Exposure, Northern Style

No, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, though it kinda feels like it. I'm in Alaska, enjoying a long-awaited and much-anticipated cruise to celebrate our fifteenth anniversary. Both Internet and cellphone service is extremely spotty up here, and emails are nearly impossible! So, I thought I'd do a little blog entry while I had the chance, and hope anybody who might be looking for me will realize I'm not ignoring them. :)

It's so beautiful here. We started our trip last week with a few days in Vancouver (very cosmopolitan), then boarded our ship on Saturday. I've read my way through more books this week than I can count, eaten more than I thought possible, lazed and napped, walked until my legs ached. Yesterday I hiked part of the Chilkoot Trail and floated back in a raft, enjoying bald eagles soaring over our heads and harbor seals that were waiting for a meal of fresh salmon (it's spawning season). If you ignore the touristy side of towns like Juneau and Skagway, you can get a feel for what it must've been like before the cruise ships started coming - wild and untamed, so remote from the rest of the world.

I saw my first glacier up close this morning - the wind was cold, the air was clear, and the view was breathtaking. As I sit here typing, the view from the shipboard internet cafe shows chunks of ice floating by, stark cliffs of gray stone dotted by green and topped by white. The ice in some spots is pale blue, like the sky. I'm told we'll see whales and dolphin today, maybe a bear or an elk - we saw some whales a couple of days ago, spouting, right beside the ship.

All in all, it's been fabulous. If I can just deal with my "technology-withdrawal" for a couple more days! I'll post pictures when I get back.