Mount Rushmore

Today we drove into South Dakota and visited the Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount Rushmore. Crazy Horse was started in 1948 and is still not finished but we took pictures of a model of the finished product. Judging by their progress, this monument will probably not be finished in our lifetimes. Mount Rushmore on the other hand, is of course finished and took only 14 years to complete. It really is a wonderful sight and makes you wonder how people were brave enough to work up there. The entrance is a nice walkway with the states' flags. We also tried a bison burger... so yummy. Now we leave for Chicago!

Generation Gap

Apparently not everyone enjoys the national parks. Look closely at this picture... it is hilarious.

Grand Teton and Yellowstone Canyon

Wednesday we traveled around Grand Teton. It was very picturesque, much more like Yosemite. We passed the Jackson Hole ski resort. It is so hard to imagine people skiing here in just a matter of months. We also saw a female moose. It was huge! We were later stopped by a herd of around 100 bison crossing the road single file. We got a great video of that. Yesterday we went to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and saw lower and upper falls, and we even went to the brink of upper falls. We were lucky enough to spot a coyote in the distance and Matt got close enough to take great pictures. Overall we had a great time in Yellowstone and are heading to Mount Rushmore.

Yellowstone

Sunday we drove through Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Monday we entered Yellowstone and soon after crossed the border into Wyoming. We have seen a lot already: deer as big as cars, tons of bison, and a mama black bear and her cub sleeping in a tree. When we checked in to our cabin we were warned that a bison was hanging out nearby... sure enough he was camped out about 25 yards from our front door. As neat as that was, it is also scary because bison will charge humans that get too close! We have already experienced the "bison evil eye" several times. We both cannot wait to try bison burgers just to spite them. Yesterday we went to the West Thumb geyser basin, where we saw several hot springs and sulfur mud pots. We have learned that the water colors are similar to fire colors: blue is the hottest at over 170 degrees Fahrenheit, with red as the coolest at around 116-120 degrees. These colors are created by the type of bacteria that live in each temperature range. We also went to the Midway geyser basin where we saw the Excelsior geyser and the famous Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest hot spring in the park. It was difficult to take pictures because the vapor is so thick! Of course, we also visited Old Faithful. We watched it go off twice from different angles (because the first time we were apparently in the splash zone!). Old Faithful reaches heights of 90 to 150 feet and lasts 3 to 5 minutes. It is certainly not the most impressive geyser in the park, as some get much higher and can last up to forty minutes. However, it is the most famous, because it is the most predictable, going off every 90 minutes within a twenty minute range. Some of the other geysers have ranges that are hours long, and we did not want to stand around that long! Some other cool facts: Geysers are the result of heat, water, fractures in the earth and earthquakes. They erupt because volcanic thermal areas just a few miles below the surface heat the water, and the pressure shoots the water up. Yellowstone is such a thermal area because the Continental Divide is here. Today, we are headed to Grand Teton National Park for the day!

Skagway and Victoria

Thursday we spent the day in Skagway, the gateway to the gold rush. We visited the Klondike Summit and suspension bridge. There were a lot of cool views and we learned about the gold rush. We were very surprised to learn that gold miners lived by a strict moral code, so they would tell their fellow miners where the gold could be found. The White Pass train leading to the summit was meant to aid miners during the gold rush but it took three years to build and the gold rush was over by then! In fact the gold rush was actually so fast that people say "it was over before it began." Prior to the gold rush, gold had only been measured in ounces, but after it was measured in tons! We also learned that by 1900, $22 million of gold had been found, but only around 1,000 people actually profited from gold itself. Most made money as merchants, or the packers who provided miners with their supplies, which took place mainly in Skagway. We also had a salmon bake (and yes, we both tried it!). The highlight of our day, however, was that once again WE SAW BEARS. PLURAL! We saw a mama black bear and her two cubs eating on the side of the road. They were so close! We have been very lucky with wildlife this trip. Last night we visited Victoria, BC, which is basically just a dreary port town with neat looking buildings. We saw the parliament and the famous Empress hotel. Our cruise was amazing, and although we are not too happy to be back in the car, we are excited to be heading to Yellowstone!

Tracy Arm Fjord and Juneau

Wednesday was our absolute favorite day of the cruise. The morning was scenic cruising through Tracy Arm Fjord with narration by a naturalist. We learned that fjords are created by melting glaciers forming valleys between mountains. We had the best view sitting on our balcony on the back of the ship and got great pictures. We saw Sawyer's Glacier, and even spotted some mama and baby seals on floating ice. So neat! We then went to Juneau where we took a tour to Mendenhall Glacier and hiked to Nugget Falls. The force of the water coming from melting ice is a very powerful sight. From there we got on a three hour whale watching tour that was unreal. We saw sea lions, seals, bald eagles, porpoises and of course humpback whales. The main whales we saw were a mama and her baby. The baby was playing and splashed its tail a lot, and even sounded a few times. The pictures were ok but we have videos that are better to see it because it would happen so fast. The coolest fact we learned about humpback whales is that every winter they migrate to Hawaii to mate, then one winter later they will have the baby, again in Hawaii, and teach it to swim and eat before migrating back to Alaska. That's a 3,000 mile swim twice a year! Also, scientists determine the age of a humpback by looking at its earwax. Gross! Overall, it was an amazing, beautiful and sunny day, and we couldn't have asked for more.

Ketchikan

Today is our first port and we found a bar with free wifi! This afternoon we took a seaplane tour of the Misty Fjords national monument. It was very scenic and Matt saw some whales! We also got to stop and stick our hands in the Alaskan water. Overall it is very different from Florida cruises! Tomorrow we cruise through Tracy Arm Fjord and dock at Juneau. Juneau the capital of Alaska?

Seattle

Happy Father's Day to our dads and all dads! Last night we had dinner with Ashley's old friend Nicole and her husband Lenny. It was so much fun and great to catch up! It's always very nice seeing how happy and successful our friends are. This morning we each had the obligatory Seattle Starbucks coffee. It tastes the same here as anywhere. We are on our way now to Pier 91 to board our cruise! We got an email last week that we got a free upgrade to a balcony room so we are very excited. We will try to update the blog, but if we can't you can find our ship diagram and itinerary at www.princess.com. We are on the Star Princess room D735. Ahoy mateys!