Gateway to the Klondike

Posted on June 11, 2013June 11, 2013 by Dusty Roads

The ship arrived in Skagway in the wee hours of the morning or maybe it was night.

It’s getting harder and harder to tell with the late sunsets and early sunrises the farther north we go.

Skagway is located at the northern tip of Alaska’s Inside Passage.

As we roused ourselves for the day’s adventures we looked out on a busy dock with a rock wall to hold the bank in place.

Above the rock wall on the boulders embedded in mountainside we saw logos and ship’s names painted. The story is that when a crew likes the captain they come ashore and paint the ship’s ID on the rocks, the higher and more dangerous, the more the captain is esteemed.

After breakfast, with the all clear to go ashore, we headed down to find the excursion bus that would take us to the White Pass and Yukon Railroad.

We needed our passports because this adventure would take us into the Klondike region of Canada.

The train would take us through the White Horse Pass. During the gold rush in 1896 there wasn’t a train. The stampeeders ( prospectors) had to either take the Chilkoot Trail which was shorter but steeper or the White Horse Pass that was longer but summited lower at 2885 ft. Both ways were challenging and deadly. The Canadian Mounties waited at Lake Bennett to check supplies. Anyone without enough to survive was turned back at the border.

I can assure you the train was much easier but even today it was easy to see the challenge. We passed huge gullies and mountainsides as the train wound its way to the summit.

We passed over trestle bridges and passed into and out of fog banks and clouds.

Water poured down the mountainsides in everything from torrents to trickles as the snow on the peaks began its spring melt.

Pretty soon we had reached the snowline but even though we were traveling through snow the water continued its downward path. At times we were so close to the mountain side that a foolish person could have reached out and touched the rocks as they flew by…and lost a hand or arm had they been so careless.

At times we could see across the “gulch” where another train ahead of us was already traveling upward or maybe returning downward.

We could see where we would soon be. More than any place else that we’d been, this train ride captured the true wildness of the Alaska mountains.

I admit, I stood in the cold outside the car in an attempt to capture some of the fantastic wilderness that surrounded us. My efforts fell far short of what we actually saw. The fog or clouds (depending on who you ask) only added to the drama of the ride.

Once we arrived at Lake Bennett we had to wait for the Canadian Customs Agents. We were told not to speak unless spoken to, to have our passports out and open and to NOT TAKE ANY PICTURES!

2 Agents boarded and made their way down the aisle. They never smiled. They were quite intimidating. The only time they spoke was to ask a foreign visitor for his visa as well as his passport. He had the visas for his whole family so they checked all of them then left the train.

The bus was waiting to take us to the next stop, a suspension bridge. Everyone headed to the lake to take pictures but the bus driver rounded us up with promises that we’d be back and we could take pictures then. He said we had a schedule to keep.

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.

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.

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.

Phil closed the windows and those of us standing outside came in to take our seats and we were off to try to catch up with the elusive humpbacks.

Saxman Native Village

Posted on June 1, 2013June 1, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Our choice for our Ketchikan shore excursion was a visit to the Saxman Native Village.

Our tour vouchers were delivered to our stateroom. All of the information needed to locate our tour guide was listed on the voucher. At about 8am an announcement was made over the general PA system that permission had been received from the local authorities for passengers to disembark.

To leave the ship we needed our stateroom key and to get through the photo line. There’s always a photo op at each port of call with something that symbolizes where you are.

Since Ketchikan is known for the bald eagles that feed on the salmon and the Lumberjack Show, it was fitting that our photo op was with an eagle and a lumber jack!

Ketchikan was living up to it’s billing as the rain capital of the U.S. as we met our bus driver and guide, Keith.

Saxman Village is 3 miles south of town. It’s a working Tlingit community with totem poles on display and a carver-in-residence. It was interesting to me that the natives don’t want to be referred to as Native Americans or Indians or Eskimos. They consider these terms derogatory. They prefer “First People” and trace their heritage back to the Athabaskans or “Na- Dene” meaning the people.

Once we arrived at the Village we followed Keith along a short path through the forest stopping from time to time to learn about the rainforest.

Keith pointed out a big leafy plant with yellow flowers. I didn’t take a picture because I grew up with these plants but most of the others on the tour lined up to snaps photos. I borrowed one from the internet.

These plants are called skunk cabbage and they really do smell like a skunk. It seems this plant that I always considered a nuisance is really very important to the eco-system here.

As we stepped out of the forest we were facing the Beaver Clan House.

We entered a large auditorium where we met our Tlingit interpreter.

He explained a bit about the culture and language of his people before playing a video which explained the Tlingit history in the area. In general, Alaska Athabaskans occupied the vast interior coniferous forests. Only during the last 1,000 years did several Athabaskan groups move to coastal areas. There they occupied the shores of Cook Inlet in South central Alaska.

After the video we moved on to a large room where a modern Tlingit woman was sewing and beading ceremonial garments. We learned that this lady is our interpreter’s mother.

She had moccasins and hats on display for us to see and even hold and feel.

After about 15 minutes we moved on into the ceremonial room. Large and dimly lit this room held a stage where we would have the chance to see Tlingit ceremonial dances.

An elder made the introductions and the Cape Fox Dance Group took the stage.

Our interpreter was front and center but the children stole the show.

There were two, a young girl and a 3 year old boy.

The little boy was the son of the drummer and has been included in the dance ceremonies since he was two.

At the end of each dance the participants turned their backs to the audience. This was not to be rude but to show the embroidery on the back of their capes. These images represent the clan of the dancer. We were invited to take as many pictures as we wanted.

When it was time for the last dance the Tlingit asked for volunteers from the audience to dance with them. This is a great honor. The dance is not difficult. Each volunteer was draped with a cape and the drumming began again.