ALASKA JUNE 2009

ALASKA BLOG #1
12 June 2009
College Fjord, Alaska.
Hello to all from on board the Diamond Princess sailing the Gulf of Alaska,
Thanks to an early delivery by Andrea and Dorri, we arrived at the San Francisco Airport bright and early with plenty of time for a bite of breakfast before our 7:30 am flight to Vancouver and our embarkation on the Diamond Princess. We arrived earlier than the ship had announced we could go aboard but luckily they took us aboard. We decided later that we were probably in the first dozen passengers to board. Considering that there are more than three thousand passengers on this tour, we felt very lucky.
Our early arrival allowed us plenty of time for naps, to recover from our 3:00 am wake-up call, and unpacking before the planned activities of the afternoon and evening began. The Zarcone’s arrived shortly after we did and we enjoyed dinner the first evening with them.
Our second day on board was “at sea” as we traveled the passage between Vancouver Island and British Columbia on our way to our first stop on Monday at Ketchikan, Alaska. Ketchikan likes to call its self “Alaska’s First City” because it is the first port where ships can stop when they enter Alaska from the south. Ketchikan is located on an island and began as an Indian fishing camp. In the early 1900’s, when gold was Alaska’s claim to fame, fishing and timber industries were established in Ketchikan and have developed with the state. The growth of these industries have helped this Inside Passage town become Alaska’s fourth largest city.
We opted for a local bus tour that took us around parts of the island in a twenty passenger bus driven by a 31 year resident lady who began by offering her two teen age kids for sale. Her introduction to Ketchikan informed us that those who love mold and moss growing on everything they own ought to consider moving to Ketchikan. She was quick to note that the local paper’s listing of rentals currently included a two bedroom house without running water, inside toilet or electricity for $1700 a month. Her humor and knowledge of everything Ketchikan made our two and half hour tour go by very quickly. Our tour took us, over a couple of miles of dirt rode, to a little waterfall that led to the Tlingit Indian name for the island, which translates as “eagle with spread-out wings”. The little waterfall would be called a “riffle” in Yosemite but since it was the only one of its kind on the island every tour bus stopped to see it. We stopped at a little inlet where dozens of bald eagles were seen fishing a stream that carried little salmon from a nearby hatchery to the sea. It seemed to us that someone ought to be scaring the eagles away to allow more of the little salmon to reach salt water but our guide told us that the “ecosystem” demands we feed the eagles so there you are.
Our next stop took us to the famous display of totem poles booked as the world’s largest display of totems. We dutifully took pictures of the totems as were told the story of some of the more prominent poles. Since Abraham Lincoln was President when Alaska was purchased from the Russians, a pole depicted Lincoln on top of a pole that had a shield and American flag at the bottom. Lincoln looked like Lincoln except that his legs were those of a man four feet tall. We were told that the carver only had a picture of a bust of Lincoln so that was the way he was carved except that the carver knew he must have legs and added some. Another pole depicted Seward, the author of the “folly” that told the story of his having received gifts from three local tribes without returning the courtesy. Seward will forever sit atop his totem pole with red ears depicting a stingy person.
Our trip through downtown Ketchikan took us by “Dolly’s House” which heads a procession of restored houses on Creek Street, the former red light district of town. Dolly’s House was open for “viewing” but not for business. We decided against a visit because of the block long line of cruise passengers from Kansas waiting to see what sinning is all about.
Our next stop at Juneau gave us an opportunity to do a walking tour of town that took us to the top of a hill where a Russian Orthodox Church was erected in 1894. The church was built in Russia and shipped to the new Russian settlement by a czar who wanted to be sure that his subjects in the new world would behave. Our trip up the mountain was made possible by the fortification provided by the “Red Dog Saloon” in downtown where sawdust on the floor, a ricky-tick piano and walls covered with artifacts of the past made the crowd feel as though they were experiencing the real Alaska. We sampled the local Alaskan beer and left believing we now knew what Juneau must have been like a century ago.
We chuckled on our walking tour as we were passed by a garbage truck with its company motto displayed in large print; “Your satisfaction absolutely guaranteed or double your garbage back”.
Skagway’s history is the Alaska we all knew from our childhood studies. Today’s Skagway has less than a thousand inhabitants that live off the sales to tens of thousands of cruise passengers that stop by during the summer months. In its hey day, Skagway was home to more than twenty thousand who supplied the needs of the thousands of gold rushers that used Skagway as a jumping off point to the gold fields of the Yukon and Klondike. Today the streets offer boardwalk sidewalks and dozens of stores to buy diamonds and such that cruise passengers must like to buy in large quantities. We were amused at the number of shops that proudly announced to US cruise passengers that there would be “no duty” on jewelry purchased. We supposed that most folks aren’t really aware that Alaska is a part of the United States. Our walking tour notes included a call at a grocery store to buy some nibbles to quiet the growls inbetween meals. After asking directions from locals, we found the town’s one super market on a side street a couple of blocks away from the tourist traffic. We found our peanuts and such and prices that seemed to be about double Pleasanton prices for food. We came away thinking that Skagway would be a money making spot for a Grocery Outlet franchise.
Skagway presented dozens of opportunities to buy all kinds of clothing with Alaska boldly displayed, marvelous hats that let the world know where you have traveled, shot glasses and such for collectors and a local curiosity called a “bird fart” that seemed to sell like hotcakes. Upon returning to the ship, we found that many of our fellow passengers felt the stop in Skagway was a huge success because they were now the owner of a contraption known as a “bird fart”. The idea was more than a little offensive to us but now we know we must look into possible ownership on our return next week.
The next two days were glacier days. We spent the best part of Thursday in Glacier Bay following a serpentine of cruise ships that crawled along at reduced speed as we enjoyed the beauty of God’s unusual creations. Three rangers from the Glacier Bay National Park accompanied us and provided a running commentary all day about the sights we were enjoying. John Muir made his first trip through the bay in the late 1790’s and wrote about the marvels of the glaciers. Others followed to measure, study and name each of the ice flows. Some of the glaciers we were told are more than twenty miles and have their beginnings on the slopes of mountain peaks as high as 15,000 feet.
Friday was spent touring College Fjord where the glaciers seemed a little bit less spectacular but none the less beautiful in their icy way. Each of the glaciers in the fjord carried the names of eastern colleges. Yale, Harvard, and a series of formerly women only schools were represented. We didn’t hear an explanation for the naming of glaciers after girls’ schools but maybe the reference was made because girls who attend schools without boys are known to be cool, or cold, or whatever.
We haven’t found the time or the inclination to don our swim wear and sun ourselves by the pool to date. We’ve noted with a giggle that the usual pool side booths that typically offer beach towels to sun bathers are in the business of passing out brightly colored plaid wool blankets to deck chair enthusiasts. On the other hand, we’ve had some sunshine on most days which in itself is a rarity to be cherished in this part of the world.
We love you all.
Dottie and Bill, Gram and Grampa Bill, Mom and Dad