Exploring Alaska came about from 23 years of living in and playing in Alaska. We moved here in 1983 from Snohomish Washington shortly after leaving the US Air Force. Initially, plans were for a visit of two to three weeks, but things changed quickly upon discovering the vast Alaska wilderness and a country so diverse that everyday has been a new adventure and lead to an exciting and rewarding life.

With over 3 million lakes, 3,000 rivers and 34,000 miles of coastline, Alaska is one of the most breathtaking settings for someone that grew up playing on the waters of Puget Sound. Exploring the coastlines has become a passion of ours that we can never seem to fill. Every beach, every fjord, every glacier just instills in us a deeper need to continue with the impossible task of discovering all that this state has to offer those willing to venture out and gaze at the glory of what we in Alaska term The Last Frontier.

Inside Passage Southeast Alaska.

The Inside Passage of the Alaska Panhandle and coastal British Columbia is a route for oceangoing vessels that travel between the mainland and coastal islands along a series of passages. Ships using the route can avoid some of the bad weather in the open ocean, and to visit the many isolated communities along the route. It is heavily traveled by cruise ships, freight lines, fishing craft and ships of the Alaska Marine Highway and British Columbia Ferries systems.

The name Inside Passage is also used to refer to the ocean and islands around the passage.

The Alaskan portion of the Inside Passage, in the north, extends 500 air miles from north to south and 100 miles from east to west. The area contains 1,000 islands, 15,000 miles of shoreline and thousands of coves and bays. British Columbia's southern portion of the route is of similar extent, and includes the narrow, protected Strait of Georgia between Vancouver Island and the B.C. mainland, as well as the wider and more exposed Hecate Strait near the Queen Charlotte Islands.

It was inevitable that with the dawning of the Internet, sharing our love for the area was to follow. So here in the winter of 2006 we begin what we hope will become a welcomed addition to the world of cyberspace as our adventures and discoveries are put out for all to see. If there had been something like this earlier in our existence, it would have been a blessing for planning our summer’s vacations in the dead of the Alaskan winters.

If there is any subject that you wish us to cover here, please add a comment and we will gather the information you need to make your Alaska Cruise on to remember. This summer we will be on the water again except with the aid of an interactive website, we will be adding information and photos from the actual locations as we visit them. We will try to expose the true value of the Internet as a research and planning tool for your Alaska Cruise and Tour.