Juneau

For a friend’s birthday, we went on a cruise from Seattle up the coast to Juneau, with stops in Alaska and Canada. It was our first cruise, and we were both a little unsure how much we would like it. There are definitely pluses and minuses, but one big plus to doing a cruise up this particular coastline is the wildlife; we saw orcas, sea otters, sea birds, eagles, and dozens of humpback whales. There’s nothing quite like a sunrise or sunset over the water with a whale in sight. One morning I woke up early and peeked out onto the balcony to see dozens of whale spouts in the distance - I watched for a minute before waking up Jason to take some photos. It was such an amazing way to start the day.

Dawn light over the ocean with a humpback whale's back in the foreground. — A whale at sunrise (photo/Jason Rafal)

An ocean with mountains and an orange sunrise in the background. — If you squint, there are whale spouts at one o’clock (photo/Jason Rafal)

A small island in the ocean with a mountain in the background. — An island with misty mountains in the background (photo/Jason Rafal)

Water pouring off of a whale's tail close to shore. — Water pouring off of a whale’s tail (photo/Jason Rafal)

Lots of dramatic ocean lighting (photo/Jason Rafal)

Ketchikan

Our first port stop was in Ketchikan, where we did some exploring before our group split up for a couple different excursions. Ketchikan has a river running through the town, and it was salmon season, so we got to see thousands and thousands of salmon swimming upstream.

A salmon jumping out of the river. — A salmon jumping (we don’t know why) (photo/Jason Rafal)

A wooden sign that says Creek Street. — The aptly-named Creek Street welcomed us to town (photo/Jason Rafal)

Houses on stilts over a river. — Creek Street on stilts above the water (photo/Jason Rafal)

Dozens of salmon swimming up a greenish river. — Salmon swimming upstream (photo/Jason Rafal)

A salmon jumping in to the air with more salmon visible in the water below. — A salmon jumping into the air above its brethren (photo/Jason Rafal)

People looking down into a river from boardwalks. — Looking downstream over the salmon ladder (photo/Jason Rafal)

Looking down at a salmon jumping up a river. — A salmon trying to make it up the waterfall (photo/Jason Rafal)

Fish cramming into the rock wall corner of a river. — Salmon wedged into a corner of the waterfall (photo/Jason Rafal)

A small gray bird on a mossy rock in a river. — An American Dipper on a mossy river rock (photo/Jason Rafal)

Ian, Kelly, and Ari on a deck. — Ian, Ari, and Kelly being cute (photo/Jason Rafal)

Jason, Bella, and Nicole in front of the river. — Jason, Nicole, and Bella also being cute (photo/Jason Rafal)

After walking around town, some of us went back to the waterfront to meet our kayaking guide. They drove us to Clover Pass, where we got into double kayaks and headed out onto the water. Our guide, who was from Seattle, took us around a couple of the islands and to a marsh to see birds.

Gulls perching on a tire wall protecting a marina. — Gulls hanging out on the harbor protection (photo/Jason Rafal)

Our kayak guide gesturing toward the water. — Bella and our guide leading the way (photo/Jason Rafal)

A young bald eagle in a tree. — A young bald eagle (photo/Jason Rafal)

Jason and Nicole in a kayak on the water. — Kayaking selfie (photo/Jason Rafal)

Thin low clouds over a forest of trees. — Moody Alaska vibes (photo/Jason Rafal)

Looking out over the tip of a kayak at three more kayaks in water surrounded by forest. — Kayaks and misty, forested mountains (photo/Jason Rafal)

A bright green anemone. — An amazing green anemone (photo/Jason Rafal)

Many purple sea stars in a crack between rocks. — Sea stars hugging a crevice (photo/Jason Rafal)

Two purple sea stars on a rock. — Two very purple sea stars (photo/Jason Rafal)

We had unexpectedly beautiful weather (photo/Jason Rafal)

A sea lion poking its head above the water as it swims. — Two sea lions looking for fish (photo/Jason Rafal)

Our day in Juneau started with a rather infuriating tender situation to get from the ship to the town, but once we were there, it was amazing. We all had brunch at the very cute Sandpiper Cafe at Ian’s recommendation, and then Jason and I walked through steep neighborhood streets into the hills behind the town for a quick hike.

A small under-construction church. — Juneau’s Russian Orthodox church, under construction (photo/Jason Rafal)

Looking up at a waterfall coming down a forested mountain. — Looking up in the hills behind Juneau (photo/Jason Rafal)

A wooden pathway through a forest. — The Gold Creek flume trail (photo/Jason Rafal)

A selfie of Nicole and Jason on a wood walkway in a forest. — Happy to be in the woods (photo/Jason Rafal)

After our hike we walked back downtown via the waterfront, where we walked through Overstreet Park.

A whale statue in a fountain. — A beautiful whale sculpture fountain (photo/Jason Rafal)

Nicole walking on a rocky beach with water, houses, and mountains in the background. — Looking across the water (photo/Jason Rafal)

An abstract metal statue of a boat. — A beautiful canoe sculpture (photo/Jason Rafal)

The top of a totem pole featuring a person holding a fish on a stick. — Fish on a stick on a totem pole (photo/Jason Rafal)

We boarded the ship around dinner time, and then we got to watch the sunset over Juneau.

The eight people in our group had four adjoining rooms on the ship, and we requested that they open our balconies, creating a combined mega-balcony that we dubbed the Balcotron 4000. This was one of my favorite experiences on the ship: standing outside with my friends and looking at beautiful views (and sometimes animals).

People standing on a cruise ship deck and drinking wine in the sunset light. — Enjoying some wine and a beautiful sunset on the Balcotron 4000 (photo/Jason Rafal)

Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier

On the way back to Seattle, we spent most of a day in the Endicott Arm, a beautiful fjord. There was an option to book a tour on a smaller boat to go closer to the coastline and to Dawes Glacier, and our entire group eventually decided to book it. We again had amazing weather, and it was wonderful to get so close to the amazing landscapes.

A rainbow between misty fjords. — Our first view of the weather clearing outside a porthole window (photo/Jason Rafal)

Low clouds over forested mountains with water and an iceberg in the foreground. — These low, scattered clouds always make me think of the Alaskan coast (photo/Jason Rafal)

Varied clouds and blue sky over a forested mountain next to the water. — Blue sky over a forested mountain (photo/Jason Rafal)

Looking up at a mountainside running down to the water. — There were waterfalls everywhere in the fjord (photo/Jason Rafal)

Approaching Dawes Glacier (photo/Jason Rafal)

Spikes of bright blue glacier with snow-capped mountains in the background. — Otherworldly glacier peaks (photo/Jason Rafal)

A bright blue glacier calving. — The glacier calving (photo/Jason Rafal)

Dozens of birds flying in front of the face of a glacier. — Birds in front of the absurdly blue ice (photo/Jason Rafal)

A full on an iceberg for scale (photo/Jason Rafal)

The group of friends on a boat in front of the glacier. — Our group, happy on a boat in the sunshine (photo/random person on the boat)

A glowing blue iceberg in greenish water. — Glowing blue ice (photo/Jason Rafal)

A multilayered gray and orange rock wall. — This rock face had amazing colors and textures (photo/Jason Rafal)

A cruise ship barely visible between mountains on either side of the water. — Our tiny cruise ship in the background (photo/Jason Rafal)

An iceberg with a sharp, dramatically sliced face. — No idea how this ice shape happened (photo/Jason Rafal)

Foggy waterfalls on top of a mountain (photo/Jason Rafal)

A little seal saying hello (photo/Jason Rafal)

Sky clearing over multi-colored mountains (photo/Jason Rafal)

A sunbeam on a waterfall flowing into the ocean. — Sunshine on a waterfall (photo/Jason Rafal)

A bald eagle sitting on the top branch of a dead tree. — A bald eagle watching us (photo/Jason Rafal)

Prince Rupert

Our last stop before going back to Seattle was Prince Rupert, Canada. This was a smaller town that seemed new to the cruise ship circuit - we even heard a local remark with some excitement that there was a cruise ship in town.

Jason and I again got off the ship and immediately went for a nature walk (I was always a little restless by the time we stopped). I had scouted out the Rushbrook Trail, which was easily accessible from town, and it ended up being a beautiful trail through the woods along the water. At the end we spent some time birding at Seal Cove, which had a lot of kingfishers and some shorebirds.

A rainbow bench on the Rushbrook Trail (photo/Jason Rafal)

Nicole looking through binoculars at the camera. — Birding (photo/Jason Rafal)

A blue and white bird flying over a lake. — A kingfisher over the cove (photo/Jason Rafal)

Very official trail sign (photo/Jason Rafal)

A helicopter with something hanging from the bottom flying over trees. — A helicopter moving…something (photo/Jason Rafal)

After our hike we met up with the rest of the group to walk around and go to the brewery in town.

Yellow and white flowers and purple cabbage. — Flowers at the small but impressively beautiful Sunken Gardens (photo/Jason Rafal)

A Japanese maple tree in a large flower box. — An arrangement with a Japanese Maple (photo/Jason Rafal)

A person throwing a crab between two bins. — Someone rinsing crabs (photo/Jason Rafal)

We ended our trip with a sea day as we went around Vancouver Island and back to Seattle. We mostly relaxed, ate, and looked for wildlife.

A humpback whale tail in the misty water. — A whale tale in the mist (photo/Jason Rafal)

A whale tail in the water with a forested hill in the background. — Another whale tail (photo/Jason Rafal)

An orange sunset over the ocean. — A dramatic sunset over the water (photo/Jason Rafal)

A glowing sunset reflecting off the ocean. — More of the beautiful sunset (photo/Jason Rafal)

A yellow and pink sunset drifting toward blue hour. — Blue hour settling in over the ocean (photo/Jason Rafal)

The British Colombian and Alaskan coast is incredibly beautiful and full of sea life, and it was so fun to be able to experience it with our friends. Alaska, we’ll be back.