Mendenhall Glacier ~ Juneau, Alaska – When visiting Juneau, Alaska, baby boomers will want to make certain to bring their camera along to see the Mendenhall Glacier.

Our visit to the Mendenhall Glacier was part of a combo package with Dolphin Jet Boat Tours.  We first spent a few hours in Auke Bay whale watching, and then were transported by bus to the Mendenhall Glacier.

Mendenhall Glacier is one of 38 glaciers which are fed from the Juneau Icefield. The Juneau Icefield is North America’s fifth largest icefield, blankets over 1,500 square miles of land, and stretches nearly 85 miles north to south and 45 miles east to west.

The ice in the Mendhall Glacier is fairly young ice as glaciers go.  Although the Juneau Icefield is at least 3,000 years old, the ice itself remains relatively young because it is perpetually renewed through snowfall at upper elevations as it flows downhill in its glaciers. Glacial ice at the terminus of Mendenhall Glacier has flowed for 200-250 years on its 13-mile (21-km) trek to Mendenhall Lake. (via Tongass National Forest)

During our early summer visit,  you could still see blueish icebergs floating in Mendenhall Lake.

Another striking feature of a visit to the Mendenhall Glacier, inside the Tongass National Forest (the nation’s largest national forest) is the five-story Nugget Falls that crashes into the east side of Mendenhall Lake.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to make the 45 minute round-trip hike to the falls.  But, as you can see in my photograph, it looked like a really cool hike.

We greatly enjoyed our visit to the Mendenhall Glacier.  If we get the opportunity to go back, we would spend more time and do a little hiking.

Disclosure:  our visit to the Mendenhall Glacier was provided by the fine folks at Dolphin Jet Boat Tours.  Thanks.  It was stunning!

Therefore, we just returned home from a seven night cruise of Alaska’s Inside Passage aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line‘s Pearl.

The Pearl made her maiden voyage in 2006 and will accommodate roughly 2,500 passenger and 1,100 crew.

We learned that while aboard ship we all consumed 11 tons of fruit, 36,000 eggs, 12 tons of beef and chicken, 11 tons of vegetables, and 500 gallons of ice cream!

In spite of 5 days of walking at port, and 2 days of work-outs at sea, I still managed to bring home a few extra pounds.  It was likely the always available soft-serve chocolate ice cream cones!

Rather than writing thousands of words trying to describe this amazing experience, we have prepared a video for you that will highlight not only the experiences available on the ship, but our exciting ports of call as well.

Take a peek…

Alaska is a magical place, and the Norwegian Pearl was an excellent way for us to taste some of her treasures.  One thing is absolutely certain, these boomers will be again be roaming the wilds of Alaska.  We LOVED it.

Note:  All photographs and video were captured with a D7000 DSLR on loan from Nikon USA.  Thanks Nikon!

Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska – I can think of only a very few things that made this baby boomer’s heart stop from sheer awe.  This is a photograph of calving on the Margerie Glacier which stands 250 feet above the water, with 100 feet below the water.

I shot this aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pearl with a Nikon D7000 that Nikon sent us for an upcoming review.  Furthermore, I was able to get in close with a Nikon 85-400 zoom lens that we rented from our local camera shop.

This place is so amazing that it was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1992.  We will have much more to share about our Glacier Bay adventure in an upcoming post.  Stay tuned!

Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska – Norwegian Cruise Line – This morning I rose at 6:00 to hopefully capture humpback whales galavanting in Alaska’s Glacier Bay.  It was so foggy, you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, so I went back to bed for another hour.

After breakfast, we cruised up the Tarr Inlet to witness this incredible scene at the Margerie Glacier.  I have much to tell you about this experience. But alas, our Internet connection will keep me very, very brief.

Stay tuned, I have amazing pictures and video to share.

I captured this photograph while driving in Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park and thought I would share this with you in honor of National Parks Week 2011.

I have also included for you a free downloadable copy of The Official Guide to America’s National Parks, published by the National Park Foundation.

Click to download —>  NPF-owners-guide-2011

Enjoy, and get out and enjoy one of your national parks!

This weekend begins National Park Week!

Here’s this from the National Park Foundation:

The National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks, is teaming up with the National Park Service to celebrate National Park Week 2011 April 16 – 24.

Beginning this Saturday, people everywhere are invited to experience America’s nearly 400 national parks which will be fee FREE all week. Celebrating the theme “Healthy Parks, Healthy People,” national parks across the country are encouraging people to come visit, get outdoors, and embrace a healthy lifestyle, while also embracing the importance of keeping our parks protected and preserved.

In honor of National Park Week, the National Park Foundation is releasing 10 great ways to celebrate:

• Visit a national park! There are nearly 400 national parks in America, and during National Park Week, they are all fee FREE. Take the time to go visit, and discover the magic of these treasured places. Start by visiting www.nationalparks.org/explore.

• Healthy Parks make Healthy People.  From hiking to biking to swimming, there are great outdoor activities in your national parks for visitors of all ages.  Start by getting the FREE National Park Foundation Owner’s Guide and Parks For Play: 35 National Park Adventures for Kids of All Ages.

• Show your support! As we celebrate National Park Week, take the time to consider what it would be like without these iconic places. Give today to the National Park Foundation and your gift will be MATCHED up to $50,000! With your help we can provide the necessary support to America’s nearly 400 national parks.

• Volunteer Day is April 16! Give back to the national parks that give so much to us. Find a complete listing of volunteer events.

• Become a Junior Ranger! Introduce a young person to our national parks on Junior Ranger Day, April 23. Through the Junior Ranger program kids learn about history, the environment and much more. At the end, each participant will be sworn in as a National Park Service Junior Ranger. Kids can also get active with the new “Let’s Move Outside Junior Ranger” program celebrating First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative striving to end childhood obesity within a generation.

• “Check-In” on Facebook. Using Facebook “Places” on your mobile device, “check-in” at a national park and The North Face will donate $1 to the National Park Foundation! Just search for the national park near you using the latest version of the Facebook for iPhone app or by visiting https://touch.facebook.com/ from your HTML5-enabled mobile device.

• Meet a National Park Service Ranger! Do you know the people that help safeguard our national parks every day? Take the time to learn more about the National Park Service and the men and women that protect these special places. Get out and visit them or go to www.nps.gov to learn more.

• Share your adventure! Upload your photos, videos, poems or stories exclusively at facebook.com/nationalpark, and share your National Park Week experience with the world!

• Celebrate Earth Day in the parks! Take the time on April 22 to get outside to a national park and celebrate all the wonders and magical places that our planet has given us. In return, do the small things to show your appreciation like using environmentally-friendly transportation, recycling and supporting the National Park Foundation.

• Enter the “I Heart Parks” contest! Go to www.facebook.com/nationalpark for the opportunity to win daily prizes from the National Park Foundation including park passes, outdoor gear, and a trip to Shenandoah National Park!

For more information on National Park Week, and a full listing of events, including details on park-specific Earth Day events (April 22), Junior Ranger Day activities (April 23), and ways to lend a hand in local parks on Volunteer Day (April 16), visit www.nationalparkweek.org.

We awakened to greet the new day from our comfortable beds in the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel.

The Grand Canyon Railway Hotel is set in a picturesque Western setting. Designed to resemble the century-old train depot that housed the original Fray Marcos Hotel, opened by the Santa Fe Railroad as a Harvey House, the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel provided us a relaxing night’s sleep before we journeyed aboard the train for the Grand Canyon.

In the morning, we explored the historic Williams Depot, and then were ushered to a mock western town where we were entertained by Marshall John B. Goodmore as he attempted to keep the Cataract Creek Gang in line.

At 9:30, it was “all aboard” as we climbed up into the luxury parlor class car for the two-hour and fifteen minute journey to the Grand Canyon.  During our journey we were entertained by strolling musicians, enjoyed continual jokes and information from our wonderful hostess, noshed on fresh fruit, pastries, coffee and juice, and luxuriated in comfy leather seating worthy of a railroad baron.  If you can swing the price of the luxury parlor car, do it!

All four of us were in complete agreement that the Grand Canyon Railroad experience was fantastic and highly recommended.

Disclosure:  our turn of the century railroad experience was provided by the kind folks at the Grand Canyon Railway.  Thank you very much!

The Grand Canyon – I must confess, when I first stood at the edge of the Grand Canyon, I was so taken with the beauty of the place that a tear found its way down my cheek.

I shot this particular photograph towards the very end of the day, and the light was seemingly changing the color and drama of the canyon every second.

The shadows were moving in from the left, and the saturation of colors on the rocks to the right were a wonder to behold.

It’s hard to grasp the scale of this photograph, but the Colorado river, snaking through the left side of the photograph, is over one mile beneath my feet.

Alcatraz Island is now part of the National Park Service, and you get to the island via Alcatraz Cruises, a private ferry company under contract with the National Park Service.  You should also know that space is limited and reservations are a must as they are frequently sold out weeks in advance.

When visiting Alcatraz Island, you should plan for at least a half-day.  During our visit we enjoyed an informative introductory video, and then opted for a well produced audio-guided tour.

The tour explained that Alcatraz was at first a military fort, and then a federal penitentiary.  Further, after the penitentiary closed, the island was taken over and occupied by American Indians before finally becoming a part of the National Park Service in the 1970s.

Disclosure:  our Alcatraz Island experience was provided by the cool folks at Alcatraz Cruises.  Thank you!  We had a great time.