Haines (no underwear) and Wrangler (no Jeep)

 Wednesday we were in Haines, Alaska for the first time.  

In the morning, I went for a walk along the coastline to the Battery Point Trailhead.  

The trail went through a lush forest.

Since we had an excursion at noon, I did not have time to make it to Battery Point.  I turned around at some steps that led to a trickling stream.

It was a 5 mile hike and afterwards I felt like quite a slug!

In the afternoon, we took the Haines Highlights excursion.  Our first stop was at a viewpoint where we got a view of Haines and of the landslide from 2020 (I had walked past the site in the morning).  Apparently, 2 people died in houses that are still buried under the slide.

The next stop was at the American Bald Eagle Foundation where they care for injured birds and where they have a nice wildlife exhibit.

We then were driven along the Chilkoot Inlet to Chilkoot Lake.  As you would expect, it was all very scenic.  We saw several eagles along the way, including one in a tree overlooking the lake.  You might be able to see the white head in the photo.

The last part of the excursion was a drive through the site of Fort Seward followed by a snack of salmon balls and cookies.

Our guide was a young man who enjoyed telling us about his rugged life living in quite primitive conditions.  He and his wife were getting ready to head south for the winter.  He was a good guide and it was another good excursion.

Thursday, we were in Wrangell, Alaska, also for the first time.  There we took the Island Heritage Discovery excursion.  On this tour, we had a young Tlingit guide, as opposed to the "immigrant" guide from the previous day.  That very good guide and the sites we went to made for a much more cultural experience.  The first stop was at the Chief Shakes Island and Ceremonial House.  The house was significantly renovated in 2013.  Inside, the Tribal Mother made a presentation.

Next was the Wrangell Museum which covered the history of Wrangell up to the present day.  The museum houses the original posts from the ceremonial house.  I've added a collage showing the original and the reproduction from the house.

Finally, we stopped at Petroglyph Beach which has about 30 petroglyphs on rocks embedded in the sand.  No one knows how long they have been there but it might be hundreds of years.  As some of you may know, I was a petroglyph aficionado in my days of volunteering at archaeological museums in Phoenix so I always get a thrill seeing them.

This excursion was terrific with great perspectives from our guide.

Friday was a sea day which was highlighted by another $90 bingo win by Linda!

                                                  

Today is Saturday and we are back in Vancouver for a turnover day.  The weather is not good and getting through the chaos in the terminal with 6000 people getting on the 2 large ships also in port wasn't appealing, so we'll just stay on board. Tomorrow, we head back up to Alaska.

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry

Sitka - Sunshine and Sadness

Playing catch up.  Tuesday we were in Sitka, Alaska.  But before we get there, we had a beautiful, sunny sail away from Ketchikan the evening before.

We sailed by Ketchikan's Refuge Cove where I had hiked the day before. The tide was high so the coast line was much different.

In the morning in Sitka, we had massages.  It turned into a nice, sunny day and we took the tender into town and walked in search of crab for lunch.  We wound up at the Red Herring food truck and had snow crab sandwiches.

I visited the cathedral which had a Russian Orthodox motif.

I somehow felt compelled to have an Alaskan Amber so we stopped at a bar.  They did have chowder but, once again, it was made with bacon.  So just a beer!

Prior to sailing away from Sitka, we watched sea lions at a distance in the harbor.

At dinner that night we saw several whale spouts.  That morning, I had seen a couple of flukes.  I believe that the humpbacks may have started their southbound migration.  We also had views of Mount Edgecumbe and a nice sunset.

And now for the sadness.  When we returned to our suite, Linda received a message that our dear friend Mary Guzzetta had passed away.  Mary had been suffering with much pain and a diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer recently.  So the end came quickly which may have been a blessing.  Mary was probably the most avid reader of my blog.  Whenever I posted an entry, Linda and I would know that generally within 15 minutes I would get an email from Mary with compliments and questions.  She will be missed in many ways.  Mary was always praying for anyone who might have been suffering.  So, however you pray and whoever you pray to, I'll ask to say a prayer for Mary.  May she find peace in heaven.

We've now completed our last 2 ports before returning to Vancouver - Haines and Wrangell.  We'll have a day at sea tomorrow so hopefully I'll be able to publish another post.

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry

Ketch (me if you) kan

Okay, so it's a bad attempt at humor.  Today we were in Ketchikan, Alaska.  Yesterday was a relaxing day at sea highlighted by an $89 bingo win by Linda.  Have I ever mentioned how much we love the bingo shipboard credit money laundering scheme?

This morning I went for a walk.  We are docked at the NCL port at Ward Cove which is about 7 miles from the center of Ketchikan and the 4 large cruise ships docked there.  The weather was perfect for a morning hike - sunny and temp in the upper 50's.  

After walking through the interesting terminal, which is a converted pulp mill, I headed up a trail and dirt road.

The trail went up through the forest so I played music on the way to alert any bears that might be in the area.  After a short while, I could have continued further up the mountain, but I decided to head back to the road where I wasn't so fearful of bears.  I headed north on the North Tongass Highway.  The highway was busy but at least there was a nice wide berm for safe walking.

Eventually, I made my way to the Refuge Cove Recreation Area.  You walk through a small stand of Sitka Spruce to get to the shoreline.

I was there at a fairly low tide which made for interesting views of the coast and some tide pools.

There were lots of seashells and mussels embedded on rocks.

This one downed log provided a fascinating ecosystem to observe.

In the tide pools I saw some little fish, some aquatic life that would spit out water, and this beautiful sea star.

On my way back to the ship, I saw this truck in a ditch.  Apparently, they took the Off Road decal a little too seriously!

After returning to the ship, Linda and I took the shuttle bus into Ketchikan proper.  We then walked along the shore to Annabelle's Famous Keg and Chowder House.  

Unfortunately, all of their chowders have bacon in them so we had to opt for halibut fish and chips.  Quite good and how can you go wrong with accompanying it with an Alaskan Amber?

After lunch we walked up to Ketchikan Creek to see the salmon spawning.  We also saw a couple of sea lions who were enjoying a salmon lunch.  The sea lion is hard to see in the fourth photo, but trust me it was there.

Of course, there are totems everywhere.

From the creek, we took the local free shuttle bus back to the cruise shuttle bus stop.  On the way back, we passed the site of the recent tragic landslide, the result of heavy rainfall.

It was a good day in Kecthikan with amazingly good weather considering all of the rain they have had recently.  We can now hope that it will be as nice when we're back here in one week. Tomorrow, it's Sitka.

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry

Happy Grandparents Day From The Inside Passage

We embarked on the Oceania Regatta in Vancouver, BC yesterday.  We'll be on the ship for 19 days sailing around Alaska before heading down the coast and ending in LA.  So convenient.  Before we left, our granddaughter, Leila, gave us an envelope with specific instructions to not open it until Sept. 8th.  So, today was the big day.

                                        

She made this beautiful Happy Grandparents Day card, including this great message from her:

Today we sailed up the inside passage (we're actually outside of the inside passage now) on our way to Ketchikan, Alaska.  We'll have 4 ports in Alaska before heading back to Vancouver.  Then it'll be a 12 day cruise with ports in Alaska and Canada before we get home.  In the meantime, we'll enjoy the nice, cool Alaska weather while LA swelters in the heat.

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry