Back from Alaska

Whew - seems like I have been away from the computer forever!

One of the views in Denali National Park

We got in late on Saturday from our honeymoon, and spent the day yesterday getting caught up with regular life again. We went to Alaska on a Princess Cruise Tour that lasted 11 days/10 nights, and included three days on land and then seven days at sea. There is no way that I will be able to blog about the whole thing in one post, so I'll be breaking it up into smaller bits of info as I can get to it.
Since this is a 'birding blog' I should say that this is not the Alaska trip to take if you are specifically going to seeing birds. Often times you are on a schedule that doesn't allow for taking one's time to explore the parks and natural areas, and the cruise ship certainly will not stop or chase that possible Kitlitz's Murrelet. If you want to see Alaska's birds you are much better off going with a bird-specific tour. (I plan to go with Bill Drummond in the near future. I understand that High Lonesome Bird Tours also lead fantastic trips there.) I did manage to get a few life birds out of the trip, and 'cruised past' the 600 mark!!!
On the other hand though, it is a beautiful part of our country that I feel everybody must see. Our cruise was a good way to get a taste of the south and southeastern portions of the state, and we had a great time. The scenery and paks were beautiful, the glaciers were breathtaking, and we lived like royalty. I'll have plenty of photos for Skywatch Fridays for a few weeks!

More to come...