Log

Log: Friends and Family Alaska Trip June 25^th to July 11th

One week on the road and one week on a small explorer class ship

By Tab Hauser

June 25^th: Arrive Anchorage after flying 1^st class all the way from N.Y. on AA with a quick connection to Alaska Air in Seattle. In Seattle Wanda our flight attendant gave us a bottle of Chardonnay as a present when we were taxiing to the gate. (I gave her a Tane light when we walked off the plane as a thanks. We arrived in Anchorage 3:30 got our luggage and Maureen and kids went to the hotel on the shuttle while I got the rental SUV (Grand Cherokee Laredo) due to check out / check in time.

Settle into Clarion Hotel which is OK as Melissa got the separate living area. We drove to the corner of downtown where there is a full size statue of Capt James Cook in a little view park. Whether was cloudy so we did not see Mt. McKinley from here.

We look at the menu Simons near by but opt out as it is a little too fancy for us at this time and go to the Glacier Brew House for a nice dinner. (Daniel orders the crab legs just to try something different. The portion is $33 for a pound of the legs. We both realize it is a rip off as you get maybe 1/3 lb of meat and it is not nearly as good as lets say lobster. The other dishes we get are good along with a few of there home made beers. (Note: the last night we were in Juneau the adults had good crab legs and realized the Glacier Brewery is a good place for the basics and not for this)

We then walk around the shops on 5^th and 6^th street until about 10PM. Many shops close at 11PM due to the late sunset. Maureen must have slept a good 6 hours of the 10 hours of travel. Me and the kids did not and we have forced ourselves up long enough so we head in.

June 26^th: After a basic breakfast at the hotel we head to the airport stopping to buy a case of water. When the Baldwin’s and Ehrlich’s get in we meet our tour organizer who goes over the things we will or are suppose to do. They get their vehicles and we are off to the Aleyska Ski Resort for a Tram / lunch combo deal. The view was as good as it gets with the typical drizzle. There was a rainbow looking down which was nice. After the lunch the kids hiked up the mountain a little to do a little sneaker skiing and slushing.

We continued to Seward with a quick stop at Portage Glacier to see the small truck size icebergs floating. The trip to Seward was very pretty with the sky opening up a little.

Note: Moose Pass is a good place to stop for the bathroom and very good blackberry pie on the way to Seward.

In Seward we stopped at the place to pick up our tour of Exit Glacier. It was only the 13 of us. The guide explained why glaciers and their icebergs are blue (It is the strongest color in the spectrum) We stopped for a few photo opps and learned that this is truly one of the few glaciers one can drive up to and take a 20 minute walk to the face.

When we got the ranger entrance there was a sign that the park was closed and the ranger turned us around. Today there was a moose that was killed by a bear on the main trail. Bear really guard their kill and would not be save to go on the trail. This was just bad luck. 4 million acres of park, and the bear had to kill a moose on the place we needed to walk by!

With the tour a failure we decided to quit while we were behind and check in and go to dinner. Dinner was at the _______ . Food was good and service was slow.

June 27^th:

Today we boarded a boat for an all day tour of this part of the Kenai peninsula. At the time of boarding we are told the weather may be too rough to make it all the way out. The bay we are in is very calm but the weather is overcast and drizzles. On the way out we see otters resting on their backs and are told all details about these little cute furry animals. (like 1000 hairs per inch) We then go to Fox Island for a grilled salmon lunch. It is very pretty at their lodge where lunch is served. The rocky beach is in the front and a lake in the back. There are whale bones on the beach and Maureen spots an eagle she wants to shoot with her big lens. Unfortunately it is raining (gee what a surprise!) so we stay near the lodge and do not stroll around too much.

After lunch we head out to more open water. It is a little rough, but OK. On the way to glacier we follow a hump back whale, see endangered sea lions on the rocks and puffins.

The glacier we get to is magnificent. Lots of oohs and ahhs. It is ½ mile wide and about 300 or so feet up. When we get with in ¼ mile the captain/guide turns off the engines and we can hear the spooky and loud thunderous cracks every so often. We also see some small crashes of boulders and then see a piece of ice the size of a small house drop in. On the way back to the dock we go to a puffin rookery and see more sea lions.

After docking we ate in town at a place called Apollo’s. The food is reasonable and fast. I order one of the best clam appetizers I have had in a long time. (sautéed clams in the shell with garlic and wine). The drive back to Anchorage is long and tiring as we all got up early and still suffer a little jet lag.

At 11:30 PM we see the sunset in Anchorage and get to the hotel as we are all just about out of energy.

June 28^th: Leave 9:15 AM to blue skies going to the cultural center and spend about 1 ½ hours here. This is a place that talks about all the different native tribes in Alaska. There is a loop here you walk to see 5 or so examples of native homes. Due to scheduling for things later we leave a little earlier than we would have wanted to and head up to Denali.

1:30PM: arrive at Luck Husky’s Dog Sledding. This is a place run by a Swiss lady named Ruth who used to mush dogs in races. Her dogs are all retired and to keep them fed and raise money she gives rides to people on a dog sled connected to 3 wheels. We did not know what to expect. Ruth was very friendly. There is an open space that has about a dozen or so dogs with dog houses. The dogs are on leashes which are long enough so they do not make contact with each other. A couple of older dogs have free reign of the place. At first I was not sure of what to make out of the idea of having dogs pull us around her for a couple of laps. I thought this would be a little cruel to the animals. This changed when it was time to give us the ride. First she told us about the dogs and who was related to who as well as a little history of their successes. When it came time to give rides all she had to do was pull out the blue harnesses. The dogs went crazy. They could not wait to be harnessed up and go to work. It is as if they live to do this (which is what they did before retiring). Interestingly I want to note that the huskies did not look like what I considered the typical dark grey and white look. Most of them were a cream color. In fact she said that the Russian Husky is the one for the pictures, but all her huskies are basically mutts with what seemed to be a pedigree of good running. She split the 3 big kids into one group and did 2 laps, then the 4 small kids into another group and did one lap, the two sets of adults doing one lap giving the small kids another lap later. The kids helped Ruth by giving them water and spraying them down to cool off between laps as she changed a dog here or there between runs. It was in the mid 60’s and had it been 70 degrees she would have cancelled the run as the dogs are winter animals and not summer ones. Ruth really liked the kids and their help.

After Lucky Husky we made a run to Denali so we can make the dinner and show that was arranged. One the way up we were treated to views of McKinley. The people in the area say that only 1 out 3 tourists see this giant mountain when they come to the area due to the mountain making its own weather. It should be noted that Mt McKinley is the tallest mountain in North American breaking 20,000 feet. It is however the 2^nd largest mountain in the world as it starts at about 2,000 feet. One other India is larger or higher. Mt Everest, while being the tallest mountain in the world starts at a much higher elevation so it is not nearly as impressive as McKinley. (For the record, the tallest mountain in the world is on Maui. This one starts 6,000 feet under the water making it 33,000 high)

When we got to Denali lodge we cancelled out of the package because the menu was too limited and ordered what we wanted. The show was about climbing Mt McKinley by a local who did it 4 times. It was one of the better presentations I have seen. He looked like your rustic mountain man. He started out by showing the difference in climbing boots from when the first people tried to conquer the mountain. These were basically no-support boots made of seal skin. He then showed different boots made over the last 75 years and the crampons that go with them. He demonstrated the ice pick or axe and how to use it saying it is his most important tool. He also showed the other equipment including a sled he has to pull with ½ his supplies.

With everything, he carries about 60 pounds on his back and pulls another 60 pounds for what is a two week ordeal if all goes OK. If they are snowed or stormed in, they can wait a few days or a week until it clears up making ice walls and igloos with the saw they carry. He demonstrated the way the sleeping bags work as well. McKinley is not a “technical” climb. You need experience with looking for crevices in the glacier or ice field and you have to know survival skills as well but you do not need to be a technical climber. Most people he said should use cross country skies to get you to the top with the steepest part at 35 degrees. He said the best part of skis is that you get to rope yourself to your team and can ski down hill for 12 miles. He showed pictures of his trips and told stories about successes and failures. It clearly made it clear to me that I will not be on this mountain any time soon!

June 29^th: This was an early day. A very early day. The only time slot available for all 13 of us for the 6 – 8 hour wild life tour was at 5:20AM. We were up at 4:45 and on line for the bus at 5:05 deciding that what ever snack they gave us on the bus would have to work for breakfast. We never had reindeer / pork salami croissant sandwiches before for breakfast.

The tour was given by a lady who drove and narrated the school bus. The park only allows 1600 cars per year to drive in under a special lottery arrangement basically for Alaskan’s. The rest of the 350,000 people that visit have to use there busses or tour busses such as this. Denali is 6 million acres which is about the size of the Adirondack Park in N.Y. The exception here is that there is one road that goes through the middle from the east with no one living in it while the Adirondack’s have towns, villages, state and local roads.

Along the way we saw a moose and her calve, herds of Cariboo (not a common site) the Tundra Squirrel, snow show hare, and rams. No bear! Normally the trip ends at about 60 miles but because we were able to see McKinley, he headed another 9 miles to a viewing area for hot chocolate and picture. The guide mentioned that the weather on the mountain changes rapidly and that we were lucky to see it. After we left the viewing area we never saw it again as the clouds covered it for the next 1 ½ days. We were 50 miles from Mt. McKinley and it filled your camera’s view finder. This is one massive mountain!

After the tour we had a nice lunch at the local road house on the main road and then headed back to the Denali visitor center in the rain to hear about grizzly bears and what to do if we see them in the woods. When the weather cleared all of us except Maureen took a easy 3 mile round trip hike to a lake near by. One interesting thing that happened was that a ranger had to give us a “moose” escort or “moosecort” on the road going to the trail. This was because there was the same moose and her baby were just off the road and the rangers were concerned about making mom nervous and charging us. They basically put a green mini van between us and the moose on the side of the road while we walked by it for a 150 feet. We just barely saw the moose through the bushes as we passed in on the opposite side.

We left Denali making our way to “Talkeetna”. (A name I have yet to pronounce three times the same. ) We had a dinner and a couple of bottles of wine at the Talkeetna Lodge. The kids ordered off the “bistro menu” and we ordered from the regular upscale menu. Everyone was happy. One of the famous things about Talkeetna Lodge is that the back porch and dinning room have a view of Mt. McKinley. All we saw was a massive amount of clouds covering it.

We brought our bags into our rustic wood cabins called Talkeetna Cabins. The kids played dungeons and dragons while we got a little organized before going to bed.

June 30^th:

Today we told the kids if they get up early that can take all 7 of themselves into town and scout out a place for breakfast. The cabins were around the corner from the places to eat and shops. This was nice as the parents slept a little later this morning had their mini adventure going into town themselves. Maureen & I got up a little later and hit the bakery and noshed as we walked around. Later we bumped into Nancy, Doug, Sandy and Mike who were sitting down at breakfast to a place the kids recommended.

With everyone gathered up we headed to Mahay’s Jet boat ride. This was a 51 passenger jet boat. (the biggest I have ever seen.) It is run by 3 engines totaling 1100 HP. It goes 30 mph down river and 20 up river. We traveled with a few stops for about 45 minutes and then got off and were guided on a nature trail having the trees and bushes described to us. They also took us to a make shift trappers cabin complete with different pelts to feel. There was also a food cache built so we can see how trapper protected there food and pelts from the animals. It was a nice educational stroll. The kids hung out in the trappers cabin while the guide was talking about life as a trapper. This trip was a 2 hours. I would like to come back and do the 4 hour trip into the canyon area.

From Talkeetna we rushed to the airport with a quick stop at Subway for sandwiches. I got a little confused going to the airport in Anchorage and added about several minutes to the trip. This would not have been a big deal but we made the flight with only minutes to spare!

July 1st

Today we had a good day,

No long drives, just stayed in town.

We got up and got 3 cars from Rent-A-Wreck. Not bad for $40 and 160,000 miles!

After breakfast the Dad’s and kids went to the “Catch - A – Bunch” shack near the Salmon Hatchery 3 miles from downtown where they rent rods for $5 per hour and you fish. The kids decided they did not want to be “tag-a-longs” as they called themselves and wanted to have a say in the rest of the trip so they decided on fishing. I found in the local paper an ad for the place so we went while the ladies dropped off the laundry. The kids did this for about 2 hours. Daniel caught the first minnow size trout and used it for bait. Allison caught a 12” to 14” trout that she let go. She was very proud of it when she held it tightly to show everyone. She also hooked a very large Salmon but it got off near the dock. We saw kids foul hooking salmon. They gave us one that Doug took to a smoke house that must weighed about 17 pounds in salmon meat. One thing to note is that the bald eagles swarm here almost like N.Y. pigeons! On a photographic note: A pair of bald eagles was on the government building sitting on the corner. Under them was an American Flag fluttering so I arranged my lens for the flag to be under the two eagles and took the shot. I hope it looks patriotic.

After fishing we went to the Mendelssohn Glacier. There we hiked a 2 ½ mile trail to the glacier / water falls overlook. I forgot to mention it has been raining the whole time so we are in full rain gear. The hike was beautiful. The woods we went through reminded me of Costa Rica. It was very lush. Lots of plant growth. Ferns, bushes, who would think Alaska would have a real rain forest. (in fact the weather was damp and cool just like our last hike in Costa Rica.) The view at the end of the trail loop was very good and worth the hike. We were wet on the inside from sweat and wet on the outside from the rain but it was great.

We went back to our rooms took showers and rested. Today all 7 kids did not want to go out to dinner so we called in for a pizza party in the room while the "grown ups" went out for a nice dinner.

July 2

Today the Hauser's went to the Glacier Gardens. This is a beautiful place. They took you around via motorized cart up the hills to see 10 acres of landscaping that was formerly a mud - tree slide. The owner has been very creative. He turned uprooted trees upside down to make planters. He also made small waterfalls and planted all kinds of flowers. (You’s have to see the pictures on the upside down tree stumps to understand what they look like)

Then they took us through a section of the Tongas Rain Forest. The third largest national rain forest in the world after the Amazon and Philippino rain forest parks. The tour lasted about 90 minutes. Well worth the 90 minutes it took.

After this we took Daniel and Melissa to meet the Ehrlich and Baldwin family at the Fisherman’s Bend Marina so they can take two boats trolling for salmon. Maureen did not want to go so I stayed behind. Our Daniel caught the biggest King at about 37", Mike and Nancy caught about 35 or so.

We are having them ship the 75+ pounds of salmon prepared fresh frozen or smoked. Both are vacuum packed. Maureen & I strolled around town stopping for a plate of very large nachos and a bowl of chili for lunch at El Sombrero. We also took the trolley tour for the narration of town. We went back to get the kids and greet the boats at 5:45 with a stop at K-mart for a few things on the way.

July 3^rd

We had some dry cereal in the room for breakfast with a couple of water bottles due to early check out with luggage bags needing to be placed outside for the cruise ship to take. We had an 8AM ½ day river raft trip. The weather was overcast, cool and light rain. (another typical day in Juneau) It is amazing that people would want to live here! You can tell we were the only tourists in a store outside of Juneau because we were the only ones wearing rain coats. We saw parents and kids wear shorts and T shirts leaving the store in mid 50’s damp cool weather.

Anyway, 8AM we board the bus and taken to a shack to be fitted with full wet gear before being driven up to Mendenhall Lake. They give us rubber bibbers, rain coat and neo’s. I thought the neo’s were really neat. It is basically a thin water proof boot that fits over your hiking boot, sneaker or shoe. A kind of expensive, durable type goulashes for your feet and shoes.

On the bus to the river the 7 kids decide they want their own boat. A young lady named Kristen enthusiastically volunteered to be there guide we separate with the kids out front. Each person is given a paddle to help the guide but this is not a difficult trip on what our guide calls the “mighty Mendenhall”. We are talking about class 1 to what may have been 2+ rapids part of the way. Most of it was a nice quick float. The river dropped 60 feet in the 5 miles we took it. It was enough of a thrill in parts for the kids to really like this. There were 2 sections of fun water where one of them had the lady in the tree taking our picture for purchase later. On a few occasions we played bumper boats with the kids as well as splash each other with the oars. (This can be a problem when the water is about 38 degrees. It is very cold on your face. Melissa gave a good oar splash to Mike which had the water sneak down a small opening in his rain coat by his chest.) Near the end we stopped for snacks and drinks on a beach and we floated on 10 more minutes.

At 12:30 were dropped off at the hotel in which we made reservations for lunch at the Twisted Fish by the farthest ship dock. We shopped and strolled around until boarding time. Maureen bought a sculptured soap stone of a bear in one of the shops. It was done by an artist names John Pust from Montana. (which arrived broken when we got home!)

Boarding the Wilderness Adverturere was 4:30 and briefing at 5PM with snacks. Kayak briefing and safety instruction was 6 – 7 which we napped through and shrimp cocktail hour before dinner at 7PM. The Discoverer had 87 passengers and a crew of about 24 including deck hands, engineers, Captain and mates, galley, stewards and naturalists. It had 4 levels. The back of the 400 level held 26 kayaks

During dinner we cruised in a circle leaving Juneau in order make it back for the midnight fireworks. Juneau decided to start fireworks at 12:01AM on July 4^th. By doing it first thing at 12AM on July 4^th they are assured of darkness for the fireworks to be seen. The show was of the basic type with a very weak finale lasting. The show was about 25 minutes. It was nice to see and be reminded that we are celebrating an important holiday in U.S. history.

July 4^th

Today we were a little slow to wake for the 7AM breakfast due to staying up late for the fireworks. The kids slept through breakfast. (but muffins and cold cereal was always available) We motored up Tracy Arm to the large Sawyer Glacier and South Sawyer Glacier. This took us through a narrow fiord. There was ice floating about and on much of the ice 1/3 mile to ¼ mile away from the wall of ice were mother seals and their pups. Overlooking the cove and glacier high on an open bluff was a small tent that had a ranger in it. He radioed and said there were about 600 seals in the cove. ( I would hate that job!) We heard the cracking of the glacier and I saw some boulders come off. It was unfortunate that Maureen and I went inside to go to the stern of the ship and missed a large 50 X 80 foot chunk fall in. We heard it and when we got to the stern we saw the waves from it which gave us a gentle rock. A Princess ship pulled to the cove and was about 1/8 mile behind us and the waves even gave them a gentle rock.

After leaving the two glaciers we headed back out Tracy Arm. The captain stopped at one waterfall and nudged the bow in. (see if the Princess can do that!) I went up the bridge to hangout a little. The Wilderness Discoverer is piloted by automation most of the time with the captain at the wheel (or resting his foot on it) in case of an emergency or problem with autopilot. The radar picks up boats or objects on the way and goes around them. There is also a naturalist on the bridge or walking around with a wireless microphone looking for wildlife and announcing it on the PA system.

About an hour after the first falls the captain (Scott) took us to “whole in the wall falls” as there is a 4 or 5 foot hole at the bottom of this very tall falls. He had the naturalist advise everyone not wanting to get wet to stay away from the bow. This was exciting for the kids as they came out to get wet of course. What the Scott told me is that there is 10,000 gallons per second coming down. He had a crew member up front make sure the kids held on. Also, when the boat touched the falls and then the cliff where the water came out I took a few pictures of him at the helm.

I also got the pictures of the kids being given an “Alaskan Baptism” of “Glacier Shower”. The were soaked with fast rushing water. The rain coats gave them protection from the belt up, but they were totally soaked with the icy waters coming off the falls. –what a rush!-

After the soaking we retired to the lounge area of the boat where we eat. Melissa, drew, Mike was teaching Daniel E how to play Dungeons and Dragons as well as setting up another dungeon, Robert and Dave were playing chess while Daniel H was coaching and looking on. Maureen found and engineer who was happy to take the kids clothes to their drier. To see a boat go head first into a glacier falls that was a couple of hundred feet high really was impressive.

Lunch today at 12;30 is tomato basil soup, smoked turkey wrap and tortilla chips.

Dinner last night was sesame crusted salmon with a chutney on top or strip steak with blue cheese, berry glaze. Tonight’s dinner main choice is Seared halibut with a fresh pineapple and kiwi salsa. There is always a fresh vegetable, salad and homemade desert.

At 2PM we went kayaking at Sanford Cove. Basically the crew puts down a floating dock that they lower from the top deck. They also drop down about a dozen kayaks and people go in groups of 7 boats with two in a kayak.

First you have to put on a skirt over your coat and pants and pull a string to make it tight. Then a life jacket. When you sit in the kayak the crew member pulls the skirt over a lip in the kayak basically making a fairly decent seal from water dropping into your lap should you hit a little wave or if it rains. A naturalist guided us around pointing out various things relevant to the area as well as making sure we were OK. Maureen went with Robert Baldwin, Melissa and Dave went together, I went with Daniel, Sandy went with her Daniel, Sandy went with her Daniel and Doug was with Ashley. Nancy did not want to go so she went on a skiff ride in the area.

Paddling out there was easy. You are light so you do not need much energy to propel yourself. There are also rudder peddles so you do not have to worry too much about left or right side steering using the paddles. We paddled around about an hour in a loop in the area. Not much in the way of wild life was around but it was nice and quiet out there and the scenery was pretty. Ironically, even though I was in kayak low on the water, it was also the first time I was dry and warm being outside in 3 days!

After paddling around some of the adults retired to the lounge to read while the kids played dominos. Mike went out again with the next group. While typing this log I learned about a photographer named Gordon Parks from a passenger who makes documentaries. They recommend I look him up on the net and take a look at his work. We Stanford Cove and head of Stephens Passage past the Juneau turn off and continue over night up Lynn Canal to Skagway.

July 5^th

We motored up to Skagway and arrived about 11:30 disembarking after an early lunch and pickup for a 10 minute tour ride aboard a long yellow retro looking tour bus from 75 years ago. The drivers were ladies dressed in early 1900’s attire. They told us about the buildings on this 7 or 8 block gold rush town and said the Parks Dept. bought many of the buildings and leased them out to businesses. We went to the park office and saw a very good 20 minute film and was briefed by an energetic Parks man.

The buildings here are original and were never burned. They were kept up using the originally looks of the building and that is why the Parks Dept bought them.

The buses dropped us off at the Yukon Pass RR station and Federal park building. In the Parks HQ we saw a movie on the brief gold rush history of Skagway and how difficult it was to pass through here and climb with 1 ton of provisions up the steep hills making 50 trips at time before getting to Yukon in Canada. It was a short lived gold rush and by the time most minors got to the area, it was all staked out. The gold rush made up to 30,000 gold crazy.

Most of the group took a hike near town. Maureen and I walked in an out of the shops stopping for a beer at the same place where it was made since 1897.

Once disappointment is that the Yukon Pass RR is not steam anymore. The guide books say it is a 3 ½ hour ride across the Canadian border and back and that you start out steam the old fashion way and change 2 miles down track to diesel. There was no long waited photo opp as there were 3 basic diesels pulling the old cars. We opted not to sit in the train for 3 hours.

When here do the Soapy Smith show. It was very good. I thought the show came from the heart!

We were back on the boat at 6:45 for dinner (Cornish hen or scallops in puff pastry – both OK but nothing special) and then onwards and overnight to Excursion Inlet for our next mornings kayaking.

July 6^th

Today we had a good day. The weather was partly cloudy and pleasant out.

This morning we started the day with Kayaking. Our group was scheduled for 10:45 so many of us slept late. At about 10:30 we were called to the stern where the floating dock was and put in Kayaks. Today Melissa went with Robert, Daniel H with David, Maureen & I were in one, Mike and Allison and Sandy and Daniel E were in another and Doug and Ashley went out. Earlier Doug and Nancy went. They told us to kayak around Excursion Bay. Guides in Kayak’s were stationed at opposite sides to keep and eye on us. Also, those that did not want to kayak could take a hike in the woods overlooking the bay with a naturalist. (Nancy went out with them. She said it was more like a stroll.)

Kayaking was a pleasant 90 minutes circling along the shore and crossing over the narrow entrance. We did saw some bald eagles, a sea lion and some small birds that submerged when we got near them.

We had lunch and moved on to our next destination which was Glacier Bay. To get here we had to go through Icy Straits and look for whales. We got lucky here at Point Adolphus. As we saw one or two in the distance and then we were able to see the spouts of 3 to 4 and catch up to them. It was an incredible sight. Spouts were blowing air and mist in the air and people were snapping pictures. First we would see the hump backs a ½ mile away and shoot a few pictures. Then 1/3 mile away and shoot more. Maureen and her 400mm lens had the best chance of any pictures up close. We caught up to the ways and stayed with in 200 – 300 yards away. At first they swim on the surface for a few minutes. Then you would see them curl their backs going down leaving their flukes (tails) up in the air slowing sinking into the water. They would do this once or twice before diving several minutes. After the dive you would here the blow holes spray up and look in the directions of the noise to see where they would go. After a few dives that were several minutes they started several dives that were 3 to 4 minutes. At every dive, people were going after that famous picture of just the fluke in the air with the fluke facing you and not side ways. A couple of times they surfaced and actually came towards the boat.

(I am typing this on July 7^th at 2:50 and interrupted by Orca sightings. See next days log) After 1 ½ rolls of pictures they are starting to cooperate. We are seeing the flukes at the right angle and right light. In fact we are seeing two at time as they dive at the same time. We spend about 90 minutes chasing them around and anticipating where they will be.

Dinner is a buffet today. (fortunately the only dinner buffet in the week) We pulled into Glacier Bay Park headquarters as we eat a couple of different salads, steamed dungeoness crab, bbq chicken, baked salmon, potatoes a gratin and veggies. The crabs are good and in my opinion taste better than the king crabs we had steamed in Anchorage.

At 8PM we walk on shore to do a little more than a mile hike in the forest and beach around the lodge. The forest has thick vegetation and just off the well maintained trail the moss is super thick and soft. There are bogs, downed trees called nurseries, bear claw mushrooms, bearded moss and Melissa’s xxxx weed that she went into the other day. This is a weed that has thorns that stick in you that need to be pulled out.

She had a few in her back when she took the hike outside Skagway.

At 9:45 the sun went slowly down over the horizon. There was a clear sky showing many of the mountains in the Alaska Range. (The tallest coastal mountains in the world with the highest going to 15,000 feet) It is hear we pick up Dave a Ranger from Glacial Bay Park to tell us about the park itself the next day.

July 7^th

We wake up for the first time to crystal clear blue skies at the tip of xxx where dirty Pacific Glacier and Margerie Glacier is. After breakfast we go outside and stare at this 300 to 400 foot high wall of ice. Things are quiet for about 20 minutes when we see calving occur. We saw three very large pieces of the glacier plunder to the bay in 3 areas. Two of the pieces must have been over 50 feet high and wide. A loud thunder followed by a very large splash each time and a small wave. The crew said we should consider ourselves lucky to have the place so active. Leaving here we headed toward John Hopkins Glacier. On the way one of the passengers spotted a brown bear on the side of the mountain in Tarr Inlet near the entrance to the bay that takes us to the Hopkins Glacier. Cpt. Scott turned the boat around for a closer look and we stayed about 1/8 mile off the mountain and observed it. The Ranger said he estimated the weight at 800 pounds and explained it is called a coastal brown grizzly bear. It spends its day eating of which almost all of it is foraging. We were amazed at how easily this large animal could climb the very steep slopes of the mountain. The ranger also explained that brown coastal bears were bigger than the in-land bears because they eat better. One reason is that they would go to the shallow water or tidal flats and eat just about anything including the muscles anything in the pools. This was the best and easiest protein they can get. We watched the bear climb around the rocks, go through some thick bushes and makes it way down to the inlet for a cooling dip.

As we continued toward Hopkins, the ranger advised us passing Jaw point will give us what he called one of the best scenic views in the world and that we would be looking 5 miles down to the glacier. He said it was called Jaw point because people “drop their jaws when they see the view”. The view was great. You saw pointed mountains, glaciers high, glaciers low and all different types of rocks and ice all the way to the head of the glacier 5 miles inland. Because of the ice, our boat went 2 mph or dead slow through all the pieces for about another mile. What a view for a picture perfect day. We spent about an hour here and motored out slowly while having lunch.

As we were settling in for a slow afternoon of cruising and typing this log the captain spotted a pod of Orca (killer) whales near land at Blue Mouse Cove. The captain turned the boat around and we kept the two groups to our port side by about 1/8 to ¼ mile away. They were in groups or 3 and 4. The ranger said this was not too common to see and again we were lucky. In fact he said later that we scored big on this cruise with the major hump back sightings, big calving of the glaciers, the 800 pound bear and the orcas. This was not your typical 2 days in the area.

[Note: Today was an all cruising day and the kids were clearly restless. Daniel and Melissa were hard to get out to see the first glacier before breakfast. At lunch you can tell there were a bit antsy. Kitta the bartender had some crafts for anyone to do. They decided to make swords (there is a surprise). At 3:30 they are doing their best to stay busy going around the ship playing cops and robbers or something like that]

While typing this from the top deck sheltered away from the wind I look up amazed by the scenery as we click off the miles back to the Glacier Bay HQ to drop off the ranger.

July 8^th

Easy Day. Not much during the AM for Maureen and I but sleep a little later and hang out on the top deck in the beautiful weather. Doug and Nancy went on the kayak together and Mike and Sandy saw an extra one around so they went. We had a Seafood Lunch of steamed mussels on the half shell with a tomato sauce, a steamed shrimp, rice and vegetable main course and salad in a thai style dressings. (all the dressings were made on board as well as the breads. We kayaked from 1:30 to 3PM in deep cove and had a pleasant slow ride towards Sitka afterwards. We traveled at about 6 knots leaving Deep Bay going through Peril Straits and catching the slack tide at Sergius Narrows were able to see the Pacific Ocean for the first time. We anchored in a quiet bay for the night about an hour out of Sikta and had the Captain’s dinner. Beef Tenderloin and Tequila Shrimp. ( I swapped my beef for Maureen’s shrimp) Both were fair but the Caesar’s Salad and the Crème Brule were very good. Afterwards one of the passengers put on a mini concert of Irish music while Brooke who acted as a kind of Cruise Director and engineer danced a jig. Brooke then sang a Tlingit (pronounced almost like klingit) song and banged a small hand held drum.

July 9^th: Woke up early as we were leaving the boat 8AM prompt. It was nice to know the luggage was going to be in storage for the day and brought to us at the airport for our 7:20PM flight. The weather was a very rare hot and sunny.

Here you do not need a tour and everything is walking. In order to save a little time and foot stress we took a bus to the National Park where the totem poles are. Nice 12 minute video on Sitka and then a 1 mile path through the forest viewing totem poles and a occasional eagle and raven. One flew 20 feet over head.

We crossed the Indian River on a wooden arched bridge after doing the loop and walked 10 – 15 minutes to the Raven Center. This is a place where you can see raptors like Owls, hawks and eagles up close and personal. After a bit of a briefing on some of the birds we walked inside and saw the vets doing an exam and treatment on a bald eagle. We walked a path and made our way to the Jackson Museum in town. This is a one large room place with many artifacts from the Tlingit and other native cultures housed in an octagonal building. From here we walked about 20 minutes on Franklin, Sitka’s main street, to the 1PM Tlingit Dance session. This was in clan house which was a modern day copy of the family house years ago. It was here that a bit of Tlingit folk lore and then Tlingit – Russian history was talked about. About a dozen dancers ranging from 3 years to almost 50 years came out. The last dance invited the audience to join them so Maureen, Mike and Sandy shuffled about on the lower stage. It was a nice 30 minute presentation.
From the Clan house we headed off to Lane 7. I read on the AOL forum that this place had the best milkshakes around. They advertise the best burgers as well. I have to agree with this. This place was small place was serving locals of which were a few of the Tlingit dancers as well as some of the staff from Wilderness Adventurer and some Alaskan Airling grounds crew people who came from the airport for lunch. I had a delicious cheeseburger, curly fries and the best shake I have ever had. The combination of Chocolate, banana and cherry worked very well. They have over 50 types and if you visit, tear out their coupon on the next to the last page in the Sitka guide.

Our group headed back down Franklin Street to the Bishop’s house. This is a Federal Park and was made so because it is pretty original with some original furnishings and it is one of 4 examples of Russian architecture left in the western hemisphere. A ranger gave us a guided tour of the second floor showing describing the rooms and the Bishop. His claim to fame was that we was tolerate of the Tlingit culture. He thought they can be converted to the Russian Orthodox Church but still be allowed to keep many of the thing they do or believe in. He took the Bible and translated it into the Tlingit language.

From here 11 of us went on the only semi submergible in Alaska. This was a ship where the hull went down about 8 feet and was made of glass windows so you can view what was in the surrounding shallow water. Towards the end of the narrated tour a diver in a dry suit went down 45 feet with a camera to show us what it looked like deeper. He also came back up with a white star fish that had over a a dozen legs and was larger than a pie. From here it was to the airport for a short 25 minute jet ride back to Juneau.

Arriving at Juneau the weather was also a rare clear and warm. We got the kids settled in for pizza in the room while the adults enjoyed a 10 leg Alaskan King Crab cocktail and some beer. (Maureen had a steak)

As we had to be up about 4AM we passed on desert and called it a night.

July 10^th: nothing exciting here. Got up at 4AM and saw a beautiful pinkish color sky. To the Airport at 4:40. Got our first class seats and a nice breakfast. Met the group outside the plane where they split up kids and adults for those that were hungry. (the kids did Taco Bell). We said good by to the Ehrlich’s and Baldwin’s who were flying Continental. On the American plane Wanda recognizes us from our flight a week earlier. I told her how we hauled the bottle all over the place and opened it for dinner on the boat. We had a decent meal that included a Caesar’s salad cart, main course and hot fudge ice cream sundaes. (I am amazed at the difference in growing up between my kids and myself. I did not fly until I was a sophomore in college, yet they are first class on a trans continental flight. First Class is not the norm for us but at 10,000 extra frequent flyer miles it was a bargain)

All in all, the first half of the trip was a bit of too much pushing for the time we had. The second week was OK and the 3 days we had in Juneau worked out well. Ideally I would recommend taking a full week from Fairbanks to Anchorage and then doing the inside passage.