $5 worth and I had $14 worth. One of the people in our group said he and his wife had $68 worth, but I think they must have bought extra pouches, which you could do. Of course they had various types of jewelry that you could put your gold into. My choice was a locket, and I got the cheapest which was about $20. The price went up from there.

 

You could walk out and tour the gold dredge, but we never got around to it. We walked around the large gift shop. They offered free cookies, coffee, and hot chocolate (the hot chocolate was horrible).

 

Part of the shop

 

 

Before we knew it, it was time to leave.

 

[mimmy52]

 

The entertainer was on board again, this time with a fiddle. I really enjoyed his performances.

 

 

The gold dredge crew came out to wave goodbye.

 

 

The train brought us back to the pipeline area where the busses were parked, then we were on our way to the riverboat dock to have lunch and take a paddle boat cruise on the Chena River on the Discovery III. Wonder of wonders, somewhere during the bus ride the sun came out and it became an absolutely beautiful day.

 

Discovery III

 

 

We filed into the dining hall at the dock for a communal lunch. The tables seated 12, and on our table was one small kettle of stew, one small bowl of salad, and one pitcher of iced tea. Desserts were pre-set.

 

 

The server brought sourdough rolls and butter, but very little butter, and a kettle of roasted veggies. Each kettle had about enough for four people. Each pitcher of tea had enough for four or five people. Since I don't eat stew, I asked her to bring another bowl of salad. She said we had to wait until our salad bowl was empty, then she'd bring another. As soon as she walked away, the bowl was empty, and it took her quite a while to come back. I sat there, without veggies or salad, and waited. Others were waiting for stew, salad and veggies.

 

Finally she brought another bowl of salad, a kettle of stew, and a kettle of veggies. Once we all had food on our plates, it seemed like the food flowed more quickly. If the goal had been to bring only what we would eat, that went down the tubes when suddenly we had kettle after kettle. The food was very good, but it would have been a better experience if there had been enough on the table to begin with, or at least if we hadn't been left to wonder if we'd get more.

 

We were given about 45 minutes for lunch, yet there were still some minutes left afterward for shopping in the very large gift shop. You could do the 40 below experience (not me, I don't like cold).

[mimmy52]

We boarded the paddle wheeler Discovery III to start our three hour tour (oh no!) on the Chena River.

 

The dock as seen from the boat

 

 

As we started, we passed the smaller Discovery II

 

 

We sat outside on the right side of the boat.

 

 

It quickly became evident that the left side of the boat was better. A bush pilot demonstrated float plane takeoffs and landings on the left side and those of us on the right side had to watch it on the video screen. I did get a photo when he buzzed around to our side of the boat.

 

 

We moved to the upper deck so we would have better views. The boat stopped at the late Susan Butcher's kennel, now run by her husband David Monson, for a demo on the dogs (on the left side of the boat).

 

The kennel

 

[mimmy52]

Dave Monson talked about training the dogs. I was surprised at how easy it was to hear him from the boat. Yes, he had a microphone hookup, but it was good. I've been in meeting rooms where it was more difficult to hear than that.

 

 

The dogs showed us their running skills with an ATV.

 

 

After the run and the dogs were unhitched, they made a beeline for the river and a little wading and slurping.

 

 

As we drew near an Athabascan village reproduction, I moved back to the right side of the boat, which turned out to be good since the village was on the right side.

 

 

Coming up to the village

 

 

While still on the boat, we were shown the fish camp, and a girl showed how they cut and smoked salmon. She was using chum salmon and said it would be used to feed the dogs.

 

[mimmy52]

The narrator started talking about reindeer, and suddenly a small herd came charging out of a gate.

 

 

We were able to get off the boat at this village.

 

 

 

They had several presentation areas and we were divided into smaller groups. Two young women were the guides for our group, and the first presentation they gave was about hides. They had various hides to show us.

 

 

We moved to where they had the reindeer penned for the next talk, then at the third stop we were shown how clothing was made from hides.

 

 

One of the girls modeled a coat that was worth about $20,000. All the clothing could be museum pieces.

 

[mimmy52]

We had free time to see dogs from Susan Butcher's kennel, get a book signed by Dave Monson (a book about Granite, Susan's amazing lead dog) at the post office, or just walk around and see the fish camp or go back to one of the other sites we'd been shown.

 

One or two people went to see the dogs. There was another talk about dog training.

 

 

There was a line to get books signed.

 

 

Drying salmon

 

 

Before long it was time to reboard the boat.

 

 

We sat inside on the return trip.

 

[mimmy52]

You could buy drinks and snacks on the boat. There was also a gift shop. We were offered smoked salmon spread on crackers (free). Once everyone had a taste, we were encouraged to come get more. You could also buy the salmon spread to take home.

 

One of the very nice houses along the river.

 

 

At the dock, there was time to get ice cream. I don't think the bus would leave without you. It was such a nice day that when we got back at the hotel, we sat out on the Terrace Deck with drinks and enjoyed the weather.

 

 

We intended to eat dinner there, but yellow jackets decided they really liked Jo. We went inside to Trackers. It was a very small place and we had to wait for a table. When one became available, we grabbed it.

 

Trackers

 

 

I had grilled salmon with veggies and sweet potato fries. It was delicious and as usual I forgot to take a picture until it was partially eaten.

 

 

Everyone we talked to about the day said it had been one of the best of the land tour. My guess is that the nicer weather helped.

[mimmy52]

July 29

Fairbanks to Copper River

 

There was spotty sunshine this morning, but the temperature was still in the 50s. Our luggage had to be out at 7:00 and our departure was scheduled for 9:00. I decided to have a big breakfast at the buffet ($17.99) in the Edgewater Restaurant. They have a $12.99 option for a continental breakfast.

 

The breakfast buffet

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite of the breakfast options I had

 

[mimmy52]

Since we were going to be on the bus about eight hours today, I walked the same trails around the hotel that I did yesterday. My notes from today are spotty since so much time was on the bus, and all the rest of today's photos are from either the bus ride (and stops) or the Copper River Lodge. We left Fairbanks shortly after 9:00. Princess is very efficient at people moving.

 

Our bus driver was Dan M., the best driver we've had on the trip. His stories were very interesting and helped pass the time on the bus. We passed the pipeline suspension bridge.

 

 

More of the pipeline

 

 

Around 11:00 we stopped for lunch in Delta at the Buffalo Center Drive In. We ordered at the window and took seats at picnic tables on the side patio under an awning or at tables on the grass in the sunshine.

 

 

 

 

Fast food but good food. Everyone seemed to enjoy their meals. I had halibut fish n chips.

 

[mimmy52]

Probably the cheapest meal I've had since we got off the ship. We only had 45 minutes for lunch, but some who had ordered their food first were able to spend a few minutes at the nearby Farmers Market.

 

 

There was also a historical site called Sullivan's Roadhouse.

 

 

 

As the bus had pulled into the drive in, Jo had spotted a quilt shop in a small strip mall on the side of the drive in. She went there before she ordered her food. She is dedicated to quilting, and she said it was a good shop.

 

I don't know what this guy was doing at the drive in, but he was on the patio too.

 

[mimmy52]

My notes indicate that at 1:15 we made a viewpoint stop at Black Rapids Glacier.

 

 

 

There were no restroom stops after lunch. Our driver said there were no places to stop, so everyone had to use the bathroom on the bus.

 

At 1:40 there was another viewpoint stop at what our driver termed Rainbow Mountain.

 

 

 

We made a third viewpoint stop around 2:00 by Summit Lake at what our driver termed a volcanic glacier.

 

 

 

Then it started raining.

[mimmy52]

As we neared Copper River, the sun came out again. We passed a moose by the side of the rode (passed too quickly for a photo).

 

Nearing Copper River

 

 

The driver said another coach was going uphill to the lodge so he took the bus through Copper Center first. I don't know why only one bus at a time can drive up the hill, but I suppose there's a reason. Copper Center didn't look like it had much going for it, other than a restaurant.

 

We arrived at the lodge a little after 4:00.

 

The Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge

 

 

 

Usually we were given our information packets on the bus, but this time the Princess rep came on the bus, gave us a welcome, mentioned everyone who had birthdays and anniversaries, and announced the guests of the day. The guests of the day would get a free photo. We got our information packets when we got off the bus.

 

Our room