Alaska, 2.3

Skagway

The hoards of cruise goers! All over town! We were informed that about 5000 to 7000 per day visit the town. It’s what really helps this town survive. Without them, I don’t know what Skagway would do. We had a free day today, so rare so far. So after I finished blog 2.2 and published it, I suited up and went for a short 10 block drive, parked the pickup, then started walking with my film cameras. Unfortunately, I cannot post those images here now. Once we arrive back home, I’ll do another blog dedicated to the film photography from the trip. I set up my Hasselblad medium format and finished a roll I had started earlier. Then I set up my pinhole camera and shot 2 rolls with that. Now, the pinhole camera is the one that draws so much attention! Several people approached and asked and made comments about it. Everyone was very curious as to what it was and how I was making photos. It’s always a great conversation starter at least. The images it produces is not the liking for everyone, but I for one, do love them. It’s difficult to find the words to go with the feelings.

Al however, has become a bit ill with a cough and chest congestion. He says he is doing ok, but I think we all know he is not feeling the greatest right now. We all hope he can fight this off and be back to adventuring shape soon.

Kathy worked her part time job duties this morning and was done by around 12:30 so I arrived back in time for lunch and then she and I and Monika headed back downtown for another round. They had another quilt store in their sites and I wanted a few more photos. They are collecting special fabric from different stores so they can create unique quilts later on. Think Alaska, wildlife, outdoors types of scenes. I cannot wait to see what they put together later on! I used my black & white digital camera to grab a few more photos downtown.

Snatching a free moment away from the crowds

Quilt store number 3, or is it number 4 for Kathy and Monika?

Tomorrow we start our two and half day excursion to Gustavus Island and Glacier Bay National Park. We travel by taxi, boat, bus, walk, airplane, school bus, boat, school bus, airplane, van, van, a bigger slow boat back to Skagway, and finally walk back to the RV park.

Glacier Bay National Park

We departed Skagway in what is referred to as the “fast ferry” and spent the next three and half hours traveling down the Taila Inlet and down the Chilkoot Inlet, and then finally down the Lynn Canal to Auke Bay Harbor which is north of Juneau. Along the way we encountered some sea lions lounging on the steep rock face. We were told they were able to obtain these positions during high tide, and then they stay there until high tide comes again. But while we were watching, one of the seals lost traction and plummeted back into the sea. I think he pretty much had to stay there until the water brought him back up again. We also stopped for a little while to watch some humpback whales. I managed to get a good tail photo. After the boat ride we boarded a bus which took us down into Juneau where Al and I requested a drop off at a fly fishing shop while the gals wanted to go to downtown Juneau. Al is an avid fly fisherman and I tagged along since, well, it’s a guy thing. Meeting time at the airport was to be around 3. Al and I walked and found a restaurant named “Donna’s Restaurant” which was a full-on diner. Burgers and patty melts and fries and onion rings. The ice tea glasses had the long ice tea spoons. Didn’t have to ask for them, they just came with the ice tea. That’s the sign of a real diner. After lunch we walked to the airport, two long blocks away, and met the wives.

When I would think of Glacier Bay National Park, I would imagine a very remote place with little to no roads or services and access would be very difficult with many steps to take to put the weary traveler at it’s welcome sign. I think that was the case not that long ago. Even though there is now a modern airport at Gustavus AK, with gleaming blacktop runways, I can imagine a time when you would have to fly in on a much smaller air craft and land on some dirt runway. Now though, all that is needed is a 15 minute flight from Juneau on an Alaska Airlines 737 and you get all the comforts as you would in a larger environment. The safety checks and required FAA procedures take much longer time than the flight itself. But! Getting to Juneau requires an aircraft of water craft. No driving to Juneau. So, leading up to your trip to Juneau will take some planning as well. Once you arrive and leave the airport, the feeling of remoteness kicks in at full mode. You are met with dense rain forest and just a feeling of being disconnected from any mainland comfort seems to be well in the past. This feeling though is spread across the entire state of Alaska.

After a 30 minute bus ride from the Gustavus Airport we arrived at the Glacier Bay Lodge. As far as I know, this road was built for traveling to the lodge, at least the final few miles of it. We were told to watch for wildlife, but none were seen, )-: The lodge and the surrounding cabins are open from the end of May to early Sept. A very short season. All the structures are maintained during the winter to make sure nothing catastrophic happens. While Kathy obtained our cabin key, I schlepped the luggage out of the school bus. All the cabins are built with the idea of blending in with their surroundings. They are connected to the main lodge with a very well built network of board walks. In between the cabins and boardwalks are huge evergreen trees and lush undergrowth. This is where you can really get a sense of the rain forest environment. The devils club leaves grow so big! We found orange Columbines along with a couple species that remained unidentified. This place was built many years ago, and it shows that age in certain places. I wouldn’t call it rustic more than I would recommend an upgrade to the fixture infrastructure.

The lodge has a great dining hall and our dinners were all very tasty. I think we each enjoyed our meals very much. The second floor has the actual visitor center and Kathy made sure to get the National Park stamp in her book. Then, it was off to bed since we had to be back at 6AM the next morning for breakfast. We boarded the boat around 7PM and it departed at 7:15. Return time would be 3:30PM.

The Glacier Bay Lodge, overlooking Bartlett Bay

This region is cloudy and overcast around 280 days a year. So the lottery was not on our side this day. As you can see, there was very dense fog and rain as we departed the harbor. The Orvis rain coats Kathy and I bought in West Glacier, MT were being put to the real test today. I had full rain pants on as well, so I was outside taking photos all day. To my delight, the whole outfit performed extremely well. My camera is weather sealed as well, so no issues there either. Our first slow-down attraction on the trip was Marble Island. This is where sea lions live, and about 6 different species of birds. There seems to be a little competition for the good real estate. There is always some not so friendly discussions going on with who has the right to the space, and even if you do have the right, you better be looking over your shoulder.

Leaving Bartlett Bay for the 8 hour tour

The dense fog and clouds hid the mountains pretty much all day. We never did see any of the high peaks or the tops of any of the glaciers. Which really was a little disappointing, but you have to play the cards you’re given, so we made the best of it. I spent most of the day trying to pick out interesting compositions with the mountains, water, and fog. These are conditions we get at home maybe once or twice a year, but never with water involved. So I was happy to stand outside and watch the landscape go by as I absorbed the remoteness and spirit of the place. This region was under 4000 feet of ice and snow in the late 1700’s. The bay was completely covered in ice and snow. It seems the cycles of this region happen quite fast compared to others. Maybe in another 200 years, the glaciers will advance again to cover the area once more.

The Johns Hopkins Glacier was our farthest out location where we spend a half an hour with the boat engines off and we were able to take our time a quarter mile away from the face of the glacier. This glacier is one which is actually advancing. There wasn’t any calving happening, but the many colors and layers and characteristics of this glacier face were enough for me to stay engaged. How many years have passed since the snow at the bottom had fallen. We were staring at a time machine. When the sun comes out, and the ice record melts and dissolves back into the sea, I can feel the never-ending cycle happening before my eyes.

We were served a lunch and then we started our 3 hour trip back to the lodge. The clouds were starting to break up a little which did reveal a little more mountain. All in all, we had a great day even though we didn’t get to see the tallest mountains which surround the area and hold the high snow fields where the glaciers are born.

Our overnight in Juneau was not without some disgruntleness. Expedia had cancelled our reservation at the hotel, but we didn’t learn this until we were told there was no reservation and we had to book the only room that was left, which was a very expensive king bed suite. Kathy ordered delivery pizza so we all ate pizza in our room at 9:30 that night. On top of that, I discovered I had left my coveted sleeping eye mask back at the Glacier Bay Lodge. I was not a happy camper. But Monika came to the rescue and offered me a spare that she had brought along. Thank you so much Monika!

Our trip back on the slow boat, the car ferry, departed Auke Bay at 7AM and arrived at Skagway at around 2PM. The next day was a final load of laundry, and mostly relaxing although we all did take a drive on the only other road in the area that leads up to some historic gold mining areas and the remains of the settlement area. These piers are part of that settlement in the tidal basin, but we never learned why they were there. We assume it was used to transport the gold and other supplies back and forth by ship when the tide was high.

Tidal flats near the gold rush settlement of Nyea

Remains of the old pier from the gold rush days

Onto our next segment, which takes us back to Whitehorse, then to Kluane Lake, and onto Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula.

Alaska, 2.4

Alaska, 2.2