Becky, the chick on the right, looks out at a lake and snow-capped mountains as we approach Misty Fjords.

Once in Misty Fjords we landed in one of its many lakes and were able to get out of the plane and stand on its floats. I took this photo of Noonya Lake while standing on our plane’s floats.

Here’s a thirty-second movie clip that I took as our floatplane took off from Noonya Lake.

Here’s another photo taken from our plane’s floats in Noonya Lake. Keep in mind that what you see here was carved by a massive glacier. Notice how the trees growing out of the rock are growing straight up. This tendency is called geotropism. But the question is, what’s the term that describes the phenomenon of a tree growing out of rock?

When we made it back to the ship, I took this photo of her stern and port side. The exhaust flues on her stern are from her main engines, which are gas—not diesel—turbines. The letters GTV pictured on the corner of Radiance are an abbreviation for “Gas Turbine Vessel.” At the top of the photo, you can see the rolling scaffolds used to clean and perform maintenance on the ship’s exterior. You can see six round structures protruding from the ship’s body. These structures make it easier for Radiance’s passengers to take in the majestic views available on this scenic journey through Alaska’s Inside Passage. The angular structure pictured toward the ship’s bow is the bridge. Passengers are reboarding Radiance toward the middle of the ship.

Ketchikan was our last port. Once we left Ketchikan, our next stop would be our point of origin, Vancouver, British Columbia. Once away from the dock in Ketchikan, it was time to bring out the crying towels and boohoo about our cruise’s being over. We still had another day at sea left to enjoy, but the stateroom televisions were already broadcasting information about disembarking the ship on Saturday morning. It was at this point when Becky and I decided that our next cruise would be a ten- or eleven-day voyage.

This cruise through Alaska’s Inside Passage aboard Radiance of the Seas was our fifth and best cruise. The ship was stunningly gorgeous, the service couldn’t possibly have been any better, each port offered significant points of interest, and the scenery between the ports was at all times filled with unspoiled natural beauty.