Travels

After a skiff ride across a channel to an island in Alaska, driving a 4x4 Rhino through old growth forests and across meadows, while constantly scanning for flora and fauna, you’ll realize that not being able to see the volcano on the other side of the island…isn’t such a big deal. In fact, the smile never left my face during the entire trip.

This intimate excursion (available with many cruise lines offering Inside Passage trips) was informative, wet (be sure you pack a raincoat, waterproof camera or the ultimate Otterbox for your phone), muddy, and worth every dime spent.

The 30-minute ride across the Sitka Channel took us to Kruzof Island, Alaska. Our group of six was to spend the next three hours tooling around in a 4X4 Rhino. Helmets on, seat belts fastened, and it’s off we go! Driving the Rhino was as easy as a driving a car, only louder, bouncier, and yet a whole lot more fun.

The tour follows a muddy, tree-lined path for the most part. We stopped numerous times, and our guide would jump out of his Rhino and explain the old growth forest we were driving in, describe the plants and animals that lived there, giving us photo ops at every location, and promising he would find bears. We saw plenty of deer, lots of large trees and “evidence” of bears everywhere. We crossed over gentle streams that the salmon frequent, which is why the bears hang around here. At one point, we pulled off the road, and all of us climbed out to view an area nicknamed Grizzly Meadows. Everyone had their chance with the binoculars to find the bears…but we saw none. Back on the Rhinos, we drove out through the forest to the beach and tried to see Mt Edgecumbe volcano through the ever present Alaskan clouds while enjoying a little snack break of hot cocoa and pastries. There was even a portable potty available. A trail leading from the beach into the woods takes you to a tall, one person tent, surrounding a seat on a bucket. Once our break was over, we drove off the beach and back into the Tongass National Forest. We stopped back at Grizzly Meadows to find the bears had arrived! Off in the distance, on the beach napping, were a mom and her two cubs. My first experience seeing the bears, on this, my third trip to Alaska!

Alaskan cruises are incredible, but can be overcrowded. If you want to enjoy all that the great state has to offer, with plenty of elbow room, take an excursion. I recommend this 4x4 excursion to Kruzof Island, Sitka, Alaska.