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!).

North to Alaska--finally!

We boarded the Holland America cruise ship Oosterdam, along with 2,000 other tourists, and 900 staff, and set off for the Alaskan Inside Passage, setting our sights on Glacier Bay. There was a limit of only one ship at a time into the bay and the ship slowed down upon entering, passing between the majestic mountains, the blue sea, and white snow. Everyone spilled out onto the decks, not wanting to miss a single moment in the bay. We came close to Margery, who seemed to be in the mood to only calve some "small" icebergs. Then we just circled the bay, enthralled by the glaciers. Glaciers of white, deep blue, sapphire, purple and gold, were high up on the mountaintops, and spilling into the sea, and the air was chilled despite the sunshine. It reminded me of what those Titanic passengers might have experienced, with the chill of the iceberg field on a calm sea. It was absolutely amazing, because everyone out on deck spoke softly, as if they were in a church. They were--it was God's cathedral of nature! What a great way to start off a trip to Alaska!

Our Alaskan Trip Continued

After leaving Yellowstone, we journeyed on to Montana, where we got to experience mining towns up close and personal, viewing a mining museum, the Old State Prison Museum of Montana, a fantastic car museum, and more gorgeous mountain scenery. So far our tour bus traveled through the Grand Tetons, the Rockies, and next it was headed through Idaho and over the Cascades. We stopped at the Grand Coulee Dam, Lake Coeur d'Alene, a little town called Leavenworth, WA, where aplets and cotlets are made, went on to Spokane, which was enduring heavy flooding, and then arrived in Seattle, our ship's port of departure for Alaska.