Alaska: Exploring Glacier Bay National Park, with Stephen Beckham, Emeritus Professor of History

April 20 - 27th, 2024

See the wonders of Alaska together with distinguished historian Stephen Dow Beckham. Explore with him and learn about the history of the region and a sail through islands and fiords not typically reached by larger ships.

Our group will be 18 to 26 people and sail on a special small cruise ship with the capacity of about 80.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Two full days in Glacier Bay National Park
  • Tidewater glaciers: Margerie, Grand Pacific, and the twin Sawyers
  • Explore the shores and fjords of the Tongass National Forest and Tracy Arm
  • Bushwhack and hike in old-growth forest and glacial outwash fields
  • Whale watching in Icy Strait & Frederick Sound
  • Search for wildlife—bears, sea lions, seals, porpoises, eagles
  • Birding at South Marble Island—puffins, oystercatchers, cormorants, and kittiwakes
  • Natural history narration from expert onboard guides

ITINERARY

B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner

 

Cost

  • Deposit: $500 per cabin (non-refundable)

  • Navigator Cabin: These cabins have a fixed queen bed and two porthole windows or two twin beds and view windows. These cabins are below the main deck. ($4,995 per person)
  • Trailblazer Cabin: These cabins are all on the Upper deck, all with fixed twin beds and two view windows. ($5,355 per person)
  • Pathfinder Cabin: Each Cabin can be set up as a king or two twin beds. ($5,695 per person)
  • Commodore Suite: Each cabin can be set with one king or two twins in the bedroom. The sitting room has a foldout sofa and a step-out balcony. ($7,990 per person)

Airfare is not included.

Deposit Due Date (paid to Lewis & Clark College, non-refundable): November 15, 2023

Final Payment Due Date (paid to UnCruise): January 19, 2024

Registration


Ship: Safari Endeavour 

230’ Length | 40’ Beam | 12 knots or 14 mph | Gross Tonnage 95 | 4 Decks | Built 1983 | Registry: USA

Polished, unwavering, and upscale, the Safari Endeavour may be the workhorse of the fleet but it’s her zest-for-life persona that’s remembered most. She looks sharp—a nod to the crew who work hard to keep her that way. Wood fixtures and accents shine and artwork highlights the warm and cool waters where she sails. Her roomy lounge, dining room, and sun deck are undisputed, but the Safari Endeavour claims to have the biggest heart, too.

To learn more about this vessel and see pictures if rooms go here.

Academic Leader

Stephen Dow Beckham

Dr. Beckham is a distinguished Historian and Professor Emeritus, having taught at Lewis & Clark from 1977 to 2012. Over the years, he taught at the undergraduate college, the graduate school’s teacher education program, and the law school’s Indian law program.

Stephen has taught eight Travel/Study seminars for Stanford University in SE Alaska, five seminars for the U.S. Forest Service using the ferries of the Alaska Marine Highways, three programs for World Explorer Cruises, and one seminar for a week for Young President’s Organization. Some of the topics we might explore aboard include:
  • “Alaska Sojourners” (wilderness seekers, writers, lighthouse keepers)
  • “Traditional Culture of the Northwest Coast Indians”
  • “Russian America: Exploration, Fur Trade, and Colonization”
  • “Lure of the Northwest Coast: Exploration and the Enlightenment”
  • “Totems, Masks, and Artistic Motifs of the Northwest Coast Culture”
  • “Rushing for Gold: The Klondike and Boundary Issues in SE Alaska”

He is known for his work with Native Americans and the American West, especially the Pacific Northwest and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Beckham is a leading authority on Indian law and has been called as an expert witness in many cases nationally involving Indian treaty rights, casinos, reservation resources and boundaries.

Beckham has been honored as the Oregon Professor of the Year, and has been the recipient of the American Historical Association’s Asher Distinguished Teaching Award, and the Earle A. Chiles Award for “contributions to the understanding of the high desert interior of the American West.”

Beckham has authored over a dozen books including:
Requiem for a People: The Rogue Indians and the Frontiersmen (1971)
Tall Tales from Rogue River: The Yarns of Hathaway Jones (1974)
Indians of Western Oregon: This Land Was Theirs (1977)
Lewis & Clark College (1991)
Many Faces: An Anthology of Oregon Autobiography (1993)
Lewis and Clark in Oregon Country: From the Rockies to the Pacific (2002)
Literature of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (2003)
Oregon Indians: Voices from Two Centuries (2006)