May 31, 2015 -- I woke up on the first full day of our cruise to the whirring of the ship’s engine and water gently sloshing on the side of the Wilderness Explorer. We were making our way to Bartlett Cove in Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park and Reserve.

While we were docking on this foggy, gray morning, looking out the window of our …

June 1, 2015 -- I stared out at the incredible view from atop a stony ridge next to the Lamplugh glacier. In the distance, our ship, which carried about 90 passengers and crew members, looked like a tiny little dot next to the massive mountaintops, receding glaciers, and steep rocky shores.

My little excursion group, which included Ranger Jenny, …

May 31, 2015 -- Our cruise up Glacier Bay had been full of sunshine and wildlife. We passed a couple of small islands where hundreds of sea lions of all shapes and sizes were hauled out, basking in the sun.

We heard ‘em before we saw ‘em. Grunting and barking to beat the band, the sea lions were nosing each other and awkwardly …

June 2, 2015 -- Today I saw a bear. A brown bear. Big brown bear.

Ranger Jenny, who we’d dropped off at the Bartlett Bay ranger station that morning, would have been so excited.

Our little group was doing a meadow hike in Fern Harbor. Mostly, we were looking at flowers.

“What is that?” I said, pointing to a brown spot moving …

June 4, 2015 -- I can’t believe that I paid to go kayaking in the rain. Or get hit in the face by branches in the rainforest while stepping over bear scat. But that’s what I did today.

And both were remarkably fun.

When the cruise Activity Director Beth first described bushwacking, I wasn’t sure I wanted to do …

June 6, 2015 -- We had to leave the ship today. As we were disembarking, the whole entire crew was standing in line to say goodbye to each and every one of us.

By the time I got to the end of the line, there were tears in my eyes.

“I’m crying,” I said to Captain Clark.

“No, not you – the stoic one?” he …

June 9, 2015 -- Today, the great mountain showed her face to us. Denali – the tallest peak in North America, rising 20,320 ft. above sea level, is rarely seen in its entirety by visitors to Denali National Park and Preserve.

But as we rounded the corner on our way to a morning hike near Wonder Lake, Denali (or Mt. McKinley as it is …

June 12, 2015 -- Having never been on an Adventure Life or Un-Cruise vacation before and not being hard-core hikers or kayakers, we weren’t sure what to bring. And although there were all sorts of suggestions on the website, I still wasn’t fully prepared.

First of all, typical weather in Alaska in the summer is cold and rainy. Even …