The Trip of a Lifetime to Alaska – Land and Sea – Trip Report - COMLETE!! 4/13/12 - Page 15 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Amazing pictures! The landscape photos are breathtaking. The moutains are so white against the blue sky it looks almost fake it's so gorgeous! Who could resist those puppies???? Awww....
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Assuming you might still be having trouble getting logged on to PP?
Hoping you get that fixed soon! We miss you here on the boards, and I'm looking forward to reading more about your trip!
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Assuming you might still be having trouble getting logged on to PP?
Hoping you get that fixed soon! We miss you here on the boards, and I'm looking forward to reading more about your trip!
Marnie was having some problems logging on, but I know she's also been really busy the last few days as well. I'm sure she'll pop back in shortly....
Sorry for the delay everyone. I didn't get access to the boards back until Wednesday morning, and by that time, had to pack the kids and head to the inlaws for a couple days (just got back last night). And they don't have internet access, so I couldn't update!
I should have another update later this afternoon!
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Day 4 – Last day in Denali and drive to Palmer – Tuesday June 28th
We set the alarm for 7 AM today since we didn’t really have any place to rush off to. We woke up to rain. Joy. It was only about 45 degrees, so I packed the hats and mittens this time, as well as the rain gear. We ate breakfast at the restaurant inside the Lodge. It was very good. Colin had French toast, Alexa had pancakes, I had a cinnamon roll as that is what they are supposed to be known for, and Matt had eggs, reindeer sausage, and some pancakes. Stuffed, we packed up the car, checked out, and headed to Denali for the dog sled tour. The park itself has its own sled dogs. In the winter, they move all the food and “stuff” within the park by sled dogs (no snowmobiles or cars/trucks). We caught the bus at the Visitor Center and drove up to the “kennel”. We got to pet the dogs before they did a short presentation. This was nice, but not nearly as nice as the HH tour. No puppies here to play with, and the dogs were much bigger. Very interesting anyway.
Matt’s pics!
When we returned from the tour, Colin was hungry (he only ate 1 out of 3 pieces of his French toast) so we stopped at the restaurant in the park for some chicken strips for him (he approved of these). Then we drove down to Savage River. We passed some moose along the way.
More animals seem to come out when it’s raining and not so hot (by hot I’m talking not even 60 degrees)! We did a hike at the end, and then headed back out of the park, passing a couple more moose along the way. We were stopped for a survey by the NPS right before we left, and then headed for Palmer
.
Final thoughts on Denali – Honestly, I don’t know what to say. I was awestruck. Absolutely amazing scenery. I did notice a big difference in our last day when it was raining, as opposed to when it is sunnier. You couldn’t see the tops of the mountains, and I thought that really took away from the visual experience. Thankfully we got to see both sides (I’ll talk the sunny side)! We could have easily spent another 3 days here, taking another bus tour and doing many more hikes (of which we barely scratched the surface). Unfortunately our schedule would not allow for that, but we will definitely be back here. Even Alexa said this is somewhere she wants to bring her kids. It had that much effect on her! And I expected it to be crowded, being summer season. I’ve been to Yosemite in July, when it is wall to wall people and cars, so that was what I was expecting. Not so! There were many times when we felt like we were the only ones out there on the road to Savage River. Maybe it was still too early in the summer season, not sure, but it was great!
It was a long drive down to Wasilla. No celebrity sightings! We stopped again at Target to pick up some itch cream (I seemed to have gotten some bug bites along the way), and then we had dinner at Carl Jr.’s (a new experience for us). Even got to go into a Fred Meyer (another new experience). We checked into Hatcher Pass B&B, and oh my gosh, this cabin is amazing! Colin was in awe! It had a bunk bed for the kids and a queen for us, a small kitchen, which was stocked with breakfast foods (muffins, eggs, sausage, cereal, English muffins). We’re just relaxed all night before we hiked on Matanuska glacier tomorrow morning!
What a great outing for the kids, although I probably would have enjoyed it as well! I think your photos from the morning are amazing, but 8 hours on a bus sounds like an awfully long time to me.
The bus ride really wasn't that bad. They stopped every 90 minutes for bathroom breaks, which helped to break up the time. Plus it's the only way into the park and to see the beautiful scenery! Definitely worth it!
WOW...such awesome sights and pictures. My kids would have been right there about bringing home one of those puppies..and they are 17 and 19! They love the little doggies (ours weighs 10 lbs and won't get any bigger!). How awesome to spot so many moose, we call my DSB Moose (he is as big as one!) so I love those pictures. Can't wait to see what else you guys got up to.
I have to say the weather there is making me want to go now! It's been so hot here (although not as hot as the OK, KS, TX area), and DD and I have discussed whether we'd rather live someplace where we were cold all the time or hot all the time. I pick cold!
The cabin looks terrific! And glad you were able to see Denali in the sun before the rain came.
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There were many times when we felt like we were the only ones out there on the road to Savage River. Maybe it was still too early in the summer season, not sure, but it was great!
We stopped again at Target to pick up some itch cream (I seemed to have gotten some bug bites along the way), and then we had dinner at Carl Jr.’s (a new experience for us). Even got to go into a Fred Meyer (another new experience). We checked into Hatcher Pass B&B, and oh my gosh, this cabin is amazing! Colin was in awe! It had a bunk bed for the kids and a queen for us, a small kitchen, which was stocked with breakfast foods (muffins, eggs, sausage, cereal, English muffins). We’re just relaxed all night before we hiked on Matanuska glacier tomorrow morning!
My pictures are from a Canon Elph SD1100IS. DH's pictures are from his new camera. It's a Nikon Coolpix P500.
My normal everyday computer routine!
Linear Mode
