SNOW PASSAGE

Posted on June 7, 2013June 7, 2013 by Dusty Roads

This post is out of order. I should have shared it before the Juneau post as it is about our sea time getting to Juneau but better late than never. I hope you enjoy it.

Ketchikan to Juneau 272 Nautical Miles speed 17.2 Knots

Once we left Ketchikan we set sail to reach Juneau, the capital of Alaska. Overnight we’ll sail through Frederick Sound, then transit Stephen’s Passage finally sailing north through Gastineau Channel into Juneau.

In the afternoon we attended another presentation by the Naturalist, this time about the Gold Rush years in Alaska. It was ok, something to do, if you will. Most of what he presented was taken straight from the internet including his slide show of vintage photos. What he did say that got my attention was that as we leave Ketchikan we’ll approach Snow Passage. Estimated time of arrival is 6:45 pm. According to him we will see whales and he said he would be there to narrate.

At 6:30pm bundled up against the cold, rainy weather, Sandy and I arrived on the top deck with binoculars and camera in hand.

It wasn’t long before one of the other guests spotted a pod of “something”. They moved fast and were only visible for a moment each time they leapt through the waves. Clearly not whales , they were some kind of porpoise. They were much smaller than dolphins but they were not intimidated by the ship, coming right along the port side. No chance for photos, but exciting just the same.

Then it was back to our cold vigil watching for spouts. It took about 15 minutes but we spotted one. We followed the periodic “blows” from the bow to the stern as the whale moved south to our north. We never got a good look at the animal but we were pretty sure it was a humpback. We hung out for another 15 – 20 minutes but didn’t see anything more. The naturalist never arrived either. (I guess somebody didn’t get the memo.) I just knew if we left the whales would show up but it was cold and we didn’t want to miss dinner so we wrapped up our “whale watch” heading back inside to warm up.

Dinner lasted until about 9:30. We skipped the show and chose a quiet after dinner drink at the Crooner’s Lounge where Dan Hodge, Piano Entertainer, sang classic tunes filling in the history and obscure facts between songs. It was low-key, relaxing and fun. Situated right above the atrium we could people watch 3 decks along with the glass elevators.

It was still pretty light out.

Sunset was getting later and later the farther north we traveled but we had an early morning excursion in Juneau so reluctantly we decided to turn in.

Mount Roberts Tram

Posted on June 6, 2013June 6, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Back on the Island Princess, we settled in on our balcony to watch the trams run up and down Mount Roberts.

The antics of the bald eagles were entertaining as well. The sun had come out and the summit of the mountain was clear. I asked Sandy is she wanted to ride the tram to the top. She gave it some consideration and then said no. I agreed. Our adventures from the morning had been plenty.

I’m sure I’ll be sorry we didn’t make the effort because the view is supposed to be spectacular and who knows when or if we’ll ever get back, but right at that moment there was no place I wanted to be except where I was, sitting on our balcony watching the trams go by.

In Alaska the tree line is between 2 and 3 thousand feet above sea level. Road access to this level is minimal so in most cases you have to hike. Mount Roberts Tramway gives your hike a boost by riding the tram.

This will gain you 1,750 ft. in 10 minutes. At the summit a network of trails leads out across alpine meadows. A half-mile round trip route will take you to some key viewpoints and great views is of the Gastineau Channel.

As we sat on the balcony enjoying the Alaska Sun there was an old structure on the side of the mountain.

I haven’t found out what this is but I can’t help wondering if it’s the remains of something from the old Gold Rush days.

This is truly relaxing!

Mendenhall Glacier

Posted on June 5, 2013June 5, 2013 by Dusty Roads | 4 Comments

Mendenhall Glacier is part of our tour package but for those who aren’t on a tour and wish to check it out there are regular shuttles that leave from Franklin Square by the Mount Roberts tramway station.

Meanwhile back on our tour bus, Phil handed out Nature Valley Bars and bottled water as a snack before our hike to the glacier. The Mendenhall Glacier is one of 37 glaciers that flow down from the 1500 square mile ice field. The glacier stretches approximately 13.5 miles from the ice field right into the valley finally ending in Mendenhall Lake.

The Glacier once covered the whole valley reaching it’s fullest extent around 300 years ago. Since then it has been in retreat. When Sandy and I planned out trip we joked we wanted to get to Alaska before the glaciers all melted. Scientists predict that Mendenhall Glacier won’t be visible from the Visitor Center in another 40 years if it continues it’s current rate of retreat. Maybe our joke wasn’t such a joke after all.

Meanwhile the retreating glacier often spawns large icebergs that drift across the lake.

The area is known for it’s wildlife sightings as well as the glacier but today at mid-day we didn’t see much in the way of wildlife.

At the edge of Mendenhall Lake is a beaver lodge but even the beaver were missing, maybe taking a siesta?

We started our hike to the lake on an easy trail through more of the rain forest. Phil stopped often to point out different mosses and lichen.

The trail opened out into more open, dryer land. Phil explained that the type of soil didn’t retain the water as well as the topsoil in the rainforest which resulted in the more sandy, open area. We could see a waterfall churning it’s way down the mountains. At this time of year, spring, waterfalls are everywhere as the snow melt makes it’s way into the valleys. By summer these torrents will be little more than a trickle if they exist at all.

While we waited for stragglers to catch up and enjoyed the sunshine, Phil told us the story of Romeo, the Glacier Wolf. I’ll share that with you in another post.

With everyone together again, we started downhill to the shore of the lake and the glacier views we’d been looking for.

Sure enough. the lake was filled with ice bergs.

The glacier glowed blue in the shade of the mountain side.

I am so glad the sun decided to come out today. They say the glacier is pretty in the rain but I find it hard to imagine it could be any prettier than it was today with the sun shining and the icebergs floating on the cold lake.

Thar She Blows!

Posted on June 4, 2013June 4, 2013 by Dusty Roads | 6 Comments

All hatches and windows “Battened down”, all passengers seated and secured and we were on our way to Point Retreat Lighthouse.

The first blow was spotted ahead and to the right around 2 o’clock but we were too far away to see the animal. The captain throttled back, Phil opened windows and we all spread out to watch for the next spout. He could be anywhere.

I was standing in the bow area and heard it before I saw it. Right behind me there was a loud whoosh. All of us in the bow jumped and whirled around. The whale was behind us now. Those aft were getting a clear view of the hump.

This whale was cruising along. We’d see his back hump then it would glide beneath the waves only to break the surface 5 or 10 minutes later in another place. It wasn’t diving deep as it wasn’t showing it’s flukes at all. Finally we didn’t see it anymore but the captain got a call about some more so we moved off to check out those sightings.

Not too much farther away we saw another whale surface and blow. This one didn’t hang around too long and we caught a little bit of fluke as it did a shallow dive.

We were running out of time. We still had to get back for the 2nd half of the excursion.

We headed back toward the lighthouse.

It was on our way back to the harbor anyway. As we again approached we saw other whale watching boats and there were more spouts.

They were really close to land this time.

Finally as the captain reluctantly told us it was time to head back we got a report of a mother and a calf. It was on our way so we kept our eyes peeled and were rewarded with a glimpse of 2 blows traveling close together. We didn’t have time to stick around 🙁 but at least we got a glimpse.

As we pulled back into our berth in the harbor I checked the pole where the eagle was perched when we left. It was still there! It was almost as if it was waiting for us to get back safely. As we were unloading I saw it take off, dip toward the water then soar away.

Time for us to clamber back onto the bus for the 2nd half of our excursion; the Mendenhall Glacier.

Day 4 ~ Juneau

Posted on June 3, 2013June 3, 2013 by Dusty Roads | 6 Comments

Up early for our shore excursion, we headed to the Horizon Court for breakfast. As we sat by the windows looking out at the side of Mount Roberts we spotted 2 bald eagles soaring almost at eye level! They would fly around a bit and then land in the trees and sit for a little while then take off and do the whole thing again. I wondered if we could see any of the eagles from our balcony.

Breakfast over we hurried back to get ready for the shore excursion and check out the balcony view of the mountain. Sure enough there was a bald eagle perched on a tree top right across from our balcony.

Even so it was way too far for my normal lens. I first tried to hand hold the telephoto but I wasn’t quite steady enough. Then I tried using the tripod. What I forgot was that there was a vibration from the ship so I still got motion blur.

Frustrated I put the telephoto away because it was time to meet our guide for our shore excursion.

Today we are going whale watching and visiting the Mendenhall Glacier. If the weather clears after our morning we might take the tram up Mount Roberts.

The announcement that we had permission to go ashore finally came and we headed out to meet our guide. To our surprise Phil, our guide, said we were going on the whale watch first.

That was ok just a surprise based on the tour description. Still it probably all has to do with what the weather is like. When we left the ship there were some clouds but it looked like we might finally see some sun as the day progressed.

We piled onto the bus and were soon on our way to the marina at Auke Bay where we spotted another bald eagle perched on a pole. As we waited for directions from Phil another bald eagle swooped down toward the water then right back up and over our heads. Breath-taking!

I kept one eye on the eagle on the pole as we approached the whale boat. I was fascinated that It hadn’t flown away.

The Whale boat was enclosed so the passengers would be protected from the cold wind but it made pictures impossible through the scratchy, cloudy glass. The captain was in touch with other boats to make it easier to find the whales. Once we spotted a spout Phil promised to open the windows and hatches to the bow and stern.

As we cruised out into the open water Phil gave us a lesson on whales using little plastic models.

We saw a pair of eagles perched on some rocks.

Other eagles soared over the boat the way sea gulls fly over them here at home. Off in the distance we could see 2 glaciers.

One was identified as Herbert Glacier, the other one as Eagle Glacier.

All eyes were on the waves looking for that first blow but so far nothing. Then we spotted a buoy. Something was definitely on it.

Obviously it couldn’t be a whale. As the captain maneuvered the boat closer to the buoy Phil opened the windows and we looked at some big guys…Stellar Sea Lions, no little harbor seals here.

There were some in the water too but no room for anymore on that buoy. We took our time watching the sea lions until the captain got a call that some whales had been spotted out by the lighthouse.