Kindness is more important then wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom. ----Theorode Isaac Rubin July 5, 2005, Tuesday. We traveled by train this morning on the White Pass and Yukon Route to the summit. Today is the sunniest, brightest day since we have been in Alaska. The scenery along the trip was spectacular. The climb was about 3,000 feet and of course, we started at sea level. I never tire of looking at the mountains, waterfalls, and pine trees. It is hard to imagine the prospectors slogging along this steep, narrow trail with horses and [View Full Entry]

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Worry is a waste of the imagination.___Bob Tait July 4, 2005, Monday. Skagway is where we begin the third leg of our journey, the Road Trip North. No more ferry rides, we begin driving and driving and….but, first let’s see Skagway. By way of background regarding Skagway, the headlines read “Gold! Gold! Gold!” on July 17, 1897 broadcasting the new of the discovery of gold in the Canadian Klondike. Tens of thousands of gold crazed men and women steamed up the Inside Passage waterway and arrived in Skagway to begin the overland trek t [View Full Entry]

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African Proverb Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better start running. July 1, 2, & 3 2005, Friday. This was an early get-up, 4am. The ferry leaves at 7am but we need to check in and be in line 2 hrs prior. So we [View Full Entry]

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People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering.-St Augustine LINKS Name TRAVEL TIPS June 28, 2005, Tuesday This blog is out of sequence. Since we have had no cell connection or computer access, we have fallen behind a bit. We thought we would update you with some current info, and later backtrack. We arrived yeste [View Full Entry]

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Forget injuries, never forget kingnesses.____Confucius Sunday, June 26, 2005, Sunday. At the center of downtown Sitka is a large Russian Orthodox Church. So we thought we would attend service there. However we didn’t realize it was two hours of standing. The decorative church is filled with silver and gold everything and is quite ornate. After a half hour we drifted out the doorway. We THOUGHT we would be on the ferry today going to Juneau, but someone got the day wrong. Our first clue was when we got to the dock and no one was there. We recouped and decided [View Full Entry]

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A person is only as good as what they love._______Saul Bellow June 24, 2005, Friday. The system of getting on and off the ferry is now down pat. Our campground is right next to the ferry dock, and 13 mile to downtown Sitka. We have not had any cell reception with Verizon, since WA. People with Cellular One are fine. Today was our first mail pick-up, everything went smoothly, thank you Jamie and Denise and Mike!! We walked around downtown. Sitka faces the Pacific Ocean. The waters offshore are broken by a myriad of small-forested islands, which are [View Full Entry]

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People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway. _____Mother Teresa June 23, 2005, Friday. Bob and I decided to get away from each other for a while, a little too much togetherness. I walked out to Petroglyph Beach. It is believed the Indians before the Tlingits, carved these symbols on the rocks at the cove. Why? Well, folks don’t agree. Some guesses include a tribute to the great salmon, a fish that returns year after year, and sustains the natives. Another thought is, the symbols welcome back the fishermen to the safety of [View Full Entry]

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Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to._Mark Twain Again we awoke early, thanks to the ferry whistle, and started to explore downtown Wrangle. It is an island about 30 miles long with a population of 1,900 and sits in the middle of the Tongass National Forest. Wrangle has been hit hard economically due to constraints on the timber industry. When the pulp mill closed, it lost almost 1/3 of it population. There is not much sympathy for environmental causes. We found the new museum, the James and Elsie Nolan Center. It is a modern structure with a [View Full Entry]

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An integral (integrated?)being knows without going,sees without looking, and accomplishes without doing. Lao Tzu LINKS Name TRAVEL TIPS June 21, 2005, Wednesday. We were up early again. We though the idea of renting a motorboat and taking it out on Clover Passage seemed like a good idea. Well, with PFD in place, a young man, Colon, instructed Bob on how to operate the motor, however, he did not allow for a hands on lesson. Motor humming, Bob at the controls, we proceeded up onto the dock!? Whoops?! Wrong way! Gi [View Full Entry]

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My hopes are not always realized, but I always hope.______Ovid LINKS Name TRAVEL TIPS June 19, 2005, Sunday. We were awakened by an employee of the ferry going door-to- door, knocking, and calling,” One hour ‘til Ketchikan”. We have noticed folks in Alaska are a bit “lay-back”. They move slowly and efficiency is not high on their list of priorities. After docking, we drove off the ferry and headed to the Safeway. For some reason our “frig” isn’t working properly? [View Full Entry]

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