Glacier Bay

Posted on June 15, 2013June 15, 2013 by Dusty Roads

This is the post I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for and I have so much for show and tell. Glacier Bay Cruising is a highlight of many, many cruise lines for their Alaska trips. I admit we were really looking forward to seeing it. Mendenhall Glacier had only served to whet our appetites for more.

Skagway to Glacier Bay 113 nautical miles 11.5 knots

The Island Princess entered Glacier Bay from Icy Strait named for the multitude of ice bergs the first explorers found floating here. The Island Princess was selling tickets to “The Sanctuary” an adult only area of the ship. The Sanctuary has padded lounge chairs, “Serenity Stewards” to wait on you, blankets and Mimosas all for only $60.00 per person. The Sanctuary is located across the aft end of the ship.

The misty, cold, gray weather that had followed us so far continued to be with us as we entered Glacier Bay. We decided not to spend the money for the Sanctuary because of the weather. Even with blankets it seemed like we’d be warmer if we could keep moving around the deck. We learned later that we missed out on seeing a close up view of a pod of Orcas that frolicked in the wake. Maybe next time I’ll make a different decision. It’s also important to mention here that although Alaska in the spring is known for its rainy weather, we were experiencing much colder, wetter weather than is the norm. Everyone says spring is running about 2 weeks late. Just our luck! 🙁 But that means that you shouldn’t be discouraged about a late May cruise…next year could be glorious sunshine.

The Island Princess arrived off Bartlett Cove, Glacier Bay around 6 am where they picked up National Park Rangers. They set up a table neat the Horizon Court on Deck 14 plus they made announcements on the PA describing what we were seeing as we slowly cruised the bay.

I say slowly cruised the bay because Island Princess was moving through an ice field of bergs and small ice floes.

These bergs are a good indication that the glaciers are actively calving. Most of the bergs were pretty small or at least looked that way from 150 ft. up. I wonder if the people on the Titanic said the same thing…Oh they’re just little ice bergs. 🙂

The ice didn’t just drift out of the way. We could hear the bergs hitting the hull before they drifted off or slid down the sides.

Once again I can say it was cold especially when we leaning on the railing to see around other passengers or to avoid the annoying blue windows.

The closer we got to the Margerie Glacier the more the anticipation grew. People didn’t pay any attention to the many smaller glaciers that we passed as we traveled further into the bay.

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.

Day 3 ~ Ketchikan

Posted on May 31, 2013May 31, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Vancouver to Ketchikan 535 Nautical Miles Speed 14.4 Knots

If Vancouver was considered our first port of call then Ketchikan is our first Alaskan Port of Call.

It’s still raining. That’s not too surprising because Ketchikan, besides being the “Salmon Capital of the World” is also the Rainfall Capital of the U.S. Ketchikan is located in what is sometimes called the “Banana Belt” of Alaska for it’s mild summer climate if you can tolerate the rain. They even have a Liquid Sunshine Gauge to measure the average rainfall which can reach 152 inches per year.

Ketchikan is located in the Tongass National Forest, part of a temperate rain forest that extends from Northern California through Southeastern Alaska creating a climate that allows for such majesty as the California Redwoods. Tongass is the earth’s largest remaining temperate rainforest with over 17 million acres of forest and protected wildlife preserve.

Ketchikan sits on its own island, Revillagigedo Island. This is such a tiny town it would only take about an hour to explore it on foot. Most of the island is a steep, craggy wilderness with the town hugging the shore. Most of the streets are built over a complex array of trestles and boardwalks.

From the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center to Misty Fjords there is so much to see in such a little town and so little time. We will only be in port for about 6 hours.

Speaking of Misty Fjords, this is a national Monument named for the weather conditions you are likely to encounter but the areas profound beauty has earned it the nickname of “Yosemite of the North”. Accessible only by floatplane or boat put the cost of this excursion out of our range for this trip. According to the passengers that did go, it was well worth the money spent.

When in the Salmon capital it’s important to know that there are 5 different Species of wild pacific Salmon. To remember the 5 types of Salmon just raise your hand.

Your thumb rhymes with Chum-Chum Salmon…
Your pointer finger can “sock” someone in the “eye” – sockeye Salmon…
Your middle finger is the tallest – King Salmon…
Slip a silver ring on your ring finger – Silver Salmon…
And your pinky – well that’s easy – Pink Salmon…

Ketchikan is sometimes called Alaska’s “First City ” because it’s the first major community travelers come to as they journey north.

Ketchikan was originally a summer fishing camp for the Tlingit (pronounced Kling-it). In 1883 a man by the name of “Snow” opened the first salmon saltery and a fishing town was born. When gold and copper were found in the surrounding mountains a supply center was needed and Ketchikan flourished.

Creek St, Ketchikan’s downtown section, is said to be the most photographed street in in Alaska! Now lined with shops and art galleries Creek St was once the town’s red light district.

Ketchikan was the first chance we had to learn about the cost of living in Alaska. Fresh produce is scarce and pricey and milk can run as much as $6.00 / gal. As we rode in the tour bus along Creek street we spotted a “Burger Queen”. Ketchikan has a Family Dollar or should I say $1.29 store. It lasted as a dollar store about 30 days before the cost of shipping in goods forced a price increase. But the best example was the local Subway where you could enjoy the foot long special for only $9.00. (if you have a local Subway you know that’s a $5.00 ft. long in the lower 48)

Even souvenirs are not immune. If you are a plus size expect to pay a surcharge of $3.00 per T-Shirt!

Ketchikan is home to The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show but we decided to explore the culture of the native Tlingit people with a visit to the Saxman Native Village.

First Snow of the Season

Posted on November 9, 2012November 9, 2012 by Dusty Roads

OK I said a four letter word. Unless you are a skier or a snowboarder or one of those other winter sport enthusiasts, the weather the last couple of days was not to your liking.

The Nor’easter the swept through the region brought rain and high winds and yes, snow, to many areas already hard hit by Hurricane Sandy. New jersey, New York and parts of Connecticut had just barely got their power back when gale force winds plunged them back into the cold and dark.

Here in Taunton , Ma it wasn’t quite as bad. The wind gusts were stronger than for the hurricane but for the most part we only got rain…that is until Wednesday night. The 11 O’clock news had pictures of heavy snow and skidding cars in Worcester, MA..but here in Taunton it was rain.

But we couldn’t hold out. By yesterday morning we too had a touch of the white stuff….but only a touch.

The ground wasn’t even “blanketed” which is ok by me.

By the time I left for work it was gone…melted..just a hint of things to come.

No…the word of the day was not snow it was wind. Driving to work took both hands and I kid you not, the car felt like it was lifting right off the road. It was kind of surprising that my company had linemen working. Even they were sending messages that it was “too windy” to climb. (Meaning the utility poles) But we did the best we could and today the sun is shining and the weather folks are predicting a warming trend and calm weather.

I sure hope so. I think we all could use a break. Give those storm ravaged areas a chance to recover before Old Man Winter really gets started.

It’s 4 am! What am I doing up???

Posted on August 31, 2012August 31, 2012 by Dusty Roads

This was the day I had planned to drive up to Pemaquid. Everyone tells me that the best time to photograph the lighthouse is at dawn. My research makes me think I will have an hour and a half drive from Portland. That means if sunrise is 5:30 am I have to be on my way by 4 am.

Beep Beep Beep my cell phone alarm let me know that it was time to rise and shine. Boy was it dark! I peeked out the window and the reason for the extreme darkness (besides being 4 am) was that it was raining, hard and from the looks of the halos around the street lights it was foggy too. The storm predicted had finally arrived.

In that case there was only one thing to do….Go back to bed.