WEDNESDAY, JULY 10

WEDNESDAY, JULY 10:

     As we were crossing over from Juneau to Gustavaus on the ferry, the sky started clearing and the sun broke through – made me so happy!  It’s so nice when we can see from the ferry!  Several people came aboard with just kayaks & camping gear – they’re off for an adventure!  A very nice 4-hour ride. 

     Sunny and beautiful when we docked at Gustavus. 

 

 

No terminal at all – don’t know how they do ticketing here.  You probably have to do it all on-line.  Drove ¼ mile down the main road to the golf course, which is where our cabin is.  Yes, Gustavus has a golf course. 

 

 And the owner built a couple of cabins on the property, which he rents out to folks like us who don’t want to spent upwards of $200 a nite to stay here, but don’t want to camp either.  He told us on the phone that they’re “rustic – more for the camping crowd,” but have a fridge, microwave, & mattresses, but you need to supply your own bedding.  And a separate bathroom and shower house.  So he aptly prepared us – they were just a step above camping.  But met our needs just fine for 3 nights.

 

 

  We even had fresh spring water, when we wanted to use the pump outside!   

     We met the guy who owns this outfit, Morgan, in the evening.  (He has no keys to the cabins – “we never have any problem,” he explained.  So we just let ourselves in and got settled after we arrived.)  He’s another very nice down-home guy who’s full of interesting stories.  His grandparents homesteaded this land in 1957– 160 acres, under the same Homestead Act that Abe Lincoln established for the settling of the prairie.  His parents were both school teachers in Juneau, but he always spent his summers here as a kid.  Don’t know when, or for that matter, why, he built this golf course, for this isolated community of 400 year-round residents.  But we got a real kick out of walking around on it – probably the only golf course in existence which has wild strawberries growing in the rough (“grab yourself some,” Morgan invited), a bathroom and shower house furnished from rough cut lumber, a fairway that cuts across the town’s main street, and fresh moose tracks parallel to another fairway!    And people do really use it – we saw the guest book filled out in the “clubhouse.”  And I read that it was designed to exact specs, patterned after some of the most well-known courses   And, hey, since he had this land and apparently wanted to preserve it, a much better and more creative use of it than to turn it into a zipline or something!  Myrtle Beach and Torrey Pines, look out!  The competition for the PGA tour is creeping up on ya!

 

                                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

     After we got lunch at a little health food store up the road (really delicious sandwiches!), we spent the afternoon driving into Glacier Bay National Park and exploring the Visitors Center, etc.  The water in the bay was a gorgeous blue on this clear, beautiful afternoon.  And, as always, the sublimely beautiful snow-dappled mountains as a backdrop, this time the Fairweather Range. 

 

 

 

     We saw a couple of movies in the Visitors Center, as always, of highest quality.  Learned more about the natural and human history of this National Park and how it’s a supreme example of how landscapes are constantly changing.  By 1750, during the last little ice age, the glacier had reached its maximum area.  Glacial ice completely covered what’s now the bay, and beyond, jutting into Icy Strait.  But when George Vancouver explored this area just 45 years later, the glacier had melted back 5 miles into Glacier Bay – which it had gouged out.  And when John  Muir explored the area 84 years later in 1879, it had retreated another 40 miles up into the bay.  Today, you have to travel 65 miles up the bay to view tidewater glaciers.  Which we’ll do tomorrow. 

     Since we were up here at the Visitors Center and lodge, we decided to eat in the restaurant here.  A beautiful setting, overlooking the bay, and nice ambience.  My seafood pasta was very tasty, but Bill’s salmon dish was poor.  Disappointing, when we eat out so infrequently, and especially at nicer places.  Oh well . . .

     After dinner, we took a little hike on a short, easy trail around the Visitors Center.  Passed a nice little pond.

 

Saw lots of signs of wildlife – especially bear scat.  We were told by rangers that one particular black bear keeps exploring the area around the Visitors Center.  He’s apparently an adolescent, and, typical of teenage boys, testing his mettle.  They keep trying to guide him off back into the woods, but so far not too successfully. At  the end of the trail loop, we took a little detour into the Park campground.  Only saw about 4 or 5 parties tented there.  All kinds of warnings about bears were posted.  Glad they’ll have dry weather to sleep in tonight!

     When we got back home, after visiting with Morgan, we took Pappy out for a long walk on the golf course.  It was a luscious beautiful soft evening,

 

 

 

 

with a beautiful setting sun outside our cabin window.

 

 

MONDAY & TUESDAY, JULY 8 & 9

MONDAY & TUESDAY, JULY 8 & 9:

     Rainy and damp ever since Sunday night.  Periods of hard rain, even, on Monday.   But it’s ok – we needed a day or two of down time, to do laundry, etc.  So that’s how we used the time.

     We’ve been needing to go up to the office for these last couple of days every time we want WiFi.  Last week, we had a connection here, even though weak most of the time.  But at least we could stay at home here to get on.  For some reason, we can’t even get on now.  Frustrating.  Linda, the owner, is apologetic, and says she is having someone from Anchorage come down and work on their system.

    That aside, this campground is very, very nice.  Probably one of the better ones we’ve been at – certainly so on this trip.  Nice tree-surrounded sites, arranged with space between them.  What makes them a real standout, though, is their customer service.  They bend over backwards to do what they can to help their customers enjoy their time in Juneau.  They give suggestions on places to visit, restaurant recommendations, and even help with bookings.   They’re trying to help us right now with a hot water leak we have under the kitchen sink.  Arranging for a plumber to come out.  Corinne (the owner’s daughter, who looks like she manages a lot of the day-to-day operations) came out to look at the problem herself, so that she can convey to the plumber, with whom she’s done business previously) exactly what the issue seems to me.  Since he (plumber) is working us in, and he wasn’t able to get out yet this week, and we’re leaving tomorrow for 3 ½  days to go to Glacier Bay (without the RV – we’re renting a cheap cabin over there),  she has our key and will let him in, pay him, and we’ll reimburse her.  That’s an example of going above & beyond!

     We’re taking a 7:00 a.m. ferry over to Gustavus tomorrow morning.  And since it’s a very busy terminal, with lots of early morning departures, we need to get there by 5:30.  Groan.  Gustavus is the entry point for Glacier Bay Nat’l Park, which we considered a must-see.   But logistics took some thinking through.  Can only get there by boat or plane.  No RV accommodations over there, and, besides, it wouldn’t be worth the cost & trouble to haul the RV over on the ferry.  Thankfully, we found some cheap  cabins there . . . literally everything else is luxurious lodges, with corresponding price tags.  Plus, we can take Pappy there to the cabin.  Very grateful for how this worked out – otherwise, would have been a hard decision as to whether to spend a lot of $$ for 3 nites.    So we’re just going on the ferry with the truck, so we can get around.   I’m sure no WiFi there, so will be a few days before I can post the Blog again.          

 

SUNDAY, JULY 7

SUNDAY, JULY 7:

     Went to a late morning service at a Presbyterian church nearby, called Chapel by the Lake.    It’s affiliated with ECO (not an acronym, but subtitled “A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.”), which apparently was formed very recently as a group of disaffected PCUSA pastors & leaders.  The church is located in a beautiful setting, right on Auke Lake amongst the spruces & pines, and in a lodge-like building.  The wall of windows at the front of the sanctuary looks out on towering trees.  Very much like the chapel at YMCA of the Ozarks down in Potosi.

       The service was contemporary in feeling - music consisted  of a single guitar, words on a screen, & simple choruses; there was a time at the end of the service for folks to speak sentence prayers aloud.   But much of the liturgy was traditional.  And the pastor wore a robe!  Haven’t seen that in a long time!  This is definitely a more flourishing body than the 2 other little churches we visited, as you’d expect from a much larger town.  Looked like about 150 in attendance.  And they have 2 services.  However, they could definitely take lessons in hospitality & friendliness from those tiny churches . ..  virtually no one greeted us, or came over & said  hello to us.  As we were leaving, the woman seated next to me finally greeted me, and then was very nice and friendly.  But she was the only one.  They were baptizing a teenage girl today.  Went through a printed liturgy of baptism during the service, but saved the actual baptism til after the service, when as many as wanted would gather at the lake, and she would be immersed there.  Which is kind of nice.  But cold – brave girl!!!!

     Came home & had some lunch.  Then decided to go on a little road trip north on the main (only) highway in town, which hugs the coastline most of the way.  There were several worthwhile stops along the way, according to my guide book.  And the woman who sat next to me at church recommended one of them in particular, the first place we stopped.  It’s actually a Catholic retreat center.  Built right on the bay, with several log buildings, and lovely, lovely grounds.

 

 

 

 

Several areas with natural-looking wildflower plantings, and paths down to the water.

                                                               

 

                                                                        

                                                                 

                                                            
  And a beautiful little stone chapel built on a little hill, overlooking the water. It’s been the site of lots of weddings over the years.

      We both were thinking the same thought – that this place is probably very similar to where our friend Terry Jones goes in Northern Calif when he goes on retreat.

     We took Pappy with us on this outing, and he thoroughly enjoyed walking the trails with us.  At times we’d let him off the leash, and he’d run like the wind, til he decided to slow down and sniff.  He’s a model in taking time to smell the roses!

     Drove a little further up the road and got off a state park.  This also was right on the bay, across the Lynn Canal from the Chilkat Peninsula, home of the stunning Chilkat Mountain Range.  Walked a path down to the water again with Pappy. 

 

A family, we assume local, were having a picnic dinner there. A haven for birds – eagles, ravens, and seagulls. We love hearing about and discovering these kinds of hidden gems, the kinds of places the locals go to for solitude and tranquility.  It’s a luxury the kind of travelling we’re doing affords – staying in a place long enough to explore these out-of-the-way jewels.  We are so fortunate – a privileged life indeed!

SATURDAY, JULY 6

SATURDAY, JULY 6:

     After our breakfast treat of pastries we’d picked up yesterday from the Breeze In, recommended by our RV park host, we headed out to do some hiking.  It started out to look like the sun might come out today, but that was only fleeting.  But no matter, we still had a wonderful day.

     Drove over to the northeast section of town, where 3 of the most popular trails begin.  Just getting there was a mini adventure in itself!  We had no idea that this city is built on hills – and narrow, winding streets.  Makes San Francisco look flat!  Utterly charming and  picturesque.  But we couldn’t imagine how residents got in and out normally, let alone in snow or ice!

    First found a little trail which went over an old mining plank road.  This was really just a nice walk alongside a steep rainforest hillside, with many little seeps and waterfalls.  We met a very nice woman and her companion (?), who was a little strange.  But she was very pleasant, and offered us some good suggestions for hikes, etc.  A really nice, leisurely walk to get started.

     After a false start up the Mt. Roberts trail (we decided way too steep for us), we decided on the Perseverance Trail.  I’d read in my guidebook that it was a fairly gentle trail, that it went past some old mining remains, and was Juneau’s most popular trail. That’s pretty much all it said.   I figured it was popular because it was relatively easy, and historical (it was actually Alaska’s very first road – built for the gold mine here; this is the spot where a Tlingit first showed Joe Juneau  gold in the stream, [Juneau had offered a reward for anyone who could lead him to gold-bearing ore]  and the rest is history . . .)  

  OhMyGosh – were we in for a surprise!  The scenery on this trial was spectacular!!  Paralleled a cascading stream (appropriately named Gold Creek) for a good part of the way.  “Cascading” is only mildly descriptive – “tumultuous” might be better.  Over and over boulders the stream coursed downwards, creating rapids & falls around every turn.  And the water is crystal clear, glacier-ice-blue tinged.

 

All against a backdrop of impossibly tall, steep, forested snow-dappled mountains.  Alaska at her absolute finest!  We finally had to turn back, as it was 5:00, and had been walking since mid-morning. 

  

 

 

 

 

But not before one final glimpse of Alaskan majesty!

 

 

 

We couldn’t figure out why the guidebooks didn’t mention the stunning scenic beauty of this trail.  Oh well, all the better for us, to be wondrously surprised.  Our pictures dont’t really do justice to what we experienced this day – need more expensive equipment than we have to capture all the nuances of color & detail on a cloudy day like this!

     To add to the  magic memory of this hike – soon after we’d started out, who should be among the people walking back down but my old college dorm next-door neighbor from UCLA, Mary Claire!  We were good friends back then.  In fact, she was in my wedding  and I remember flying to the Bay Area to attended hers (both of our firsts J L).  I knew she’d moved up to Juneau years ago . . . we’d kept in touch sporadically.  But it’s been at least 20 or 25 years since we’d had any communication at all.  I guess she’d been on my mind since we’ve been in Juneau, knowing that it’s really a large small town, and thinking how uncanny it would be if I ran into here. (And I’d looked her up on FB before we ever left St. Louis to see if she still lived here, and saw her picture there – easily recognizable).  So it didn’t take too long for it to register that it was HER face I saw coming down the trail.  I did have to stare at her a little to make sure, and then looked at her and said, “Mary Claire??”  Her response:  “You look familiar!”  When I told her my name, she just couldn’t believe it.  We tried to catch up on 40 years in a few minutes.  She was leaving town tomorrow to go to a cabin she & her husband own at Tenakee Springs, over on a nearby island, for a couple of weeks, or we’d most certainly have made a date to get together.  So we’ll have to make due via Facebook.  WOW – what are the odds??!

     When I expressed my envy at her getting to live here, surrounded by this beauty, she did say that they have a home outside of Tucson, where they go for the winters, to get some sun.  So even the magical beauty of mountains draped in mist has its limits.  Still . . . to be able to escape from downtown in less than 10 minutes into scenes like we saw today . . . well, one of the fortunate ones!           

 

FRIDAY, JULY 5

FRIDAY, JULY 5:   

     Woke up to dry ground, for the first time since we’ve been here.  But still cool (these days the high is upper 50’s to low 60’s) and very cloudy.  Typical for Juneau. 

     Drove into town.  But first made a stop at the Forest Service office just down the road.  We wanted some info and advice on bear-watching trips at Pack Creek.  We knew that we could go with a guide outfit, who would take care of everything – arranging the short flight over to Admiralty Island, where Pack Creek is located, obtaining the  U.S. Forest Service permits (this area is managed by the Forest Service, meaning, in part, that only a certain number of visitors are allowed per day during peak season), even lunch.  But all that convenience is pricey - $650 per person.  We thought that we might be able to take care of the logistics ourselves, and save a lot of $$.  Both the gal at the front desk and the ranger who came out later were extremely helpful –told us exactly how to use the website to obtain permits, gave us a list of floatplane charters, and told us a lot about what to expect at Pack Creek, what “habituation” means (bears, who under normal circumstances in the wild, would flee from humans, have gotten use to their presence at places like Pack Creek, and as long as the humans behave themselves, the bears see no threat and just go about their business), etc.   Well worth the stop!

     Continued on into town in time to catch an organ concert in the State Office Building.  Every Friday at noon, a guest gives a free concert on an old theater organ.  The organ was built in the 1920’s for a theater in Juneau, was neglected for many years, was refurbished in Seattle, and found a permanent home in this building.  The concert was a lot of f un – he played upbeat music, including some patriotic songs and all of the theme songs of the various military branches.

 

      The building has a small snack bar down the hall from where the organ is located, so we grabbed some lunch there to munch on as we enjoyed the music.  And – once again – a view to die for.  The building itself, like almost all of the downtown government buildings, is  nondescript – but what a view!  Is there any other state capitol where you can take a break from your bureaucratic labors and look out at the water, snow-capped mountains, and cruise ships?!

 

 

                                                                    On State Office bldg patio

Not to mention an 1880 original totem pole.                                                    

 

     We strolled on towards the waterfront and the historic district.  Lots of late 19^th century Victorian storefronts, which sprang up during the gold rush days. 

.  Now, of course, they’re filled with tourist shops.  Very much like Ketchikan in that respect – lots of cheap imported stuff.  And most not even owned by locals, but by the cruise ships companies, who close them up after the last ship has gone in September and move all the generic merchandise down to their Caribbean shops for the winter season.  But occasionally you’ll come across a locally-owned shop, which proudly announces that, and carries items crafted by Alaskans (as well as ubiquitous T-shirts, etc.)  We found a nice burl bowl that we liked, and a glazed dish resembling a salmon that will be nice remembrances for us.

     We went into a small local photo/camera shop for Bill to ask a question, and were there for the better part of an hour!  The owner told us story after story, about how he came here from New Jersey when a young man, joined a fishing crew, and the boat’s owner “turned a boy into a man.”  He lamented the sorry state of local & state politics, how he never thought he’d wish for Sarah Palin to be back – that’s how bad he thinks this current governor is – totally in the pocket of big oil, big cruise ship corporations, any big entity with $$.  He was a bright, articulate, entertaining guy.  He’s hung on to his small business for 25 years, and we hope he’s able to do it for as long as he wants!  Bill ended up buying a polaroid lens from him, even though he knew he could get it at a big box store for less. 

     Saw all that we wanted of downtown.  If it’s a nice sunny day, we might come down again and enjoy the harbor views. 

     Came back, relaxed, and grilled bar-b-que’d ribs for dinner.  Yum.  Seems to be getting dark much earlier – although that’s probably just due to the heavy cloud cover.