Lockharts in Alaska, 2002

Our Cruise: In June my family took a cruise aboard a Princess ship to Alaska. We sailed up the Inside Passage from Vancouver, British Columbia. Then we sailed to Seward, and from there joined a land tour (bus, airplane, and train) that took us to Fairbanks, Denali, and Anchorage.
Inside Passage: The Inside Passage is a sheltered waterway that allows sailing from Puget Sound, Washington, through Southeast Alaska. Hundreds of islands provide protection from the open waters of the Pacific so that even small craft can make the 1000 mile voyage. This is a rugged coast with high mountains, narrow channels, and few inhabitants. These waters are also rich in marine mammals and fish.
The Pacific Northwest coast is the largest continuous temperate rain forest in the world, which makes for cloudy, cool, and often rainy weather. The weather on our trip in mid-late June was superb.
Alaska: Alaska is twice the size of Texas, and ten times larger than my state, Georgia. It has the lowest population density of any state, by far. The list of superlatives for Alaska is a long one and could take up this whole page. It truly is the Last Frontier.