INSIDE PASSAGE DAY 12,13,14,

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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

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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 yesterday on the Fairweather . It is a spanking new high-speed ferry. : I (Note we traveled at 40 knots, and you never felt it. Bob met a young crewman and soon became friends he took Bob on a tour of the bridge. All he could say was WOW!) We left Sitka at 12:30 and arrived Juneau 4:30PM. This ferry could actually navigate on autopilot. Juneau, the capital of Alaska was founded on gold nuggets.
A young man, Shawn, working on the ferry sat and talked with us for a while and he offer to take us on a kayak trip out to Mendenhall Lake, to the glacier. So this is our plan for tomorrow.
Today we are out and about in Juneau. There are six cruise ships docked here so it is a bustling place. We walked around the shop area, Bob found some trinkets; Bob always finds trinkets!
One problem is, Bob lost his glasses. The ferryboat folks are checking lost and found and we are keeping our fingers crossed. We picked up a pair of bifocals, but that won’t help with the distance, as we have a long drive ahead of us.
We are currently in the library in downtown Juneau; it is a fine facility. It is situated right on the dock looking out on Gastineau Channel.

June 29, 2005, Wednesday.

Donna’s Restaurant was our meeting spot. Shawn arrived and during breakfast we discussed out kayaking plans. We stopped at Auke Bay to pick up a kayak rental, then we were off to Mendenhall Lake to kayak out to the glacier. The weather was rainy and cool. Actually the blue hues of the glacier are more distinctive on a cloudy day. The lake water was cold, ice (glacier) water.
Bob and I had a tandem kayak and we had to learn how synchronize our paddling. This kayak had a rudder so this was something else new. Commercial kayaking is not permitted on the lake, so we were fortunate to have met Shawn on the ferry. Paddling toward the glacier and Nugget Falls, we learned 20 years ago it did not exist. The glacier is moving. However, global warming is countering the movement and is winning.
Our plan had been to beach the kayaks at the foot of the glacier and hike to the glacier. The seagulls and terns had other ideas. This location is a nesting area and the birds were very protective of their newborn. I had visions of the old movie, “Birds”, with this in mind we DID NOT beach the kayaks. Instead we paddled over to the falls, WOW! We put the nose of the kayak right up to the side of the falls, this was awesome; to see that much force and power that close and know that one wrong move may put us in 34 degree water. Shawn decided to take a shower, ah to be young and foolish, instead of old and foolish!
We spotted a piece of glacier floating and picked it out of the water. This large piece of ice was both bumpy and smooth at the same time. Bob had to lick it. After planning and doing research for this trip, it is hard to believe we are here holding a piece of glacier. I know the cruise ship folks won’t have this experience.
As we returned to the “put-in” the rain was serious. We stowed the gear had a hot chocolate and bid Shawn a fond farewell. What a memorable trip.
We took care of some maintenance stuff and headed back to the campground. Had a nice shower, good meal and a DVD on the computer. Time to kick back!

June 30, 2005, Thursday.

After morning organization, we headed back to downtown Juneau to the Tram. We went up Mt. Roberts via the Tramway. It is a slick cable car system that provides a magnificent view of Juneau from the top. After arriving at the top we hiked the Alpine Loop Trail to a huge cross, which is a historical monument.
We keep learning about the natives, the Tlingits. There were two main groups, the Ravens and the Eagles and they had to intermarry. It was a matriarchal society. The totem poles were constructed about legends or stories of these people. The language is difficult. We went to the Chilkat Theater and had language lessons and watched a video. It described the history of these people.
What was lost is now found! Bob is quite relieved to find his glasses.
We took our last walk through Juneau’s shops and headed “home” for the night. Our ferry leaves tomorrow at 7am.

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Comments

[Wolf]

Pithy sayings
"Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth" Buddha?

[Al of Grove City]

Pithy sayings
"The Evil of the Mind is conquered by the goodness of the Heart" an American soldier in Iraq

[joyce appel and paul henry]

Mt. Roberts
Paul and I went to the top of Mt. Roberts also and hiked the Alpine trail. Another good hike is the Gold Mine Trail out of Juneau that goes to a falls. Can't remember the name but it goes past an old mine camp that is now a museum. joyce