Our Wonderful “Whale of a Good Time” 9 Night Alaskan Cruise! – May 2014 w/pics – Completed!

[disneyfaninaz]

Day 8: Ketchikan
Saturday, May 31, 2014

Sunrise: 4:14 AM
Sunset: 9:14 PM
Temp: 58 F

All Ashore: 11:15 AM
All Aboard: 7:45 PM

​

I couldn't believe that we were visiting our last port today. I don't know where the week went.

Our plan today was to go zip lining. This is what DD wanted to do on this trip. Since she is only 13 an adult had to go with her. Guess who? Oh well, I’ve always wanted to try it. We booked through DCL since DH was not going to be with us. There really was no savings to book it by ourselves anyway.

We woke up this morning again to clouds. But there was blue sky underneath and the sun was attempting to break through.

The Wonder didn’t sail into port until about 10:30. We slept in this morning and I watched us head into Ketchikan for a little while before heading up to Beach Blanket for breakfast.







We headed up to Deck 10 after breakfast. Ketchikan was the port that surprised me the most. I guess I didn’t realize that Ketchikan was so large. It even had a good sized airport.







The town seemed to go on forever before we reached port. As luck would have it, we were the only cruise ship in town today, so we had Ketchikan all to ourselves.











The famous Welcome to Ketchikan sign.



You could see Creek Street.



The Lumberjack Show stage.



Getting closer.







Docked and looking back.



To be continued.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Evidently a pod of orcas were seen off the ship today in Ketchikan, but we didn’t hear the announcement and didn’t see them.

DH and DNeighbors scheduled the Bering Sea Fishermen’s tour on their own and it wasn’t until 1:30. I told DH to go ahead and get off the ship so he could look around Ketchikan before his excursion, because he wouldn’t have time afterwards. So, he did.

DD and I headed down to Wavebands at 11:15 to sign our waivers and check in with the crew staff. We were given purple Timon stickers. Only DCousinC, myself and DD were doing the Bear Creek Ziplining excursion today.

We followed the purple Timon paddle off the ship. This morning we were getting off on Deck 3 midship.

We went to a tour bus where our paperwork was checked and we boarded. 29 of us were going to the Rainforest Sanctuary and zip lining excursions.



On our way through town we spotted DH with DNeighbors, evidently he had caught up with them (The area in front of the pier is not that big). They were heading straight for The Fish House to get some lunch. Have fun Hon!



The bus driver lived in Ketchikan and gave us some interesting facts. You can buy a foot long sub at Subway for $9. I would love to see their commercials. The minimum wage is $7.50 an hour, a six pack of beer costs $9. Everything pretty much costs double as they have to freight everything in on barges.

He has also heard some very amusing questions for passengers over the years. For instance, what is the exchange rate here? What is the elevation here? Where do you buy the seeds to grow totem poles?

We were dropped off at the Alaskan Canopy Adventures location, boarded a Unimog and were taken to a building to watch a quick safety video and be strapped into the safety harnesses.





The slide we would take later.





After we were strapped in, we were given hard hats and gloves as well. We then stowed any backpacks, bags, extra coats, etc. in a huge tub. We were split into 2 groups, there were 5 people in ours. Next we boarded Unimogs and were taken up to the first platform. However, we still had to climb several sets of stairs to reach it.



Once there, we were given a practice zip. We had to remember how to place our hand behind our head and push down on the bottom cable to brake. This was hard because you naturally wanted to tap to a stop. You couldn’t grab or your arm would be ripped from its socket. Ouch!

Our first landing was a little rocky. Thank goodness I had a helmet, because I was going too fast and bumped my head during my landing. Fortunately, everything is padded.

They were kind enough to let me take my DD’s Point & Shoot camera and wrapped the strap around my harness. It was a little difficult taking pictures this way, but I took a few. After our practice zip, we were off to do 6 more. The sun came out.

















At one point, we got to walk over a suspension bridge over Bear Creek. We saw lots of trees, berry bushes and ferns. But, no bears.

On the second to last zip, a photographer was on one of the platforms to take our pictures. Unbeknownst to me, I had forgotten to put my right glove back on after taking some pictures. After giving a thumbs up to the photographer, I approached and platform and was getting ready to brake ad Palmer’s command when I noticed I didn’t have my glove on. Oops! Thankfully, I didn’t grab the cable with my right hand, but reached behind with my left. Just as I was getting ready to push down, Palmer yells don’t brake. But it was too late, I was already starting. I had to stick my toe out as far as I could so he could pull me in by my foot. How embarrassing.

After the zip, we got to repel down about 40 ft. to a platform below. This was fun. I took pictures of DCousinC and DD going down.





I asked the other couple with us if they would kindly take my camera down to my DD so she could take pictures of me coming down. No problem. After everybody was down it was my turn. I grabbed the rope, sat in my harness, stepped off the platform, repelled a few feet and then stopped. Yep, I was just left hanging there. “Oh No!”, everybody cried. Ha Ha. Palmer was holding the rope so I couldn’t go down. He kept yelling wriggle your legs. I did, and he lowered me down. It was fun.





After we repelled, we took off our harness and got a quick safety drill on going down the super slide to the bottom where the Unimog would be waiting for us. We all got a burlap sack to sit in and away we went. Again, I was the last to go and screamed the entire way to the bottom. It was a blast.



We were picked up by Unimog and taken down to the main building.



Hot Cocoa, cookies and salmon dip and crackers were available for us. Who needed the hot cocoa though, it was so warm up on the lines we were shedding our jackets and extra shirts. Anyway, we bought our photos and some gifts, ate some snacks and waiting for the tour bus to come to pick up us. Taylor from, you guessed it, Utah, picked us up and took us back to the ship.

When we got back to the dock, we quickly ran back onboard to drop off our stuff and our jackets (yes, it was that warm) and to grab my camera.
DCousinC decided to stay onboard. DD and I decided to check out the town, go shopping and more importantly get something to eat. We went to the Fish House and had the Cod Fish and Chips. DD had never had them before and liked hers.







To be continued.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Meanwhile, DH was on his Bering Sea Fishermen’s Tour. DH had a blast.

The Aleutian Ballad was a crab boat used in the second season of Deadliest Catch.





The owner figured he could make a better, and safer, living providing tours and teaching passengers about crabbing in a fun and entertaining way.









They also take you into first nation reservation waters. Technically, there are no reservations in Alaska, but one tribe did negotiate sea water rights
.




The Bering Sea tour worked a deal with the tribe to use their waters for their tour, thus they are able to feed bald eagles. The eagles come down in droves, like pigeons, going for the fish that is thrown in the water.











They would also bring up crab traps and then show the different crabs: dungeness, rock, snow and king crab. They even let you hold them. They also pull up lots of sea stars and other sea creatures, which you can touch, along with an octopus, that you cannot.













Coming back to town.



DH said it was amazing. He had a great time and highly recommends this tour.

 

[podsnel]

Wow!! Everything you did in Ketchikan looks amazing!! I am booked on a taxi tour and a floatplane- I am really going to have to come back to Alaska- there is just SOOO much cool stuff to see and do!

You are so very lucky to have seen that Orca pod- another HUGE WOW!!!

I hope we have your luck when we go out on our excursions-

Thanks again for all the gorgeous pics and for sharing- and for letting us know Tracy's moved- we are planning to go there too after our whale watch.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Wow!! Everything you did in Ketchikan looks amazing!! I am booked on a taxi tour and a floatplane- I am really going to have to come back to Alaska- there is just SOOO much cool stuff to see and do!

You are so very lucky to have seen that Orca pod- another HUGE WOW!!!

I hope we have your luck when we go out on our excursions-

Thanks again for all the gorgeous pics and for sharing- and for letting us know Tracy's moved- we are planning to go there too after our whale watch.

Thanks! We did have a lot of fun. We really lucked out with the weather, I hope you do to.

The orcas were amazing. Certainly an item to check off my bucket list. DD was in heaven.

Tracy's was very easy to find and was delicious. You will love it!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

In the meantime, after lunch DD and I walked up to Creek Street and took some photos and walked around.









The funicular



Walked through downtown.



I then wanted to walk to Eagle Park and get a picture of the iconic sculpture of the eagle with spread wings. Once we figured where to go, it wasn’t hard to find. The only problem was, the statue was missing. There was a pedestal where it once sat, but no statue, and no visible explanation of where it went. Bummer. I took a picture of it anyway!



We then walked back towards the ship and got a picture of the rainfall gauge. They actually measure rainfall in feet. Well, no rain was measured today!





We then hit the shops in front of the ship.



I discovered that almost every souvenir shop in Alaska, at least at the ports we visited, sold the same stuff. A lot of it was even made in China or mass produced so that it wasn’t even unique enough to buy. At about 4:45 we got back onboard and went up to Deck 10 to wait for DH’s excursion to come back. We waited until 5:00 but had no sign of them, so we went back to our room. A few minutes later, DH comes sauntering in. Evidently we had just missed them passing the ship.

We changed for dinner. Dinner tonight was casual in Animator’s Palate and it was the Taste of Alaska menu.

After dinner, DD and I went to get our pictures taken with Donald Duck in his Alaskan outfit. He was the only character left we hadn’t gotten a photo with. Donald was a little impatient waiting for Mickey & Minnie to finish.



Mugga, mugga!



We then went to see John Charles in the Walt Disney Theater.



He has been on 3 other cruises with us, but I think this was the first time I actually saw his entire show. Anyway, he sings some made up words to familiar tunes, such as “I’ve got the Cleanest Hands in the World.” He sang a song about the room stewards that had me crying, I was laughing so hard. He will also ask for artists that the audience wants to hear and will sometimes do serious versions or funny versions of a song by that artist. He was hilarious.

We ran into Koda.



We got back to our stateroom and our beds hadn’t been turned down yet. But I did see this off the verandah.





Since I missed seeing Maleficent last night and we had nothing planned for
tomorrow, I decided to see the 10:30 PM showing. I thought the story was very good and I enjoyed it. Since we were heading back into Canadian waters tonight, we were told to move our clocks up 1 hour at bedtime. Thus, I didn’t get into bed until1:00 AM.

After I left for the movie, our bed was turned down and we received our tip envelopes and receipts. I let DH take care of those.

This was our towel animal for tonight:



Next: Our last sea day

 

[DWGal210]

I am really enjoying your report! Looks like an amazing vacation. On my bucket list, for sure.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I am so glad to see so many people still looking at my trip report. Thanks! I hope it helps with the planning.

I am really enjoying your report! Looks like an amazing vacation. On my bucket list, for sure.

Thanks! So far, I think this is my favorite cruise that I've taken. If you can manage it, go to Alaska!!!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Day 9: Sea Day
Sunday, June 1, 2014

Sunrise: 5:23 AM
Sunset: 9:27 PM
Temp: 62 F

This is our second cruise with a sea day the last day before we disembark. I have to say, I really like having the day to get ready to leave. You don’t seem nearly as rushed during the cruise to pack as you have the last day. Therefore, my plan today was to get as much packing done as I could before lunch.

We had a well-deserved sleep in this morning. When I got up, I headed out to the verandah, we were now in Canadian waters sailing Hecate Strait. The day started out cloudy but turned into a beautiful sunny day.







We went to Beach Blanket for breakfast and found a table inside to eat. We saw DSisterJ looking for a place and asked her to join us. After breakfast we headed back to the stateroom, got the luggage out from under the bed and started packing. DD got a call from Mojo and was gone. Which was just as well, so I could pack her stuff in peace.

By 11:30, I was tired of packing and needed to get out of the room. DH and I went to shutters to try to choose the photos we wanted to finish our package before the big rush tonight and tomorrow morning. We ended up having to order our embarkation photo but still had to wait for some other pictures to be printed. But we had narrowed down our package. When we got back to the room, DD left word that she was swimming with MoJo.

I took some time to look at the scenery that we were passing.





DH and I went to find DD in the goofy pool. I felt sorry for the life guards, as it was cold, they were bundled up in their red coats, and there were a total of 4 kids in the pool. However, I am glad to see that DCL has finally hired life guards for their pools. DH and I had lunch at Beach Blanket. We then went to Mickey Mates to by a 2014 photo album. I was upset that they didn’t have an Alaska specific photo album, but maybe that hadn’t arrived yet. So, I settled for just a regular 2014 DCL Cruise album.

I went out to take some more photos of what we were passing. Here are a couple of barges that delivers goods to the various communities.



They even have to barge in gravel.



Passing a pretty little light house.



At 1:45, I headed to the Promenade lounge for Alaska Trivia. I was sitting there, waiting to see who I could team up with, when Della came up with her brother and asked to join me. Sure! We did well, but again didn’t win. The team that did win, beat us by one question. JD was great and gave us DCL Key Chains for playing. I guess they had won so many trivia games on this cruise that they came over and offered us their DCL water bottles they got for winning. Thanks guys!

Disney Tunes Trivia was coming up at 2:15 and Della and her brother were all for sticking around for another go. DCousinC wandered in and joined us. DD joined us half way through and was excited to know the song “Now I See the Light” from Tangled. We got 45 out of 46, and would have gotten 46 if we had just told DCousinC that the music was from Alice in Wonderland. The bonus question was “What was the name of the main character’s pet?” Who knew Dinah? Anyway, we were in a tie break situation with another team for the win. The song was “Let it Be” from Frozen. The bonus question, “What was the exact name given by John Travolta during the Oscar telecast of the singer of the song?” Really, who remember that butchering job? Well, evidently, the other team did, because they won! Oh well, better luck next time!

At 3:30, DNeighbors were hosting a Last Sea Day party in their rooms. DParents bought us all little souvenirs to remember our cruise by. DD got a really cute stuffed mountain goat. I got a calendar with beautiful pictures of Alaska. We shared wine, cheese & crackers and chocolate. It was a nice way to end the day.

This is the house I want to live in.



We passed the town which boasts having the world’s tallest totem pole.











After Jun made up our room for the day, which was really late today, he gave us our debarkation instructions and Grey Daisy luggage tags. We got ready for dinner and I finished up some packing. I then put the Daisy tags on our luggage to go out later.

Dinner was “Til We Meet Again” in Parrot Cay tonight. It was sad to be saying good-bye to Shane and Steven. They did well by us all week. The 9 nights just flew by.

We watched the parade of nations and then had Baked Alaska for dessert.



We handed out our tip envelopes at dinner tonight to our servers and took final pictures of them with the girls. DD went with DNeighbors to line up for handicapped front row seating for Dreams. I met DSisterJ outside the Walt Disney Theater at 8:15 to get good seats. “Dreams” is my absolute favorite show onboard the ships. I knew DSIsterJ would like it, and she did. Afterwards, it was back up to the room to change clothes and make sure our bags were set out for the night.

DD and I went to the ‘Til We Meet Again party in the atrium at 10:00 PM. We ran into DNeighbors there as DNDDM wanted to see Peter Pan one last time, which she did.









We waited for everybody to sing ‘M I C . . .K E Y . . M O U S E,” got sprinkled with silver mickey confetti and headed back towards our room. I mentioned to DNC that I had wanted to see John Charles do his adult only show in Wavebands at 10:30 but DH didn’t want to go. She turned to me and said she would go, so we immediately did an about face and headed to Wavebands. Of course, it was packed, but we found a niche near the back by the door. The show was very funny. He actually sang “The Bohemian Rhapsody” and “The Phantom of the Opera.” He is very talented.

At turndown service we received our Canadian Immigration Form to complete before getting off the ship. After that it was to bed to get up for breakfast at 7:00 the next morning.

Our last towel animal was:



Next: Hang on, we're not done yet!

 

[shanhop]

They did have DCL Alaska scrapbooks and scrapbook packs on our 6/9 cruise. Maybe you can have someone send you one!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

They did have DCL Alaska scrapbooks and scrapbook packs on our 6/9 cruise. Maybe you can have someone send you one!

Thanks. They had the scrapbook albums and paper kits on my cruise too. I just wanted the plain photo album. Haven't scrapbooked in years preferring now to do digital photobooks.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Debarkation
Capilano Suspension Bridge & Grouse Mountain
Monday, June 2, 2014

I kept waking up throughout the morning checking the window to see where we were at. I wanted to watch us go under the Lion’s Gate Bridge back into Vancouver. I woke up around 6:00 and went to the verandah and finally saw lots of barges sitting in the water and knew that we were close.



I looked forward and saw Stanley Park and the bridge coming into view.



I quickly got dressed and ran up the secret passage to deck 9. The only guy up there was one of the crew washing down the deck. Unfortunately, they had deck 10 blocked off so you couldn’t go up there. I stood as far back as I could on Deck 9 and started taking pictures. My DNeighbors were also up down below on their deck and called up.











After we went under the bridge I went back to our stateroom to finish watching us come in. We had our last breakfast at 7:00 AM at Parrot Cay.







Since we had first breakfast, we knew that we would have time to go back up to our room to get our carry-ons so we didn’t take them down with us to breakfast. There was simply no room for them anyway. I didn’t have time to fill out the customs form last night so I took it to breakfast. I hadn’t seen the customer satisfaction survey so I went to Guest Services to get another one. I thought they would just have them at the counter, but they didn’t. I saw DE at the desk and asked if she wouldn’t mind getting me one and bringing it to breakfast. When she finally came to breakfast, she handed me 2 pieces of stationary and told me that Guest Services told her it should be in my cabin, otherwise write my comments on the stationary. Really? Oh well.

Since DParents were late, they were told by Shane that it was too late to serve them breakfast so they started leaving. Needless to say, they were not happy. Next thing we know, they are being ushered back to the table by Kerry—Sean and their orders were being taken. Good work, Kerry!

When we got back up to our stateroom, I found our survey and started filling it out. We then gathered our belongings and headed down to the Promenade Lounge with everybody else to wait for our character to be called. DParents were already there; eventually our entire party met up with us. The first people called off were the Express people taking their own luggage. The next group was Ariel. It seemed to take forever for them to call the next group. Finally at around 8:30, they announced Grey Daisy. We got up and headed towards midship deck 3 to disembark. They used to have a “See Ya Real Soon” banner hanging from the 4th deck rail, but I haven’t seen it the last 2 cruises. Oh well. We had our KTTW swiped and we were on our way.

We were herded towards where they kept the luggage. We quickly found our bags. They were just starting to put out Red Minnie, so some people were in for a long wait.

After we found our bags we were sent to another line for customs where our custom’s forms were collected and we were on our way. Since we were staying at the Pan Pacific, we exited the terminal towards where all of the DCL busses were waiting to take passengers back to the airport. Just beyond that was an elevator to take us up to the hotel. A Pan Pacific porter was at the elevator and took our bags and handed us a receipt. We went up and checked in. Our bags would be delivered to our room once it was ready.
I had to get some pictures of the Wonder.











After we checked in we exited the hotel. The shuttles to Capliano and Grouse were located in front of Canada Place.







Next: Capilano and Grouse Mountain

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Remember back when I said that I decided to wait until we returned from the cruise to go to Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain? Well, am I sure glad that I made that decision! We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful warm day in Vancouver. The sun was shining; there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

We decided to take the free shuttle to Capilano and then take the bus to Grouse. From Grouse we would take the free shuttle back to Canada Place. We bought our tickets for Capilano and Peak Adventure tickets for Grouse and got on the bus. After a couple stops at other hotels, we crossed the Lions Gate Bridge and headed up to North Vancouver. It was cool that we went under the bridge in the morning and over it later in the day.

We got to Capilano in about 20 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised by the place. It was beautifully landscaped and very clean. Everything was well labeled and well maintained.





We crossed over the suspension bridge which had views of the Capilano River below.





Once across we headed over to the Treetops Adventure. Which were basically platforms and suspension bridges between the huge cedar trees.











They were really cool, even if there were lots of steps to climb. After climbing up and down stairs on the ship for 9 nights, my knees were feeling every step. Anyway, we then walked the Nature’s Edge Boardwalk which had beautiful views of the canyon.











We crossed back over the suspension bridge and got some sodas to drink while we sat and rested awhile. One of DD’s friends from the ship passed us with her family. We saw several familiar faces from the ship as we sat there.



After our rest, we decided to tackle the Cliffwalks. These are lookouts suspended out from the rocks. At one point, you step on clear plexiglass and can see directly below you. Scary!











Oh, and don’t even think about wearing your heals!





When you get off the Cliff Walk there is a tranquil garden to walk through.





Looking down.



To be continued.

 

[pillow]

Beautiful pics! What time of the morning was that? It doesn't look too horribly crowded. I wonder if its best to go early to avoid crowds???

Jodie

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Beautiful pics! What time of the morning was that? It doesn't look too horribly crowded. I wonder if its best to go early to avoid crowds???

Jodie

Thanks! It really was a beautiful place. They are very into conservation and have messages all over the park. We were there for about 2 1/2 hours between 10:00 and 12:30. We noticed that it started getting crowded after 11:00. We saw a lot of Disney cruise people. I guess they had the same idea we did!

We chose to go to Capilano first because a lot of the programs at Grouse didn't start until after 12:00. But, the crowds weren't bad either then.

 

[DISNEYFOURME]

Beautiful pictures and awesome trip report. We are going next month! I wondered about Outlook Cafe. I assume you would pay for drinks there but am wondering about the desserts/snacks? We were on short 3 night cruises on the Dream before and I remember craving chocolate or sweets. I'm just trying to be better prepared this time..lol!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Beautiful pictures and awesome trip report. We are going next month! I wondered about Outlook Cafe. I assume you would pay for drinks there but am wondering about the desserts/snacks? We were on short 3 night cruises on the Dream before and I remember craving chocolate or sweets. I'm just trying to be better prepared this time..lol!

Thanks! Yes, Café Cove offers free munchies. They tend to have sweet stuff in the morning and more savory type snacks in the evening. I didn't spend as much time there as my DH, but neither of us went in the morning.

 

[2disneycruzrs]

Your report is great and photos are amazing! I don't often read trip reports but yours was worth the time! Looks like you truly took advantage of all that this cruise offers! Loved the orca pod photos! It's too bad you didn't get into the heart of the glacier. That is the most amazing part of the cruise I've experienced, and to hear the power of the ice calving is amazing.

When I cruised AK, I was on the trip by myself (it was for work), so I didn't do excursions but rather wandered and made my own like visiting Mendenhall. The photo you took in Skagway by the cemetery - there is a wonderful hidden waterfall near there worth a short hike for anyone who wants to see one up close without being on an excursion.

Question - I saw your button and other folks with Mickey heads with words in them. How is everyone making these? Is there a website? Thx!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Your report is great and photos are amazing! I don't often read trip reports but yours was worth the time! Looks like you truly took advantage of all that this cruise offers! Loved the orca pod photos! It's too bad you didn't get into the heart of the glacier. That is the most amazing part of the cruise I've experienced, and to hear the power of the ice calving is amazing.

When I cruised AK, I was on the trip by myself (it was for work), so I didn't do excursions but rather wandered and made my own like visiting Mendenhall. The photo you took in Skagway by the cemetery - there is a wonderful hidden waterfall near there worth a short hike for anyone who wants to see one up close without being on an excursion.

Question - I saw your button and other folks with Mickey heads with words in them. How is everyone making these? Is there a website? Thx!

Thank you so much for reading. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. It would have been great to get closer to the glacier, but that was the trade off we had to make for traveling so early in the season. But, it gives us a reason to go back again!

I made the button design using tagxedo.com. It is very easy to use.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

At around 12:30 we decided to head up to Grouse and get a bite to eat and explore the mountain. We waited just a few minutes for the bus.



We used up some of our Canadian change for the fare (you need exact fare) and then we were off.

The bus dropped us right at Guest Services. Grouse Mountain is basically a ski resort during the winter, so it is set up like one. They had a few sculptures on the way to the tram.



Not a lot of improvements and every trail is gravel. We went through the building and up to the Red Tram.



We got right on one of the trams and up we went. We had a view of the Capilano Lake, Cleveland Dam and a hazy view of the harbor where we could barely make out the Wonder.





We even had a great view of the 2 Lions.



Once we reached the top we started walking up to The Rusty Rail where they served BBQ. DH and DD had hamburgers, which DH wasn’t impressed with. I had a pulled BBQ pork sandwich, it wasn’t actually pulled but sliced. It was still tasty.

After lunch we walked a little ways to the bear enclosure.



The bears were sleeping in the shade of the trees. I got a glimpse of one. Did I mention that it was very warm this afternoon.



After we saw the bear, we went to the chair lift to ride to the top. It was a nice ride.





The bear den.



Once there, we got a nice view of the Eye in the Sky, which we didn’t buy tickets for, and a great view of Vancouver, albeit a bit hazy.







After a while, we got on the chair lift and headed back down.



The Raptor show was going on.



The Ranger Talk at the Bear enclosure was going to start at 2:00 PM. That is where we headed after getting off of the chair lift. The bears were still in the shade hiding. The ranger was waiting for the raptor show to end before beginning her talk, so we were delayed. Then, all of the sudden, one of the bears, Grinder, came out of hiding and starting posing for pictures.





The ranger started her talk. Then Grinder made his way down to the pond and started swimming and cooling off.





Coola came out soon after, but didn’t feel like swimming.




They put apples in the pond.





To be continued.