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The Complete Survival Guide to Exploring Alaska with Steve Spangler and John Scheerens

Sheraton Seattle – 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

The kick-off event starts on July 16th in Seattle with a special one-day workshop hosted by Steve Spangler and our Science at Sea lead naturalist, John Scheerens. John will get you ready for your adventure with a preview of each of the customized shore excursions with his incredible insights and knowledge of the region. Steve Spangler will share some hands-on science activities you can use to teach some of the environmental science that is unique to Alaska. Don't be surprised if Steve shares a few after-dinner science tricks you can use to amaze and engage your servers on a whole new level.

We board the Holland ms Oosterdam at 1:30 PM and spend a few hours getting acquainted with the amenities onboard this amazing floating city. The ship is scheduled to depart from Seattle at 6:00 PM on its way through Puget Sound.

First explored in 1792 by George Vancouver, Puget Sound is a jewel in the great Pacific Northwest. Surrounded by the impressive Olympic Mountains, the bedazzling Mt Ranier, and the lush rainforests of the Northwest Pacific coast, Puget Sound is home to the cosmopolitan modern city of Seattle, the cultural center of the Pacific Northwest. The famous Space Needle dominates the incredibly lovely downtown skyline we can observe shining in the late afternoon sun as we sail out of Emerald Bay into Puget Sound.

After exploring our new home for the week, we'll enjoy our first dinner together. Cruise ship dinners have a reputation of being stodgy – not so with a Steve Spangler Science at Sea dinner – dinner is an adventure!

Today we sail the outside waters of British Columbia on our way to Alaska. Look for the amazing black footed albatross and Leach's storm petrels, pelagic sea birds we won't see in the Inside Passage. Who knows, a whale may even pass by.

We take advantage of our day at sea to introduce some of the complex and fascinating natural history process of coastal Alaska that doesn't occur any place else on earth like it does here. Our naturalist and Alaska tour guide will introduce us to the geology, glacial process, land and ocean productivity, and some of the marine mammals we will have an opportunity to observe on our tour with a series of talks and demonstrations.

Glacier Bay National Park features some of the wildest, most scenic, most stunning country on earth. The United Nations designated Glacier Bay a World Heritage Site in 1992. Glacier Bay National Park adjoins Wrangell St Elias National Park, Kluane National Park in the Yukon, and the Tatshenshini - Alsek River Wilderness creating the largest contiguous designated wilderness in the world.

Glacier Bay National Park encompasses 3.2 million acres of designated wilderness. It is home to nearly half the tidewater glaciers in North America, a 15,000 foot mountain range, the delightful and mysterious coastal rainforest, over 200 species of birds, grizzly and black bears, and a resident pod of humpback whales. Only four miles of roads and about five miles of developed trails exist in this virtually untracked land larger than the state of Connecticut.

A recent Consumer Reports magazine survey rated Glacier Bay National Park the best National Park to visit in America. A Biosphere Reserve, Glacier Bay National Park protects a unique ecosystem of plants and animals living in concert with an ever-changing glacial landscape. First discovered by the famous naturalist, John Muir, and originally designated as a scientific study preserve, over one hundred years of ongoing research make Glacier Bay a living laboratory.

Today will be a day to dress warmly and plan to spend lots of time outside on decks searching for humpback whales, mountain goats, brown bears, and most impressive of all, the magnificent and inspiring tidewater glaciers Glacier Bay National Park is famous for. Although we will be on board all day today, National Park Service Interpretive Rangers will join us for our entire day in Glacier Bay.

Juneau, Alaska's state capital, was founded on the promise of gold, and sustained on that promise for over fifty years. Gold mining would remain the backbone of Juneau's economy until the 1950's. In the early 1900's, the recently created Territory of Alaska chose Juneau as its capital, and so it remains today. Located at the foot of grand mountain peaks on the Gastineau Channel, the town of Juneau has the massive Mendenhall Glacier and the immense Juneau ice field at its back door.

Juneau occupies a stunning setting nestled on the waterfront beneath enormously high mountains. A bit over 30,000 hearty souls live in Juneau making it Alaska's third largest city. Juneau residents enjoy an active outdoors lifestyle – fishing, boating, skiing, mountaineering, hiking, hunting, and winter sports. When they tire of the great outdoors, Juneau folks enjoy the symphony, a prolific theatre, music festivals, high school sports, and the occasional touring concert or performance. A branch campus of the University of Alaska provides higher education and intellectual pursuits.

Here's what happens in Juneau:

• Disembark the vessel and meet your tour leaders on the dock
• Board motor coaches for a tour of Juneau and the Mendenhall Valley
• Board a small catamaran tour vessel for a whale watch and wildlife quest tour in the marine mammal and sea bird rich waters around Juneau –Make a stop at Colt Island to visit the Orca Point Lodge, a beautiful wilderness lodge, and enjoy a delicious traditional salmon bake featuring locally caught wild Alaska salmon
• Visit Mendenhall Glacier, a moving river of ice with rugged crevasses and a distinctive blue color, which appears deceptively close because of its immense size.
• Stroll the walkways to the U.S. Forestry Service Visitors' Center and take in one of the glaciology exhibits, listen to an interpretive talk with a Forest Service Ranger, or marvel at the panoramic views of the glacier.

Note: Guests on this tour will not be able to walk on the glacier. You will be staying across the lake at the Glacier Visitors Center, which offers spectacular views of the glacier face.

Additional Details About the Excursions

Whale Watch and Wildlife Quest – We take a motor coach tour of Juneau to Auke Bay where we board a catamaran excursion vessel and motor into the Gastineau Channel – Lynn Canal area to search for humpback whales and other wildlife. The extraordinarily productive waters of the area support several dozen resident humpback whales that stay in the area all summer. Good close up looks at humpback whales are almost a certainty. Other wildlife we should see includes Steller sea lions, harbor seals, bald eagles, and hundreds of seabirds. Wildlife sightings on this tour are generally quite good, in fact humpback whale sightings are guaranteed. The vessel will be ours exclusively, so no one but our guests will be aboard. Along the way we pull into the Orca Point Lodge on Colt Island to enjoy a genuine Alaska style salmon bake. Orca Point Lodge is an exclusive Lodge on an isolated island away in the Alaska wilderness. We'll enjoy an excellent lunch of grilled locally caught Alaskan wild salmon, salad, breads, corn on the cob, and rice. Guests may wander about the intertidal area after lunch.

Mendenhall Glacier – Upon our return to the dock we motor coach to Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center (2009 tour). We'll have time there to enjoy hiking the trails, checking out the Visitor Center with its many displays, or watch the excellent movie. John and Steve lead a hike around the Trail of Time loop

Free Time in Juneau –

The onion domes of St. Michael's Cathedral are your first clue that Sitka was once a Russian settlement . The Russian America Company moved its administrative center from Kodiak to what is now known as Sitka in 1799. Sitka's location proved ideal for the Russians – an excellent port on the outer coast of the Pacific Ocean well protected by a ring of islands offered access to both Russian and Yankee traders and the wealth of sea otter populations as well. Sitka for a while was the largest (and only city) on the Pacific coast of North America north of Acapulco. A raucous, bustling, trading town, it became known as the Paris of the Pacific.

When the USA purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, the exchange ceremony unfolded on Castle Hill, the site of the Russian American Company manager's mansion. You can stand on the very spot where the United States took possession of Alaska in 1867 for $7.2 million, less than two cents per acre. The dramatic setting in the shadow of Mt. Edgecumbe is one of the lovliest in the Great Land.

Commercial fishing has always been a mainstay of Sitka's economy, and so it still is. Several commercial fish processing plants line Katlian Street, and Sitka is one of the major seafood producing areas in the world. Sport fishing has increasingly added to the economy. Medical facilities are also prominent, with a couple of major medical centers located in Sitka as well as the largest Native health facility in Southeast Alaska. In recent years, tourism has become a much larger player in Sitka's economy with several cruise ship and tour boat visits occurring each summer.

Here's what happens in Sitka:

• Board the Sea Otter Express and explore Sitka Sound watching for sea otters, whales, sea lions, and sea birds
• Upon our return, we bus to the Sitka Raptor Center (a raptor rehabilitation hospital) and enjoy a special presentation featuring a live bald eagle
• Following the presentation, stroll the grounds and observe the wild raptor enclosures – an optional short hike to a muskeg area is offered
• Upon return to Sitka, you will be dropped off downtown, minutes from the main shopping district and St. Michael's Cathedral. A ticket to the Cathedral is included in the price. 

Additional Details About the Excursions

Sea Otter Wildlife Quest – We will board a catamaran excursion vessel (probably directly from the ship) for a tour of Sitka Sound. Wildlife is abundant in the area and we'll be on the lookout for sea otters, humpback and gray whales, bald eagles, Steller sea lions, and sea birds. If time and sea conditions allow we cruise out to Lazaria Island (maritime wildlife refuge) to look for puffins and other nesting sea birds.

Sitka Raptor Center – Upon being dropped at the dock, we'll board motor coaches to the Sitka Raptor Center. The Raptor Center is a hospital and training center for injured raptors (principally bald eagles) that not only ministers to injured birds but trains them for release back into the wild. A staff eagle biologist will do a program for us featuring a live bald eagle. After the program there are live bird enclosures to visit. For those interested John and Steve lead a short hike back through the rainforest to a muskeg area.

Free Time in Sitka – Guests will have a transit pass for the transit bus that provides continual bus circuits of town every half hour.

Built out over the water and climbing weathered stairways, Ketchikan clings to the shores of Tongass Narrows and drapes the mountains with a cheerful air. Known as Alaska's First City (first civilization the gold rushers came to after leaving Seattle) Ketchikan, the fourth largest city in Alaska, was founded on the rich fishery that surrounds the area. Once home to over a dozen major canneries packing over a million cases per year each, Ketchikan even today is principally a fishing town. The arched sign welcoming you to downtown Ketchikan proudly proclaims Ketchikan the "Salmon Capital of the World".

Impossibly scenic Creek Street clings to banks of Ketchikan Creek (spawning salmon can be observed in the creek) just a short walk from the cruise dock. Now home to several delightful galleries, gift shops, and eateries, Creek Street was until the 1950's Alaska's most famous red light districts.

Here's what happens in Ketchikan:

• Board a motorcoach for Saxman Village, a Native Tlingit settlement just south of Ketchikan
• At Saxman Village, we enjoy a colorful dance presentation by local Native young people demonstrating ancient song and dance rituals
• Saxman Village hosts one of the largest collections of Tlingit and Haida totem poles in the Pacific Northwest – we enjoy free time to stroll in the totem park or join a guide for a detailed explanation of the totem poles in the park
• Saxman Village Carving Shed is home to the most famous of all Tlingit carvers, Nathan Jackson. It serves as a teaching institute offering apprentice carvers the opportunity to learn under master carvers. We have an opportunity to visit the carving shed and visit with the carvers

Additional Details About the Excursions

Saxman Native Village and Totem Park – We board a motor coach at the dock for a short ride to Saxman Native Village. A mixed Native town of Tlingit, Tsimsian, and Haida people, Saxman hosts one of the Pacific Northwest's largest and most historical totem parks. Over two dozen totems are arrayed in a circular pattern in the park and lane. A local will lead us through the park and explain the significance and meaning of the totems. We enter a genuine Clan House where we'll be entertained with traditional dances and songs by local villagers (many of them children). Guests may also visit the carving shed where Native carvers and apprentices are actively carving new totems. It's very colorful, and a chance to get acquainted with some of the traditional culture.

Free Time in Ketchikan –

A touch of England awaits… afternoon tea, double-decker buses, and the spectacular British Columbia Provincial Capital Building highlight this beautiful city on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. The distinctive British feel of the city is no accident. Founded as the administrative center for the western division of the Hudson's Bay Company, the city founders determined in the original charter that the town would be settled only by "English gentlemen of the Crown". Named after the then Queen of England, Victoria today offers a touch of old England to the visitor.

The very British appearing Empress Hotel dominates the skyline of the Inner Harbor. The Empress still today offers a daily traditional afternoon High Tea. Housing in Victoria are mostly Victorian style, and a number of British traditions are still maintained.

The famed Butchart Gardens are perhaps Victoria's most famous highlight. Built in an old quarry, they are world renowned for their beauty and mass. Covering many acres, specialty gardens as well as traditional gardens sport thousands and thousands of flowering plants and shrubs.

Near the Royal British Museum, one of the Pacific Northwest's larger totem park features several of the most well known totems of the southern Pacific Northwest First Nations people.

Here's what happens in Victoria:

• Superb shopping in the downtown area
• Home to the highly regarded Royal British Columbia Museum
• Empress Hotel – built in the early 1900's, a most spectacular hotel in the British tradition
• World famous Butchart Gardens
• Beacon Hill Park – huge inner city green area

Additional Details About Your Time in Victoria

Free Time in Victoria – Since it's the last day, and time is short, guests will enjoy Victoria on their own. There is much to do and see – we'll detail all the possibilities for you. Shopping in Victoria is epic so it's a good opportunity for last minute gifts.

The Emerald City of the Pacific Northwest, Seattle is known for its stunning waterfront. "Catch" a salmon at Pike Place Market, ride to the top of the Space Needle, sample a local microbrew in funky Fremont, or down a cup of java in the coffee capital of the world.