Alaska Adventures: Day 12--June 30

Wed. June 30: This morning we awoke to steady rain at the dock in Juneau. Our lovely and totally non-typical-for-Alaska weather had come to an end. After an early breakfast up at the Horizon Court we went out to meet our Tour Guide at 7:50am for a hike through the rain forest near Mendenhall Glacier. An old school bus took us to the trail head a few miles from the town. Considering it is the state capital Juneau is a small town, reachable only by plane or boat. Alaskans are constantly voting on moving the capital to the more centrally located Anchorage, but so far it hasn’t happened. We saw many bald eagles along the way, drawn by the salmon that have returned to the bay but not yet started up the rivers to spawn. As the rain continued we suited up in rain ponchos or water proof jackets and pants and began the hike. The knowledgeable guide told us some of the history and much about the characteristics of this glacially carved, lush, rain forest area. The rain came down the entire time and my feet were soon soaked up to my knees. But we were hiking with a family with four kids ranging in age from 4 to 14 who were remarkably good sports about the conditions so one couldn’t dare complain! We hiked four miles and rose 700 feet, over a high ridge overlooking the glacier. It was fascinating to see how the terrain has been affected by the retreating glacier, with major changes as recently as 1965 when the ice was a mile closer than it is now. At one point we saw AJ Falls, which reminded us of our little friend, AJ, back in East Lansing and his Nana and G’pa Jim. One disappointment was that when we reached the Visitor Center put in by the U.S. Forest Service we were sort of rushed from it, its displays, and the path out closer to the Mendenhall Glacier; because they were not included in our tour and we had to get on the bus to return to the ship. Ann tried to find a way to stay, visit the Center and return later to the ship, but it would have been tricky to accomplish and at our expense. We were tired enough and wet enough at that point not to be inclined to work it out. We also chose not to be dropped off in the downtown area to check out the shops and use our freebie coupons in Juneau. Instead we were dropped back at the ship where we parted ways with Ann and Shelby to change into dry clothes and get our lunch. Ann wasn’t feeling too well because she had a head cold. So Marv and I spent most of the rest of the day as a twosome. Afterwards, we went to the Princess Theater to hear Libby Riddles talk about being the first woman to win the Iditarod in 1985 and her life since then. It was interesting and she had a good combination of pictures and video. Back in our cabin I worked on the journal and Marv napped until we went to another presentation by Sandy the Naturalist on the Animals of Coastal Alaska. When we went back to our cabin we decided to do laundry, not realizing how close it was to our dinner reservation at the Pacific Moon. It all worked out okay with Marv running up to get the laundry out of the dryer after appetizers and before soup (I had my fourth chilled soup of the voyage!). He had rock fish with chocolate pie for dessert and I had Beef Wellington with Princess Love Boat (chocolate mousse) and a scoop of mandarin sorbet. We left just in time to catch the new musical show by the Princess cast, where we sat with Ann and Shelb. As they headed straight to their cabin afterwards we wandered the ship a bit, stopping for a while in the Wheelhouse Lounge to listen to the combo and even danced! At the Explorers Lounge there wasn’t anything happening but as we passed a set of doors I happened to see a pod of humpbacks just off the starboard side of the ship. We watched them and others for a while and then decided to see if we could watch some from our cabin. We were delighted to find see many Dall’s porpoises right beside the ship and, further out, a pretty constant parade of whales. Finally they didn’t seem to be appearing anymore, it became too dark to see them very well, and it was 10:15 so we went to bed.

Alaska Adventures: Day 11--June 29

Tue. June 29: We pulled into Taiya inlet early this morning. Marv happened to be up at 4:15 or so to take pictures of the sun rise before we had docked at Skagway (the Tlinket name means ruffled waters). Once the major Klondike gateway, Skagway still boasts many historic Gold Rush buildings. Less evident now is how Dyea, nine miles north by unpaved road, rivaled it as Alaska’s largest town then. We went straight to the Klondike Gold Rush National Park Visitor Center, right in the center of town, to get information on what we wanted to do. We ended up taking a 1.6 mile hike out to Yakutania Point first, which looks down Lyn Canal toward the Chilkat Mountains. We got back to the Visitor Center in time for the 11:00 ranger led historical walk around town, learning about such characters as Soapy Smith and William Moore, who typified the people who made the town, which sustained what was only a two year gold rush. We heard about the “Stampeders” who climbed the shorter deadly Chilkoot Pass, rising 1000 feet in a quarter mile, or taking the equally harrowing White Pass, and carried their required 1 ton year’s supplies into Canada, arriving at Dawson City only to find that all the lands were claimed already and there was nothing to do but return. The ranger did a good job of telling the stories and it was well worth the one hour it took. We grabbed a quick sandwich to share at a bakery and returned to the Visitor Center to watch their informational film on the history of the Klondike Gold Rush. Afterwards we hiked about 3 miles and up 500 feet elevation to Lower Dewey Lake and beyond to the cascades of water which feed the lake. It was a pretty difficult climb made worthwhile by the beauty of the tumbling water. Shelby was more than ready to return to the ship when we reached the bottom again. But Ann and I wanted a few more of our coupon freebies so, with Marv, we made our way back downtown. We also considered a stop at the notorious Red Onion Saloon. But it was totally packed, so instead we dragged ourselves back to the ship. A soak in the hot tub helped our aching legs and put us in good shape for our 6:10 reservation at the Savoy, an Italian Restaurant. The four of us met our tour director, Connie; Ann, the retired elementary principal; and Lynn, who celebrated her 85^th birthday with us last week. We had a delightful two hour dinner with them and Connie even bought the wine! Marv had Fettuccini Alfredo in a parmesan cheese bowl and I had turbot with linguini. Both were delicious! For dessert I had a trio of gelato and Marv had the tiramisu. The illusionist’ show in the Princess Theater was completely packed so we returned to our room to work on pictures and the journal, before tumbling gratefully into our bed.

Alaska Adventures: Day 10--June 28

Mon. June 28: Today was absolutely magical. We woke to a calm sea and clear, blue skies, just as we prepared to enter Glacier Bay, all of which is part of the huge Glacier Bay National Park. Marv and I had our breakfast in the Horizon buffet at a table with a window view, because we had been told that the Icy Strait, through which we enter the Bay, was a prime area for seeing Humpback Whales, Stellar Sea Lions and Sea Otters. The brochure we had from the National Park Service shows that in 1750-1780 the glacial ice reached all the way into Icy Strait, causing Captain Vancouver to consider the area barren, forbidding and not worth exploring. Sandy was going to be on the bridge again, helping to spot sea life so we headed to the bow to see what we could see. And the show was beyond words. Both Sandy and later our tour director Connie said they had never seen anything like it. The Stellar sea lions were sunning themselves on the rocks at Gustavus Point, as was expected. Then the farther we went, the more pods of humpbacks we saw, seeming to be in a feeding frenzy! We saw pod after pod, breaching, blowing, and then flashing their flukes as they dove deeper into the water. Mixed in here and there were sightings of otters and sea lions, also feeding in the rich water. We picked up four National Forest Rangers as we passed the cove where the Visitor Center is. Once they joined us, the microphone on the bridge was turned over to one of them and we had a running commentary on where we were going and what we were seeing. Nearly all activities on the ship stopped for the day, including closing the Casino! The day is devoted entirely to experiencing the indescribable beauty of Glacier Bay. It was so clear and sunny that we could even see 15,300 ft. Mount Fairweather, which is right on the Canadian border. One of the rangers did an introductory talk in the Princess Theater that was so packed it was standing room only. We went all the way into the bay and up the farthest back inlet, Tarr Inlet, to the foot of Margerie Glacier. Margerie Glacier is the fastest advancing glacier in the North America and moves 7 feet a day, therefore it is constantly calving. We were lucky enough to see many calves fall into the water with a noise like thunder. Near it is the Great Pacific Glacier, which is so slow moving that is so full of debris that it looks like solid rock. The ship stayed there for an hour, turning 180° halfway through so the starboard side could see the spectacle. We left the inlet and went around the mouth of John Hopkins Inlet and looked back at Lamplugh glacier. In 1892 when John Muir visited the area to study it and reinforce his theory that glacial action had formed the Yosemite area, both these inlets were full of glacial ice. From there we slowly made our way out of Glacier Bay. It all took all day and we watched from on deck, in the dining room (where we grabbed a quick, light lunch about 2:30, because we couldn’t tear ourselves away), our state room, Ann & Shelby’s state room, and even the one hot tub on the stern that was left open. The sun was beating down there and it was very warm because it was protected from the wind. I stayed on that deck long enough to get sunburned! We had our dinner at 5:30 in the Sante Fe dining room so we could be back to view wildlife in Icy Straits. Marv had boneless pork chops and I had surf and turf (beef fillet and 3 shrimp) with a trio of peanut butter chocolate and white nectarine ice cream with red currant sorbet. About 6:30 we dropped the 4 Rangers to return to their station. As we retraced our route out, we again found many pods of humpbacks feeding, much to the surprise of Sandy, who was back at the microphone again. I was thrilled to actually see one of them leap all the way out of the water and land with a splash that Marv saw after hearing me squeal. By 8:15 we were through the Straits and no longer seeing whales so we met Ann and Shelby in the Explorer Lounge to hear the comic, Kevin Jordan’s, last show of the cruise. He was very funny and did a good show. About 10:15 we could see that there was actually going to be a good sunset into the mountains on our side of the ship so we hurried back to our cabin to watch and film it. As we stepped onto our balcony two Dall Porpoises were playing in the wake off the side of the ship, right below us. The sunset was spectacular and lasted for a long time as the color shifted, spread and changed. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

Alaska Adventures: Day 9--June 27

Sun. June 27: We began the day with a continental breakfast brought to our cabin right at 8:30. From our balcony we watched a pod of Dall’s porpoises swim past the ship. Marv and I met Ann to get stamps on our Treasure Hunt give-away cards until Ann and I went to the Spa to see if we would win anything (we didn’t) and Marv walked to the very bow of the ship. All four of us went to the ship naturalist’s presentation on Hubbard Glacier and other nearby glaciers in Yakutat Bay, where we will arrive in the afternoon. By now it was very cold on the decks and we had to bundle up to be out. Marv and I got cheeseburgers at the grill and Ann and Shelby had pizza from the nearby pizzeria, which we all supplemented with items from the buffet, and we ate beside one of the inside pools, but it was still chilly. We went to the Fusion Club to see if we would win anything from the Treasure Hunt (we didn’t) and returned to our respective cabins to rest, journal, and watch our progress into Yakutat Bay into the early afternoon. Sandy, the naturalist, was broadcasting on the ship channel 35 from the bridge, explaining what we were seeing and helping to spot wild life. As we got closer to the bay and chances of seeing animals increased we bundled up and went up on the bow deck to watch, with Sandy’s voice coming over the PA to keep us apprised. It was very damp and cold out there and the PA speakers were hard to understand. But we saw cormorants, harbor seals and a bald eagle that sat on an iceberg for quite a while before flying a long ways right over the water. The bay here is quite full of large and small icebergs, so of which need to be avoided. With two harbor pilots guiding the ship we went as far in towards Disenchantment Bay as was possible. Unfortunately, with the heavy fog we weren’t able to see Hubbard Glacier. Seven miles wide and 75 miles long, it is the largest coastal glacier in North America. But we could see no sign of it or the mountains surrounding the bay. So they turned the ship 180° and we headed back out, hugging the shore on the port side a bit more than when we entered. Ann and Shelby came to our cabin in hopes of seeing more on our side. We went in and out of fog, catching occasional glimpses of the mountains and shoreline. At one point I could watch a dark headed, sleek Stellar sea lion swimming in the opposite direction near the side of the ship. As we pulled out of the bay however the fog totally set in and we could only see a few yards off.

Tonight was the first “formal” night, so we got dressed up a bit and went at 6:45 to watch them put the final glasses at the top of the Champaign fountain in the atrium at the bottom of the grand staircase. Each layer was already filled with Champaign so that when the captain poured the “first” glass at 7:15 it flowed down through the many tiers. As people took turns pouring more Champaign on the fountain, and having formal photos taken at about 6 stations on three levels overlooking the atrium, waiters circulated with trays of complimentary Champaign and hors d’ouvres. After enjoying the spectacle for a while the four of us headed for our reserved table at The Pacific Moon restaurant, which happened to be by the window. We had a fantastic dinner by ordering off the menu for the first time on the ship. Three of us had filet mignon while Marv had Cornish Game Hen; all of us also had appetizers, soup, salad and dessert, as well. Two hours later we had our formal picture taken. Then I changed into warmer clothes and we all went to the Princess Theater for the musical presentation of “The Piano Man”. It was another highly energetic, very talented group of young people. Ann and Shelby left about half way through, but Marv and I stayed for it all before going to bed about midnight.

Alaska Adventures: Day 8--June 26

Sat June 26: Our bags were due out at 8:30 but we weren’t leaving until 11:00, so we built our third fire and ate our breakfast and read or computed for a few hours. After updating the blog online at the lodge, it was time to board the motor coach once again for the two hour drive to Whittier. As we drove along we spotted more moose. Just outside Whittier we passed through the one-way mountain tunnel which takes 6½ minutes. It was built for trains originally and, until it was recently paved along the tracks, buses and cars had to load onto the railcars to get to Whittier. There are still no other roads into Whittier, a tiny fishing town where nearly everyone lives in one large building of condos. It was the main port for Alaska until the earthquake of 1964 caused extensive damage and people turned to Anchorage. Traffic into town goes on the half hour and, after one quick stop to see our first glacier up close, we drove slowly through it and then through town until it was time for our bus to disembark and go through security to board the ship. We got onboard the Diamond Princess at about 1:00 and went straight to our first delicious buffet meal. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the huge ship and its many decks. Ann and I managed to try two pools and two hot tubs on three different decks before we went for dinner. Our balcony cabin on the port side is quite luxurious and has all the comforts of home. From it we watched bald eagles soaring along the shoreline. Ann and Shelby have a similar cabin on the starboard side. We had hoped to have dinner in the Pacific Moon dining room but it was 6:45 and they were closing at 7:00 to prepare for the required emergency drill. Shelby needed to eat so we returned to Horizon Court for the dinner buffet. The drill (complete with donning of life jackets) took until 8:00 or so, when the ship cast off to cruise. We watched that from different decks. After we had seen enough, we got some dessert and coffee to enjoy. At 10:00 we went to the Explorers Lounge to watch the new “Alice in Wonderland” with Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway. Ann and Shelby went straight to bed afterwards while Marv and I walked on deck a bit more. When we returned to our cabin about midnight we sat on our balcony and marveled at the large chunks of ice, both white and dark, floating by in the twilight until we were cold and sleepy enough to seek our cozy bed.

Alaska Adventures: Day 7--June 25

Fri. June 25: It had rained during the night when we got up this morning but didn’t seem to be as we hiked down to meet Ann & Shelb at the lodge. As we ate our quick oatmeal breakfast, they had signed us up for a float trip on the Kenai River. We were told to dress warmly and bring two pairs of socks for the big boots we would be given to wear. A lodge shuttle drove us across and down river to the Rafting and Fishing outfitter. They had hot muffins and instant coffee waiting for us as they suited us up in waterproof bib overalls, jackets and boots. Then our guide, Ben, loaded six of us into the inflatable raft and we were on our way. The weather was a mixed bag of very light showers and the sun peeking out between the clouds. The river is very swift and very cold; about 38°. We were between two lakes, running 12 miles which included a lot of nature reserve. We passed by where the Russian River joins the Kenai and the first run of about 90,000 red salmon has just begun. Just outside the preserved confluence the banks were lined with fisher-people. But Ben told us that when the second run, which will be about 2 million salmon, the people will line up literally shoulder to shoulder and jostling for space! The rest of the trip was seemingly wilderness area, although we realized on the ride back that the road was pretty close the whole way. Ben is a pre-med student at a Utah university but from Minnesota and seemed very skilled and knowledgeable. He clearly loves what he does and loves Alaska. He told us the river used to be a Class 4 river, full of rapids and rushing water. But the 1964 earthquake had completely changed and leveled its bed, so the most we experienced as about a class 2 rapids. We got some water in the raft and were splashed a bit but it was pretty tame. We saw many birds, including bank swallows, golden-eyed ducks, mergansers, ravens, land gulls, and, at one bend in the river, about 24 juvenile to adult bald eagles. The sight took our breath away as we spotted trees with 3 and 4 in them, some in the river, and others soaring, gliding and fishing. We pulled out of the river after about 3 hours, above the canyon and another lake. We ate lunch on the deck of the lodge overlooking the mountain which Ben told us has a herd of about 35 Dall Sheep. One time a year there is a lottery and one person is allowed to take one sheep. We were lucky enough to spy a few sheep as we ate, tiny moving dots, visible only through binoculars. After a couple hours of napping (Shelby) or computing (Marv on his ITouch and me on my netbook) we took both the half mile and one mile nature trails on the property. Returning to the lodge Ann, Marv and I shared 3 desserts. By then we could clearly make out 3 large and 3 small sheep, and a lone sheep apart from them. Then we all tried the river trail again. There was no excitement this time, just lovely scenery. We did our last cup-a-soup, crackers and fish supper, this time in our room. Commotion outside led us out to join a group of 8 or 10 people following a tiny dot on the far hillside that was a black bear, foraging its way up the hill. We returned to our room to play “Golf” (a card game) and ended the day with a soak in the hot tub.

1) As the land portion of our trip comes to an end, I think I'll do some reflecting on our experience:

1he1. The weather was nicer than we had prepared for and, according to folks we talked to who are up here for the season and longer, very unusual for Alaska in June. We had rain until early afternoon in Fairbanks on our first day, and the temperature then was in the fifties. But from then on the temps were very comfortable mid-sixties to mid-seventies. We were always fine in a t-shirt or light long sleeve shirt while hiking and only added jackets occasionally when we were less active. Yesterday we had very light showers during parts of our float trip but were totally dressed for rain or river water. The rest of the day it would sometimes “spit” for a while but didn’t even require a raincoat.

2) 2. The mosquitoes about which we had heard so many warnings were a nonissue. We saw some but far fewer than in our backyard at home! Some we saw were bigger than home, though. Our guide yesterday, Ben, told us that we were between hatches and that they had been bad before and would be bad again when the next hatch occurred. Lucky us!!!!!

3) 3. There is a whole culture of people who come to work in Alaska for the summer. We have met very, very few people who live here year-round and we have met only a handful of native Alaskans. Summer workers seem to fall into two categories. They are either college students, both domestic and international, who are here during their summer breaks and return to school sometime in August. Or they are retired singles or couples, who will winter someplace in the south. Some are living here in their RVs and will drive it to their winter home, with no permanent residence. It is an intriguing option. Pretty much everyone we have met loves Alaska and has been very upbeat, welcoming, and helpful. It has made being here a pleasure.

Alaska Adventures: Day 6--June 24

Thu. June 24: Breakfast out in the Mountain View restaurant was a real treat this morning. Shelby, Marv and I each had the Alaskan breakfast with reindeer sausage. But Ann had their house specialty Blueberry Stuffed French Toast, which was really more like bread pudding. It looked delicious, came with blueberry butter and was a huge piece so she had half leftover for another meal. Our waitr congratulated us on being members of the 30% Club, for seeing the mountain. Everyone boarded the motor coach at 8:30 to drive about three miles to Anchorage. Along the way we passed through Wasilla, home of Sarah Palin, and saw Susitna (Sleeping Lady) Mountain. The legend says that two lovers were to be married when he went to make peace with some warring tribes. She vowed not to rest until he returned. But when he was gone many days, she lay down and fell asleep. He was killed and when her friends came to tell her, she looked so peaceful they decided not to wake her. And so she sleeps until there is peace on earth.

We arrived in Anchorage at 11:3 and were given 2 hours to explore and get lunch. We went to the Snow Ball Café and got sandwiches to go. There is a nice walk along the shore of Cook Inlet which we followed a while stopping at a park to enjoy our sandwiches. Having snorkeled in Cook Bay in Hawaii in April, it was very interesting to us to see another example of the vast area the intrepid Captain Cook charted for the western world. We returned to the bus with a six pack of Alaskan Amber to enjoy at the Kenai Lodge and the two bottles of wine we are allowed to take on the cruise ship. Leaving Anchorage we saw two moose in a marsh area caused when they put the Seward Highway next to Turnaround Inlet, so named by Captain Cook when he gave up on the water way being the elusive northern passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic and told the pilot to “turn around”. Seward Highway is absolutely breathtaking, with views of the close looming peaks that still have snow trails running down the sides. We passed by some construction where the highway commission is replacing the guard rail destroyed by a big avalanche that also broke many trees like match sticks. The highway runs all the way around the inlet, which was at low tide then and, at 38 feet, has the second greatest tidal change in North America. We saw bald eagles feeding with the sea gulls in the mud flats. The three hours passed quickly with the stunning scenery to enjoy. The Kenai Princess Lodge is the smallest one we have seen yet with only 86 rooms. It is beside the turquoise-colored, glacial Kenai River which feeds into the 24 mile long Kenai Lake. It looks much like a camp with rows of connected but cabin-like rooms climbing the mountain side and completely surrounded by peaks with snowy veins coming down the sides. Ours is one large room with a big handicap accessible bathroom, a king size bed, a porch overlooking the woods and cabins below, and, best of all, a small, stocked wood burning stove! It’s going to mean a lot of hill climbing but is a lovely setting. Our bags hadn’t been delivered yet so we explored a bit and then walked down to the Princess RV Park to get ice cream. We went out on the lodge deck to look down at the river and saw a bald eagle perched in a nearby tree.

Back up at our rooms we found that the bags had been delivered so Marv and I took some of our food down to Ann and Shelby’s and we shared a simple supper. Then we walked down (and I do mean DOWN) to take the river trail. We had been amply warned about the active animal life at this lodge and, sure enough, as we made our way along the river side we were startled by a white van that pulled close to us, honking and urging us to get inside quickly. It turned out that the last hikers down the path had reported seeing a small bear. And where there is a baby bear there is nearly always a mama bear. So they drove us up the hill and closed the path for the rest of the evening. Marv and Shelby opted to rest and read and Ann and I chose to enjoy the third hot tub of our trip. When I returned, wrinkled and relaxed, to the room, Marv had a fire burning and we enjoyed it and music on the ITouch while he read and I updated the journal to add to this blog in the Lodge tomorrow.