The 5th National Park in the US. Mt Rainier has 25 glaciers and is an active volcano. Eruptions of hot lava molded by glacier ice formed the mountain.
The first building in Paradise was in 1917. First national park to allow cars.
We were up in the snow again. Mt Rainier is 14,400 …….so very tall.
We had a Ranger chat and heard all about how the road was put in , who was the first to climb the mountain, when the lodge was built and how US troops used it up train for endurance during the war.
The lodge is lovely. A typical ski lodge. Lots of timber and open spaces.
A pianist was playing in the open area and the dining room was closed!
I gathered another Junior Park Ranger badge for Leo. The first Ranger ( with an unfortunate comb over ) wouldn’t give us one but later the Ranger who gave the park talk came on duty and he kindly gave me one for Leo.
Deciding to explore a little we drove down the mountain and stopped at two waterfalls. The forest is lush and green, the paths a little muddy with the rain from the morning. People might actually need the walking poles they were carrying.
It was too slippery for me so I waited at the top of the waterfall and took photos as the other climbed down.
The second one was not so far and definitely not muddy.
We stopped at the Longmire on the way down the mountain. Lunch was in the lodge dining room followed by a visit to the tiny museum.
Longmire. Reminds me of Binna Burra
Heading down the mountain we stopped at a sculpture park and then a general store with many versions of Big Foot.
One of my favourite sculptures Big foot. Scary.
Such a day of contrast, people, weather and we finished with seafood and margaritas by the water.
The Discovery is a big paddle wheel boat sitting on the river outside the big set of shops and a restaurant where we’ll be having lunch.
Once on board we were offered coffee and blueberry donuts. They were delicious. Dunked into the coffee it made a good breakfast.
The boat started along the Chena river past some lovely homes. It’s green and lovely and hard to imagine it in winter when it can be 40 below ! The trees are all budding so it looks beautiful.
Our narrator is clear and offers great insight into life in Alaska and living in Fairbanks. He also plays trombone but not today!
We heard about some of the houses we were passing some all timber others concrete or brick. Painted.
We stopped at the home of mushing and heard about Susan Douglas. A local woman who won 4 Iditarod races. Amazing story made so sad as she first of cancer at 52. They showed us mushing – and told us it’s the number 1 sport in Alaska. I love that they are keeping this tradition going. In the era of electronic’ everything’ it’s good to see mushing is still popular.
We landed at a village where some of the young native Alaskan met us to direct us around the village and talk about life there. They were lively young people, so confident talking about some of the customs of their culture. Most were either in high school or heading off to college.
Dylan talked about the Caribou and how they adapt. They change coat colour. Antlers on male & female and they drop them after they reproduce.There’s around 7500 in 52 herds in Alaska . They were brought from Siberia. Around 1800’s
We saw the skins of lynx, wolverines, fox pelts red, silver cross fox. All from same litter. White coats. Used to trim clothing. Beaver pelt is water resistant.
Snow shoes are made from winter hide & string , Bedding from spruce branches topped with moose hide. The skin are used for huts. And lean to huts for when they are nomadic. But how they survived in these harsh conditions is amazing. Birch batch is pliable so used for canoes and for baskets.
Beadwork on belts. Flowers embroidered were the bluebell and forget me not. Animal tracks trimmed with fur buttons made from moose antlers.
Women’s winter parker. Traditionally beaver fur trimmed river otter. Wolverines fur put around face waterproofing and warm. Bead works passed on. Traditional rose pattern. 23. Lb $35,000 now. Resourceful people.
We had a salmon filleting and smoking demonstration
Leaving the river we had lunch in the large eating all. All very slickly done. Hearty stew, vegetables. Salad and pecan pie.
The afternoon saw us on a little train into a gold digging expedition. Dexter , a local character explained how gold dredging was carried out. Then it was our turn to pan. We were directed to seating with a pan set up for everyone in front of a trough. We panned and got to keep the gold flecks we found. They were weighed …..I got $5 worth so they sent me back for another go. Old.l Dexter helped me! Success. I got around $16 worth. Steve got $26 with. In the end we had around $40 worth and here’s the smart part.. you could have your flecks put into a charm or locket which of course you had to pay for.
Drinks and dinner tonight to farewell our travelling buddies. Leanne and Darren from Sydney and Matthew and Maureen from the Blue Mountains. Great fun meeting them.
Tomorrow an early start for our Seattle adventure with Lisa and John.
It gets light here around 4. I was up before 5 getting ready for our Wildlife Denali adventure . Let’s hope we see something. We left at 6.40.
It’s well organised. A snack box with a map on it was sitting on each seat.
Snack box
Our guide Dallen started his guide welcome and safety talk then he explained that we we’d be travelling through the Boreal forest, 3,000 ft elevation. 63.5 latitude. North. Same as being in Antartica. Lowest point of park is 223 ft above sea level.
Alaska’s coast is closer to Russia than Denali lodge is to Mt McKinley. The Baring Sea between them can freeze up. ‘You could walk there’ or so our guide said.
We started travelling above the tree line and Dallen likened the park to a 3 tier cake. The boreal is the bottom level. Land above the trees is the tundra. Animal of the tundra is a bear. Only 300-350 bears here.
The tundra – no trees.
The 3rd tier are the mountains.
The mountains.
7,000 feet and always frozen. Always covered in snow.
The Caribou found here is a summer animal. Both male & female grow antlers. As we were hearing about a caribou – we saw a caribou!
In the distance. Caribou and baby.
At 7.20 saw a bear then a willow ptarmigan – the state bird. All on the left hand side of the bus. Guess where I’m sitting!
The driver has a zoom camera and puts it on a scene
There are more caribou in Alaska than people. Longest migration of any land animal. But Alaskan caribou don’t migrate. Their antler is like a calcium deposit in their head.
Glacier is a river of ice. Always moving.
As the national park became more popular they decided to pave all the road but the local park enthusiasts said no! It would destroy the park. It then took 16 years to build 90 miles of gravel road. They put it right over a rock glacier. So now they are designing a bridge.
The sky is magnificent
There are 3 types of bears. Black bear is widespread, Brown or grizzly ( appearance is grizzled hair) and polar. They eat trees. 🌲 in the short green season. That’s why only 350 bears. Yellowstone has bigger green season. Salmon / but not found here as much. So more bears on coastlines. Bears long lifespan – 39 years and a very good memory.
Dallen played a Word game with National Park. Our guide named a National Park and first word that comes into your mind.
Yellowstone: Yosemite: Glacier. Answer should be the men who did so much to develop them as National Park. The names unfortunately meant nothing to me. My responses were
Yellowstone: the old Faithful Geyser
Yosemite: the sheer mountains
Glacier: I haven’t been yo that one but I’d say the ice!
Dallen posed another question……
What is wilderness. Is it different to nature? What value does it have ? To him wilderness is that everything is untouched. That is true here in Denali.
At 11.30 saw three bears. Mother and two cubs. I’m not sure who was more excited. Dallen or all the fellow travellers on the bus.
He says we were lucky. It’s rare to see what we witnessed. A mother and her two cubs. Playing, wrestling, running then walking away.
They played then sauntered away
Dallen talked about beavers m. They are are keystone animals. They hold everything together. Abd mosquitoes arrive with summer birds are attracted to eat the mosquitoes. Birds migrate from. Denali to Africa. Or Australia. Arctic warblers.
Right toward yo end of our 5 hr wilderness tour we saw 5 caribou grazing. Again, a lucky spotting.
Hard to capture on camera.
We headed back to the Park Ranger Station.
And as we got off the bus…… there was a moose. Just walking along!
He was huge.
Now the rule is If you encounter a noise – get out there run, hide but don’t stick around! A bear: you stand still. Make yourself tall with hands in the air. Huddle if you’re in a group. Let hope we don’t meet one up close!
We visited the Ranger Station information centre. It’s great. Of course we got a junior park ranger booklet for Leo.
He’s a promising Park Ranger
The dogs here are wonderful so a visit to the dog sledding presentation is a must.
You’re able to visit these beautiful dogs as they rest. They are trained here to work in the National Park. They are gorgeous. Each one has a personality. The litters are named after something significant. The latest one was weather: so Storm Hurricane etc
The dogs have a little hut and rest on top in the sun.
A great day ending with drinks and dinner with our new Aussie friends.
Excitement was mounting in our room this morning. Our big 8!hour rail journey to Denali was on today. Steve particularly likes train travel.
It seems there are a lot of rail enthusiasts with us! Particularly the men.
We left the hotel around 8.15 after our bags were picked up from inside our room at 6! We had ours ready so stayed in bed when the porter knocked and came in to get them.
The train is beautiful. All seats are upstairs and very comfortable with big dome windows and ceiling.
The dining cars are downstairs.
The biggest excitement was seeing a bear just before we left the station! It was the only one we saw all day.
There is seat service for drinks snacks & cocktail’s! They love their cocktails here in Alaska. With names like Blue Caboose, Clumsy Conductor, Rail Runner, moose Kiss….. oh what to choose.
Example of the food available
The staff are young and lots of fun pointing out things of interest as we travel along.
There are many gravel pits along the way. Gravel is used extensively on paths and roads as it is crushed and manages the snow run off from glaciers. They don’t use salt on their paths and roads because moose love salt and would be on the roads and paths licking it away. And moose cause lots of road accidents. They don’t get out of the way.
Another story involves duct tape. In Wassilla they use a lot of it In fact 325 miles a year and have duct tape events such as a duct tape prom! Imagine that! These are small places and need to invent their own fun.
Our seats in the dome.
Funny things our guide told us:
Turkey bowling. They use a turkey as a ball on the frozen lake.
……Alaskan saying. There are many more men in Alaska. So for the women……The odds are good but the goods are odd.
……Black spruce is like a Charlie Brown type of Xmas tree. White spruce is bigger more traditional. Aspen tree has black eyes in trunk. The white birch white bark. If it’s peeling it’s paper bark.
…….Moose eat willow. Asprin from willow bark.
……Braided rivers. Messy. Snow is melting spread on an open plain.
……Talkeetna a small town ( inspiration for the tv series ‘Northern Exposure’ ) a place where 3 rivers meet.
…….The mayor here has issues. Mayor is a cat called Aurora but now Winston the Alaskan dog is in the running.
The scenery along the way
……All mountaineers who want to climb Mt McKinley arrive at Talkeetna. May – Aug is the climbing season. This is base camp. Denali or Mt McKinley as it was called is one of the tallest mountains in the world. It is the tallest on the American continent and is one of the ‘seven summits’ of the world.
The scenery is amazing
…….we saw a beaver diving in the river. Can be big. Beaver pelts are very soft. Warm and sticky. Top layer coarse. So waterproof. Next layer is soft and cosy.
The journey was 8 hours and just wonderful the whole way. We had lunch in the dining car with a lovely couple from the Blue Mts in Sydney.
Our knowledgeable conductor.
We arrived into the Holland American lodge at around 5pm. It’s a big resort spread out over a large area. Half high up and the rest down below with a shuttle running the whole time to transport you to the different areas.
Our room is a good size – a bit dated! but the bed is comfy.
Rooms are cabin style.
Our wilderness tour starts at 6.30! So we intended to be in bed early. But as it’s still light here at 10pm we ended up staying around the fire with the new Aussie friends we have made here.
We had a great night sleep. This hotel resort is very quiet – ski season is over. The tram up the slopes isn’t running so everyone sleeps in!
We made it to the fitness centre and gym. The pool is quite big. Enough for laps. The hot tub is big. I’ll bet it gets crowded in season! it wasn’t today.
Breakfast didn’t happen this morning so after the swim we got ready to go to town.
Girdwood is the tiny town nearby the resort. There’s a shuttle but we decided to walk to it. Around 3.5km
The path meanders away from the road and for a moment or two I worried that a bear would come out of the woods!
Another couple had asked at the desk about seeing bears on the 3km walk to Girdwood. They asked should they take anti bear spray. “Yes” he said. Could we get some here. “No” he replied. “We don’t have any here. You can get it in the town!”
Needless to say we made it to town. During the walk we came across a few seats to rest and see the views. It was too cold to sit so we admired and moved on.
We spotted a memorial to a former Miss Alaska , a local who loved dance and gardens. Later saw a plaque dedicated to a young girl who died at 12. We hoped she didn’t meet a bear.
Girdwood is tiny. Big wide street with an eclectic collection of buildings. All timber: we saw a general store ( super expensive) , a PO, medical centre , a few restaurants- all in log houses and Grind a coffee shop.
We went in a found a little treasure run by Nicole. It smelled great. Had lots of interesting things on the walls and all types of milk.
Grind coffee
Nicole asked where we were from. When we replied Australia she said she hoped her coffee was up to standard. She’d heard Australia had the best coffee around. She’s not wrong. We haven’t had too many good coffees. She did well. It was great. and we had a great chat about living in Girdwood. There isn’t much here. You have to love skiing and the quiet. Nicole loves it. She moved from Idaho and eventually most of her family have followed her.
The houses are not really in the township. They are scattered in the surrounding streets and in the woods nearby.
There are. Lot of big red two cab trucks here. You need a big car to battle the conditions. It must cost a fortune. Gas here is around $5.60 US a gallon for diesel !. Because of its remote location everything here is expensive. And our exchange rate is still terrible. We are only getting 63 c for every American dollar.
Lunch was at the Chair 5 bar restaurant. A lot of wooden tables & chairs, tvs blaring ice hockey , groups of locals and tourists, and a waitress who was as colourful as she was friendly. Let me describe the outfit. Gum Boots, odd colourful long socks , black shorts , black t shirt with words advertising on the front , arms ran with coloured ink pictures, curly black hair, several piercings and a beanie. And oh so friendly. We ordered a salad $28 and a pizza $25. They were both giant sized.
We walked another 10 mins up to the nearby brewery and sat outside around a warm brazier and had a beer while chatting to another Australian couple from Sydney.
Where in the world.
A bus delivered us back to our Resort for a short rest and read.
Though not very hungry we decided to walk to another ski lift at the ‘Olympic Village’ for a drink and bite.
Another 25 min walk. The two pub bistros were closed. It’s Monday night ! Back to the hotel through the bear forest (at least it’s not dark at 7pm) and into the hotel bar restaurant for a bite, a chat to more Australians and then to bed. We certainly got our steps up today.
Arriving back from our no dinner walk
The hotel room is very comfortable there are heated towel rails which is great for drying our clothes overnight!
I hear there is a lot of rain in Brisbane it’s drizzling here and snow predicted tomorrow. A late cold burst. Stay dry everyone.
We weren’t sure what to expect from a cruise. But this has been lovely. Good stops along the way . Good shore experiences. Great hospitality on board and of course the scenery.
Today is another quiet on board day. I didn’t think I’d like whole days at sea but there is as much or as little to do you want.
We met our friends Patty and Tom for the Alaskan brunch. Really lovely relaxing by the big windows looking as you cruise along. The mimosas were good as well.
Then a 5 km walk around the deck. It’s getting cooler as we move north. So a hat and gloves were helpful. Because I had time I went to the gym to keep my exercise program going. It’s great looking out at the front of the boat while doing leg curls!
We went to the information session with Ian the British man with lots of information for us on a variety of topics. Today it was the Iditarod race. In its 54th year it is a race for huskies, and their musher on a sled for around 1,000 miles. Each day is around 100 miles. 160km !
It is gruelling ! The dogs look adorable. They are well trained and strong. They do wear little booties to protect their paws.
It starts in Anchorage on the first Saturday in March then progresses west. There are two routes – alternating each year.
The gorgeous huskies and Ian being enthusiastic We met some of the dogs a few days ago on their holiday.
Now decision time. Calligraphy lesson? Cards, Coffee in Crows Nest? Reading in the lounge. Always something to do.
They had a carnival on the pool deck. Complete with carnival games line hoops la, knock em downs etc. with fairy floss , popcorn, fancy cocktails and lots of uniformed ship staff it looked fun.
Later we started the evening with a chat session with Sergio the guitarist and Kelly the pianist. She’s from Perth and went to WAPA the musical university there. It was a good chat session about their life as a musician on board. we have a bit of an insight to that. We have two nieces who have worked on board as musicians. Bertie married the ships engineer so is still cruising the world when not in Italy when her girls are at school.
Our last session at the piano bar. The trivia today was songs from Movies. We sat with Patty and Tom and had a good score. Tom was a surprise! He knew lots and my love of movies came in handy. Though I often can’t ’name the song’ I can usually sing it though.
With Patty and Tom from Nth Carolina
Last dinner in the dining room was fun. They brought out the chef and all the behind the scenes restaurant staff and with waiters paraded around the restaurant while everyone cheered and waved serviettes in the air.
The final show was called Timeless and all the cast sang and danced with infectious energy.
They finished with Time to Say Goodbye the Andre Boccelli song. It was appropriate to finish with as we made our way to our Cabin to pack. We have to have our bag outside the door at 11pm. Tomorrow all the groups have a disembarking time. We’re not until 12.10 so later than some…. Some left at 7.30!
Unfortunately it’s rainy and windy out. We’re heading to Alyeska resort which is primarily a ski resort with cable cars, thermal pool, walking trails etc. it should be good if the rain goes.
Others are heading to a variation of our 7 night program. Patty and Tom left at 8.30 and go to Anchorage before Denali. They leave Denali National Park on the day we arrive.
The weather is beautiful. We went to the Margerie Glacier and the boat did a 360 so we could view it well. The sun was out.
Margerie Glacier Margaret Glacier. North of Juneau.
Today is another sea day. And it’s amazing how quickly the day will pass.
We did our exercises then went for breakfast to the Lido. Thats the food hall with different offerings- all behind glass and served by the staff.
It’s great for people watching that’s for sure. Some people pile their plates high others take little offerings. It’s on the same level as the outdoor area around the pool. So you can carry your plate outdoors. Or go to the burger – hot dog stall outdoors.
There’s lots of options. We certainly haven’t overdone it. For breakfast I’ve tried the poached eggs with mushrooms and spinach. Or with salmon. Steve’s enjoying the eggs Benny. Or sometimes just Greek yoghurt and fruit.
The coffee is just ok. You can have filtered coffee. Or barista coffee. I’m looking forward to good coffee back home.
Lunch is usually a -made up on the spot, salad. You just name everything you want and it’s put together in a lovely bowl. Suits me. Steve has a baguette or a burger. Usually with a beer for him and tea for me!
There’s an app where you can search all the available entertainment for the day. Ranging from information talks to gym sessions, to prayer sessions! Art auctions, pickle ball, jigsaws, cards, to games ( I played mahjong) to watercolour painting.
This is what I chose this morning. I got there early but all the seats were taken. But saw two ladies I now know. Roxie from mahjong and Patty who we’ve spent time with as couples.
Patty made a space for me and we tried our hand at painting jellyfish. 🪼
I’m a bit rusty. But it was fun
From there we made our way to the Park Ranger session. There was one for kids. And one for everyone else.
There aren’t many kids on this cruise so I was able to call into that and get a few park ranger badges. Leo our grandson wants to be a park ranger. He has the hat, T-shirt and vest from Yellowstone National Park and is very keen to become one when he grows up. It’s so lovely to see how dedicated he is. He wants to volunteer at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary near where he lives. He’s 6! So has a few years to wait until they take juniors to help in the holidays.
We went to the adult session and it was so interesting to hear about the glaciers in the Glacier National Park. I must say the US has magnificent parks that they look after so very well. Our ranger explained the criteria for becoming a National Park and it’s quite rigorous.
The junior Park Ranger.
I did a few laps of deck 3. It’s a mile around. So about 1.65 km. I got my steps up doing 5km, visited the library to change my book and found a quiet area to read. Steve and I like the Crows Nest. Right at the front of the boat with big picture windows. It is hard to get a front row seat !
The Crows Nest.
Notice the person at the bar with the striped top. She is always there in that spot. Doesn’t matter when you get to this area. She’s there drinking beer – out of a can. Never takes a glass. oh my. She might explode soon. Good for her. I’m sure she’s relaxing well.
There is also lots of games – you name it. It’s here. So there are a lot of people playing cards, Scrabble and some I don’t know. It seems Bridge is not as popular anymore. No Bridge being played anywhere. But mahjong is very popular.
If our friends the Wilsons were here we’d be playing cards! Five Crowns.
While I’m sitting here writing this there is a calligraphy class going on next door in the art area.
Another round of the deck for me before a retreat to our cabin.
We are meeting Tom and Patty for a drink and to play Music Trivia. We’re been to a few sessions and tonight it is ……. The Beatles. I’m a bit of a tragic when it comes to the Beatles. So along we went.
We did very well. Got them all and the pianist Kelly from Perth Australia was impressed with how many got a perfect score. Well, we are the right demographic!
The tie breaking question was not a ‘name that song’ it was ……. Who was the youngest Beatle and how old was he when they disbanded. Di you know ? I’ll leave the answer to the end.
From the music we went to dinner. This time at Canaletto. The Italian restaurant. It was lovely. We scored a table by the window. And it doesn’t get dark here until around 9 so the views were great. Including seeing a whale.
We were going to the magician. A show at the World Stage. But we were late and decided on another two laps of deck 3!
An early start today. We have an 8 hr tour. It’s all so well organised with a message directing us to gather in the dining room.
We met up with Patty and Tom and a new couple from near Jarvis Bay in Australia.
We then had a tender take us from the boat to the shore with a short walk to our bus. The reason for the tender was there had been a rock slide last week quite near where the ship is anchored and they don’t want rocks falling on us. So it’s a bit of a performance to put us in tenders and drop us further along the dock.
Our chatty driver River is our guide today. He settled us in and explained the day. We are to bus up to Whitecross with a stop at Carcross for coffee and a look around the little shops and businesses. No jewellery shops.
The scenery as we left Skagway was beautiful though low cloud made it hard to see the mountains.
Carcross for coffee.
The driver continued his banter and we all relaxed into the trip and chatted to those around us. Patty and Tom were in front and we chatted away to them.
We left Cancross and continued on to our lunch stop which is in Canada – and included a village. They had two museums and a great display of wild animals which had been recreated through taxidermy. Quite frightening!
The museum dedicated to the Mounties was very good and the history of the gold mining in Dawsons Creek was fascinating. Towns grew up from nothing and thousands came seeking their fortunes. Most of course didn’t make much at all.
One of the huskie dogs here for a summer holiday. The huskies are moved here for the summer for training.
The scenery is as spectacular as it is harsh.
Looks like a tropical paradise. The silt produces the beautiful blue.
The highlight of the day was returning to Skagway by train. The Whitecross railway. It descends 3,000 ft in 7 miles. Quite a ride! It took about 90 minutes.
But before that we spied a bear near the road as the bus was taking us to Fraser to get the train. he was strolling along…….
.
The scenery was gorgeous. I was trying imagine building that railway back in 1897 taking nearly 3 years to complete.
Rounding a bend I saw the front of our train!
We arrived back in Skagway, population 400, and strolled the streets. We walked carefully as if you fall and break something there is no doctor in town! Just a vet.
The building and all the sidewalks are timber.
A rough timber clad building. The Red Onion Saloon. A former brothel. Now it’s a popular bar. A real ‘outback’ type of town.
Back on board after a very cool walk back to get the tender.
Then it was orange party night on the ship.
I did my best to wear orange!
There was a party on the World Stage which we went to after our dinner at Morimoto. It’s one of the speciality restaurants onboard. It was so tasty. Asian fusion.
Lots of orange clad people dancing.
A late night as tomorrow is a sea day. So a sleep in.
We slide into port at the respectable hour of 10 just as Steve and I finish our eggs Benny with salmon. No simple room service today. We were having a busy day and wanted a nice breakfast!
Big ships dominate. But it is the only way to get around this remote country.
Unfortunately it’s raining! We walked through the township. Juneau is the capital of Alaska. It has around 33,000 people and most of them work in tourism, logging, salmon, selling jewellery ( why are there sooooo many shops selling diamonds ) and lollipop persons seeing us safely across the roads to save being run down by a tourist bus.
We avoided the jewellery speakers and called into the public library. Curiously located on the 5 th floor above a city car park, it is warm and welcoming and the librarian was helpful with bus timetables.
Winter wear. A change from jewellery shops.
We didn’t book a tour of the glacier ( we’re flying over this afternoon) or a whale watching tour ( we’re flying will see some later this week when we do go on a tour)
So we decided to be a local and get the no 8 bus out to the Medenhall glacier. It worked well.
Above a car park. Level 5.
Except we did not leave enough time to walk the 1.5 mile up to the glacier so only saw it from a distance. But we met some nice people on the bus.
Especially coming back we had a great chat to a couple from England. Both were in the police force. So lovely and interesting. pity they are on the Princess cruise.
We got back in time for our 5 glacier fly over in a light – ie…..very small plane.
Ready for the flight.
We met Kathleen and Jonathan from Nth Carolina. Along with a grandad and his two grandchildren 6 and 10 we flew down the Taku river over the glacier and along the river over two more glaciers. The plane was small we had headphones and an excellent commentary.
Stunning scenery
It’s so remote , so cold looking – and this is the start of summer. You have to be tough to live here in the wilderness. Though it did remind me of the opposite conditions in the Northern Territory of Australia. The blue of our waterways, and the remoteness of our outback.
Here they have grizzly bears. We have crocodiles 🐊.
They said……..It rains a lot in Ketchikan take an umbrella. Well I had my jacket , my umbrella and didn’t need either one.
View of Ketchikan from our room.
Our clocks went back an hour while we slept. And we woke to the noises of a port.
Clear blue skies, snow capped mountains, colourful houses, lots of timber and flowering trees.
We left the ship in our own time. We didn’t join any tours. Everything is close by so we planned our own activities with suggestions from Chat GPT.
The town is quite accessible with lovely walks along the board walk towards the park and creek.
The historic Creek St used to be the red light area. Apparently it was very popular in its day with the loggers and salmon fishermen. Now it is lovely to wander ……..but full of tourist shops. Selling salmon, caviar, beanies, trinkets, stickers. All types of tourist memorabilia. I resisted.
Totems are a big part of the indigenous culture here. The Totem Heritage Centre is up the hill behind the town – through the park area an easy walk up via the creek is best. It leads to the Salmon Hatchery, then on to the Totem centre.
Several totems are in the park near the centre.
The Centre is small but has some good displays and excellent explanations about the totems , their history and how they tell a story.
Walking along the creek we could hear cheering. Turns out the Lumberjack show is a hit. We booked our own tickets and went to the 11.30 show.
Our MC was a lady called Barney Birch: Queen of the timber carnival. She was chatty, engaging and ran a great show.
There were two teams. Team US v Team Canada – with 2 axe men each.
It was fast moving, funny and lot is involved.
One of the events.
There were lots of different ‘competitions’. Axe work, log rolling, chain saw, high ropes. Etc. there was cheering and sawing and in the end team Canada won. I’d like to see how one of our Australian axe men would go!
It was an open air seated area. But the seats were heated. And there were heaters overhead. We were fine – it wasn’t too cold at all. But in winter ……..
The shop had lots to buy!
Lunch was calling. We could have reboarded and eaten on the deck. But we saw Annabel’s and decided on a bowl of seafood chowder. The restaurant was very old and had lots to look at.
Annabelle’s with our ship in the background I loved the green mossy rocks.
Back on board we read, chatted and went to a session for people doing the land package after the cruise. There were a lot of us!
At 6.30 it was trivia night at the piano bar. A great place to meet new friends. Tonight it was Anne and her group – all from Zimbabwe but now scattered around the world. Lots of fun which was good because we were hopeless at 70 and 80’s hits. I must have busy with babies and missed these hits!
Dinner in the main restaurant was great. We had a lovely waiter from Indonesia. All the staff are from the Philippines or Indonesia. They are good at their jobs and so friendly.
Trivia night drinks .
The salmon was good too!
And so was the sunset.
Now we’re sitting in a karaoke bar. Oh dear. I’m tempted to sing one of my choir songs. There are some brave souls ! Not able to hold a note. Singing songs we don’t know!
frans travel tales 