Blogs from Gustavus, Alaska, United States, North America

GUSTAVUS We were staying in the small community of Gustavus located on the north shore of the Icy Strait. With only 500 residents the village was very relaxed and friendly - in fact as you travelled around everyone would give you a nod or a wave or stop to chat. There was no crime here so there was no need of a police force. Everyone leaves their doors open day and night. One of the staff at the inn said they only drive old cars and no one would want to steal them - in any event if they did they wouldn't have anywhere to drive them to - hopefully the new car ferry connected with Juneau will not change that! The main concern for ‘car owning locals’ was loosing their car keys and not having ... read more

Freezing Fog? Ouch. Bottom line is the planes didn't take off or land. Little planes as well as the jets in Juneau. So day one of this Mexico vacation starts and ends, at home in Alaska. Which is OK, although I missed dinner with a friend. I was going over to Juneau a day early, just in case there were weather issues - a common strategy here this time of year. The jet south is tomorrow afternoon, maybe. What will it be in the morning... more freezing fog? On my way to the airport this morning I was struck by the clear roads and partially clear woods. In the last two weeks we've had torrents of rain, driving rain, followed by mountains of snow and now back to rain again. There are parts of town close ... read more

“What is it like in Alaska?” I was watching the lighting flash across the Buenos Aires night sky as we sat on a covered terrace in Palarmo last weekend. My Argentinean friends Javier and Griselda were curious... I described a landscape so different... cold, snow, very few houses, a town were just about everyone knows each other. They made me promise to write a blog about it... this place I call home. There's the land and there's the people. Chip met me at the airport. He had been over to the house the day before and got the heat going so I came back to a nice warm house. Kim and Wayne left me their car in case mine didn't start, but we attached the battery cables and my old truck started right up. I stopped ... read more