My First Brothel Experience

Today I walked into a brothel.....with Jenesa!  Funny, huh?

A visit to Skagway, AK would not be complete without a stop at the Historic Red Onion Saloon.  Built in 1897, the saloon operated as one of the finest bordellos in Skagway.  The Red Onion was the classiest dance hall in the bustling gold rush town of Skagway.  The upstairs bordello consisted of 10 cribs (rooms), and each room had 2 or 3 doors for escape purposes and temperature control.

When the time came to cure a weary miner's thirst for some love and affection, the anxious gentleman would choose his girl in a very unique way. Behind the bar were 10 dolls that represented the 10 girls upstairs. As each customer would choose a doll of his choice, the bartender would then lay the doll on her back, indicating that that girl was “busy”. Once the gentleman came back down the stairs, the doll was sat upright so every customer in the bar knew that she was once again available.

Unfortunately, Jenesa told me the only choice I had was a cheeseburger or a pepperoni pizza!

Who Needs A Harley....

.....when you can zoom around on a Kawasaki KLR 650 in Alaska?

The "geezer" thing to do in Skagway is to ride the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway to the White Pass summit....climbing 2865 feet into the mountains.  The Leonard's had other plans....and decided to rent a motorcycle for a few hours to travel the same uphill route to the White Pass summit (and beyond!).

This was more dirt bike than Harley....and Jenesa was missing the sissy bar on the back!  But how could we resist riding through the scenic mountains of Skagway, AK and into the Canadian Yukon?  We were actually required to carry our passports while biking because of entering Candadian territory (roughly an hour away).  Luckily, today was a gorgeous day....temperatures hitting mid-60's.....and we were ready to ride!

Barely reaching 35mph on the ride up to the summit....I was half scared by the steep drop-off right beside the road.  It took all of my energy NOT to look down the mountain-side....and I kept my eyes and total focus on the center line in the road!  No way were we gonna die on a Kawasaki!  I wound up missing a lot of beautiful scenery for the first 20 minutes of the ride.....but we survived the climb.  What we didn't miss was a frickin' BEAR on the side of the road once we hit the summit.  He was literally 10 feet from us.....but I wasn't stopping for a picture!

After two hours riding through the Alaskan mountains....we can honestly recommend a bike vs. the train on your next visit to Skagway.  And, yes....next time we'd love to do it on our Harley!

Is It Bedtime Yet?

I'm still trying to adjust to this Alaska time zone!  I guess it's not so much the time zone as it is the 20+ hours of sunlight each day.  Midnight here looks like 8pm back home.  Needless to say....we've been trying to block out the sunlight in our cruise cabin every night.  It's harder than you think!

Don't let this cruise itinerary fool you.....there is still plenty of light outside after 11:01pm.  And, today while we were cruising through Glacier Bay....the temperature easily exceeded 75 degrees in the afternoon!  We were both stripping off our clothes as we were "relaxing" outside by the swimming pool.

Glacier Bay National Park

The purpose of an Alaskan vacation is obviously to see two things: 1.) the amazing landscapes by plane, train, boat, and bus (or a motorcycle!), and 2.) the crazy wildlife that roams this last frontier state.  So far we've both enjoyed this trip....and we've still got 16 more days to go!

Today we would be cruising through Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.  Glacier Bay became part of a bi-national UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, was inscribed as a Biosphere Reserve in 1986 and in 1994 undertook an obligation to work with Hoonah and Tlingit Native American organizations in the management of the protected area.  No roads lead to the park and it is most easily reached by air travel.  Despite the lack of roads....there are over 400,000 visitors each year most of whom arrive via cruise ship. The number of ships that may arrive each day is limited by regulation

 (see the glacier at the mouth of the hills?)

Our entire day today would be spent on the ship viewing one glacier after another as we cruised through this channel towards our final port (Seward).  Our cruise ship opened up the bow to allow us to view this scenic area from the front of the ship.  It was great for about 15 minutes....until I froze my nuts off!

Jenesa and I wound up retreating to the back deck of the ship and having some hot chocolates to warm us up!  In a little less than a few hours though....the temperature warmed up to the point we were shedding clothing down to shorts and t-shirts.  Now, I was sweating my nuts off!

The most impressive part of the day was our one hour stop at the Marjerie Glacier.  The cruise ship sat directly in front of the glacier and people crowded around to take pictures and witness glacial calving.  Let me explain this in simple terms - cows have calves, glaciers calve icebergs - which are chunks of ice that break off the glaciers and fall into the water.  This was my best attempt at capturing the calving process.  SPLASH!

Practice Makes Perfect!

Every night on a cruise ship....you go to dinner and return to your room to find....Tada!....a different towel animal sitting on your bed or hanging from your mirror!

So....today the cruise ship offered a towel folding demonstration and I just had to attend!  I wanted to see just how hard it was to fold the towels and make these silly animals.  I also thought it might score me some bonus points at our next pool party back home!

Towel Folding Lesson on YouTube

Hey Nick Donnelly.....here's a towel folding lesson on your favorite website!  Check it out and practice while I'm away.  I'll challenge you when I get home!  haha

Off To The Fjords...Again!

Upon our arrival in our final port - Seward, AK - we booked a trip into the Kenai Fjords National Park.  Instead of a floatplane...we would be cruising by catamaran.

This was the 2nd highest rated excursion advertised through Holland America....and I love anything with great reviews!  Jenesa and I also love to see the wildlife....and this full day tour supposedly offered a little more of everything.

How about a sea otter?  (one of many around the harbor)

More whales?  No problem!

Sea lions everywhere!

Have you ever seen a horned-puffin?

And, another glacier moment!

Goodbye Cruise Ship!

Today officially starts our 14 day land portion of this trip.  After a week sailing north on Holland America's ms Oosterdam....we shall now venture to Anchorage, Fairbanks, and through the Canadian Yukon over the next two weeks.

A Beary Special Day!

Happy 38th, 39th, and 40th birthday, Jenesa!

Remember when I said I was a little cheap?  Well, my wife Jenesa isn't!  See where this is going?  Anyways, to make a long story short....we both wanted to see bears on this trip to Alaska.  Not just one bear, but lots of bears!

We did some research beforehand and realized the bears usually do not appear until the salmon begin spawning in mid-July.  And, in order to see lots of bears....you would need to pay for a private tour that would fly you into the bear region (usually in a remote area of Alaska).  Of course, these tours were NOT cheap....and, the tour company would NOT guarantee a bear sighting.  So we kinda argued about this idea for a a little while before Jenesa said this could be her birthday present for the next THREE YEARS!

 

Poor Leonard!  Not only was this "breaking the budget" but it also involved flying in another floatplane (remember Ketchikan?).  We booked through Rust's Flying Service months in advance of our cruise....and would highly recommend them in the future.  Smooth sailing all the way to Redoubt Bay!

The Redoubt Bay Lodge is about as remote as it gets....sitting hillside beside the Bay where our floatplane landed.  Nothing else around for miles and miles (except the bears!).  On this adventure we would cruise around the Bay in a pontoon boat heading towards bear territory.  Hiking was not allowed nor recommended.  Our guide gave us a 95% chance of seeing at least one bear.....and within 15 minutes .....Peek-a-boo!

Hello, bear!  Goodbye, bear!  Within 30 seconds this guy crawled up the hillside and disappeared into the trees.  So we continued to motor our pontoon boat over towards another area where the salmon were literally jumping up out of the water.  And, we waited....

And waited....

And waited...

And waited...

Ninety-minutes later.....it was not looking good.  It's been a while since I've prayed....but I was praying that one bear was not going to cost me three years worth of birthday presents for my wife!  I was praying for some hungry bears to wander down to the shoreline and gobble up all of these delicious salmon jumping up out of the water.  I was praying for a bear miracle today!

Hallelujah!  It was as if the bear gods heard my prayers....and the heaven's sent down four unbelievably awesome bears!!!  Now I was getting my money's worth!  And, the show was about to begin....

It was lunchtime!  The baby bears went fishing in the creek for salmon, and mama bear jumped right into the Bay for some salmon of her own!  Look at all the fishing lines around mama bear (pic below!).  There were several fishing boats attempting to catch the salmon as well.....and I had my camera ready in case one of the fishermen accidentally snagged mama bear!  July 4th is just days away.....and I knew there would be fireworks today if mama bear got caught in a fishing line!

After 15 minutes of enjoying this family of bears....four MORE bears appeared!  Uh oh!  Our tour guide said this could get quite interesting as each family would not only be protective of its cubs.....but of its food.  We were ready for a rumble!

Luckily, the bears played nice and kept their distance from each other.  One family would fish near the shoreline while the other family would eat further up the creek....and then switch places.  For the next 40 minutes we had an amazing time just watching these bears!  I also got some great pictures!  And, Jenesa definitely got three years worth of birthdays out of this adventure!

Goodbye, bears!  You put on quite a show!  The rest of our bear pictures can be found on our Redoubt Bay Bear Adventure page (click on the link).  Check them out!

Choo Choo'ing To Denali

We're off to Denali National Park.....and riding in style!  Introducing the Holland America McKinley Explorer.  It has a domed-glass ceiling for the view of all things Alaska on the second floor....and down below on the first floor is the dining area for breakfast and lunch!  We have a long eight hour train ride ahead of us to get from Anchorage to Denali.....but the seats are comfortable and we're ready to start looking for a moose (he would be the next thing to check off our Alaska bucket list!).

A few hours into our train ride....my lovely wife decides to play a little prank on one of the old geezers in our group.  He's trying to get out of the bathroom....and Jenesa traps him in there with her foot in front of the door.  Luckily, when he discovers why he can't get out of the restroom.....he thinks it's funny as hell!  And, now....all the old people refer to Jenesa as the "trouble maker."  Funny!  Funny!  :)

The Husky Homestead

Two days ago, I started reading a book Cold Hands, Warm Heart - Alaskan Adventures of an Iditarod Champion authored by musher Jeff King.  My mom actually got me this book (autographed copy!) while she was in Alaska last month....and I wanted to start reading it before reaching Denali.  We had an upcoming tour to see Jeff King's Husky Homestead when arriving in Denali....and I wanted to be prepared with some info before our visit.

 Jeff King is the "winningest" musher in sled-dog sports history - winning the 1,049 mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race four times, including the challenging Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, and over two dozen other first place finishes all across Alaska. 

Greeting us at his Husky Homestead were his puppies!  

Jenesa was in love at first site!  While she got cozy with the puppies....I wandered over to the puppy log cabin!  I must say these puppies have it made!

The rest of the adult huskies were chained to their kennels outside the lodge....and as we admired these Alaskan racing dogs, we got a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into creating a championship team and a demonstration that included the dogs running in front of a 4-wheeler.  They explained that the 4-wheeler sets the pace (at approximately 10mph), and the dogs are trained to maintain this speed during their training runs.  The dogs can go much faster....but pace and speed are two different things in a 1000 mile race...and it's important to train the dogs accordingly.  

Inside the lodge, Jeff King spoke to us with some of his stories and a brief explanation of his racing sleds, arctic survival gear and equipment used to traverse 1100 miles of Alaska’s most rugged terrain. The snow suit above (in the picture) can withstand temperatures at -40degrees F.  Jeff was a highly entertaining story teller....and I managed to meet him afterwards! 

The Denali Safari

This trip offered 3-nights in Denali National Park....which is home to a variety of animals, including grizzly bears and black bears. Herds of caribou roam throughout the park. Dall sheep are often seen on mountainsides, and moose feed on the aquatic plants of the small lakes and swamps. If you can spot all four of these animals during your trip through the park....it's called a GRAND SLAM!  Corbett Leonard's been known to swing for the fences....so bring it on!

We would spend the next seven hours roaming around the park on a renovated school bus.  Upon leaving our chalet in the early morning....the weather was awful.  It was raining buckets!  But once we entered the park....hello sunshine!  Looked like it would be a great day for a ball game!

Two summers ago we went on a safari through Kruger National Park in South Africa.  On that safari tour there were animals everywhere roaming around the park - 4 elephants here, 3 zebras there, 1 giraffe on the road, 6 buffalo down the hill, and lions hiding in the distance.  Unfortunately, it seemed that we would have a harder time finding the animals in Denali.  Quite a few people around our chalet complained they didn't see anything....and others said many of the animals were so far away they needed binoculars to see them.  Uh oh!

Fortunately, I was known to be a clutch hitter.....so let's load the bases!

FIRST BASE - A grizzly bear in the distance!

 SECOND BASE - Dall sheep high on top of the mountain.

THIRD BASE - A herd of caribou relaxing by the road.  Check out the racks on these boys!

Well, when it comes to baseball....Leonard doesn't disappoint!

GRAND SLAM! - A huge bull moose hiding along the side of the road.

*** We were actually spoiled a little today.....we saw these four animals on our initial ride into the park (grand slam #1).  We hit another grand slam (four different bears, moose, sheep, and caribou) on the return trip to our chalet.  Our tour guide was just as amazed as we were.  You can see all of the other animals on our Call of the Wild page (check out the link).  A true All Star day!

Where's My Seatbelt?

Today I made my first big mistake on this trip....I agreed to let Jenesa drive this ATV.  Here in Alaska they call these things ARGO's.....back home we call them Scramblers.  ARGO's will climb, crawl or swim anywhere you have to go, and fill the gap between recreational quads and heavy off road equipment.

(throttle like a motorcycle)

We certainly put the ARGO to the test....as we crossed the tundra early this morning....and splashed through several areas of water and pure mud!  We were told that Alaska just had the rainiest month in its history (June), and several areas were flooded out or blocked off due to the high waters.  

Jenesa managed to hit every bump, puddle, creek, and rock at full speed....and I had to scold her a few times during the morning drive.  I sure wasn't going to buy a new Volkswagen GTi to replace a broken ATV on this trip (haha....inside joke!)  Well, we both survived and enjoyed a few smiles....but you may want to think twice before riding with Jenesa in the future!

Into The Wild

If you don't know the story of Christopher McCandless.....his body was found inside an abandoned bus in Alaska after surviving 119 days in the remote wilderness near Denali National Park (August,1992).  His story was documented in his personal journal and later translated into a best-selling book, Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer.  In 2007, the book was adapted into a film directed by Sean Penn.

You can still walk 20 miles through mosquito-infested tundra, risk your life crossing the Teklanika River to get a photo next to the “Magic Bus.” Or you can go to the 49th State Brewing Company, visit the "Magic Bus" replica from the movie, then walk 20 yards and try one of their handcrafted beers and a burger or steak in their popular bar & grill.  Guess what we did?  :)

Happy 4th of July

We're in Fairbanks, Alaska today!  Celebrating July 4th at a salmon bake and theater show at the local park.  Unfortunately, Alaska does not put on an Independence Day fireworks show.....do you know why?  Because it NEVER gets dark during the summer in Alaska!