As the EXPLORERS tour, Cruising Alaska's Glaciers and the Inside Passage, comes to a successful conclusion, our travelers are treated to a sumptuous feast for the eyes, as well as the palate.

The morning of our last day at sea begins with the oohs and aahs of early-risers gathered on the top deck being treated to a spectacular view of the six-mile-wide Hubbard Glacier, while below in the Galley, numerous chefs and kitchen staff are busy putting the finishing touches on an amazing array of artistically prepared foods for a lunch buffet to beat all lunch buffets.

The U of I group gets to be the first to gather and behold the untouched splendor of numerous tableaux of beautifully arranged delectables -- salads, breads and cheeses, fruits and vegetables, meats and side dishes, piles of seafood, etc., etc. Each station is its own work of art. When the travelers emerge from the Galley, the 30-foot-long tabling of intricate, elaborate desserts prompt another round of oohs and aahs at the Eiffel Tower of white chocolate with a flowing fountain of chocolate fondue beside it, the edible scenes of desert cacti and birds and musical instruments, colorful tarts, cakes, petit fours and more. It was complete sensory overload!

This was a great crescendo of a celebration to top off an amazing, luxurious EXPLORERS tour during which everyone came together one last time to revel in the experience, to share stories with each other of their shore excursion adventures and even to reminisce about fun times spent back at the University of Illinois.

Yes, life is a celebration. Bon appetit, indeed!

Some of our travelers on the Cruising the Inside Passage EXPLORERS tour found themselves visiting the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka. (Same beautiful seaside town that was the setting for the Sandra Bullock comedy, "The Proposal.")

Here at the Raptor Center, 100-200 injured bald eagles and other birds are nursed back to good health and, when possible, released into the wild. The injuries can vary from those brought on by nature, to man-inflicted gunshot wounds, to accidental swallowings of fish hooks and even some random paper clips, as one X-ray reveals.

In addition to being an eagle ER, the facility is also an education center that teaches folks like us and some 30,000 more visitors each year. There are about 20 staff members, plus several volunteers who give of their time to assist in the care, feeding (you don't want to know what they have to cut up for their food), education and research. The volunteers also get to share in those happy days when a successfully rehabilitated bird gets released and soars free. Stunning.

Pictured here is Sitka, a Raptor-in-Residence. She is about 12 years old and is a permanent member of the team because her injuries were so severe that she remains at the center and works as an educator eagle.

Next: A final day of cruising, including near the six-mile wide Hubbard Glacier, and a celebration of food, food ... and more food.

This day's excursion as part of the Cruising the Inside Passage EXPLORERS tour finds us riding the historic White Pass & Yukon Railroad up into the mountains from Skagway, Alaska. This narrow-gauge rail trip climbs amazingly high. It was built when to help hasten the Trail of '98 (as in 1898) gold rush when thousands of "stampeders" went looking for gold.

Journalism being what it was then, and the country in the midst of an economic downturn ... hmm ... gold was discovered in Dawson City up in the Yukon Territory. But like a bad game of Telephone, reports made it seem that gold was just sitting there waiting for people to arrive in Skagway, pick it up and put it in their satchel bags and head home. Turns out, when they got to Skagway, they had about 600 more miles to go -- through treacherous, moutainous terrain. Hard life. And very few ended up with any gold in the end.

During the building of this railroad, however -- which took two years, two months and two days -- there were surprisingly few deaths. One of the major feats was the construction of a bridge that was considered quite an accomplished engineering achievement along the same level as the Eiffel Tower. This bridge is what helped secure this railroad's place on the National Register of Historic Places.

Having a graduate from our top-notch civil engineering program at the University of Illinois on our trip is very handy!

Next, we've just arrived in Sitka, and I think there may be a celebration story to tell about the majestic Bald Eagles. ...

Continuing the journey of Cruising the Inside Passage, we now find ourselves in Juneau, Alaska. On this particular EXPLORERS tour, passengers have the option to chose among a number of additional excursions during our various ports of call. On this particular excursion, travelers have opted to go whale-watching in Auke Bay, just a few miles north and not far from the amazing Mendenhall Glacier.

As the high-speed catamaran takes to the open waters, we see one Humpback whale almost immediately. That's a good sign. Whale-watching requires a lot of patience and a good eye to see the blow of water coming from a surfacing when the whale exhales.

But then we wait, troll along, wait, troll along. Nothing. We decide to go over to where we can see some more wildlife -- this time a whole lot of Stellar sea lions resting along a little stretch of beach on a small island. A few move about, lumbering along a bit. And then some three Dall's porpoises decide to come along and have a bit of fun riding along in the wake of the boat. Their black-and-white markings make them look like cousins of the Orca whale. Very fun, but still longing to find a few more whales.

Then, we soon see not one or two blows off the surface, but several. And then the rounded shapes of a several more and even a fluke or two (that big whale of a tail) break the surface of the water. It's amazing -- since we learn from the on board naturalist that whales tend to be much more solitary. But we count at least 15 separate whales all in a pod swimming about us. By law, the boat is not permitted to go within 100 feet of a whale in the wild. Fortunately, the whales can do what they like.

It was quite a gift to have so many whales visit the group and spend a little time swimming along and around us. At one point, it seemed as though we were surrounded. It was certainly another cause for celebration. Truly magnificent mammals that make you feel quite humble in the world.. Maybe they were the ones on the sight-seeing tour. ...

Next: A visit to Skagway and a celebration of man's engineering ingenuity