Return to the Lower 48

After leaving Victoria, our ship headed on south to Seattle, where we docked, cleared customs, and loaded onto another tour bus, this time to see the sights of Seattle. We stopped at the Pike St. Market area, but they weren't throwing any fish at the time, so we had some lunch and iced coffee. Then we went to the lock and dam area, and saw many commercial fishing boats moving through. This was spring still in Seattle, so the poppies were in bloom, alongside the walkway of the locks. We visited the Space Needle, and I was more impressed by their monorail commuter trains. Wish KC had something like that. While driving by the harbor, we spied a Chinese container ship loaded full of imports--hubby said those were all the LTD and beading supplies I had ordered. We spent the night in Seattle, resting up from our travels, then headed on home, back to summertime in MO.

Oh Canada!

Our ship left the Alaskan Maritime Highway, and traveled on south to Canada, where we docked at the port of Victoria BC. The local guide told us they call Victoria the "land of the newly wed and nearly dead", because many people honeymoon in Victoria, and many retired people move there. This is a beautiful city, and famous for its Empress Hotel and their high teas.

We arrived at Butchart Gardens in the evening, but because this is a higher latitude, the sun doesn't set until late, so we were confident to view most of the gardens before dark, and as the sun set, there were lit walkways all through the gardens. As we began exploring the paths, someone in our group remarked, "Why does it smell like a candy store?" I began sniffing at all the blooming plants, and discovered that the "candy store" fragrance was coming from all the rhododendrons, in spectacular full bloom. Wish this were a scratch and sniff blog, but it isn't, sorry! We boarded our bus, headed back to the ship and were on board in time for a midnight snack.

Ketchikan Next!

We docked at Ketchikan, and had a brief tourist visit to the inimitable gift shops, where I bought an Ulu knife for the kitchen. We then embarked on a city tour, which didn't take very long because it is a small city of about 8,000, and explodes to 18,000 when the ships dock. We journeyed to Totem Bight State Park, and walked the trails through the woods full of hemlocks, Sitka spruce (the Alaskan state tree), ferns, alders, and blueberry and thimbleberry bushes, and out to the water's edge. This park has totem poles placed all through the area, and a clan lodge which was reassembled there, for us to walk through and around. We saw eagles perched on top of totem poles, eagles carved on the tops of poles, and were told some raven tales, illustrated by the totem poles, on how the raven stole the sun, and how fog woman gave salmon to the Indians. Just as at the glaciers, everyone walked quietly through the woods, and into the lodge, then out to hear the stories of the totem poles, an inspiring day with nature and Alaskan natives.

Sitka Next

We awoke to swells on the ocean and a rumble of thunder. But fortunately the seas calmed, and we were able to enter Sitka harbor. The sun shone, and we boarded the tenders, because this is a harbor that is too small for the big ships. So we got another boat ride as a bonus. First settled by the Russians, Sitka is a small town with about 8500 people, and sets at the base of a dormant volcano, which does spit out smoke now and then. Our guide shared a funny story about a town prankster who lit off his own volcano eruption on the 4th of July one year, using a pile of old tires and fireworks, causing many people to call 911, asking about the volcano activity.

We boarded a bus, which took us to St. Michael's Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox church, which is beautifully restored after a fire in the downtown district years ago. Then on to the Convention Center, where we enjoyed a group of all woman-Russian folk dancers. We went to the Sheldon Jackson Museum of native arts, and were wowed by the amazing collection of artifacts and handiwork, and got our first close-up look at forget-me-nots! We also discovered an old miner (statue) walking around the town and took a picture of him. While driving around Sitka we noticed many eagles in the harbor channels, awaiting lunch from the canneries. We found our own lunch on a balcony overlooking the town, and then ambled around in the gift shops, discovering a pharmacy with an old-fashioned soda fountain. Of course we had to sample their ice cream concoctions (mine was Italian soda and hubby had his usual hot fudge sundae), and then boarded the tender to return to the ship. Nice memories of a wonderful day in Sitka!

More of Juneau

After returning to the dock from our whale/bear adventure, we set out to explore Juneau (hubby calls it "gift shop-ping"). Directly across from our ship was the main shopping area of Juneau, and perched above it all was an eagle's nest, with mama bird setting grandly on top. Next to her was the cable taking the tramway to the top of the mountain, so we caught the tram, hoping we could spy a better look at the eagle, and got to explore a Tlingit culture center, and a nature center at the top. There we also met Lady Baltimore, a rescued eagle, who will unfortunately always have to live in captivity because she lost one eye when she was wounded by a gunshot. And I got to shake hands, er paws, with a fantastical creature, a giant marmot, at the museum. It's not real, don't worry.

What an amazing view of the city of Juneau and the port, from that mountaintop!

Another Glacier

We then traveled on to Mendenhall Glacier, named after our postal carrier (just kidding, but I had to make sure I brought back a little souvenir for her, because her name is the same as the Glacier). It was a beautiful day so we shed our jackets, and got to enjoy the first real warmth of the entire trip. And best of all, we got to touch a piece of the glacier. Every day the Park Rangers get a piece of iceberg floating by and bring it inside the Lodge for visitors to touch---brrrr!

Landing in Alaska

We docked in Juneau on June 1, and boarded a tour bus to head to our whale watching tour. Our bus driver shared some interesting facts about Juneau with us: there is only one road in Juneau, and it is 42 miles long, aptly named "The Road". Otherwise, you either fly in or boat into the city. And while we rode on The Road, we began to see many little blue flowers in bloom alongside the roadway, the state flower in fact, the forget-me-not. We boarded a catamaran, which took us out to the sound, and on to Orca Lodge, where we enjoyed a grilled salmon lunch, and were entertained by hummingbirds flying all around us. A short walk on the beach was a nice way to end lunch, then back on board to view more whales, and a grizzly bear ambling along the beach (if you look to the right of the copper colored round rock, you will see Mr. Bear!).