Planning for Port of call~ Juneau

Posted on April 3, 2013April 3, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Progress …that’s what we’re making. Sandy agreed to the combo tour of the Saxman Village and the Totem Park and we made that reservation. Now we have to tackle what to do when we reach Juneau our 2nd port of call.

Juneau is the Capital city of Alaska and the 2nd largest city by area in the US. It is also home to the famous Mendenhall Glacier. Juneau also has WHALES! We’ll be in port from 8:00 am to 9pm so we have a full day to explore.

Usually my sister and I are pretty in tune as far as tours go but here we almost had a rift. I didn’t want to force a “photo” tour on my sister but I really wanted to take the opportunity to get some coaching because the glaciers can be a challenge. I want my pictures to move to the “next level” beyond the post card , snapshot stage. But Sandy is not “into” photography the way I am so I wasn’t sure if she would want to go on a Photography Tour.

In the end both tours were going to the same place at the same time so I decided to go with the tour Sandy liked and do my best with my pictures on my own. The tour description for her Whales and Mendenhall Glacier Trail sounded more interesting than the Photo Tour which talked about photographing the moraines.

Also located in Juneau is Mount Roberts which has a tram ride to the summit. The “Whale Mendenhall Tour” is about 5 hours so we can take the tram in the afternoon.

I can’t wait to compare the actual experiences with what I’m telling you here because so far this is just guidebook information.

Alaska Planning

Posted on April 2, 2013April 2, 2013 by Dusty Roads

It’s almost cruise time. The long-awaited Alaska Cruise and Denali Landtour is only about 6 weeks away. Yes, I’m still going. After all, it was paid for before I knew I was about to be laid off. The money is gone. It won’t solve anything by not going. And since it’s a cruise most of the meals are all paid for as well. Our day-to-day out-of-pocket should be minimal unless we go crazy for souvenirs and since mine are usually the ones I take with my camera I’m not too worried.

We’re booked on the Island Princess. The web site describes her this way:

Island Princess was built to Panamax size – this means she was built to the maximum size a cruise ship can be to sail through the Panama Canal. A high percentage of balcony staterooms give passengers the chance to view this feat of engineering up-close, or take in stunning views of spectacular glaciers during cruises to Alaska. Featured on just one other Princess ship, the Bayou Café and SteakhouseSM is a unique dining venue on board in which to enjoy authentic New Orleans cuisine accompanied by live jazz.

The only thing left is to decide what excursions we want to do while in port.

Our First Port of call is Ketchikan, the First City on the Inside Passage of Southeast Alaska.

With an estimated population of 14,070 in 2010, it is the fifth most populous city in the state.

Ketchikan has the world’s largest collection of standing totem poles, located at three major locations: Saxman Village, Totem Bight, and the Totem Heritage Center. So of course we want to see those. Combining a visit to Saxman Native Village and the Totem poles seems like a perfect way to soak up some of the Native Alaska-American Culture.

Visit Saxman Native Village and experience the rich living culture of southeast Alaska’s Native Americans. Get an exclusive look at the fascinating culture of SE Alaska’s original inhabitants. The Tlingits welcome guests in the traditional style that defines the culture of Southeast Alaska. A short video program introduces you to the culture and history of Saxman. You will then enter the Beaver Clan House where you are welcomed by song and dance by the Cape Fox Dance group. Visitors are encouraged to participate in the final dance, before moving on to the Saxman Totem Park, one of the largest gatherings of totems in the world. Your guide will help unravel the mysteries of these towering, majestic poles. At the Village Carving Center craftsmen pass on their skill to eager apprentices. Learn how modern day carvers differ from their ancestors and learn of their current projects around the world. Fine Alaska Native art and small mementos are for sale at the Native Faces store.

Now I just have to see if my travel companion , this time my sister not Joe, agrees. 🙂

On a Tram again….

Posted on March 2, 2013March 2, 2013 by Dusty Roads

There are 3 ways to visit Shark Valley-walking, bicycling or taking a ride on a tram.

I’m a firm believer in getting the lay of the land before I head off on foot and I don’t have bicycle so the choice for me was easy. Tram Ride.

The tram ride is a 2 hour tour narrated by a naturalist or park ranger. It covers a 15 mile loop trail that is closed to private vehicles. At the half way mark is an observation tower. On a clear day you can see for miles.

At 11:00 am I took a seat on the bench near the Tram’s ticket booth. It was a beautiful, sunny day. For the next 2 hours I’d receive an education about the Shark Valley eco- system and it’s wildlife.

As other riders joined me on the benches one of the attendants came by to chat. It was his role to give us the safety briefing. He told us to stay 15 feet away from all wildlife but especially the alligators and they can be unpredictable. He then went on to tell us about another tourist a few weeks back who kept trying to poke the alligators. Seems he’d been watching too many reality shows like Gator Boys and wanted to see if he could out maneuver the gators the way they do on that show. After being warned repeatedly he was removed from the park and fined.

About then our guide arrived and we loaded onto the tram. Right away we saw wildlife. A red-shouldered hawk perched in the meadow.

A mama gator and her babies sunned by the side of the pavement.

A whole panne was filled with Wood Storks.

Seeing so many of these our naturalist explained that these birds had been endangered because of habitat loss. They are very fussy eaters and if the water in the panne is the wrong depth or temperature or any of a number of other things, they will not feed there so it was exciting to see so many in one place.

Herons were everywhere, all kinds as I had noticed by the info center.

The tram would stop whenever our guide spotted something interesting so she could talk about it and give us plenty of time for photographs.

We met lots of bicyclists. They gave us the right of way and waved as we passed. That looks like a great way to see the sights up even closer than the tram. I believe there is a bike rental kiosk located near the parking lot.

About noon we reached the observation tower. We had about 1/2 hour here so we could climb the tower and take a look around. So far our guide had been pointing out the birds and gators and talking about the diversity of the wildlife in the Everglades. Now she let us head out on our own.

We all clambered off the tram and headed up the paved path to the observation tower.

Key West

Posted on January 30, 2013January 30, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Arriving in Key West

Good Morning Key West.

We enjoyed breakfast outside at a table on the deck as the ship pulled into Key West. The Sea Gulls are not shy at all. If you have any kind of bird phobia I recommend you stay inside to eat. The birds practically stalked their breakfast walking right down the railing to eye the food on everyone’s plates.

This determine Gull had his eye on Joe’s breakfast

When anyone got up to leave they swooped right down to the table and began picking scraps from the plates. Shooing them away only brought a moment’s respite before they were back again.

Key West Harbor

The ship docked just outside of Mallory Square, the gathering place for all Key West.

It was so early when we headed out that attractions, like the Key West aquarium, were still closed.

Some of the tourist / souvenir shops were just opening up. They probably wanted to take advantage of the hoards of tourist just waiting to come ashore and spend their money.

Even I, who was watching every penny this trip, succumbed to the urge to buy. I picked up a navy blue sarong with a dolphin pattern to wear as a shawl to dinner. It gets quite cool in the dining room.

Joe and I wandered down Duval St where I took the mandatory picture of Earnest Hemingway’s hideout…Sloppy Joe’s.

We peeked in at the lighthouse grounds where life sized statues straight from Renoir paintings danced around the court yard.

It was clear to see that Key West still had a love affair going with the chickens.

They run wild in the streets and are tolerated everywhere. Roosters crow all day, not just at dawn.

Outside of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church we spotted a couple of baby chicks.

The other creatures that Key West is known for are the Hemmingway cats. Descended from a polydactyl cat owned by Earnest Hemmingway there are now dozens of cats that make the Hemingway house home.

As any good cat lady will do, I went to visit the cats but admission was cash only and since the boat is a Cashless Experience, I wasn’t carrying any cash. Joe didn’t have any either. We hung around outside and chatted with one of the street vendors for awhile before heading back to Mallory Square.

Mallory Square is the heart and soul of Key West. During the day it’s a just a pier where locals come to fish or paint or just sit and watch the waves but come evening the crowds will gather to watch the sun set into the ocean and the square will be alive with street entertainment.

Mallory Square gave me a great view of the ship too. The size of the Imagination is amazing.

While I was photographing the ship a couple of hungry pelicans swooped in to see what they could fine for lunch. They zoned in on a young boy’s fish catch going so far as to steal a fish right off the line as he tried to reel it in.

We were looking for a place for Joe to get a signature dish of Key West and I don’t mean Conch Fritters. No he wanted the original Key Lime pie. Although we wandered quite a few streets he couldn’t find the shop he was looking for. It’s been a long time…13 years…so who knows if it’s even still around. Finally as we were heading back to the ship he settled on Key Lime on a stick, an ice cream version.

Some things have changed from the Key West I remember. It is even more touristy than I remember. Back in 2000 they had 1 trolley line

and the little Conch train for sight seeing

and the Bone Island bus line for getting around the island. Now there are 2 trolley lines and a duck tour all added to the mix. The shop owners don’t just wait for you to wander in. No, now many of them “hawk” their wares as you walk by the shops.

The presidential palace, a summer home for several past presidents, is still a great place to tour but we were told that the Fisher Museum of salvaged shipwreck treasure had relocated.

We didn’t have time to make it to Smather’s Beach or the monument at the Southern Most Point but we did spot mile marker 0 for the end of Route 1.

And speaking of Route 1, we stopped for a breather across from the Green Parrot which claims the be the last and first bar and grill on Route 1. Joe could get a wifi signal there so he could check his e-mails. It’s harder being “unplugged” than expected.

The weather stayed nice for our meanderings in Key West but it was soon time to head back to the Ship. The ship would be casting off to begin it’s cruise to Cozumel, Mexico and we didn’t want to be left behind.

Fog, a Lighthouse and Seals

Posted on July 11, 2012July 11, 2012 by Dusty Roads

The Captain raised the anchor and turned our little vessel into the wind for the last leg of our 3 hour tour. There wasn’t much to see except grey, choppy seas and fog. The naturalist said we were about an hour out from Egg Rock Island, our next destination.

Hmmmm an hour and heading into the wind with wet clothes??? Not a good idea. I could see hypothermia being a problem so even though I didn’t want to go into the cabin I didn’t have much choice. I took a seat way up front by the “snack bar” (I use that term loosely) which also happened to be where the heater was located. The sick folks were all huddled in the back. Oh I have been there and done that. I know how miserable they were feeling.

I was almost dried out and semi warm when one of the few children still mobile popped into the cabin too. He felt that heat and glued himself to the grate effectively blocking the heat for anyone else in the room but at least he was warm and he is a child…women and children first and all..I took the high road and kept my mouth shut. If someone else wanted to tell him to move they could but it wasn’t going to be me. 🙂

In spite of the situation, once I warmed up the hour passed fairly quickly. I chatted with the Naturalist about the type of seals and tried to avoid looking in the back. Eventually the Naturalist went outside. When he came back he announced that Egg Rock Island was in sight. Time to go back into the wind, spray, fog and cold.

Egg Rock Island is a big nesting site for many types of sea gulls. Its pretty flat and open without much cover. Consequently it is like an all you can eat buffet for passing eagles.

Our guide told me that last year there were so many eagles that not one sea-gull chick survived from that nesting season. They were all eaten by eagles. He said sometimes it was really hard to watch. Nature is beautiful but also cruel. Every creature is just struggling to survive. We didn’t see any eagles today but judging from the number of gulls soaring over and around the island losing one season of chicks didn’t put much strain on the population.

As we came closer to the island we could see what looked like grey boulders only they moved. These were the seals of Egg Rock. The Island is a major haul out for Northern Grey seals and harbor seals.

We didn’t stop here, just slowly motored past then it was back to the harbor.

As we entered the outer harbor the sea changed again. Here the fog rolled back and the sun was out.

We passed a beautiful island with a cliff face.

Our guide said that the Navy used it for target practice. The “subs” used to come into the harbor and shoot torpedos at the cliff face where it dropped into the water.

Looking back I could see the line of demarcation between the foggy sea and the sunny inner harbor.

Back at the dock I let the sufferers off first. I enjoyed the trip. I doubt if the weather is always this bad but if anyone else plans to take this tour I recommend taking extra sweatshirts and even oilskins or rain gear…and of course your medication of choice for seasickness. You may have blue skies and fair sailing but you never know and it’s better to be prepared.