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08/06/2008 11:14:44 AM · #1 |
| My wife and I are traveling to Seattle August 23 where we will be renting a car for the rest of August then taking a cruise ship to Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway AK and Victoria BC the first week of September. We know very little of the areas and would appreciate suggestions on "can't miss" places to go. Of course good photography is an objective for me, but my wife won't let it be a photography only trip. Thanks in advance. |
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08/06/2008 11:57:37 AM · #2 |
Be careful! I did the same trip in Aug of 2007 and 6 months later I moved here!
Lots to see, do and shoot here. You may want to narrow down what you are looking for? Are you willing to hike some to get a shot or close to the car? City stuff, nature stuff, water stuff, waterfalls, wildlife? |
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08/06/2008 12:10:03 PM · #3 |
It's going to take a lot to get me away from San Diego, but I apprecate the warning. I don't think we'll want to do a lot of hiking. I'm interested in beautiful scenery (mountains, gorges, streams, waterfalls, forests), wildlife (sea and land), indigenous Alaskan peoples, art and villages. I'm not so interested in city stuff, but quaint villages would be a plus. That's a big goal for a short time and I realize Northwest North America isn't an amusement park you can quickly go from site to site, but we just don't want to get back and regret missing something great.
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08/06/2008 12:34:29 PM · #4 |
Howdy! We did exactly those cities last summer, although we did them via cruise ship (Norwegian Pearl, round-trip out of Seattle). You're in for a treat!
A couple spots off the top of my head... in Juneau, the Mendenhall Glacier is a must-visit location. Take the time to enjoy some of the trails there, too. We really enjoyed seeing the enormous salmon in some of the streams near the glacier. You might want to take a whale watching tour, too. The whales are abundant, and we saw many of them while we were there and in Skagway. Another cool spot was the Juneau marina, if you're in to boats and so forth. There is a photography tour you can take, where a local guide will take you to various spots that are good for taking photos.
We really enjoyed the White Pass Rail trip out of Skagway. Very interesting gold rush history, and a really scenic trip! It was especially nice because you could stand outside between the cars while you're riding, and shoot scenery without having to shoot through a window. Also in Skagway, Yakutania Point is a very cool little hike just outside town. It leads to a beautiful inlet where I saw some more whales swimming nearby. Just awesome!
I loved the marina in Ketchikan. And the shops on Creek Street were quaint and neat to photograph. We also did the lumberjack show, which is semi-corny, but fun.
My only "complaint" about these places is that the cruise lines have turned some of the port areas into more touristy venues. They seem to take an area and turn it into their vision of what a tourist would expect to see. It's hard to explain what I mean here... it just seems like the cruise lines have "sanitized" the view of what these towns were really like. I'd prefer to see what the towns are really like, rather than a cruise line's view of what they should look like. So you have to go a little further into towns to see how people really live, and really get a flavor of the lifestyle there.
Victoria was also beautiful. I just walked around the downtown area, and I also enjoyed a park that borders the ocean with a nice, paved trail around it.
Oh, and you'll certainly have to visit Kerry Park in Seattle for that city's most famous view, while you're there!
I have a bunch of shots from the trip in my portfolio.
Feel free to PM me if I can be of more help.
Message edited by author 2008-08-06 12:39:04. |
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08/06/2008 12:52:09 PM · #5 |
| Just as a side thought... I was curious to see how you were planning to visit Juneau since you can't get there by car? I believe there is a ferry from Skagway and other places. I'd be interested in learning how you're planning to visit that city, out of curiosity! |
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08/06/2008 01:05:41 PM · #6 |
If I understand correctly, you are renting the car to drive around Seattle and Washington for about a week and then taking the cruise to Alaska.
My favorite place in Washington is just a brief 3.5 drive from Seattle...Lake Chelan. Then take the North Cascades Highway back into Seattle. Could be done round trip in a day, but overnight might be more fun. The sites are spectacular! Glaciers, mountains, forests, lakes, rivers...not too mention the quaint little towns along the way, some desert, orchards & Grand Coulee dam (if you go out East another hour & the wildfire is out.)
I spend every summer at Lake Chelan (family vacation house) and there is always something new to see. This is the third deepest lake in the US and the fourth in the world. Elevation is around 3000 feet with some parts of lake bottom reaching 1500 feet below sea level.
Chelan is the English translation of the Native American word "Tsillan" (Wapato tribe, I believe) for deep water.
Also, the ferry through the San Juan islands is fabulous, and if you are heading to Victoria, you will definitely see the islands and probably some Orca pods.
No matter what you do, you are going to have a fabulous time and I would love to see pics. |
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08/06/2008 01:12:13 PM · #7 |
I didn't like the cruise for photography, we were never in any place long enough to get the shots I really wanted. You have to be very opportunistic! We did have an amazing time though and did get some great photos! We took the same cruise Alan did. My best advise for all of the towns is to get out of town, away from the port. The port areas are just full of tourist shops and jewelry stores. other advise: whale watching is fun, but not really photographic and you can do that out of Anacortes/San Juan Island (Washington) probably cheaper so I would not waste your limited time in Alaska on it. Plus, if you keep your eyes open you'll see them from the ship. We saw a ton, they always seemed to be around when you saw fishing boats around? look for the blow holes spouting. We took a bear trip, but only saw one briefly. However, we went to a very remote non touristy area (flew in on a float plane). If you want bear, go to the touristy places where they garuntee bear. The best trip we did was a Jeep trip into the Yukon. We had our own Jeep and followed a guide who spoke over CB. It's a on and off road trip (easy off road). Several great stops at photo ops, great way to see a lot.
In the washington area I'd suggest The mountain loop highway (78 mile loop), Paradise at Mt Rainier (appropriately named), Leavenworth (beautiful drive, cool little town), Anywhere around Anacortes or take a ferry to San Juan Island, Snoqualmie falls and probably more I'm forgetting. But I've been here less then 2 years so i'm sure there are many more. |
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08/06/2008 01:12:19 PM · #8 |
Royal BC Museum in Victoria - not really for photography but well worth a visit
Message edited by author 2008-08-06 13:13:30. |
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08/06/2008 01:29:23 PM · #9 |
A couple of suggestions around Seattle:
1) Day trip to Mt St Helens Johnson Ridge Visitor Center - Fun to get to - Magnificent scenery - and a world class volcano.
2) Shorter day trip loop around Mt. Rainier - stopping at Sunrise and Paradise visitor centers.
3) Museum of Flight has lots of interesting aircraft and photography is allowed.
4) Seattle city scapes from - Kerry park, West Seattle Harbor Avenue, Dr Jose Rizal Park near Pacific Medical Center
5) Sunset Ferry ride to Bainbridge island and back ... View of city from the harbor at sunset is spectacular.
6) Seattle Center - Space Needle, Experience Music Project
7) Tour Boeing 747 Factory (Everett is a 30 minute drive north of Seattle) - Sadly, no photos allowed.
8) Argossy Lake Washington boat tour - see magnificent waterfront homes including Bille Gates, Paul Allen, etc.
Seattle's a neat place. I am lucky in that I could live anyplace in the world and I choose to live here.
PM if you'd like to talk further. |
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08/06/2008 03:50:18 PM · #10 |
| Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. Just to clarify we are spending August 23 to August 31 driving around wherever. I'm not reserving lodging just so we have freedom to go anywhere and stay as long as we want when we find something good. Then August 31 we're taking the Star Princess on the Alaska and Victoria cruise ending Sept 7. We have a car reserved in Skagway for the day, since I understand Skagway is a pretty much one-horse town. We'll try to take in as much of it as we can in the short time. Unfortunately my company only allows 2 weeks vacation at a time. Next year we plan to go to Europe for our very first time for our 25th anniversary, and it will be very difficult to do it in 2 weeks. |
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08/06/2008 05:32:21 PM · #11 |
| Ha... oops... I read your first post quickly and thought you were driving from Seattle to Alaska :) |
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08/06/2008 05:50:21 PM · #12 |
I did a similar trip in June. Here are some images of that trip. Recommendations:
Juneau - Mendenhall Glacier (you can catch a bus at the dock) and a whale watch tour (I used a small company that only took 6 people at a time).
Ketchikan - walk Creek Street to say you've been there then try a Misty Fjords Flight (I used this guy - amazing.
Skagway - rather than take the train (7 hours trapped on a train!) I rented a car from Avis and drove to Emerald Lake.
All of these were great for my husband and son while allowing me opportunities to photograph the landscape. My husband loved it so much he wants to move there in three years... |
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08/07/2008 12:20:08 PM · #13 |
I also took the cruise on the Norwegian Pearl, and they aren't kidding when they say that all the stops are pretty much tourist traps. I've never seen so many jewelry stores in one spot...
Anyway, in Juneau we went up the the mountain on the tramway. It was pretty cool but not worth the money in my opinion. I wouldn't recommend it. Didn't try anything else as there isn't much time to really go out on your own here and be back in time for the ship to leave.
In Skagway, we took the Yukon bus tour which I absolutely loved. The driver will point out different photo opportunities and stop the bus so you can get out, look around, and shoot some pictures. It takes about 8 hours and I'd highly reccommend it. I think it's better than the railroad simply because it actually stops and gives you time to set things up. If you have your own car, just go and follow one of the busses up into the Yukon and back. :)
In Ketchikan, we didn't really do anything but walk around the town so I can't really comment here.
Glacier Bay National Park was absolutely phenominal. It is something you HAVE to see at some point in your life.
In Victoria, BC we went to the Butchart Gardens. It was simply amazing and beautiful. If flowers are your thing, there's nothing better. Highly reccommended from me. You also get a nice tour of the city if you do this tour through the cruise company.
Unlike some people on here, I think it's an amazing place to visit, but I'd never want to move there. :)
In Seattle, I'd reccommend the Boeing factory tour. It's impressive to say the least. I'd also reccommend just walking around downtown and down by the waterfront. You can go up the Space Needle if you haven't been up any tall buildings before...if you have then it's all the same and save some money. There's also a restaurant at the top of the needle if you want to (and can) spend ~$60+ a person on dinner. Kerry park is another great place to visit as well. I only had 2 days in Seattle so I didn't see much.
Hope this helps and have a great time!
PS I'm still working on my pictures...hopefully will have them sometime soon.
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