Alaska/Canada Day 12

The ship was now docked in Vancouver, British Columbia and our Alaskan adventure was over.  We boarded a bus to the airport where I saw a CJJR sticker on a luggage cart.  Then we flew back to Dayton with a quick stopover in Chicago.  We arrived home near midnight and it was nice to see true darkness again as it wasn't something we'd seen in the 49th state.  It was a great trip and we hope to return someday to do a few of the things we missed this time--dogsledding and whale watching foremostly.

CKPK "102.7 The Peak" is an Alternative Rock station in Vancouver, British Columbia.  They switched dial positions from 100.5 FM to 102.7 FM in 2010.

 

In July 2022 CKPK flipped to an Adult Hits-leaning Adult Contemporary station rebranded as "102.7 Now! Radio"

Alaska/Canada Day 11 - CJVI

Before our trip started and without giving a reason, Princess Cruises changed our ship, took Ketchikan, Alaska off the itinerary and added Victoria, British Columbia.  One thing we hadn't done yet is do any whale watching.  The excursions through Princess were booked but my wife was able to find an outside company who promised they could get us back to the ship in time.  Then we noticed on the TV in our room that we needed to be back an hour earlier than we were originally told.  No problem...the tour company said they could still get us back in time.  We were scheduled to leave the ship starting at noon but Canadian authorities wouldn't greenlight it until 1 PM (probably because some people hadn't filled out their immigration paperwork.)  Our whale watching tour was canceled as there wasn't enough time which was a real frustrating bummer.  We still had 3 1/2 hours to kill so we took a nice walk from the dock to Government Street and into the heart of beautiful Victoria.  We ended up in Chinatown where I found The Turntable in a narrow alleyway.  There wasn't enough time to do any proper browsing but it's always fun to unexpectedly find a record store.

"Oldies 900" CJVI was on the air from the late 1980s until around 1997.

Alaska Day 10 - KRNN

Today was entirely spent at sea as our cruise ship headed from Juneau to Victoria, British Columbia.  We gambled and ate ourselves silly for the most part and then the creeping sadness set in that our dream trip was soon to be over.  Here's a random picture of some moose that we saw earlier near Denali.

102.7 FM KRNN is a non-commercial, public radio station in Juneau, Alaska.

Alaska Day 9 - KJNO

Today we're in Alaska's capital of Juneau, a city accessible only by plane or by boat.  A few miles out of town we canoed across Mendenhall Lake to Nugget Falls and then to the terminus of Mendenhall Glacier.

It was yet another beautiful scene but a lot of work paddling across that lake!  As we got nearer to the glacier we could feel the cool breezes coming off of it.  Mendenhall Glacier is retreating rapidly and the face of it is expected to pull out of the lake soon.  It was crazy to see how far away the visitors center was from the current location of the glacier.  The center was built in 1962 and we were told you were able to touch the glacier from the parking lot back then.

630 AM KJNO is a News/Talk/Sports station in--you guessed it--Juneau, Alaska.

Alaska Day 8 - KNBA

Today's stop was in Skagway, a one-time boomtown due to the Klondike Gold Rush.  We got off the ship and was met by our tour operator who gave us the bad news that weather wouldn't permit us to helicopter to the glacier for dog sledding but we would be able to fly on to another glacier at a lower elevation.  Sounds good!  Off we went with our spiked boots and trekking poles for an unbelievable experience.

 

A "glacial facial."  The guide told us the crunchy ice was sharp enough to cut to the bone so she put two rocks down to lean on.  The water tasted great and was cold (obviously) and clean despite the dirty glacier around it.

 

Later we walked around Skagway and got the obligatory post office photo.  Another great day in the books.

90.3 FM KNBA airs public radio programming along with Adult Album Alternative music in Anchorage, Alaska.

Alaska Day 7 - KMXT

Our next stop was Glacier Bay National Park, one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.  Highlights were Margerie Glacier and Lamplugh Glacier.  Photos don't do it justice.

100.1 FM KMXT is a non-commercial station in Kodiak, Alaska.

Alaska Day 6 - KFAR

We sailed south overnight to Yakutat Bay and saw Hubbard Glacier.  This glacier is 76 miles long and it takes about 400 years for the ice to traverse its full length and calve off into the water.  Most of the ice at the foot of the glacier is underwater and chunks that break off can shoot up dramatically although we didn't get to see that unfortunately.  A few days after our trip ended a Royal Caribbean cruise ship hit an iceberg while heading toward Hubbard Glacier in heavy fog.  The ship then sailed to Juneau to assess the damage where they decided to end the cruise.  What a bummer.

660 AM KFAR airs a News/Talk format in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Alaska Day 5 - KIAK

The land portion of our trip came to an end with an 8 hour train trip from Denali Park to Whittier.  The double decker train cars had dining areas on the bottom and "Ultra Dome" seating on the top giving us 360-degree views of endless stunning scenery (including mountain goats!)

102.5 FM KIAK is a Country station in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Alaska Day 4 - KIAM

Today we took a Denali Natural History Tour.  After a short film about the early history of Denali National Park we boarded a bus and stopped at various incredibly scenic spots.  The driver wore a headset microphone and broadcast interesting things along the way.  

For perspective, the mountains in the foreground are about 12 miles away while the massive, snowcovered Denali (formerly called Mount McKinley) is 75 miles away.  Apparently getting a good view of Denali is kind of rare as it is often covered with clouds or even smoke from various wildfires.  We got lucky as our view was clear and we could see it all.  It almost didn't even look real but more like a painting off in the distance. 

Later we visited Denali's sled dogs and got a demonstration of their abilities.  They get VERY excited to run!  That night we took a very interesting guided hike including a bit "off trail" and on to the spongy permafrost.  We walked until past 11 PM but the sun was still bright as it is this time of year in Alaska.

KIAM, KYKD and KAGV are co-owned Religious stations spread across the state on their main signals as well as multiple translators.
 

Alaska Day 3 - KIAL

We had some time to kill in the morning so we walked around the lodge area and made sure to wear bug spray because mosquitos were everywhere.  Checked out a treehouse that was built for the Animal Planet reality show Treehouse Masters.  Then it was time to go horseback riding so we mounted Dozer and Clyde and took a nice stroll through the Alaskan woods.  

After a quick lunch we hopped on a bus to go on a Black Diamond ATV tour.  As we were getting our helmets and watching a safety video the skies opened up and it began pouring.  The rain pounding on the metal shed we were in was so loud you had to yell to be heard.  Thankfully, the rain mostly stopped in time for us to hop on our Kawasaki ATVs and ride through some giant mud puddles.  The back country trails adjacent to Denali National Park were a blast to ride on.  At one point we took a break and a double rainbow popped out in front of the snowcapped mountains.  It was a great day.

1450 AM KIAL was a 50-watt station owned by the municipality of Unalaska, Alaska.  In 2008 they moved to 89.7 FM with new call letters KUCB.

Alaska Day 2 - KRPM

Today started with a quick walk around downtown Anchorage before loading up for a 3 hour bus trip to Denali National Park.  Along the way we saw the first of many moose sightings.  After lunch at the lodge we took another bus to the quirky town of Talkeetna which many people use as a base for expeditions to Denali (formerly known as Mt. McKinley.)  Talkeetna reminds me of Yellow Springs, a town near me with an offbeat, hippie-ish vibe.  The town of about 1000 people was supposedly the inspiration for the TV series Northern Exposure and at one time the honorary mayor was a cat named Stubbs.  We walked through some shops, got some ice cream and took the required picture in front of the post office (my employer) before heading to our excursion.  We took a float down the Talkeetna River and while we were getting geared up I noticed a sticker on a mini-fridge from KTNA and wondered if they were the inspiration for KBHR the radio station on Northern Exposure.  (I guess not--the show went on the air in 1990 and KTNA began in 1993.)  The float was scenic and the guide did all the rowing which was great.

96.3 FM KRPM was a Classic Rock station licensed to Houston, Alaska near Anchorage.