Alaska Day 6; Glacier Bay

September 11 - Day 6
Oct. 12th, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Glacier Bay

Woke up very early for our scenic cruising day in Glacier Bay National Park. Park rangers joined our boat first thing, and we headed into the looming fjord.



The temperatures dropped noticeably as our boat entered the narrow channel surrounded by steep slopes. We dressed accordingly. As you can tell by my ensemble, warmth trumps dignity.






(salt water ends, fresh glacier water begins)



There's just no describing the immense presence of a mass of ice thousands of years old and hundreds of feet high. The jagged bluish spikes of ice don't look THAT big...


...until you see a speck perched on the tip of one and realize it's a bald eagle (and they grow 'em big here). This bergy bit was about the size of a small car.


These glaciers are MASSIVE. We were lucky enough to see some spectacular calving. I'll never forget the sound of it - first the crackling snaps and thundery rumbling, followed by bits of snow trickling from the face. Then the dramatic detachment or lazy slide of ancient compacted ice. The falling mass hits the water, creating a very distinctive boom that can be heard after a slight sound delay. All told, we spent a few hours watching Reid, Lamplugh, Johns Hopkins and Margerie glaciers




We also saw a seal swimming alongside our boat and looking up at the boat like "Um, hey guys? You're kind of interrupting my lunch."



We went back to our room for the ride out of the park. Justin sat out on the balcony (again, SO worth it) to watch our departure. I casually asked if him if he'd seen any animals along the shoreline, to which he responded, "No, I haven--- HOLY CRAP! GIVE ME THE CAMERA!"




We did some more whale watching that afternoon and saw a few pods - one pod of 3 whales was having what looked like a lovely time waving their flukes and smacking the water. We snacked throughout the afternoon, and that, combined with the boat's increased turbulence, meant we weren't hungry for dinner.

I don't have a lot of words for today because the pictures say it all. The boat observed a moment of silence at noon to remember 9/11, which added the gravity of the day and this whole trip. I feel incredibly lucky to be here. We've experienced so many different things - radically different plantlife, animals, weather, culture and landforms. I look forward to every single day, and I can't think of anywhere else in the world I'd rather be.

Alaska Day 5; Skagway

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September 10 - Day 5
Oct. 8th, 2008 at 11:00 PM
Skagway

Will the beautimousness never end?!? Seriously. This place is crazy. Today was no exception. We ate breakfast a little later than usual, and the crowd was noticeably thinner (a good thing - usually it's packed). The boat actually got into the Skagway port at 6 a.m. We got off the boat right away at other ports, typically around 8. But since we had an entire day onshore (boat doesn't leave until 8:30 tonight) and no excursions booked, we took our time.

Spent the morning meandering around historic Skagway in the first real rain we've had. It's a very cute town. They've maintained a lot of their original buildings, constructed when the city grew to accommodate gold rush prospectors. Of course, we had to walk through the obligatory row of diamond and foreign gem stores squeezed in with local historic buildings and places like the Red Onion Saloon, a renowned brothel.

We wandered wetly through town for a few hours before taking refuge in a little bar/brewery (they seem to have a lot of breweries up here...). Wrote some postcards and warmed up with coffee and hot chocolate. The weather improved a little bit, but we decided it would probably be more fun to book a tour with one of the local companies than continue to wander. A lot of the Princess tours had been cancelled due to fog and rain, so we heard a lot of those people changed to the White Pass Railroad tour. In an attempt to avoid that crowd, we decided to take the Yukon Adventure Tour with the Skaguay Tour Company.

Instead of packing into a coach bus or cutesy train with 1,000 immobile people, we joined one young couple from Utah and our guide in a eight-passenger van (sidenote: I mean no disrespect to the old and/or handicapped. I love old people - ask Justin. I always point the cute ones out. They're all wonderful, friendly, sweet people... just aaaagonizingly slow).

Before we could go, I had to run about a mile back to the boat from town to get our passports. I got through security (they x-ray our bags and we have to walk through metal detectors to get back on the boat. I feel secure), grabbed the passports and hoofed it back to the pier where I caught a shuttle back to town... enter our Elderly Friends. With lots of bags and canes and coats and walkers and slowly-counted exact change for the fare. Getting on and off at every stop on the way downtown. Justin is waiting at the tour company. Our tour leaves at noon. It's 11:56. Slow.people.are.killing.me. Anyway, I made it back right at noon, and we got started on the 65 mile drive.



Holy. Cow.

Talk about a once-in-a-lifetime kind of trip. We passed through four ecosystems on our way up the coastal mountain between Skagway and the interior valley. I can't remember the official ecosystem names, but they were all distinct. Skagway gets a ton of rain, so it's pretty lush in this area. As you move up the mountain, the evergreen trees begin to radically morph. They start to shrink so much that by the time we reached the (very foggy) summit, we couldn't see any trees over 3 feet tall. Hundreds of years old, but smaller than a yardstick. An intense wind blows over the mountain for weeks at a time in winter, so the midgety trees have actually adapted to the brutal conditions up there. Natives called the wind "skagua," which turned into the town's namesake. Not only are the trees tiny, but their branches also face the same direction - another evolutionary response to the skagua.




The fog got so thick at the top of the mountain that we literally couldn't see more than 3 feet in any direction. We stopped at one point where the fog wasn't as dense so we could feel the climate (collllld and damp). Our guide also told us the wild mountain blueberries were good this time of year, so we picked a handful and ate them...

HOW COOL IS THAT??! I ate wild blueberries off the side of an Alaskan mountain. You just can't do that on the Railway Excursion. We stopped several times as we ascended into the Yukon. Once for this contortionist Sitka Black Tailed Deer:





We actually went into Canada (hence the need for passports), and the weather in the valley was completely different - sunshiney and only partly cloudy. That area (I'll just refer to it all as The Yukon) is definitely in autumn mode. The aspen trees are ridiculously golden, and a ton of red and orange foliage also set the mountains on fire. You can see it all creeping up the land.

The water is also this crazy neon teal color - a result of glacier dumping their silt in the watershed.




We followed the Klondike Highway around Tutshi ("too-shy") Lake, an enormous body of water that wraps around the mountains. Natives had this belief that Tutshi Lake holds a gigantic Fish Father and hugenormous Fish Mother who are responsible for spawning all of the smaller fish of their kind. Oddly enough, science actually backs this theory up -- it's estimated that an 80-year-old fish has spawned 70% of the local population. Cool how culture and science mesh.

We made a few stops, notably at Lake Bennett and Bove Island. These pictures say more than my words ever could, and even these images don't do the experience justice.








The tour usually ends at Bove Island, but we had a little bit of extra time. Our guide, Matt, asked if we wanted to continue into the Yukon. We all did, so we got to visit Carcross (short for Caribou Crossing).

This tiny community barely dents the sprawling valley. We visited their visitor's center and general store and took in the view. It's kind of a weirdly still town. People were probably at work and kids in school, but it seemed so... I don't know, 'still' is the best way to describe it. They're not terribly far from 2 major towns, so I'm guessing most people commute. Just another example of life slowed wayyy down to a very deliberate pace. Can't help but appreciate that. We spotted a couple of sheep on the side of a far-off mountain and took a few minutes to look at them through our guide's high-powered binoculars. Very cool.

On the way back, our guide pulled over when he spotted something he thought was a mountain goat. I have NO IDEA how he spotted it - said goat was about a billion feet up on a cliff side. Sure enough, upon further inspection we saw Mr. Goat staring us down like he owned that rock. Pretty cool goat (as goats go).

We stopped again at Bridal Veil Falls (totally original name, right?) with a bunch of people on a biking tour. I don't know how the bike tour operates without regular biker injury. It's perpetually foggy up there, but they still do excursions down the windy, wet road. Where the cars drive. In the fog. With medians ending in cliffy drops. Glad we biked in Juneau instead of Skagway!!

While stopped at Bridal Veil Falls, we saw the White Pass train cross some falls.

We got back into Skagway around 4:30. Weather had improved a little bit - I mean, it was no Yukon Valley, but at least the rain had stopped. We got a late lunch at Starfire, a Thai Place Matt recommended. WOW. We got spring rolls and fresh rockfish. Possibly the best Thai I've ever had. Good enough that Justin, who's had unimpressive experience with Thai before, decided Thai is his favorite food.

We wandered through town a little bit longer and made our way back to the boat.

We ate dinner at the Santa Fe Restaurant later in the evening. Not as impressed as the other nights (or maybe Starfire spoiled us). I had venison loin, and Justin had crab legs. He also had a hearty caribou sausage stew and I had a chilled berry soup. Like every other night, we pretty much crashed after that. These long days in ports are definitely exhausting!

Alaska Day 4 ; Juneau

Sept 9, 2008 - Alaska Adventure
Oct. 5th, 2008 at 7:48 PM
Juneau

Days are still getting better and better. Woke up at 6:30 as we entered the Juneau area. Justin ran to top deck to watch our entry. I, however, was still slightly exhausted and took my time getting ready. He saw some huge moutainy waterfalls as we came into port.





We met up for breakfast before heading into town. Our long anticipated Bike & Brew wasn't until 2, so we decided to spend some morning time getting to know Juneau. We saw the state capitol building, which was fairly unimpressive. It's one of the only capitol buildings in America without a dome. Apparently a lot of government meetings are held in Anchorage anyway, even though Juneau is the capitol. Later on we saw the governor's mansion, too. Palin doesn't live there, much to the chagrin of Juneauites (Juneauans?)... we could tell by the plethora of Obama signs in the neighbor's yard. We gave our legs a pretty good workout by walking around historic downtown, visiting the famous Red Dog Saloon and dodging the numerous jewelry stores.


(the dinky capitol building)




Juneau is the second largest city in the world. It's over 3,000 square miles in area. Still, by about 9:30, we'd seen as much of Juneau as we could on foot. We stretched out things and just sort of wandered around more until finally sitting down at a local coffee shop for coffee, hot chocolate and "Mt. Juneau" Gelato. Made our way back to the boat for lunch before our afternoon excursion...

The Bike & Brew was TOTALLY the highlight of today. I feel like we really saw Alaska. We had 8 riders in our group -- us, a middle-aged couple from Orlando, an old couple from England and an old couple from Australia. Most of the bike ride was smooth, cool and serene, always with lush mountain views and often with postcard panoramas of the Mendenhall Glacier. We stopped briefly on the banks of Auke Lake, which is right below Mendenhall. Big chunks fo ice (bergy bits - that's actually the technical term if I haven't already mentioned it) floated in the weirdly teal-ish lake. Got some cool glacier pictures, drank hot apple cider and just marveled at the wonders that we're privileged to count as part of our country. Awesome.






After our brief stop on Auke Lake's beach, we continued riding to a wooded dirt trail. I can't possibly describe the incredible beauty of this ride (I have a feeling I'm going to run out of words pretty quickly when detailing this trip). It's like something out of a dream, and I can honestly say it's the most beautiful thing I've ever experienced in my entire life. As one guy put it, it wouldn't be entirely surprising to see hobbits and fairies coming out of the forest. Everything was covered in moss, making the trees and boulders look soft enough to sleep on. The trees let in this storybook kind of light that just soaked into the moss. Saw a few well-placed waterfalls within the woods, making it even more unreal. This is my new "happy place," a picture of such natural serenity and comfort that I will remember forever. No wonder the bears like it!

Once the riding portion ended, we got to walk around the Mendenhall visitor area to look for bears (they're very active lately since the salmon run is in full swing). Saw lots of tourists and no bears... until we were walking back to the bus and a HUGE black bear ran across the road less than 100 yards ahead of us. I'll be the first to admit that my initial instinct told me to run at the bear to get pictures. Thankfully, millions of years of ancestral evolution quelled that stupidity before I had a chance to act on it. My species didn't survive by running at 400 pound animals with nothing but a (heavy, yet insufficiently dangerous) camera as weaponry. I tried to get a picture from a safe distance, but he lumbered into the woods before I could adjust my settings. Still... we've been here FOUR DAYS and we've seen salmon, whales, sea lions, dolphins and a BEAR. This vacation is officially exceptional.

(Can you see the bear?)



After the Big Ass Bear encounter, we loaded into the van for a visit to the Alaska Brewing Company for free beer samples. As in 6 ounce glasses of all-you-can-drink beery goodness. I tried their Summer Ale, Winter Ale (made with spruce tips), Alaska Ale, Alaskan Amber, Oatmeal Stout and Smoky Porter. I shared some with Justin, as they packed a pretty good punch. All actually tasted quite good, even the kinds I wasn't sure I'd like. The brewery tasting tour is free to anyone who wants to partake. Alaska law won't let them give it away if it's too much like a bar, so the Brewing Co. doesn't have any seats and doesn't serve food. (After a few of the tasty beverages, though, nobody cared that we had to stand). Sadly, we had to leave.

Justin and I went to dinner with the Florida couple at Taku, and amazing fish smokery / restaurant. Got salmon tacos, salmon croquettes and clam chowder. Also picked up some hot smoked salmon for eating tomorrow. Mmmm. Most people have tried the cold smoked variety, but hot smoked seems to be the preferred local method. Little pinecone looking things from alder trees smoke and allow the salty brine to preserve the salmon. Good stuff.

We made it back to the boat and decided to take photos of our departure from Juneau. Grabbed the tripod and headed up to top deck as we pulled away to port.




We decided to take advantage of one of the ship's many hot tubs that evening, so we suited up and went to 14 aft. I've heard sitting in a warm, bubbly pool in cold weather is actually quite enjoyable. I don't doubt this, but the 15 seconds between disrobing and submerging... not so pleasant. The tub wasn't as warm as we'd hoped, so I took one for the team and ran across the deck to test the other tub. I managed not to slip and break my face (which would have frozen to the deck like a tongue on metal...okay, maybe I'm exaggerating), and frostbite didn't damage anything important. Not sure if it was actually warmer than the other tub, but it sure felt better than the 40ish degree air. I told Justin to come on over, and we relaxed for about 15 minutes before it started raining on us.

Inevitably, we had to walk through the open air to get back into the ship. I chose to ignore the possibility of people walking by and giving me weird looks... Re-clothing on the inside of the entrance door/hallway just seemed smarter than standing in the wind. Dignity schmignity.

After tubbing, we headed back to the room to crash. Another long, fabulous day in paradise!

Alaska Day 3; Ketchikan

Day 3 - September 8, 2008
Sep. 27th, 2008 at 3:10 PM
Each day keeps getting better! Woke up at 6 a.m. and opened my eyes to look out our balcony door at Ketchikan's mountains and a gorgeous blue sky. That view, combined with the cool Alaska morning air (we slept with the door cracked open) made a wakeup experience I will likely think about (with envy) every remaining Monday morning of my life.



We grabbed a quick breakfast before leaving the boat for our first excursion - the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, which we enjoyed. The lumberjacks... lumberjacked (springboard, boom run, log rolling, chopping contests, etc) and injected a fair bit of comedy and audience interaction. One lady got to take home a tiny log chair carved with a chainsaw in front of our very eyes.








The show lasted about 45 minutes, giving us almost an hour and a half before our next excursion. This was good timing, since we had to be back on the boat by 1:30 p.m. for a 2 p.m. departure. We used the time to meander around Ketchikan. Most notably, we visited Creek Street, which runs along Ketchikan Creek.

The Coho (silver) salmon and pink salmon are still running, so we got to see thousands of big fish stuffed into this tiny river. Watched them traveling upstream... such a weird phenomenon.






They work so hard to jump up waterfalls and crazy obstacles just to lay their eggs and die. I wonder if they realize they're going to kick the bucket soon. I think the hundreds of already-dead fish might clue them in. That's a lot of work with a morbid payoff. Other than seeing the salmon (who aren't on the cruise company's payroll), we found Ketchikan surprisingly touristy. And I don't so much mean that local people were the ones trying to make a dollar on we vacationers -- I would expect and even support that. Tons of jewelry stores selling tanzanite and diamonds and amorite and Guess watches and "gold in quartz" clogged the streets. They all bail in winter season, leaving boarded up stores all over the city. Kind of sad. Ketchikan did seem like a cute town, though, once we got past "cruise city." Definitely wish we had more time to explore the park behind Creek Street. The region is literally a rainforest. I always equated rainforest with heat, but I now understand how cooler temperatures and such a lush, verdant environment can coexist.



We got back to the boat around 11:20 since our "Totems Traditions Tour" met to leave at 11:35. Found the tour lady after a few minutes. She seemed a bit frazzled - checked our tickets and told us to sit on a bench until the second bus came (first was apparently full). Flash forward 40 minutes.... still no bus, and tour lady is hiding in a van somewhere while 8 frustrated tourists sit on a bench waiting... Finally one of our fellow benchmates found tour lady, who had apparently FORGOTTEN ABOUT US. She ended up just piling us into the van and driving us to the totem park. Once we got there, the mood lightened considerably. Our actual tour guide was great - very mellow, knowledgeable and subtley quite funny. The totem park was lovely. We walked through the slightly chilly forest until it opened up to a big lake. Several tall totem poles stood around the like like they were watching the water.








We didn't have time to do any more sightseeing after the totem tour since we had to be back at the boat by 1:30. Our forgotten gang of 8 went straight to the tour desk to complain about our unpleasant tour lady and missing part of the excursion. They ended up comping half of the price (yay!). Justin and I went to the Princess Theater for another naturalist talk after that - this one about Alaska's geology and glacier science. Cool stuff. Afterwards, we joined Rob the Naturalist and others in the Wheelhouse Bar for post-presentation discussion. Topics of conversation ended up ranging from Palin again to climate change to healthcare. All really interesting and surpringly not too controversial. We went up to 14 aft after that for more whale watching. Not long after we got there, we saw what looked like "lensing," an effect that happens when whales are bubblenet feeding. Sure enough, whales started diving in those areas! Got some excellent tail photos. Seeing humpbacks that close is just beyond amazing.






The whales eventually left (or the boat left them), but we got to watch a gorgeous sunset.

Once it got dark, we changed into our "smart casual" ensemble again and went to dinner, this time at the Italian-themed Vivaldi Restaurant. Our ridiculously decadent dinner included:

Justin - shrimp cocktail, eggplant parmigiana, a WEIRD jellied beef consomme (aka clear cow jello), a spinach salad, aged NY strip steak and the previously-mentioned Love Boat dessert.

Kate - Proscuitto crudo with melon (I could have died happy right at that table. SO GOOD), rustic minestrone, spinach salad, rabbit with homemade noodles / brown gravy / bell peppers, and tiramisu.

Yeah, after such gluttony, we just went to bed. The boat hit some rough water as we did, but exhaustion and the food coma quickly overruled that sensation. We passed out, so in love with Alaska already and looking forward to another port day!