As we would be out of the country on our actual 50th anniversary, and as September would not be a good month for many of our kids to get together anyway, we celebrated early with a cruise to Alaska with 10 of our children and their spouses from June 3-10, with six couples continuing on for a couple of days in Denali National Park. Cheryl and her baby Jacob, who were unable to join us for the cruise, did join us in Anchorage for the Denali portion. This was a dream we had had for many years, and we are grateful to have been permitted to leave our temple assignment in Honduras for a couple of weeks so it could happen. And we are grateful to the Ocampos and the Amados who worked extra shifts to compensate for our absence.
We are also grateful for the many little miracles (more than mere coincidences) which came together to make everything work out beautifully. These included but were not limited to:
- Everyone's being able to get to Vancouver on time in spite of storms and consequent flight delays and in spite of mechanical problems with at least one of the planes. Though several (including the Adibs and the Boixes) had flight delays and only through divine providence made it on time, the greatest miracle in this regard may have involved the Yeardleys, who made it to the ship about 10 minutes before it was to sail, despite the normal rule that all passengers had to be on board at least an hour before.
- Beautiful weather throughout the trip, including a crystal clear day when we arrived in Whittier and another similar but even warmer day on our drive back from Denali, affording us magnificent views of Mt. McKinley, which more often than not is shrouded in clouds. We also had dry weather in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway, enabling us to more fully enjoy our time ashore.
- A wonderful wildlife viewing day in Denali, where we saw about twice as much as most shuttle groups do, including (in the case of those on our shuttle) 15 grizzly bears, 23 caribou, 20 Dall sheep, 3 moose (including one close up at the visitor's center), and a coyote. We also had better than average views of magnificent Mt. McKinley, though not as good as we got the next day.
- Cheryl's getting on her flight from Phoenix to Anchorage on time, in spite of being misdirected to the wrong gate at the airport.
- Little Jacob's being so happy and well-behaved during the 11 hour shuttle bus ride in Denali.
- Jose's getting his luggage delivered in Ketchikan after it was lost in Vancouver.
- Greg's finally finding his luggage in Whittier just before the shuttle bus was to leave.
- Virginia's and my getting home in time (despite a flight delay in Newark due to the weather) to be only 15 minutes late to her doctor's appointment.
- Our Denali group getting fed at 9:45 by a restaurant which normally closes at 10:00.
- Getting our rental cars back to the Anchorage airport with about 8 minutes to spare before we would have been charged for an additional day.
- Virginia's and my getting home in time (despite weather delays at the Newark Airport) to be only 15 minutes late to her doctor's appointment.
- Wonderful outpourings of love and kindness by all family members present, and opportunities to visit, play together, eat together, and meet together on various occasions. This included a wonderful surprise anniversary party given us by our children and spouses, complete with T shirts, photo album, DVD program, drinks, etc.
- The impression that this must be what heaven is like--unhurried time surrounded by loved ones. I get the same feeling in the temple. It's wonderful to know that this life is just the beginning of eternal ecstasy.
Photos follow, with brief comments:
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| The group of us on formal night |
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| Sailing away from Vancouver |
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| Leaving Vancouver |
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| Leaving Vancouver |
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| Leaving Vancouver |
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| Sean shows dance moves during sail-away party--he even made it onto the ship's commemorative video! |
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| Virginia vacations near Vancouver |
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| Basketball and ping pong afforded opportunities for friendly competition. |
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| Our kids gave us a great surprise anniversary party, with video, scrapbook, t-shirts, and sparkling grape juice! |
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| Our t-shirts with our favorite message |
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| Anniversary kiss |
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| Happy moment at anniversary party |
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| Group at Ketchikan, compliments of Janessa |
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| Sean and Regina Adib |
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| Jose and Kathi Boix |
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| David and Ginette Burrows |
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| Danny and Malisa Cazier |
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| David and Amy Cazier |
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| One of our two tables in the Four Seasons restaurant |
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| Larnie and Susan Higgins |
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| Rick and Janessa Cazier |
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| Debbi and Greg Watson |
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| Tyson and Laurie Wilde |
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| John and Carina Yeardley |
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| Don and Virginia Cazier |
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| Don and Virginia |
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| Don and Virginia |
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| Our second table |
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| Don and Virginia dining |
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| Don and Virginia again |
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| Breakfast in Ketchikan |
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| Leaving for walking tour of Ketchikan |
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| Beautiful scenery in Ketchikan (with pretty stream behind) |
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| Don and Virginia and totem pole in Ketchikan |
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| Don and Virginia in Ketchikan |
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| Don and Virginia and flowers in Ketchikan |
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| Danny and Malisa in Ketchikan |
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| David and Amy and our ship in Ketchikan |
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| D&V and Wildes in Ketchikan |
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| Don consoling himself with the thought that the ship is even bigger than he is! |
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| Sean and Regina and bear in Ketchikan |
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| Gold nugget in Ketchikan worth $17,300 |
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| Alaska's largest collection of gold nuggets (in Ketchikan) |
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| Rick ponders purchase |
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| Bald eagle in Ketchikan |
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| Greg protecting himself from the elements in Ketchikan |
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| On nature walk in Ketchikan |
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| Assorted family members by Ketchikan totem pole |
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| Trained bald eagle performs in Ketchikan |
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| Virginia by Ketchikan totem pole |
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| On the Virg of being eaten |
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| Diminutive wife dwarfed by enormous cruise ship |
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| Duos duel |
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| Salsa lessons (but where were the chips?) |
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| Debbi dances (so does Greg, of course, but we were looking for alliteration). |
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| Braving the elements to watch for whales (There were more at the buffet than in the water on this particular evening.) |
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| Mendenhall Glacier (behind the bald eagle) |
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| You'd look unhappy, too, if you were caged up like this. |
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| Waterfall next to Mendenhall Glacier. The size of the people at the base shows it was a big one. |
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| Scenery near Juneau |
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| More scenery near Juneau |
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| Still more scenery near Juneau |
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| Juneau |
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| Don and Virginia doing famous polar bear taming act |
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| Kathi just after having thrown a snowball on Mt. Roberts, above Juneau |
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| Mendenhall Glacier area near Juneau |
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| Closeup of Mendenhall Glacier |
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| In tram in Juneau, going up to Mt. Roberts |
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| Tram ride |
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| View of tram going up Mt. Roberts |
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| Our bus to Mendenhall Glacier |
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| Our ship from Mt. Roberts |
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| Another view of our ship from Mt. Roberts |
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| View of Juneau from Mt. Roberts |
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| Close up of our ship, from atop Mt. Roberts |
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| Scenic view from Mt. Roberts |
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| Virginia on Mt. Roberts |
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| Don on Mt. Roberts |
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| Still another view of our ship from Mt. Roberts |
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| Virginia at Mendenhall Glacier |
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| Virginia near Mendenhall Glacier |
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| Pretty leaves in Skagway |
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| White Pass-Yukon railway tracks outside of Skagway |
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| Outside Skagway |
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| Outside Skagway |
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| Our first grizzly bear photo--taken from a photo inside our tour bus outside Skagway, in case we didn't see any others! |
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| Long waterfall outside Skagway |
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| The Adib and parents' tour bus outside Skagway |
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| Scenery outside Skagway |
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| Adib Falls (It is possible they already had another name before we renamed them.) |
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| Scenic view outside Skagway with Adibs |
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| Our Skagway tour took us into Canada far enough that we could get a shot of the "Welcome to Alaska" sign. |
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| Near the summit outside Skagway |
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| Frozen scenery outside Skagway |
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| More of the same |
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| More of the same, with frozen lake |
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| Grave of "Soapy" Smith, killed in gunfight with Frank Reid. |
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| Grave of Frank Reid, considered a local hero for killing Soapy Smith, losing his own life in the process. |
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| Scenery as we returned to Skagway |
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| Large dandelions on way back to Skagway |
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| Other wild flowers near Skagway |
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| Leaving Skagway |
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| Leaving Skagway |
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| Some of the animal towel creations our cabin steward left us |
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| Mouse made from wash cloth |
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| Whale outside Skagway! |
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| Same or similar whale |
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| Danny and Malisa |
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| David and Amy |
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| David and Ginette |
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| Debbi and Greg |
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| Don and Virginia |
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| David, Danny, Ricky, Malisa, and Janessa participate in onboard "Friendly Feud" game |
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| David in "Friendly Feud" game |
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| Don and Virginia at Marjorie Glacier |
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| Marjorie Glacier (note mirror image in water) |
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| More of Marjorie |
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| Still more |
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| Close up of Marjorie Glacier |
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| At Marjorie Glacier |
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| Seals near Marjorie Glacier |
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| Seal at Marjorie Glacier |
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| Yeardleys in Glacier Bay |
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| John and Carina |
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| Amy does karaoke |
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| David and Amy do karaoke |
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| Debbi and Amy do karaoke |
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| Debbi and Amy do karaoke. John Yeardley also did some great karaoke numbers, but the picture didn't turn out. |
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| Cazier kids and spouses sing "Unchained Melody" in honor of Don and Virginia |
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| Same |
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| Jose and Kathi |
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| Lamplugh Glacier |
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| Close up of Lamplugh Glacier |
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| Larnie and Susan |
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| Tyson and Laurie |
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| Majestic mountains in Glacier Bay |
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| Regina and Sean |
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| Rick and Janessa |
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| Towel monkey left by cabin steward, Arvin |
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| Sunday meeting in the ship's chapel |
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| Hubbard Glacier |
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| Hubbard Glacier |
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| Mountain near Hubbard Glacier |
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| Towel swans left by cabin steward |
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| Exquisite piece of statuary found on cruise ship |
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| Baby musk ox at injured animal sanctuary near Whittier |
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| Bear at animal sanctuary (Okay, we cloned out the wire fence so he'd look more wild.) |
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| At Portage Glacier |
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| Musk oxen at animal sanctuary |
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| Elk enjoys eats at animal sanctuary |
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| Portage Glacier area |
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| Whittier |
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| Our ship docked at Whittier |
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| Grizzly in Denali National Park |
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| Closer grizzly in Denali |
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| Two grizzlies in Denali |
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| Three grizzlies |
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| One more |
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| This one had read that if he encountered a human, it was best to play dead. |
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| Can you bear to see one more? |
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| How about two more? |
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| Caribou in Denali |
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| Coyote |
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| Don and Virginia and Kathi with Mt. McKinley in background. (Yes, the sun was bright.) |
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| Don and Virginia and Mt. McKinley |
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| First stop in Denali, overlooking river where we saw caribou that were shortly to be chased by a grizzly |
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| Cheryl, Jacob, Don, and Virginia, with Mt. McKinley |
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| Dall sheep in Denali |
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| More Dall sheep |
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| More Dall sheep. Note the small Dalls with mother on the right. |
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| Wild flowers in Denali |
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| More wild flowers |
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| Don and Cheryl in Denali |
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| Don and Jacob in Denali |
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| Horns sprouted in Denali |
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| Happy Jacob |
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| Another shot of happy Jacob |
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| Ice on lake in Denali |
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| Cool Jacob |
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| Mt. McKinley peak peeking through above the clouds |
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| Another shot of the mountain rising above the clouds |
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| View of Mt. McKinley from Wonder Lake |
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| One more shot of Mt. McKinley rising above its neighbors |
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| Moose on the loose at visitor's center in Denali |
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| Moose in Denali |
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| Moose antlers from pair which had fought until antlers locked forever, costing both their lives. |
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| The 9:15 Denali shuttle bus on which 10 of our group went. The other 6 followed at 10:15. |
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| Cheryl and Virginia in Denali |
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| Virginia and Jacob at Wonder Lake |
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| Virginia and Jacob at Eielson |
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| At Wonder Lake |
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| Cheryl, Jacob, and Mt. McKinley |
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| With Mt. McKinley as a background |
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| Don and Virginia and Mt. McKinley, with photo in foreground to identify peaks |
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| Happy couple with majestic mountain |
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| Those who went to Denali--on the way back to Anchorage |
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| Wildes in the wilds--with Mt. McKinley in the background |
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| Mt. McKinley |
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| Mt. McKinley |
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| Mt. McKinley |
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| Mt. McKinley |
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| Mt. McKinley |
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| Mt. McKinley |
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Bears seen from the ship in Glacier Bay
Seal on iceberg in Glacier Bay
Marjorie Glacier calving
Bear chasing caribou
Grizzly grazing
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