WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY, JULY 3 & 4

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY, JULY 3 & 4:   

     Days at the Mendenhall Glacier!  To write this almost seems surreal – a place you’ve heard of for years, and now you’re really there!  Yesterday we drove over in the early afternoon, after trying to wait out the clouds, rain, and mist. (the glacier is only about 3 miles from our RV Park) and had out first look.  Spent time in the wonderful Visitors Center.   But it soon began to rain really hard, and blocked all views, so we gave up and came home.

     Went again today, earlier in the day, even though chilly, overcast and very cloudy, and threatening rain.  But it never did rain, and occasionally the sun even tried to peep out, so consequently we had clearer views of the glacier today than yesterday.  Was amazing looking through the telescopes in the Visitors Center, or thru our binoculars, at the ice close up.

 

 

 

    Went on a couple of really nice little hikes down below the Visitors Center – the  longer one to Nugget Falls.  The noise from this beautiful waterfall crashing into the lake below overpowers any

other nearby noise!  

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Only a few years ago, this waterfall wasn’t visible– it was actually under the ice. But as the ice has been receding, the waterfall has been revealed. The Visitors Center and other exhibits throughout the area do a great job of tracking the glacier ice over time in ways like this – showing where the ice was x many years ago, what new land forms began to show, and in what years, as the glacier has constantly been receding for the past 300 years or so.

      These were delightful hikes – walks, really –despite the chill, we just took our time, taking some detours down to a couple of beaches.

 

 

                                                Views of  Visitors Center, and looking down from it:

 

 

 

      As our backs were turned to the lake, we suddenly heard a tremendous crash – we knew that sound!  An iceberg calving!   Turned around, just in time to see the tail end of a section of an iceberg falling off and hitting the water. 

The piece to the left was upright and attached to the larger iceberg a minute ago!

      We were told that, because Mendenhall is in a lake valley, there isn’t nearly as much calving as in a tidewater glacier (one that empties into the sea), due to no tide fluctuations and disturbances.  We saw for ourselves - there were only a few icebergs floating in the lake by the glacier, whereas at the tidewater  LeConte Glacier, the saltwater as full of them!

     After resting a big and talking to some rangers (always so interesting!), we set out on a more ambitious hike.  This East Glacier Loop  was a 3.5 mile hike – much more strenuous than what we did this morning.  Reminiscent of our hikes last summer in the Colorado Rockies.  Gained several hundred feet in elevation, and gave us some different views & perspectives of Mendenhall. 

Fun to see Nugget Waterfall cascading down from up high.  Could hear the torrential sound start from way up here.

                                                            

We also passed several small, sheer waterfalls.  Very, very pretty in the rainforest. 

 

     Bill’s knees only gave him trouble in the last third of this hike – going downhill over some steep, very crooked terrain.  This was the first really demanding hike that we’ve done on this trip.  Was good to stretch ourselves . . . we’ll see tomorrow how B’s one knee is after a night of recuperation (and a few glasses of wine!). 

     Even with his discomfort, over dinner we agreed that this was a really good day – were able to be physically active, we adjusted to the cool weather, and saw some wonderful sights.  And for dinner, we grilled the prawns we’d purchased earlier in Sitka.  Delicious!!  We need to pick up some more!

     Oh yes, this is the 4^th of July!  Didn’t seem like it.  The city of Juneau has their big fireworks display downtown at midnight on the 3^rd – or I guess it’s at 12:01 a.m. on the 4^th.  They have it so late because it’s not dark til then!  But we didn’t go – too chilly, rainy, and late for us old codgers.  There were several things going on in town today – the 4^th is a big deal here, partly because July 4 is when Alaska was admitted to the Union.  But, because the weather was iffy, we opted to go to the glacier instead, and had our own natural display of nature there!

 

TUESDAY, JULY 2

TUESDAY, JULY 2:

     Up early to catch the 5:00 ferry to Juneau.  Got right on, and settled.  Good-bye, Sitka; we have
such nice, warm memories of our time here.

. 

 

                                            Our RV Park across from the ferry terminal, up
                                             against the rainforest hillside

 

 

 

       This ferry looks even less populated than the previous one we took, from Petersburg to Sitka.  I guess if people travelling independently, like us, want to get to or from Sitka, they take the fast ferry.  Not us – we actually like the slow, steady, rhythmic pace of the regular ferry.  It’s so restful.  And if it’s nice weather, you can take in all that spectacular scenery surrounding the boat at a slow pace.  Isn’t that what cruising is supposed to be about??  Unfortunately, today’s not one of those nice days.  Still continued yesterday’s rain all day.   But made it nice to snuggle in a comfortable chair, and catch up on reading and sleep!   I finished Tim Keller’s The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism.  I’ve often said that I believe he’s this generation’s C. S. Lewis.  He recounts some of Lewis’s rational reasoning, but adds much more of his own, especially in response to post-modern thought and objections about Christianity’s exclusivity, its so-called narrowness, etc.  A tight, excellent read – not just for anyone searching, but for those of us who may need a “booster shot.”

     The arrival at Juneau was the first which was totally nondescript – it’s located several miles north of town, with not much else around it, so there’s no charming scenes of harbors, old homes lining the main streets of town, etc.

      Found our RV Park right away, and even though all of the sites are back-in’s, had little trouble.  The spaces are wide and separated by lots of trees.   Is a very nice park, very popular, it seems.  The owner is very, very nice and helpful and accommodating.  Spent several minutes orienting us with the environs, and suggesting little-known activities and spots to go to.   

     Spent some time after dinner looking at what we wanted to do here.  A lot will depend on the weather – it rained all day, and the forecast looks monotonous for as far ahead as you can see – cloudy and rain  Sure hope that changes somewhere in there!  We’ll still do a lot, but it sure does make it more enjoyable if it’s sunny and warm and dry!           

MONDAY, JULY 1

MONDAY, JULY 1:

     It started raining last night as we went to bed, and continued all day.  So we’re doubly glad we seized the day yesterday to be active outside.  Just stayed in and read, researched future stops, napped.  

      Went to the Sheldon Jackson Museum the last of the day – almost forgot that it was a good rainy day venue.  Everything that I had read about it set high expectations, and it lived up to them.  An extremely nice collection of Alaskan Native artifacts – everything from canoes and kayaks to clothing to baskets to ceremonial masks.  As I’ve written before, Sheldon Jackson was very interested in the Native culture, and all around Alaska and Western Canada, not just Southeast.  The museum docent showed us a map, in which some 20 different “tribes,” or people groups, were shown living in what’s now Alaska and western Canada.   Jackson had artifacts from almost all of them.  So you were able to see how the end products of different groups differed, according to what native resources were available to them.  For instance, the Tlingits down here made canoes out of huge cedar logs; further north, they made them out of birch bark; and further north still, above the Arctic Circle, where there are virtually no trees, they constructed them from seal skins. Another example of their great technologic uses of their native resources is the warm clothing the northern Natives (Inupiaq and Yupik - what we used to call Eskimos) made.  For their inner layer, of course, they would fur, for warmth.  But for their outer layer, to stay dry, they would use large animal gut, clean & dry & cut it, stitch large pieces together to fashion a tunic.  This would be their waterproof outer layer.  Sometimes they would insert grass in the seams – if they did receive any moisture, the grass would wick it away. Voila - the original Gore-Tex!

     We only spent an hour there, because we arrived so late, but gave us a great overview of some of the backgrounds of different Native peoples that we’ll encounter later on, and how they differed from the Tlingits here that we’ve been immersed in for these last few weeks.  Sitka is very fortunate to have this fine museum - the oldest in Alaska (founded 1887)!

 

     Tomorrow morning, very early (5:00 a.m.), we sail for Juneau – a 9 ½  hour trip. According to the weather forecast, it’s supposed to continue cool and rainy – so we’ll no doubt spend most of our time inside, as opposed to when we came here, and spent almost all of the daylight hours up on the top deck.  Also predicted to be rainy in Juneau for the next few days . . . but the weather in this entire area can change on a dime, we’ve learned.

     Really enjoyed our time here – so much history and intertwining of cultures – gives the town an almost European flavor.  Very unique.  Not to mention the spectacular mountain scenery all around.

     Our newest granddaughter, Elise (sp?) Liberty was born this morning to Rachel & Eric.  (The middle name because she was due on July 4!).  That makes 7 grandkids for us J  

SUNDAY, JUNE 30

SUNDAY, JUNE 30:

     It looked like a beautiful, sunny morning!  So we decided to take a little hike.  The trail was just up the road from us, so it didn’t require us going into town or that direction.  Was a nice Rainforest hike . . . mostly level, with some steps to climb or descend. 

Went through the Starrigavan camping area.  Very pretty sites – mostly for tents, but some for RV’s, but with no hook-up’s. Part of the trail went through an estuary area.  With the extreme fluctuation in tides here, there are very large intertidal areas.  Stopped at a nice bay (Mosquito Bay) for a while and listened to the quiet – only an occasional bird calling.

     About 2/3 of the way through, Bill stumbled and fell, onto his bad knee.  One of his walking sticks suddenly gave way, just broke.  His right knee has been giving him trouble – there’s one particular spot which consistently hurts when he uses that knee.  It’s developed in the last few months.  If it doesn’t clear up, he’ll need to go back to the orthopedic surgeon when we return.  In the meantime, he’s a trooper – takes Advil before we start out.  He later insisted that the fall didn’t aggravate the knee too much – we’ll see tomorrow. 

     Got back in the late afternoon.  Sun was still out, warming us up as we rested & relaxed.  Then drove into town.  Needed to make a phone call, and we can’t get reliable service out here. Plus, because it was such a perfectly lovely, mostly clear evening, we thought we might get some good pictures from the top of Castle Hill.  Bill climbed the 100 steps or so to the top without any apparent difficulty, so maybe he was right about the knee.

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, just poked about town some, even though all the shops were closed. 

     Came home to start a fire for grilled salmon – got at the local grocery, “fresh frozen.”  With the right accompaniments and white wine, another really tasty meal. 

     Saw/heard the ferry come in, hung around outside for a while thinking it would soon leave.  But it was delayed for quite a while for some reason.  But we still got to witness another gorgeous sunset.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SATURDAY, JUNE 29

SATURDAY, JUNE 29:

     Treated ourselves to delicious coffee cake and gourmet coffee at The Back Door, a little coffee shop at the back of the local bookstore.

     Highlight today was a 3-hour boat cruise through Sitka Sound, with an emphasis on spotting wildlife.  The sea was beautiful and calm.  I can’t believe how many times we’ve heard from the locals that they’re so enjoying this weather – it isn’t always like this!  Once again, we’re so thankful that Providence arranged for us to come up North THIS year.

                                                               Our boat - the Sea Otter Express

     The boat was only half-filled at most; this is a tour strictly for non-cruise boat folks.  Even some locals take it occasionally.  Our naturalist was a young gal from Kansas.  She volunteered one summer during college to work on a marine research project up here, and never looked back . . . been here 14 years now (most spent in Anchorage; this is her first year here in Sitka).   Her own variation on a theme we’ve heard at least a dozen times.

     We spotted several whales – a grey and a few humpbacks.  They gave us a pretty good show – several flukes raised, and one full breach out of the water.  That was pretty exciting to see – even our naturalist lost her cool and shouted, “OhMyGosh- Look at That!”  Unfortunately, to capture a classic close-up shot of a fluke with the mountains in the background, Bill would need a multi-hundred $$  telephoto lens.  So we settled for what he could get.

 

     We also saw a few sea otters.  Learned why they were so valuable to the Russians who came here in pursuit of them in the late 18^th, early 19^th centuries.  Their pelts are the thickest known to any animal. They need a thick pelt since they live in this cold climate, and they don’t have any blubber like whales do to keep them insulated and warm.  If you laid a postage stamp on their body, it would cover ½ million to 1 million hairs (in comparison to a German Shepherd, who would only have about 40,000 hairs in a postage-size stamp area).  The Russians called their pelts “soft gold,” and would command huge prices for them since they were in demand by both their own people and the Chinese. 

  

      The other highlight of the trip was floating around St. Lazaria Island.  It’s a National Wildlife Refuge, and thousands of birds nest here each summer.  Neither one of us is a great birder, but for those on the boat who were, it was a thrill.  The island itself is lovely – almost a tropical-looking island in the cold blue sea.  Lots of caves, carved shapes, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mt. Edgecumbe in background

  We thoroughly enjoyed this trip – spent most of the time on the outside upper deck, relaxing and enjoying the scenery and getting excited when someone spotted a whale. And it was a reasonable price.

 

                                                 Coming back to the dock 

 

                                                               Iconic skyline of Sitka - St. Michael's Cathedral 

     Afterwards, took an impromptu drive down Sawmill Creek Road, which abuts Totem Park and leads out of town northeast.  The road is a mess – major construction going on, but many beautiful views of the ocean and mountains behind. 

     When we got back into town, we went into a seafood packing place and got some prawns and one huge crab leg.  They’re considered fresh, even though frozen.  I think the term they use is “flash-frozen,” which I believe means that everything now is quickly put on ice on the boats, and frozen almost immediately after the catch.  Anyway, when we got home, we put the crab leg on the grill, along with glazed corn-on-the-cob, and what a feast!  Soooooo delicious!