Bald Is Beautiful

We stayed in a fabulous B&B last night.  Worth a couple of sleepless nights.  Eggs Benedict, papayas and home made quick bread greeted us in the morning.

We have been experiencing some computer problems.  We had to use a couple of hours today while Bob came up with a solution.

Visited the Totem Heritage Center, where one can see 19th century totems saved from abandoned Tlingit and Haida villages.

While on these small Southeast Alaska islands, we like to follow the road (usually only one) to the end in each direction.  Today we hit the jackpot--driving out one direction, we saw a single eagle sitting close by on a rock.  When we jumped out of the car to take some pictures, Jan noticed a nearby tree with at least 15 eagles roosting.  Bald is indeed beautiful!

Then driving the other direction, we caught this one sitting in a tree posing for us.  (On a deserted stretch, we spied a black bear that scampered away before we could take a picture.)

We've now had two days of rain, but the scenery is still magnificent.

Note to Ginny:  If you were in Ketchikan on June 30th, sorry we missed you, but here's a picture of your ship.

Sir, Do You Know Why I Pulled You Over?

For those of you who really know Bob, this story will come as no surprise to you.  It all started with a foolish decision to take a middle of the night ferry from Petersburg to Wrangell.

Had hoped for a three-hour nap while sailing--got about two and caught another two upon arrival in the car in a parking lot.  Awoke early, absolutely exhausted.  What to do?  Why, sightsee, of course! 

Yawning and bleary-eyed, we started out.  No cars on the road.  Bob driving 30 in a 50 mph zone, gawking at the scenery and occasionally swerving from side to side.  No wonder the policeman thought he had been drinking--at 6 a.m.!  Things were quickly straightened out, and we were again on our way.

Wrangell was disappointing--not enough to see and do to fill up the eight hours we had there.  We try to note what kind of stores survive in these small towns.  Wrangell, with a population of about 2000, doesn't accommodate cruise ships, so the typical mix of touristy shops is missing.  This storefront is one of our favorites.

Just outside of town is a beach containing carved stones called petroglyphs, thought to have been made at least a thousand years ago by ancestors of the Tlingit.  No one knows why.  Couldn't find any of the real ones, but here is a replica at the visitor point.

Caught our afternoon ferry to Ketchikan.

Velkommen to Petersburg

The sights of the town and the docks welcomed us to Petersburg.

Tired after the long ferry ride, we checked into the Sea Level B&B.

The prevalence of commercial fishing boats in the city's three docks, as well as several fish-packing houses attest to the importance of fishing in the area.

The buzz around town today was the display of a recently caught 70.5 lb. King Salmon in a local seafood shop.  Bob couldn't resist having his picture taken with the famous fish.

Lee Sing Alley contains several historically significant buildings owned by Japanese merchants until the WWII Internment Program.

Petersburg is known in these parts as "Alaska's Little Norway."  Norwegian flags fly, and the Sons of Norway Hall anchors community life.  Uff da!*

* We don't think this is appropriate usage, but it is the only Norwegian phrase we know.

Leaving you this time with Bob's incredible picture of an eagle taking flight.

A Whale of a Day

The thing about ferries is that you must be at the dock at least an hour before departure, and sometimes two.   Our ferry left this morning at 7:15.  The trip from Sitka to Petersburg took 11 1/2 hours.  Our commentary will be brief.  We'll let the pictures speak for us.

Bob caught an eagle in flight.

But the day belonged to the whales.  Altogether probably twenty-five whales were sighted--we only saw about half that number, and getting a decent picture was even harder.

The following photos show what life is like on the Alaska Marine Highway.

The Main Salon.

The Dining Room--head waiter in blue.

Formal Dinner.

Some of the sleeping accommodations.


Tomorrow's blog might be late.  Internet connection iffy--Wednesday's  ferry sailing is at 12:30 a.m.

Russian Around Town

Russian culture touches much of Sitka. The Russians took control of Southeast Alaska in the early 1800s  by defeating the native Tlingit warriors at Sitka.  They made it the capital of Russian America.  The Russian Orthodox Church came along with the Russian American company and converted many Tlingit to Christianity, partially by allowing the Tlingit to keep their culture and language. 

St. Michael's Cathedral, constructed in 1848, was the first Orthodox cathedral in the New World.  It dominates central Sitka.

Around the same time, the Russian American company had a residence built for the bishop.  It has been restored and is open for tours.  Some consider the Russian Bishop's House Alaska's most interesting historical site.

The Sitka National Historical Park includes not only the battlefield where the Russians defeated the Tlingit but also an impressive collection of totem poles, old and new.

After all this historic stuff, Jan said, "Let's shop!"  Fortunately (or unfortunately!) Sitka obliged.

Another early ferry tomorrow.

Rare Species Found

We boarded the Fairweather, our fast catamaran ferry, at 7:30 a.m.  Made it Sitka in 4 1/2 hours.  The change in landscape was remarkable--no more glaciers or towering mountains.  It looked more like the Pacific Northwest or the Canadian Maritime Provinces to us.

Took a drive to familiarize ourselves with the area.  Happened onto Fortress of the Bear, another non-profit with a mission to rescue orphaned bears and, if possible, find homes for them.  At present, the facility is home to five brown bears.

Our next stop was Whale Park.  Didn't see any whales, but were introduced by a local to this handsome specimen, a banana slug, found only in Alaska.  This one was medium length, about six inches.

Our source informed us that if you squint and have really good eyes, you can see Japan at the horizon.

We have a lot more of Sitka exploring to do tomorrow.

Juneau that?

Juneau that you cannot drive to Juneau?  It is the only state capital not connected to its state road system.  You must either fly in or come by boat.

A city that reminds some of San Francisco--a few blocks from downtown stand several hilly neighborhoods full of interesting and varied houses.

Juneau, the third largest city in Alaska, is much more interesting than the two bigger cities (Anchorage and Fairbanks), but it also has all the requisite natural beauty and charm of the small towns we have visited-- mountains coming down to the water, and wildlife--we've seen more eagles here than anywhere else so far.

We visited the "drive up" Mendenhall glacier, located just a few miles from the center of town.

Another stop was the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery, a non-profit that practices what it calls "salmon ranching."  Eggs are harvested from salmon as they return "home" and are fertilized.  The resulting hatchlings are raised until they are old enough to survive on their own, then released into ocean waters.  When they return, the cycle begins again.

Laundry and car servicing filled much of the rest of our day, but we ran across this house on our way to dinner.

Early ferry tomorrow.

The Inside Passage Awaits

Haines, AK--home to a decommissioned fort, to towering mountains,

to Tlingit arts and culture,

and to a bald eagle preserve.  Each year, from October to February, over 3000 eagles gather to hunt salmon and mate (not necessarily in that order).  We managed to see a few.

Another bird making its appearance known in this part of the world is the raven.  They are everywhere.  They are brazen--while we were eating our breakfast in the car, waiting to board the ferry, one raven practically climbed through the window for a doughnut.

Today marks the first day of our journey through the Inside Passage via the Alaska Marine Highway.   Our destination:  Juneau.  The sea was smooth, the company interesting, and the scenery--what else?--stunning!

Grizzlies and Glaciers

OK.  There was just one grizzly.

But there were hundreds--maybe tens--of glaciers.

We started our day early.  Our mission:  to get to Haines in time to see the town.  Our ferry to Juneau leaves in the morning at 9.  We'd been warned that a fifty-mile stretch of the Alaska Highway would be gravel--it was that, but much worse.  It was riddled with frost heaves.

Fortunately, we hit this part of the road early, before the big trucks were out.  The rest of the highway skirted Kluane National Park and other parks, presenting us with many more glacial vistas.

Tonight we are staying in a B&B.  Not exacty a captain's mansion--more like Smee's hideaway.