Samantha Brown's Places to Love

-I'm taking a trip that is on everyone's must-do list, one that is so good, with so many life-changing experiences, I couldn't possibly do it alone.

Because if I did, I would never hear the end of it from these guys.

-I love this!

-[ Laughing ] So I brought the whole family and my in-laws as we planned to make up for the time that travel was put on hold.

-It's a big one!

-Good job.

-And explore a majestic destination with a uniquely beautiful culture.

I'm traveling with my family through the Inside Passage of Alaska.

Wow!

[ Laughs ] [ Upbeat tune plays ] I'm Samantha Brown, and I've traveled all over this world.

And I'm always looking to find the destinations, the experiences, and, most importantly, the people who make us feel like we're really a part of a place.

That's why I have a love of travel and why these are my places to love.

Samantha Brown's "Places to Love" is made possible by... -Exploring the world for over 150 years.

Guests cruise to nearly 400 ports of call around the globe, exploring over 100 countries.

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-The world is full of breathtaking destinations and experiences.

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Learn more at AAA.com/LIVETV.

-Alaska's coastline is immense, and we're doing a small but phenomenal part by cruising the Inside Passage, exploring islands, cities, and towns that would be difficult, if not impossible, to navigate any way else.

Like, for example, our first stop.

-We're in Juneau, the capital of Alaska.

Isn't that cool?

-So what do we know about Juneau?

Are there any roads that go into Juneau?

-No, you have to get there by boat or plane.

Only boat or plane.

-Of course, that's not the only form of transportation up here.

[ Dogs barking ] We're starting our time in Alaska jumping right in by trying the state's iconic sport -- dog sledding.

It's summer here, so there's no snow, but we can re-create the experience with some wheels.

But before we get our chance to feel the thrill of adventure, first we meet the puppies.

Oh, no!

-Hi, guys!

-Oh, my gosh.

-We've got some puppies here for you.

-So cute!

-This is the mama.

Her name is Needles.

And this is her second litter.

-These are the ones that we're gonna play with?

-Yes, there's six of them.

We've got four boys, two girls.

-How close can we get?

-You can hold them, yes.

-Oh, guys, I remember when you used to be this cute, and now you're not.

-Can I hold him?

-This is -- Yes, of course.

Will they be a part of the same team, then?

-Yep.

They will grow up all together, as well with these guys here.

-Uh-huh.

-And then they'll just have fun and try out for Robert's race team someday.

[ Dogs barking ] -This is Robert's current race team, and this is Robert.

What is the hardest part about being in the Iditarod?

This is a race that we've heard about our entire lives, and it's just so unfathomable to the rest of us.

How many Iditarods have you raced in?

-I've been in five Iditarods.

-Wow.

Is it as grueling as they say it is?

-The coldest I've seen is 58 below zero.

-Yeah.

-Oh, my gosh.

How do the dogs do in that?

-Yeah.

They didn't mind.

The only one complaining was me.

Yeah.

-[ Laughs ] -I'm Robert Redington.

I'm a sled-dog musher.

I grew up in a mushing family.

Third generation.

If you win the Iditarod, you win an 80-pound bronze trophy of my grandfather, Joe Redington Sr.

He's known as the father of the Iditarod sled dog race.

[ Dogs barking ] All right, here we go.

Everyone's buckled up?

Perfect.

[ Barking continues ] Ready?

[ Whistles ] [ All scream, laugh ] -Yeah!

Yeah!

-Wowza!

Yeah!

Oh, my gosh!

[ Laughs ] -So, coming up, at the next intersection, I'm gonna give the dogs a right command.

And, yeah, they should turn right.

Let's see here.

Gee!

Good dogs.

-Wow!

[ Laughs ] Haw!

Yeah, it's -- it's very important one of those dogs up front knows those commands.

-Uh-huh.

-Yeah.

One moment here.

Gee.

-It's amazing, Robert.

Your -- Your voice is so subtle when you're sending them signals.

So they -- they just -- They have, I guess, dog hearing, right?

-Yep, they've got great hearing.

I was inspired by a champion who was known to whisper.

-There will be no whispering from us.

How we all doing?

Good?

-This is the best summer ever!

-[ Laughs ] -Yeah.

[ Dogs barking ] -Ease.

-Wow!

Whoo-hoo!

Ooh, that was awesome!

And this is just the first morning.

[ Dogs barking ] When we return to Juneau, our team wanted to separate.

Bob and Carolyn wanted to unwind, so they went for oysters and champagne, while Kevin and I wanted us to explore something cultural.

And we found it.

-My name is Carla Casulucan.

My Tlingit name is Kat.xun.

And you are standing here in the Walter Soboleff Cultural Center.

We really try to educate our visitors here about the connection that the Tlingit people, the Haida people, and the Tsimshian people have with our land.

-These kids have been very excited about learning how to work with copper.

We've been learning how the Tlingit are very creative... -Yes, yes.

-And they work with jewelry.

They make jewelry.

-Yes, yes.

Oh, we make jewelry.

-That's really beautiful.

And I love the designs, as well.

-Yes, these are very old.

These ones actually belonged to my grandmother.

-I'd like you to make me something very lovely like that.

Can you do that, Ellis?

-We're only doing earrings and a pendant.

-Well, make it nice.

[ Hammering ] The jewelry is based on the tina, which translates as "copper shield" in Tlingit.

-You always dull up the back, and you polish the front, and the front looks twice as shiny, then.

-Donald Gregory explained that the tina is traditionally a symbol of a clan's wealth and power, which the kids certainly needed to get this copper into shape.

-And you use the soft mallet, and you hit right on the center of that T. -Wow.

What is this beautiful structure?

-This is a clan house replica of a traditional home.

It gives you an idea of what a traditional Tlingit clan house would have looked like if you had visited us in the 1700s.

-Would it have been this large?

-At least, yes.

-In the 1700s?

-Yes.

[ Hammering ] -Obviously, art runs through the Tlingit tribe.

-Yes.

-How do you have time to be creative and have time to do your art when there's hunting and there's gathering and there's making of fires?

When was there time to carve and paint and make something beautiful?

-Oh, well, there's a name for that.

It's called winter.

[ Both laugh ] When it's dark and cold, we had a lot of time to refine, and this form line artwork evolved over 4,000 years.

-So, as soon as you teach somebody else or tell them how it's done, then you've filled your obligation to me as the teacher to the student.

-Okay.

-That's awesome.

Thank you.

-You're welcome.

-Love them forever, your handiwork.

-Our day ended at the Gold Creek Salmon Bake, a place that really lives up to its name.

-I found gold!

-What?!

-I found gold!

-Are you serious?

-This is gold ore.

This.

This is gold ore.

This is gold encrusted.

-Really nice!

-I found gold!

-Awesome.

-And I found salmon, which is cooked over an open alderwood fire.

Eflinda Zeprazella has been in charge of this grill for six years.

As you can imagine, grilling Alaska's signature dish for 500 people every day is no small feat.

And it's just you?

No one's on the other side?

-No, made me -- [ Laughs ] -- stronger, made me fit.

-[ Vocalizing ] My flaming torch of meltiness.

-Kevin took the kids for s'mores while Bob, Carolyn, and I enjoyed an uninterrupted meal.

The rest is needed because tomorrow... ...we are taking a trip to the Ice Ages -- Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve -- and we will be spending the next 9 hours seeing our continent's most wild and dynamic scenery.

-So, this national park is about the size of the state of Connecticut.

So it's 3.3 million acres.

It's a really, really large space, and it butts up against several other national forests and wilderness preserves within Canada.

And together, it makes one of the largest protected areas of wilderness on the planet.

My name is Colleen Culbertson, and I am an interpretive park ranger with the National Park Service here in Glacier Bay National Park.

Most times when you think about a land locked in ice, you think of something that was thousands of years ago.

Our glacial history here was only 250 years ago.

-Two hun-- I mean, that's a blip.

-A tiny little blip.

Yeah.

So it's basically during the time of the industrial revolution.

This was all completely under ice.

-And then it retreated, and then it filled in with the water from the ocean?

-Exactly.

Yep.

-Wow.

We've arrived at Margerie Glacier, which, at 21 miles long, is a showstopper.

-What is that black in the area?

-Mm, that's a really good question.

That, basically, is just dirty ice.

-Oh, that's dirty ice.

-It's covered with rock, sediment, stuff that's all broken off of the mountainside that it's grinding against.

And this glacier does flow downhill between 6 to 8 feet a day.

So it's flow rate is pretty fast.

-To actually be in this beautiful park for close to 9 hours and getting to see the processes of the Earth in front of our eyes, it's so lovely.

'Cause, you know, the world right now is so fast, and you just want it -- to slow it down.

The fact that we have these moments that you really -- you really relish them.

-Yeah.

Not only as a park ranger, but also sharing stewardship with the Huna Tlingit, since this is their ancestral homeland, it's a blessing and a privilege for us to be here.

It's really special.

So, coming from Colorado, I am kindred with the huge mountain peaks, the snowy mountain peaks in this national park -- -Oh, no!

[ Water splashing ] Oh, my gosh!

Ooh!

-Oh.

-What?!

[ Laughing ] Oh, my God!

Wow!

-Holy cow.

-Wow.

Wow.

[ Chuckles ] So this is a really powerful moment, being here with you, because you get to be here every single day, and it still just gives you this sense of mystery... -It does.

-...and that this Earth is a great place, right?

-Yeah.

Yeah.

Even after four seasons, the power of this place is still just... -Wow.

...-pretty incredible.

-Yeah, yeah.

-It's hard to put words to.

-Believe it or not, we are not done for the day.

We are here to absorb as much of the natural landscape as well as Alaska's incredible wildlife as we can.

So we joined Captain Albert Howard to watch for humpback whales in Icy Strait.

How many whales do you think are in these waters right now?

-I'm not sure.

We saw 8 to 10 this morning.

-Oh, right there, right there!

-Oh, he's over there.

[ All exclaiming ] -Oh.

-Ohh.

-And why are they here in Alaska at this time of year?

-This time of the year, they're here for the food.

They're here eating herring and building up everything they need to build up to go back to Hawaii.

-And do they eat when they're in Hawaii, or they only eat -- -No, no, they bulk up here, and then they go to Hawaii.

-Yeah!

-Whoa!

-Oh, no!

-Aww!

-Give us a tail!

Give us a tail!

-And you, yourself, are Tlingit.

-Yeah.

Yep.

Full-blooded.

When you look at this landscape, for me, this is...

It's -- It's unlike anything on Earth.

And I've been to a lot of places on Earth.

-Growing up here, I didn't appreciate it till I joined the Army and came back, and seeing the other part of the world called the desert... Coming home, hearing our songs, yeah.

That was our language.

That was our -- That's been part of our history for centuries.

Those songs are still the same.

[ Whales singing ] -Day three begins for us with a stop at the island community of Sitka and specifically to the Sitka National Historical Park.

It was designated a national monument in 1910, primarily to protect the native totem poles.

-Totem poles, or kooteyaas, in our language, there are ones that tell stories, there are ones that are used as mortuary poles.

It's really fitting that we have totem poles because we live in this beautiful old growth forest, and I can't think of a more beautiful way to use nature in order to tell our history, to tell our stories, and to establish who we are on this beautiful land.

My Tlingit name is X'asheech Tla.

I am Kiks.Adi.

We use the frog as an emblem.

My English name is Louise Brady.

-Now why does this totem pole stand out in the middle?

-This is where the Kiks.Adi, my clan, fought the Russians in 1804.

The kooteyaa that you see here was raised to memorialize -- it's a memorial for the Kiks.Adi people who died right here where we're standing.

-Right here.

So this is sacred ground.

-It is absolutely sacred ground.

-This pole was actually created fairly recently by this man, Tommy Joseph, a Tlingit master carver.

And while I stayed to talk with Louise, the rest of the family went to watch him at work.

-I actually, in the third grade, had my first opportunity to work with a knife on a piece of wood.

8 years old.

Our people were here before the trees were here, and so the trees had to grow up.

And when the glaciers recede, then the land rose, and the forests grew.

It took time, and so we were here before that.

-So when I look at a totem pole, all I can do is really marvel at the creativity and the beauty and sort of the power that's emanating from it.

But you can actually read it.

It's communicating something.

-Yes.

-So how do you read a totem pole?

-You read it from the top to the bottom.

-Top to the bottom.

Okay.

-Yes.

But context is always important.

So you have to know that this is where the fort is.

You have to know the history of the people of the land.

The fact that we've been here for, you know, 5,000 to 10,000 years.

And why it became important for us to fight this battle, right?

-And that's all in this pole right here.

-Yes.

Our ancestors, no matter where you're from, you know, you're here because of what your ancestors did for you.

And I think we all need to remember that.

-You're still standing.

-Yes, exactly.

We're still Tlingit.

We're still a living culture, we're still evolving, and we are still celebrating each other.

Sitka is located on Crescent Bay, and a three-minute walk from the historical park brings you to where science, culture, and nature meet.

-The Science Center mission is science research and science education.

So everything we do relates to those two things.

-And for people to do that, you not only have the aquarium that you can interact with, you can come right outside to your your tidal flats here.

-Exactly.

-And there's just a myriad of ways to really hone those skills of observation and understand why.

So if you want to pick something up, that's totally okay, but just make sure you have your hands like this and that they're low to the ground.

-Cute!

-That's a purple shore crab.

-We want people to be able to validate and think critically and innovate and observe the natural world.

-See this right here?

This is a grainyhand hermit crab.

-I have a scientific question.

-Yeah.

-If the hermit crabs are all living together, are they really hermit crabs?

-[ Laughs ] -So what is that?

-This is called a ceylon.

We don't want to poke hard, so just barely just touch.

This is a sea slug that eats sponges.

So all those purple sponges and the crumb-of-bread sponge that we saw earlier, that's what they eat.

[ Bird squawking ] -So a part of the science center is actually a hatchery that helps produce more salmon for the world.

-So right now, there are almost 80,000 fish in here.

[ Laughing ] Oh, my gosh!

And as they grow, all of these empty ponds that are surrounding us, we'll spread them out and give them more room as they grow.

-And now this is not a farm.

Right?

-No.

-Farming salmon is not legal in Alaska.

-Yeah, with farms, you would raise the fish up until market size or up until they're full adults and then sell it right to a market.

But a hatchery is very different.

We just get them through the most vulnerable stage of their lifecycle, which is their freshwater lifecycle.

-Mm-hmm.

-And then we send them out into the ocean when they're ready to go out to saltwater, and they kind of do the work from there.

So we don't exclude the fishermen from the equation.

-That's fascinating that you're really thinking about the fishermen as well as the salmon in this process here.

-Well, in Alaska, culturally, fishing is a major, major part of the culture around here, so... -You work together.

-Yeah, we really do.

-With crabs and salmon fishing on our minds, we knew what we'd do on our last day in Alaska.

Seafood is king in Ketchikan, and so we decided to split up and go on two different adventures by boat.

Carolyn, Elizabeth, and I boarded the Aleutian Ballad to learn about crab fishing, what's been called the most dangerous job in the world, while Kevin took Ellis and Bob out to actually catch salmon.

Hopefully.

-So, what are we fishing for today?

-Primarily pink salmon, silver salmon, and possibly a king salmon right now.

All right.

Any questions?

-No.

-Most of the passengers on this excursion have seen the thrilling reality show, "The Deadliest Catch."

And while this crab boat won't be heading out into the Bering Sea, thankfully, what we learned here in the Inside Passage is how fishermen, like these, handle this challenging and dangerous job every day in a personal and hands-on way that no museum could capture.

-This as a snow crab or a bairdi crab.

To hold these, you'll want to hold them like your bicycle handlebars 'cause they will reach around, and every once in a while, we hear scream.

[ Laughter ] Hopefully, we won't hear that.

-Do you want that one?

-This is cousin to the king crab.

-Yeah.

All right, come on, gram.

-And then a snow crab.

-Oh!

[ Laughs ] -You want to hold him out like this, gently.

Don't grab him too hard.

Just gently.

Just gently.

-Ooh.

-Yeah.

'Cause these are the business end right here.

-All right, that's the business.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-All right.

Okay, guys.

[ Laughs ] Show me your crabs.

Oh.

Elizabeth was a little bit of a crab this morning.

Now she's holding one.

-We're gonna get ready to set 'cause we got lots to show you guys here.

-Now we're gonna drag them around.

We're gonna put two on each side so there'll be one deep rod and one shallower rod.

And then once we find out what depth they're biting at, then we can kind of zero in on it a little bit.

-'Cause if we don't catch a fish, Elizabeth is never gonna let us forget.

-We don't catch a fish, we have to go buy one.

-That's me, like, "Mm-hmm."

-Yeah.

-Oh, wow!

Oh!

Oh, my God.

There's like 20 of them.

Wow.

Whoa!

[ Laughs ] That's amazing.

I betcha Ellis is so miserable right now.

-It's a big one!

-Good job.

All right!

-Uh, not quite.

In fact, Ellis caught the first and largest fish of the day.

Just when you think you know your kid, Alaska proves you wrong.

-All right.

-What is it?

-It's a pink salmon.

-Pink salmon, all right.

-Got our first catch of the day here.

Let me get the hook out, buddy.

Watch your head there.

-[ Laughs ] -Yep.

Here you go.

-Good job, buddy.

Your first salmon.

All right.

Wow, what a day.

-This experience is not a reenactment.

You really put us on an authentic fishing boat and show us what it's like to go through the different types of fishing.

And then, to have the stories on top of that...

I mean, I don't think anyone thought they were going to come here and cry.

-It's blowin' 35, 12-, 15-foot seas.

I'm leaning over.

I go down to the next pot, and a wave hit me and knocked me off the boat.

My boots started filling with water, so I was gonna kick them off, and there goes my boat.

-He starts tearing up because he knows how close he was to going down.

You're hardly getting any air when that wave hits you.

So the conditions that we fish under, brutal.

-Yeah.

-I want to thank you guys for, you know, being with us and listening to our stories.

[ Sniffles ] Thank you very much.

[ Applause ] -For our final night, we will be on board for a memorable meal shared together.

I'll just take the cherry.

-No!

-[ Chuckles ] On the menu is the catch of the day, supplied by Ellis.

-Who did all the catching?

Who did the fishing?

You?

Wow!

-I caught the big salmon.

-How big was it?

-It was like... -Whoa!

-That was 7 pound of salmon.

Yeah.

-Is that what he caught?

-Yeah.

-A 7-pound salmon?

-Ellis.

-And Ellis doesn't even like Salmon.

I'll eat your salmon.

-Thanks, Elizabeth.

-[ Chuckles ] -How many crabs did you catch today, Elizabeth?

-Carolyn held a crab like it was a motorcycle.

-I was afraid it might punch me.

-My first favorite was obviously the salmon fishing.

Second favorite, coppersmith.

-Oh.

-And third favorite, the puppies.

They were absolutely adorable.

-Aww!

-I think, for me, seeing that glacier calve.

-Oh, my gosh.

Absolutely, right.

So unexpect-- Exactly!

-We saw so many things.

-We've seen eagles and mountains and Alaskan huskies, and we've talked to people who this is their land.

They've been here for thousands of years.

-Yeah, this is a big state, and we've only seen this one section, and it's -- -We've seen this much, and then the rest of Alaska is like your salmon, Ellis.

It's this big, and we saw that.

-I think we need to come back.

-Oh, absolutely.

When a destination helps strengthen the bonds of family, when it reinforces your own sense of self, when memories of one trip will last years, decades, that is when we share a love of travel.

And that's why the Inside Passage of Alaska gives us so many places to love.

-For more information about this and other episodes, destination guides or links to follow me on social media, log to placestolove.com.

Samantha Brown's "Places for Love" was made possible by... -The world is full of breathtaking destinations and experiences.

AAA wants to help turn vacation dreams into reality.

Wherever you want to go, AAA has services to help you before, during, and after your trip.

Learn more at AAA.com/LIVETV.

-The endless deserts, canyons, and stunning vistas between Denver and Moab deserve to be traveled.

Rocky Mountaineer.

Proud sponsor of "Places to Love."

-Exploring the world for over 150 years.

Guests cruise to nearly 400 ports of call around the globe, exploring over 100 countries.

Live music at sea fills each evening.

Dining venues feature selections from a Culinary Council of chefs.

Offering mid-sized ship experiences with handcrafted itineraries, personal service, and connections to the destinations guests visit.