The Swanson's Alaska Trip

Upbound Inside Passage -- June 2 to 6, 2000

Updated October 11, 2007

This was a remarkable part of the trip. We would see an awesome vista, the ship would move on on a bit more, and then we woud see another awesome vista! After a while we ran out of "ooohs" and "aaahs". It was that fantastic.

We sailed up the Inside Passage on the "Columbia". This is the flagship of the fleet, the largest they operate. This ship was built specially for the Alaska transportation system. It can enter any sufficiently deep harbor along the way, in pretty much any weather, and self-dock without assistance. It has a huge lower deck for cars, trucks (including 18-wheelers), and motorcycles. The backpackers pitch their tents on the afterdeck, using duct tape to hold down the tent. There is a separate society there, very different from the "inside" passengers like us. There are not very many cabins on the ship, so the ferry provides a sleeping area with large reclining seats, much like first class on an airliner. The food was simple, but reasonably priced. The Columbia had a nice restaurant near the stern, and we did have a pleasant dinner there. Otherwise, we hit the cafeteria/snack-bar area for food. The restaurants did serve very nice fish, this being Alaska and all.

On the way up, we saw a lot of beautiful scenery. The ship passes through some narrow spots in British Columbia, and sometimes you think you can reach out and touch the rock walls that descend vertically into the water. On the second night out, we saw an amazing sunset. Recall that this was in June, near the longest day of the year. This sunset went on for at least an hour, as we sailed almost straight into it. The colors went from "standard" red and pink as the sun set, and then the invisible sun lit up the entire sky into a huge dome of purple. This "twilight" stayed on and on. We sat, enthralled, in the forward observation area and just watched it. The camera could not begin to capture this scene.

The map images provided of the Inside Passage are from an 1898 map. The place names have changed. For instance, we left from Bellingham, but it is listed on the map as "New Whatcom" (north of Seattle).

The "thumbnails" following this narrative show the views of the upbound trip. They may be "enlarged" by clicking on them with your mouse pointer. Enjoy!

Loading the Columbia in Bellingham	An Alaskan State Ferry Boat	Closeup of Columbia's Side [our cabin window is on the left]	Our Wake	Spectacular Mountain Views from the Ship
The Columbia at Ketchikan, Alaska [our first port of call]	Bob, Relaxing in the Observation Area	Bob, Taking in the View	Sandi at Ketchikan [those are lilacs blooming behind her]	Crewmembers Take a Break
Onboard the Columbia, Watching the Scenery	Nearing the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau [called the "drive up" glacier because the roads provide access, and you can walk right up to it]	Glacier with its Moraine Lake	Glacier Melt Pouring Out Along the Side of the Mendenhall	Interior of Church Near Mendenhall Glacier [beautiful setting close to the University of Alaska campus]
Map of Inside Passage (South), Dated 1898	Map of Inside Passage (Middle)	Map of Alaska Panhandle (North Section of Inside Passage)

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