FRIDAY,
JULY 12:
Slept a
little later this morning, since no boat to catch! Nothing like waking up on the golf course
with the driving range out your back window, silhouetted by snow-drenched
mountain peaks!
We wondered if this were the same bear which has
been flaunting Park rules and making himself known around the Lodge.
Drove on to the trailhead. This was an in-and-out trail (1.6 miles one way). A typical rain forest hike to a nice view of the Bartlett River, which flows into the bay. One of the nicest things about this hike was a huge boulder at the end of the trail, by the river, which seemed just right for cradling our bodies for a restful snooze. The sun had come back out, and we felt like two lizards sunning themselves on a rock – or maybe two sea lions.
. Was
absolutely still and peaceful. The only
sounds were those of birds, including one eagle’s high call.
Last night, as we were getting ready for bed, we
heard some noises outside, and what sounded like a door slamming. Since we knew the other cabin was unoccupied,
we became alert. Bill went outside, and
stayed quietly a few minutes. We finally
deduced that it was an animal, and very likely a bear which had gotten into the
garbage bin a few yards away. That
accounted for the slamming noise.
We had
thought we’d kayak about the bay this morning, but it was turning
cloudy, and so the water wasn’t particularly pretty. So we decided to stay out of the water, and
do another hike instead. The big
excitement happened on the way to the trailhead. Not too far inside the Nat’l Park’s boundary,
we spotted a black bear along the side of the road. Of course, we backed up and parked. Bill actually got out of the truck with his
camera, and zoomed in. 
He got bolder (Bill, not the bear), and made hissing & clicking noises to get the bear to look up. It worked. The bear looked around, alert, and looked somewhat irritated, like, “Who has the nerve to interrupt my food-foraging right now?”
Drove on to the trailhead. This was an in-and-out trail (1.6 miles one way). A typical rain forest hike to a nice view of the Bartlett River, which flows into the bay. One of the nicest things about this hike was a huge boulder at the end of the trail, by the river, which seemed just right for cradling our bodies for a restful snooze. The sun had come back out, and we felt like two lizards sunning themselves on a rock – or maybe two sea lions.
. Was
absolutely still and peaceful. The only
sounds were those of birds, including one eagle’s high call.
By the
time we got back to the truck, we both felt tired, but pleasantly so. And very warm! Drove back to town, and explored a couple of
the back streets, just to see how some of the people here lived. There is no
town square, nor main street lined with houses here. People’s homes are scattered throughout the
town, in open meadows or verdant woods. Were
surprised that most of the homes we saw (only a handful) were very nice
looking. I guess the more “rudimentary”
houses are further out. We met a couple
this morning in the café where we went for breakfast (since really nothing to
cook with or on in our cabin – well, a small hot plate besides the microwave,
but no hot water to clean up with) who we visited with. She confirmed our suspicion that there’s
really no wage base in the town – it’s either subsistence living, business
owners, or retirees. (And of course the small influx of tourist-related help in
the summer.) And even though there are
some definite “identities” of folk – her classifications included “greenies”
(I’d also include New Agers), ”the church crowd,” the partyers, the pot-heads, the disaffected
loners, mostly Vietnam PTSD vets - most
everyone gets along with everyone else, cooperates, and looks out for one
another. You have to, she said – too
many things can go wrong (freezing pipes while you’re away, for just one
example), and you need the community.
The town
has no local police force, no paid city government. A paid fire chief and city clerk, I think. No county courthouse. And they continually vote to have no property
taxes! Therefore, their school (total of
about 70 students, K-12) is totally supported by state funds.
The ferry coming here about 2 years ago had a
significant impact – now, people like her can work in Juneau and “commute” home
on the weekends. (The ferry runs twice a
week here.) And people can do major
shopping in Juneau fairly easily now. In
fact, the biggest grocery store in town went out of business shortly after the ferry
came. So now, all they have here is the
little health food store and Gustavus’s version of Sam’s or Costco – about
one-tenth the size, very little selection, hardly any fresh meat or produce,
but huge boxes of cereal and jars of
peanut butter! Bill and I looked for
something simple to put in the microwave for dinner last nite, or to grill
(Morgan has a little grill outside for us to use), but couldn’t find anything
except Hot Pockets. Yuk. So tonite we got a sandwich again at the
health food store and enjoyed it outside on their patio. Very, very good. Enjoyed waving at the people who drove by in
either cars, trucks, or on bicycles.
Started
getting organized and packed up, as tomorrow morning we’ve booked a
whale-watching tour which leaves at 8:30.
It gets back in the dock at 12:00, and the ferry doesn’t leave til
12:45, so that will work out perfectly.
But we need to have everything in the truck and ready to leave by a
little after 8:00.
