Princess Cruise Excursion – Can you say BEAR!

Princess Cruise Excursion – Can you say BEAR! This was my favorite part of our entire vacation.  It’s an adventure that will never be forgotten and worth every penny spent.

We knew when we booked our cruise that we wanted one fly over experience to see the detail of the glaciers and this ended up to be a great selection.  The Taku Lodge Flight and Feast was an excursion in Juneau and was booked directly through Princess Cruises.

There it is!  Our Sea Plane.  How often does one get to have such an adventure.  It was a cloudy day filled with light sprinkles but it didn’t in any way hinder our views or experience.

These planes were very comfortable, our pilot was very knowledgeable and made us all feel very comfortable during the flight and getting off and on the plane.  During our flight the pilot told us of points of interest and when he wasn’t speaking there was very beautiful music on our headphones.

Guess who?  Okay, so mint green isn’t my color.  🙂

The view of one of the glaciers as we flew over.  See that beautiful blue color, it was unbelievable in person (from up high that is).

A few more shots of that beautiful blue color within the cracks of the glacier.  It really is very sad that these incredible glaciers are receding at a much higher speed than ever recorded.

When we arrived at the lodge, this is what greeted us.  A smoking BBQ with incredibly fresh salmon. The Taku Lodge has perfected a marinade that they continually brush on the salmon which caramelizes to a total perfection.  Yum Yum

Princess Cruise Excursion – Can you say BEAR! – Keep Reading

We weren’t there more than a few minutes when we hear someone scream “Bear”!  That got our attention fast!!! (See Above Photo)  Apparently these ‘little’ black bears come out of the bush when they smell the salmon on the barbecue.

See the gentleman in the foreground of the picture?  He and several other Taku Lodge staff members were holding large thick poles.  They pounded these poles on the ground as the bears (yes, there ended up being three) came to close.   A little nervy, but something I will never forget.

Here our furry friend is sitting under a tree just waiting to charge the BBQ for the fresh salmon.

On a side note, see all those little white spots on Mr. Bear?  Those are mosquitoes. That state bird was abundant, and you see it on Mr. Bear, they were also all over us in the same amount.  The Taku staff had a tray of mosquito repellent they offered, but I passed because I had long sleeves and pants.  BIG MISTAKE!  I was covered with bites the next day, with over twenty on just my wrists.  Wear that darn spray and pack Benedryl in your bag for the possible itching.

Once we went into the lodge for our delish salmon, the bears quickly jumped up on the BBQ for the leftovers. We were about twenty feet away inside of the lodge catching pictures as these furry friends walked and sat right on the hot coals.  Amazing it didn’t hurt them.

The inside of the lodge was so cozy and intimate.  Here is a link to the history of the lodge which is on the Lodges web site, and was also shared with us prior to our meal. 

Above – The interior of Taku Lodge.  It’s very small and intimate.  We were a small group that sat at the two far tables.  It was nice to share this experience with just a few other guests.

Here is our completely homemade meal, even the bread.  Everything was wonderful and they even had meat options for those guests who were not fond of fish. Not shown in this photo are some very tasty herb biscuits.  I think they read off about five different herbs that were mixed into these biscuits.  Make sure to pick up the recipe book at the small gift shop before leaving.

The porch was just what you would expect of a cozy cabin, several rocking chairs and two large and very comfortable porch swings.  There were two charming screen doors to enter the lodge that both had door ‘handles’ made out of antlers and made that light slamming noise at they shut. . .it was perfect!

There were also several seats out in the grass area where you could sit and enjoy the glacier right across the water.  Can you believe it, it was right there.

It was time to leave and Mr. and Mrs. Spunky were leading the way back to the plane.  I can’t tell you how blessed I feel to have shared this experience with my husband and in-laws.

Thank you Taku Lodge for the memories that will last a life time.

Tomorrow. look for my review of the Crown Princess Spa, a place I like to visit whenever I travel.

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