At sea -- The good times and bad times

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The bad:  Rough seas on the inside passage since last evening maybe about 8:00.  I was feeling pretty green, and didn't even get to go the Dessert Buffet to nibble the night away.  Things calmed down about 9:00 this morning, but it was about noon by the time I felt good enough to get moving.

The good:  Enjoyed a great day from then on.  First on the schedule: the Captain's Luncheon, enjoying tarts, fruit, bruschetta, some delicious concoction in a phyllo cup, and pretty, tropical drinks.  Very nice, Captain.  Thank you for the invite.

 

The good 2: Don and I participated in the On Deck for the Cure walk.  It was to be a 5K walk around the ship's upper deck, but because I was pretty tired, we didn't make the whole distance.  We paid our fee, got the T-Shirt and posed for a corny picture. 

The good 3: Today was the day our Tour Group met at the pool for a final goodbye.  We certainly enjoyed our first bus tour experience, and after talking with some other groups on the ship who weren't as lucky, we know now that the group you're with makes all the difference!   We didn't have any complainers, no petty whining, nothing but a great group of people ready to enjoy the next adventure.  It was great! 

So long, Alaska.  Hope to visit you again some day.

Ketchikan - the last hurrah

Monday, May 24, 2010
Ketchikan is our final stop of this trip.  We have had such a great time on this cruise, I hate to see it end.
We visited Saxman Native Village which included a guided tour of their carving center, where natives are creating totems in the fashion of their ancestors.  Senior craftsmen are teaching the apprentices to keep the customs alive. 

Our guide gave us an explanation of the symbols generally incorporated into the totem, and how the design takes place.  Each image is placed in a specific order and has a significant meaning.  It was quite fascinating, and our guide was really informative.

The Village has the largest collection of standing totem poles.  Enjoy the show of a few posted here:

 

She also took us into the Beaver Clan House to see the Tlingit tribal members perform traditional songs and dances and tell tales wearing traditional ceremonial regalia.

We then took a self-guided tour about Ketchikan.  It's got unique architecture, beautiful flower gardens, and a tunnel right through town. 

 

Our final stop was Creek Street, once the red light district, but now a cute area of quaint cafes and gift shops.   The shops all sport colorful paint, and a wooden boardwalk above Ketchikan creek.  We didn't stop to eat anything, since we're getting well satisfied on the cruise ship, but it was a cute area that I can image is crazy busy during peak tourist season.

It's ironic that Ketchikan is known as Alaska's First City due to its location at the southern tip of the Inside Passage – it is the first city you reach as you cruise north. For us, it's Alaska's Final City, since our next stop will be Vancouver, BC.

We experienced the first rain of our trip today, and it was just a light sprinkle.  We were very fortunate, since spring rains are of course common in Alaska, just as they are in the lower 48.  Thank you, Travel Gods.

A quiet day on Glacier Bay

Sunday, May 23, 2010
Was hoping for a fantastic day at Glacier Bay. In order to limit the traffic in Glacier Bay, only a couple cruise lines are now allowed entry into the park.  HAL is one of them, so we were happy to find this stop on the itinerary that included the land tour we wanted.
Although there wasn't a lot of calving action, we did catch a couple of small ones. National Park Service naturalists boarded the ship to share their knowledge about the park and its wildlife during our day-long cruise in the bay.

 

It was so amazing to see the beautiful blue colored glaciers. They looked like giant prisms at times.

 

And here's one of the little calving action we saw.  Even the little ones create a lot of noise, but not the big boom we were hoping for.

 

And the best part -- they served hot chocolate and pea soup while we were hanging around.  Very nice, HAL!  Thank you.

Tomorrow is the last port on our Alaskan journey....Ketchikan. 

Skagway - our way

There were a couple of cruise ships parked in Skagway, which increased the amount of tourist traffic we've seen during our entire trip.  Some groups were on the exact reverse trip that we were, and we all converged on Skagway at the same time.

We wandered about the little town on our own for a while, taking in some of the cute gift shops, homes and history.  As was typical throughout this trip, Don was wearing his Brewers cap, and a Forest Ranger stopped us to ask if we were in fact from Wisconsin.  We said we were.  Turns out she is Katherine Molter from Mukwonago, and her and Don had both been in 4-H (he as a leader, her as a youth) and they knew some of the same people.  What a small world!! 

Our planned excursion at this port was a Saddle and Paddle, which was canceled.  On to plan B which was the Skagway Street Car Tour, with our energetic, enthusiastic, costumed guide, Peggy.

 

Peggy drove the 1927 sight-seeing bus.  First around the historic city of Skagway, then to a scenic overlook, and finally to the Gold Rush Cemetery, where a comical re-enactment of a gun duel between Soapy Smith and Frank Reid in 1898.  Soapy Smith was a notorious crook, having been a con-man in Colorado before heading to Alaska during the Gold Rush.  Peggy tells us that Soapy and his gang of crooks tried to swindle a gold miner from his gold, and when it turned ugly, Soapy tried to escape at the wharf.  Reid was one of the guards and they got into a gun fight, which resulted in death for both of them.  I think the grave sites tell you which person was the more upstanding citizen, don't you?

 

Skagway is a cute little town, but even with only a couple cruise ships in port, there was waiting at the famous Red Onion Saloon.  I believe the port accommodates 8 cruise ships, and I can't imagine having to trudge through this tiny town with that many people.    

We did a small amount of shopping here, since we haven't done much all the while we've been on this trip.  Just didn't want the suitcases to get any heavier, and we really aren't much into the souvenirs that seem like a good idea at the time, and then wonder what to do with them once you get home.  

One more photo op in Skagway before boarding the ms. Volendam this afternoon.  

I would think a rotary snowplow of this size could use some serious snow!

Friday, May 21, 2010
Today is our last day on the bus.  We had a departure time of 8:30, and drove past Emerald Lake on our way to our next stop.  Emerald Lake is a gorgeous lake in the Yukon Territory.  There is one cabin on the lake, and Jordan told us his dream was to find and marry the daughter of whoever owned that cabin.  He thought it would be easier to find that daughter than it would to convince his wife that it would be a good idea for him to marry the girl.  (another bit of Jordan humor for you to enjoy!)

It was a spectacular view, and this is in the early spring when the flowers have not yet blossomed.  You can imagine how beautiful it would be in the summer months. 

A short drive away, we pass the Carcross Desert, known as the smallest desert in the world.  The area was originally covered by a glacial lake.  As the glacier retreated, the sandy lake bottom material was left behind.  The strong winds from Lake Bennett have prevented plants from establishing themselves in the area.

We arrived at Carcross and had some time to walk around the town for an hour or so before we boarded the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway which will take us to Skagway by way of Lake Bennett.  Sadly, this will be the last time we ride the coach, and had to say good bye to our driver/guides (from left: David  Harris and Jordan Mower) and tour director Peter Gaspar.  We grew to love these boys....can't we take them home with us?

The WP&YR Railroad is a narrow gauge train, which I didn't enjoy very much.  I laid on the seats and slept a good part of the way, but did catch some of the beautiful scenery in bits and pieces.  The railroad itself is an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, just as the Panama Canal, Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower are.  Built during the gold rush of 1898, the $10 million project was the result of British financing, American engineering and Canadian contracting, and although it was considered an impossible task, it was completed in only 26 months.  It goes through two tunnels and over numerous bridges and trestles.  My pictures don't do it justice.

Before our arrival in Skagway, we stopped at the Lake Bennett Eating House for our last serving of miner's stew.  I must have looked pretty rough because many of our group stopped Don to ask if I was going to be ok, and the engineer of the train asked if he could do anything to make me feel better.  I wasn't up to having lunch, but I did sit in the Eating House with the rest of our group for a while.  A real, live female Royal Mountie was having lunch with our group.  That was pretty cool !

We had a break of nearly two hours at this stop, so after Don has his lunch, we took a leisurely stroll up a trail to St. Andrew's church, which was built in 1899.  Lake Bennett was a booming community during the gold rush days, but today it's known for little other than a tourist stop on the WP&YR. 

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Another long day on the coach bus, but we had several stops along the way to break up the ride. First stop was the Tintina Trench, which is a fault line that has created a long valley, where the Yukon River flows.

A short time later, a stop at Moose Creek Lodge where many of our group got some delicious coffee, but Don and I had a great breakfast at the Westmark before we left Dawson City, so we passed up the goodies. We did take time for some photos, though.

Stylin' some impressive Yukon headgear


Of course, the headgear becomes Wings for this angel!!
From here we continued to the Five Finger Rapids. Our driver/guide and tour director went "above" (the bus)
and beyond to get a great picture of our entire group. (Sitting on the roof of the coach is apparently frowned on by HAL, so let's keep this our little secret).

Back on the bus to Hotel Carmacks for lunch. This was a new stop for the HAL cruise tours, and we ran into a little hiccup with our lunch orders, resulting in about 10 people, including Don and I, having to select a different sandwich that what we had pre-ordered. Now, did this upset our group? Not too much! Those whose orders were messed up just ordered something else, kept smiling, and went about our day. What a Great Group!!!! I mean, really, it's just one meal and everybody kept that in perspective.

After lunch, it was back on the road with a stop at the Braeburn Lodge at mile 55 on the Klondike Highway. Thought we'd pick up a tiny little snack
that lasted two and a half days! Sadly, though, it was best on the first day, as to be expected.

Our coach pulled into the Westmark Hotel in Whitehorse in the late afternoon. We all checked into our rooms, which were surprisingly outdated for a city the size of Whitehorse. It was comfortable enough, but the design, low ceilings and worn carpeting remind you of the early 70's.

Don was feeling a head cold coming on, so we took a walk in search of a drug store. It was a great excuse to get some walking in and explore some of the city center. This evening nearly everyone from our tour group attended the Frantic Follies vaudeville show at the Westmark. As they did in Dawson, the dancers chose a gentleman from the crowd to join them on stage. This particular evening, it was to be none other than our own Nathan Mouser, whose stage name is "Pookie."
It was a very entertaining show, and Pookie did a fine job. Off to Skagway tomorrow..........

Dawson City -- continued

Tuesday, May 18, 2010 - Continued We rode the bus a few blocks to the hotel, got our room keys and checked out our space for the next two nights. The rooms were really comfortable, and out our window was a view of a lovely purple house, (Ugh!), but as you can see Dawson is a colorful place!

Office and restaurant at Westmark

Rooms which most of our group stayed in (across the street from the office)

We took some time to walk around the streets of Dawson (there are 8!), and walked along front street, reading the signboards and learning about the sternwheelers that traveled the Yukon River in the early 1900's.

We also saw the buildings shown below, built on permafrost in 1901. When heated buildings are built on frozen ground, the frost melts and the water mixes into the soil, creating a fluid muck, causing the pilings to settle at different rates. They have maintained these buildings just as they were from the permafrost melt, so visitors can see history as it naturally unfolds.

Current day buildings in Dawson are all built off the ground, all entrances are 3 or 4 or more steps up from street level, to prevent permafrost damage to their structures.

Along about 9:00 pm, and still totally light outside, Don decided he needed to get some dinner before turning in for the night. We walked over to the Midnight Sun Hotel (quite aptly named) for a burger. It wasn't a fancy place, but the burger was good and the service was excellent. Then a short walk back to the Westmark where we settled in for the night.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010 Today we are booked on a bus tour of Tombstone Territorial Park (see why it's called Tombstone??) on the Dempster Highway. the only public highway in North America that crosses the Arctic Circle. We were hoping to have more opportunities to see some great wild life, and once again, we were disappointed. We did see a moose near the side of the road, but we were quite a ways away from him. During the trip, our bus guide told us about the lives of Joe and Annie Henry, a well known and well documented First Nation couple that lived along the Dempster. They both lived to be over 100 years old, and were instrumental in development of the Moosehide/Dawson area. We might not have signed up for this trip if we had given it enough thought. We just got off a bus after several days of riding, and we paid to ride another one...... But when we planned this from home, we really thought we'd be greatly entertained by all the animals we would see. One of the most unusual things we saw on the bus ride was some buildings being put up that will be used in the upcoming movie, The Big Year, starring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson.


Once we returned to Dawson, we headed to Sourdough Joe's for dinner. It was a little cool outside, but we decided on outside seating at a picnic table. I had a salmon sandwich and cup of chili and Don ordered fish and chips. You might think he isn't too adventurous, ordering such a mundane meal, but wait. He'll prove you wrong in a couple of hours. At the picnic table next to us, there was a young couple; he was wearing a Packers jersey, so of course we had to strike up a conversation with him. Turns out he's from a small town near Hudson, and he's a teacher in Anchorage. His girlfriend, also a teacher, is from Anchorage, and the two of them were on vacation. We invited them to join us at Diamond Tooth Gertie's for the Cabaret show, and then on to the Downtown Hotel for a drink. The cabaret show was pretty entertaining. The ladies chose 4 men from the audience to join them in a little dance on stage, and all four were part of our tour group: Fred, Rudy, Allen and Willem. Rudy and Allen were pretty frisky with those young ladies; very entertaining.

Then onward to the Downtown Hotel for a Sourtoe Cocktail. Yes, it's for real. You pay $5.00 for the drink of your choice (although it can't be a cream or carbonated beverage). You then take that drink to the Captain (or in our case, a Captain-ess). She then recites the following words: "You may drink it fast, or you may drink it slow. But your lips must touch this gnarly toe," and drops a dehydrated human toe into your drink.



Once you've accomplished that task, you have the privilege(?) of becoming a member of the Sourtoe Cocktail Club.
Altogether, 7 guys and 3 gals in our group joined the Sourtoe Cocktail Club that evening, including our tour director, both driver guides and Don, who's seen here holding that disgusting toe in his mouth.

And that wraps up our visit to Dawson City. Tomorrow morning we're back on the coach bus on our way to Whitehorse.

Kind of a Fowl day............

Tuesday, May 18, 2010
5:00 AM -- ARE YOU SERIOUS?? Bags had to be out of our hotel room by 5:00 to be loaded before our 6:00 AM departure. Guess our tour director and driver/guides didn't like that any more than we tourists did, since they load the luggage. But hey, this is a big state and we've got lots of ground to cover, so get crackin'. Most of us skipped breakfast this morning, since we'll have a coffee stop in downtown Chicken early today, a 78 mile drive from Tok. Chicken was settled during the gold rush, and during that first scarce winter, the residents of the area survived by eating ptarmigan, now the state bird that is similar in size and appearance to a chicken. The miners, so the story goes, weren't sure how to spell ptarmigan, so they called their town Chicken. Winter population is about 15 people, and can soar to 40 or 50 during the summer tourist season.

During our bus ride, Peter handed out gifts we got from Dave and crew at the Tok Westmark. Each of us got a t-shirt with the picture of our group on the front, and a thank you card.

As we're approaching Chicken, Jordan mentioned that they actually have an airport there. When we passed it, he pointed out the "Chicken Strip." (You knew it was coming didn't you?) Downtown Chicken consists of three businesses: Mercantile, Saloon/Liquor Store, and the Chicken Creek Cafe.

Don and I each ordered a breakfast sandwich from the Cafe, but what I really wanted was PIE. The pies looked fabulous, but we tried to be smart since it's going to be a long day and we needed something other than dessert to keep us going. The sandwiches were huge and delicious, but forgive me -- I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture until it was nearly gone. Here's a strange little factoid about Chicken: They have no indoor plumbing, they have no cell phone service, but they do have WiFi.

As I was talking with Jordan and Dave, Don was talking with the clerk at the Chicken Mercantile, who is from Green Bay, Wisconsin. We keep running into people from Wisconsin.....it's a small world.

We've been traveling on the Alaska Highway and the Taylor Highway today. The Taylor is paved between Tok and Chicken, but it's packed gravel, narrow and winding with some hairpin curves between Chicken and Eagle, which is where we're headed. We now have the services of a pickup in the lead, whose driver has radio contact with our driver guide Jordan. Jordan said he really puts a lot of trust into this guy: he'll notify us if there are rocks in the road, or if there's oncoming traffic. We had good weather, so the road was in pretty good shape, but if it's been rainy, the conditions can deteriorate quickly, and knowing when a vehicle has to move over a bit can be pretty important.


The scenery isn't nearly as good as it might have been. This area was decimated by forest fires in 2005 and the fireweed was not yet in bloom when we were there. It does give you a nice perspective of the road, though.
It was along this tough stretch of the trip that we discovered our trainee driver/guide Dave Harris has a great talent. We hadn't seen this done before and were totally amazed. He split this apple in half using only his hands. (I do have a video of the whole thing, but can't seem to get it loaded).





The snowbanks --- in Mid May!


And a picture of Penny sporting her new necklace.


Due to the long ride today on the Taylor Highway, we received a box lunch to eat aboard the coach. Not a bad lunch, but since I had eaten that enormous breakfast sandwich at Chicken, I really wasn’t hungry, so I gave my lunch to the drivers. Jordan told us he eats very little during the day because having a full meal can make him sleepy, which would not be a good thing on these roads with a bus full of tourists – many of whom are napping themselves. At this part of our trip, we drove by the Top of the World Highway, but we didn't take that route into Eagle.

When the coach pulled into Eagle, a couple of school children, about 12 -13 years old, came onto the bus to greet us. We then followed one of the children up the steps to the former Eagle Courthouse for a mock trial. The student selected Stu Ledingham as the judge (because he looks like Judge Wickersham who established Eagle as the first Federal courthouse in Alaska’s interior).


Several of our group volunteered to be the jury, and Allan Sales was the defendant. Now, it may or may not have been a fair trial, especially since the defendant’s wife was on the jury, but Mr. Sales was found guilty and was directed to leave town and not return. It was pretty entertaining to watch our travel mates display their thespian talents.

Don and I were surprised to find pictures of General Wm. Mitchell (for whom the Milwaukee airport is named) hung prominently on the courthouse walls. In 1900, at the age of 21, Lt. Mitchell was headquartered in Eagle and was in charge of much of the building of the WAMCATS (Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System). The line was completed in 1903, and the residents of Eagle recognize his leadership in bringing communications to their town.

When the trial was over, we toured the museum and the Eagle Mall.


Then back on the bus for a short ride to the Yukon River and our trip to Dawson City, Yukon Territory aboard the Yukon Queen II. We saw a lot of damage in Eagle which was flooded by an early spring thaw just last year. Although there’s still a lot to be done, it’s clear the townspeople have worked many hundreds of hours doing clean-up.

The Yukon Queen II is operated by Gray Line of Alaska, which is owned by Holland America. The Yukon Queen II is a luxurious catamaran with a friendly and knowledgeable crew who served us a delicious meal (I had beef tips and Don had chicken) and gave us a running commentary about the folklore, history and geology of the river during the 5 hour trip to Dawson City. It was on this trip that many of us caught our first upclose viewing of a brown bear. It caused quite the stir onboard with everyone grabbing their cameras and getting the best shot of the trip!




The seats on the Yukon Queen II were comfortable and there was room to move around and the ride was definitely smooth and interesting. And the servers included our own tour director Peter!

While we were enjoying our placid boat ride (on which I had a little snooze), our bus drivers were driving the challenging Top of the World Highway to meet us in Dawson City. Those able bodied drivers made the road trip, washed the bus (where do they do that??) and were waiting for us upon our arrival into Dawson City. They drove us from the riverbank to the Westmark Hotel where we'll stay for the next two nights.