When I last left my readers, I was belly-up against the bar in The Red Dog Saloon. The next activity we scheduled was whale watching. The last time I paid for a boat tour of whale watching was in Provincetown, MA. We saw not one whale or even a whale fin.

It was raining as we left Juneau. After about 45 minutes we sighted a school of whales. The rain brings the fish to the surface and the whales go after the fish. The whales were putting on a show for us. They were jumping completely out of the water. They were swimming in pairs (mother and calf) and spouting all the time. Their tails (called flukes) are truly one of nature's beautiful sights. The boat's passengers kept screaming, "There's one" and the whole boat moved to that side for a better view.

Where was Captain Ahab (Gregory Peck) when you needed him?

Alongside the dancing whales, were sea lions and porpoises. In the air and on an island were hundreds of bald eagles. They were no longer an endangered species. What a great morning for viewing!

Back to the ship for lunch and out for a second tour.

The Mendenhall Glacier has been retreating for thousands of years. The trails leading to an observatory were filled with pine and spruce trees. On top of one of these trees was a brown bear. He/she was eating his/her way down on the tree like a kid eating a slice of pizza. It was nature in the raw.

A glacier is a large mass of ice and snow moving slowly down a mountain or valley. It is an ongoing process. The ice in the glacier was a definite light blue. Awesome!

Skagway was our next port of call.

The town of Skagway had the look that the Gold Rush of the Klondike was still going on. The Red Onion Saloon was a stop for another glass of Alaska Amber beer. The population of Skagway is 863 and it is a living tribute to the 1890s. You could almost feel the gold-panners in this Yukon Territory.

We took the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad up the mountain. It was completed in 1898. It followed the path of the Skagway River, a wild untamed flow that was always visible from our railroad car. It is 110 miles of engineering miracles, two tunnels and numerous bridges and trestles. The railroad's last stop was Canada. The engines were unhitched and brought back to the front of the train on an adjacent track. The seats were flipped over and we began the long, winding, magnificent trip back to Skagway.

More Alaska next week!

The following was e-mailed to Stanley from a reader:

The attribution of the quote, "because it's there," to Edmund Hillary is wrong. It is, actually, George Mallory.

I know this for certain, because I was so sure ("often wrong, but never in doubt") that it was Sir Edmund, I wagered $20 on it and lost the bet. (I am also certain that many others, as I, will be happy to correct you on this.)

I do enjoy your columns, however, and look forward to receiving the Tribune each week, largely, because of it.

Enjoy the Alaska trip and the rest of the summer.