marinehighway

This section will pick up in Anchorage after Shannon and Jeff departed and end when we land at Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada. Some of the entries will cover our backtracking from Anchorage to Tok via the Glenn Highway, from Tok, AK to Haines Junction, Yukon Territory via the Alaska Highway, and from Haines Junction to Haines, AK via the Haines Highway. However, the majority of the entries will cover our Alaska Marine Highway ferry trip to Juneau, Sitka, and Prince Rupert.

Day 85 (Sunday, 11 July): 80's, Sunny.

Did you ever need one of those days when you didn't have to do anything or anywhere to go? Just a day to let the day take care of itself? Well, we did. So, today we slept late, had a big breakfast, relaxed around the RV and read the Sunday paper. Then, in the afternoon, we took the MG for a drive and did a little shopping. We ended the day with Jerri grilling hamburgers and, afterwards, relaxing with a good bottle of wine. Nothing spectacular. Just allowing the day to take care of itself. The only thing that could've made it better would be if we'd had a frosty glass mug of A&W root beer!

Day 86 (Monday, 12 July): 80's, Sunny.

Anchorage, AK - Tok, AK (Glenn Highway: 320 miles)

We planned for this to be a long driving day. We just didn't figure it'd be so long or so bad.

9am to 5pm - 8 hours - on that God-forsaken, useless, scrub boarded, potholed, twisty, dip filled, loose graveled, under construction, no shouldered, broken and ice heaved, sorry-@$$ excuse for a major highway called the Glenn Highway! Eight hours to cover what I should've been able to cover in 6 hours at 55mph; and we didn't stop for anything except to wait for pilot vehicles. It was so bad, I don't think I was ever able to engage the cruise control. And if I didn't need front shocks before today, I do now! And if I'm able to make it home on this set of brake pads, it'll be a miracle!

I know you've heard this diatribe before, but, hey, I own the web site so I'll say it again: the Glenn Highway is the worst highway we've driven on the entire trip! It makes I-59 from Memphis to St. Louis look as smooth as a piece of glass. It makes I-40 between Memphis and Little Rock appear to be brand new! Pick the sorriest, least maintained county highway in Alabama and exacerbate its weaknesses tenfold and you've got the Glenn. And the state of Alaska calls it Alaska Highway #1. I hope somebody from the Alaska Department of Parks and Highways (lovingly called the 'Department of Pot holes' by the citizens of Alaska) does an internet search for 'Glenn Highway' and finds this discourse - shame on you!

And, you know, there are lots of things to do along the Glenn Highway. The Musk Ox Farm. Matanuska Glacier where you can get up on a glacier. But, when you're following a pilot car through the construction site from hell, you don't want to get off and take a chance of sitting for an hour waiting on another pilot car that's going in your direction. Even if you're bumping along on your own, you don't want to pull over and lose your place in line! I wonder what the businesses along the Glenn think about its sorry condition. Interestingly, many are closed; and from Glenallen to Tok there just aren't any businesses! That out of my system, here's our day.

Since we've been in Alaska, we've been amazed at all the drive thru espresso shops. They're everywhere, even out in the middle of nowhere (there's even a sign nailed to a tree on the Alaska Highway that proclaims "expresso down the driveway", misspelled and all). Even Shannon and Jeff commented about them. We could only guess that during the winter they come in handy because people don't want to jump out of their cars in minus zero weather to get a cup of coffee. Here's a photo of one Jerri and I found today that does a great espresso business combined with an even better ice cream business. Cute building, huh? Even neater name, eh? Oh, by the way, did you know that Alaskans consume more ice cream per capita than any other state?

When we finally got to Tok after jarring everything in the RV loose - to include our fillings - this is what we saw through the windshield. All the mountains around Tok are burning. Right now, there are 71 forest fires burning in Alaska; we counted at least 6 smoke plums in the distance in front of our RV. We're actually watching one out our RV's dining area window as we eat. Its so close - 8 miles away - that the owner of the RV park drove out to it to see if it was safe for people to stay the night (if not, it would've been another 100 miles to the next RV park at the Canadian border). Unfortunately, because of all the fires up there, we've long ago given up on the idea of driving to Chicken and on to Dawson City via the Top of the World Highway.

However, for my car nut readers, this was a bountiful day. First, we saw either a Triumph TR250 or a TR4 on a trailer heading for Anchorage, it was wearing a hardtop so I couldn't readily tell which it was. Then, we saw a '55 Chevy pickup with a snow machine in its bed on a trailer. Then, a '53 Caddy was parked alongside the road with a late model Spitfire next to it, its hood eternally open. And, finally, we saw an olive drab 40's Army sedan and an old WWII Army truck sitting forlornly at a closed roadhouse.

Day 87 (Tuesday, 13 July): 80's, Sunny.

Tok, AK - Haines, AK (Glenn & Haines Highways: 438 miles)

Probably the hardest travel day yet though not necessarily due to road conditions. We were on the road 10 hours but had not recovered from yesterday's trip down the highway from hell; so, by the time we reached Haines, we were "whupped"! Believe it or not, the Alaska Highway was in better shape than the Glenn, even with its massive construction project around Kluane Lake and the ice heaves between Tok and the Canadian border.

Leaving Tok, we faced smoke from all the fires burning nearby. We had already figured that we wouldn't be able to get to Chicken, AK and the Top of the Road Highway to Dawson City, Canada so had opted for Plan B: go to Haines in the event the fires affected the Chicken area. When we got to Tetlin Junction and the turnoff for the Taylor Highway to Chicken, we could actually smell burned wood in the smoke. A sign proclaimed that the highway was open but a guide at a temporary shelter set up at the intersection talked about one-way roads, pilot cars, and poor visibility. So, we skipped Chicken and went with Plan B: drive to Haines and just hang out until we get on the ferry Saturday.

That was the better choice because all the way across Canada to Haines Junction we saw smoke to the north. At Kluane Lake, the mountains on the far side were obfuscated by the smoke; what had been a gorgeous view just a few weeks ago was completely obliterated today. Heck, even here in Haines some 500 miles or more away from the actual fires we still have a haze over the mountains.

" After crossing into Canada on the Haines Highway out of Haines,
we climbed over the backbone of the St. Elias Mountains until we
were above the tree line and in the permanent ice area of the Chilkat
Pass (EL 3,493 ft). I mean, we were so high that the bushes were
only a couple of feet high and scraggly. There were no animals anywhere
on the Haines Highway today."

That's what I wrote back on June 1st when we first drove from Haines to Tok. Today we retraced that route from north to south. And just a little over a month after I first wrote the quote above, the highway has changed drastically. The snow and ice are gone and they've left behind nude gravel fields where nothing will grow, high mountain prairie grass, fireweed, and a few scrub bushes. But there were animals. Up there above the tree line after the snow melted the only animals we saw were tiny prairie dogs about the size of large chipmunks. And lakes full of beautiful white Canadian geese.

In Canada, we drove through one of last year's major fire on the banks of Lake Luane. Everything was decimated; but, the burned fields and mountainsides were awash with red flowers. They were fireweed, the Yukon's provincial flower. Actually, the plant gets its name from the fact that after a forest fire, its the first thing to grow. Unfortunately, there were no pull offs that allowed me to photograph the burned forests. Plus, dust from the construction zones and smoke from nearby fires hampered good photos from the RV; so, we got some photos when we were able to. Jerri has several packets of fireweed seed. Look out Alabama!

Finally, we dropped from the summit to the border of Alaska in a little over 8 miles. We're talking 3,000-plus feet down to sea level in less than 10 miles, straight down with a few curves! And in that short distance, we went from above the tree line to a rain forest of 50 and 60 foot tall spruce which were almost German-esque in appearance. Almost before we knew it, we were level with the Chilkat River which was overflowing its banks from the melted snow of the St. Elias mountains. We rounded a curve and came upon a couple of fish wheels in the river turning like crazy with the fast flow, dumping fish into their 'buckets'. This is a subsistence fishing area where the Indians get their year's worth of fish in a real short timeframe.

Cars? Not much today, just a real early Spitfire heading north on the Haines highway, top down.

However, its 11:30pm in Haines right now, and its dark outside! The street lights just came on! Amazing! The first real darkness we've experienced in Alaska. You can still see to walk around outside but its like that time back home just before the early evening turns to pitch black night, you can still see to walk around but you have to look closely for holes and other stumbling blocks in front of you; and, and you can't recognize a person across the street. It will be completely dark by 2am.

I've got to tell you about another weather 'anomaly'. Well, an anomaly in my opinion. For the last few days, the temperature has risen to the high 70's. Prior to that, we were getting temperatures in the '80's. But, every morning when we awaken, the temperature is only in the high 30's or the low 40's. This morning, for instance, the temperature was 43° at 6am but by 2pm it was 72°. What is that, a 29° temperature differential in 8 hours? Oh well, only Matt Dean would be interested in that little tidbit.

Day 88 (Wednesday, 14 July): 70's, Sunny.

Haines, AK

The first time we were in Haines, we were just getting off the ferry from Skagway and passing through en route to Delta Junction. I didn't give much credence to Haines, considering it just a wide spot in the road. I was a little sad about having to spend 4 days here waiting on the ferry instead of visiting Chicken. But, since we are here, I decided to give it a chance; and, you know what, Haines is a pretty neat little town with some spectacular waterfront scenery.

Today, we basically just wandered around getting our bearings. But, while we were out, we did visit a few places. Our first stop was at the city museum that focuses on the local Tlingit Indian culture and the early days of Haines. Outside, an artisan was carving a totem pole. He said it would take 5 months to include paint, and that he was at month 4-1/2. Across the street in a nondescript little house is a hammer museum that purports to have over 1,200 hammers from an 800 year-old Tlingit slave-killing hammer to modern examples; it was closed but will be open tomorrow. Then, we found a tribal house on the grounds of old Fort Seward that's been renovated into a theater for the Chilkat Dancers, a storytelling troupe that preserves legends and costumes of the past.

Speaking of Fort Seward, its white buildings stand out on the hillside facing Lynn Canal, the major inland waterway connecting Haines to Skagway, Juneau and points south. Today the fort is privately owned and all the houses have been turned into private dwellings, condominiums, hotels/bed & breakfasts, or businesses. We noticed there's a self guided walking tour of the old fort which we'll do tomorrow.

We also visited one of the nicest displays of Alaska animals, birds, and fish that we've seen on this trip, the American Bald Eagle Foundation. Just up the road from Haines, as we were driving into town yesterday, we passed through the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, home to over 4,000 eagles from September to January. The Bald Eagle Foundation houses over 100 examples of local fish and wildlife on display in the most authentic life-sized diorama we've discovered. Now, I'm talking stuffed creatures that look alive (there's even a tiny baby brown bear and baby moose perpetually playing with one another in a corner). But, the diorama of all the bald eagles in cottonwood trees will take your breath away. And they've a nice film on the local eagle preserve and the raptor center we'll visit in Juneau.

So, we've lined up about 3 days worth of things to do in Haines! And on top of it all, there was a cruise ship in town so we stayed away from the shops except for a couple of art galleries Jerri wanted to visit.

For my car nut friends, Haines is a treasure trove. Without really looking, I've bumped into some of the nicest cars yet. Here are a few photos:


1939 Packard Limo	1940 Packard Limo	1942 DeSoto Suburban	1942 DeSoto Woodie	Old Chevrolet

All 5 of these cars are in one collection! The owner (that's her in the edge of the photo of the '42 DeSoto Suburban) had just put the woodie in its "garage" when I saw them. Now, that's what's funny; the 'garages' are those temporary plastic and tarp tents you buy from Sam's Club. The one where the Chevy sat was extra long as if it would hold another big car. Since there were only 4 cars but garage space for 5 cars, I asked about the garage extension. She explained that she did have 5 cars in all, and directed me to the shop where the '39 Packard was awaiting a head gasket replacement.

Then, as I was finding my way around old Fort Seward, I spotted this little sedan sitting outside the carport of the original post headquarters building/surgeon's office. The house is now a private residence that's undergoing some restoration, so the car was sitting outside while its carport was being used for lumber storage. Go figure! Lumber is worth more than it.

All-in-all, I'd say Haines portends to be an interesting town! More tomorrow.

Day 89 (Thursday, 15 July): 70's, Sunny.

Haines, AK

We spent the morning walking around on old Fort William H. Seward, named after the man who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from the Russians. The structures on the post are absolutely amazing. Built in the period 1902 to 1904 when they were new, they were a showplace; today, however, they reminded us of the old buildings on Fort Leavenworth. When they were new, their local granite foundations were cut by Italian stone masons imported for the job. Cedar siding was placed on their exteriors over diagonally laid pine boards, and the roofs were tiles made from asbestos and concrete. Today, 100 years later we saw a crew replacing the original roof on one of the houses! When new, they all had indoor flush toilets, 6' claw-footed bathtubs and marble topped wash stands. Although there was no central heating, each room had wood or coal burning stoves set into a tile faced fireplace graced by an oak mantel. The ones converted into a B&B and a hotel into which we went still had those stoves and their Belgian tile surrounds. There was no electricity back then so fine, cut glass kerosene lamps provided illumination.


	Officer's Row Each building was a duplex with 4,000 square feet plus a complete basement per apartment.	Enlisted Barracks This building housed 200 soldiers. Another exactly like it housed 200 more.

In 1947 when the post was declared surplus property, the government sold it to a group headed by 5 veterans who had been stationed at the post. They are largely responsible for its conversion to privately owned property, and for its restoration. Now, the entire post is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The old post hospital is home to the Alaska Indian Arts where we were able to tour working studios to include one in which the artists were carving a 30-something foot tall totem pole.

Then, in the afternoon we did a walking tour of Haines to include the Hammer Museum. Among the collection is a 200AD Roman war hammer and a 1200 year old Chinese war hammer. The Smithsonian in Washington gave the museum a set of 5 life sized statues of Colonial craftsmen set in various working poses. The museum has put them in dioramas depicting hammers of the period being used by the craftsmen. Then, last year, one of the Smithsonian's curators came to Haines to visit the hammer museum! Pretty good for a little privately owned hammer out in the middle of nowhere.

There were several pretty rare hammers in the museum's collection that Jerri's mom also had in an old tool box in her attic! But, one hammer they didn't have was a British wire wheel brass knockoff hammer. So, theAutoist graciously agreed to donate one along with an octagon knockoff wrench and a pair of knockoffs, octagon and winged, so museum visitors could understand how the entire system works. When I get home, I'll pack them up and mail them up along with one of my business cards, and they'll mount them on their "donated by" wall giving me credit.

Oh, I learned from the fort's walking tour brochure that the lady who owns the 5-car collection lives in the fort's old telegraph building. Its directly across the street from the fort's wharf which is still used today. When we turned up her street to enter the fort, her car collection in the backyard was visible from the road. Guess the old '39 Packard is waiting on parts because it was home again.

And while walking around town, I found several other cars: an old pre-side marker light Buick Special with THE ALUMINUM V8 engine, early El Camino SS Super Sport pickup, a couple of '50 Chevy pickups, a '65 Mustang, '73 VW Bug, and a '62 Cadillac; however, the neatest finds were:


1974 Norton 850 Commando I had to peek over a fence behind some laundry to take this photo!	'60's Morris Minor Sedan	Canadian Edsel	40's Chevy Pickup	1948 50' Wooden Yacht

While we were out on the docks talking with a couple of guys who were on vacation from Portland in a 38' trawler, a 100' yacht, the Strait Jacket, and its tender a 28 footer named the Strong Jacket pulled into port. We watched for an hour or so as they got her tied down and the uniformed crew (we counted at least 4) worked on cleaning her up while the owners went below; and she was already at Bristol condition!

Then, we drifted out to the fairgrounds where a local brewery operates. Today, they were making a stout ale and the aroma of hops cooking filled the building. They bottle their beer for consumption throughout the local area but, by state law, can only sell it at the brewery in 'growlers', no over-the-bar or bottle sales. A 'growler' is a container in which you take your beer from the brewery to your home and is either a liter, half liter, quart, or half quart in size.

Finally, Jerri had me take her to a few art galleries, one of which was in a timber frame building we both felt was the neatest building we had seen all day. An artist was busy in one of the studios in the little building making jewelry. And in another gallery across town, an artist was busy turning French rolling pins. He also had some beautiful wooden bowls for sale and lots of unfinished bowls on the shelves. When I asked about them, he explained that he does his initial rough cutting/turning on a lathe and then coats them in wax where they sit for a year before he does the final turning to shape. Why? So, hopefully, they won't crack. His finished bowls are then rubbed down with walnut oil and have a thin coat of wax applied. In another gallery, we saw one of his signed bowls priced at $450! I think Jerri's going back to his gallery tomorrow because he gave her a great price on a bowl she really liked - much cheaper than in the gallery where we saw his work.

We even found this neat little cabin while wandering around out in the tall spruce forest that surrounds Haines. Yep, I'm glad I decided to give the town a chance. You know, its amazing what you can find in a little town when you just follow your instincts and keep an open mind about you. However, Jerri and I can both tell its about time for us to be getting home. More and more, we're talking about the various projects we left unfinished, me my cars and construction projects and Jerri wants to get back to her flowers and a late garden. You know, when we do get home school will already be back in session.

Oh, sitting next to us in the RV park right now is a row of 3 RV's from Madison, Alabama! Looks funny to see all those "47" Alabama plates together. One of the couples knows some of our neighbors and has admired our house when visiting them. Small world! And on the other side of us is an RV from Canada. That guy tows a '72 VW Bug behind it. His Bug and my MG are creating quite a stir. I've had a couple of people come by to talk about the MG to include the owner of a local B&B who asked the price (I think my $20,000 price scared him off. Hehehehe!)

Day 90 (Friday, 16 July): 70's, Sunny.

Haines, AK

Old cannery sitting on edge of Chilkat River.

We drove back out to the fish wheels this morning. I learned that they aren't catching the fish for consumption, but, instead, are catching them for research. As the salmon travel upstream, biologists from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game scoop them up, measure and tag them with internal radio transmitters before releasing them to continue their journey. From the studies, they've learned more about the salmon's route and timing of migration. Weird though it may seem, the biologists go to the spawning grounds to retrieve the transmitters after the salmon have died. From them, they can estimate population size and run strength. Wonder if fishermen turn in transmitters when they clean the salmon they've caught?

While out, I stopped to take this photo of one of the Chilkat Mountains with the Chilkat River in the foreground. I just happened to glance down and at my feet under a tree was a huge eagle flight feather, the ones that stand out prominently when they stretch their wings. It appeared to have just recently fallen off an eagle. We took it to the Bald Eagle Foundation where they said we were lucky to find such a nice example, it was about 2-1/2' long. They also informed us that it was illegal to keep it. So, we left it with them. They'll send it to a repository in Colorado along with my name as the finder.

Spirit of '98

On our way back into town, we spotted this neat little cruise ship tied up at the docks. And as we went to explore it more closely, we found the secluded beach where the locals get away from the tourists.

Then, after a light lunch, I settled down in a comfortable chair outside under the awning to read my friend Harry Coyle's novel, God's Children, while Jerri took a nap. Harry and I were both on the faculty of the Army's Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, he teaching history while I taught leadership, shortly after his success with his first novel, Team Yankee, when we were both Majors before I went off to Desert Storm and he left the Army to pursue his writing. I remember once when we were having lunch, one of the civilian PhD history teachers made some dubious mention of the frivolity of Harry's novels when compared to the serious history the PhD was writing for the Army. Harry pulled out one of his royalty checks and asked the good doctor if serious history paid as well; the good doctor stomped off in a huff, leaving his salad uneaten. Then, the Army published a policy about officers receiving payment for books they'd written while on active duty. So, Harry left the Army, became 'Harold' on his book covers, wrote 8 best selling novels, and became a millionaire living on his farm just outside Leavenworth, Kansas with its indoor Olympic-sized swimming pool!

Day 91 (Saturday, 17 July): 70's, Sunny.

Haines, AK - Juneau, AK (Alaska Marine Highway Inside Passage: 91 nautical miles)

More than anything, today was a waiting day. We woke up late, had a light breakfast then washed the RV and car trailer. After a light lunch we drove to the ferry terminal where we checked in and waited. Ferries are scheduled based on tides more than anything as unusually low or high tides create havoc with loading and unloading. So, ferries operate on unusual hours. For example: today, our ferry leaves at 10:45pm which means we have to be staged and ready to load at 8:45pm. Since we'd done most everything we wanted to do in Haines, that meant we spent most of the afternoon reading or napping at the terminal.

Oh, on the way out of Haines, we noticed an old '20's Ford pickup parked in a driveway near the restaurant where we had lunch. Man, Haines proved to be a treasure trove for a car nut. I've not even talked about the "Smokey & the Bandit" GTO we saw in Haines or all the little Bugs that kept popping up on the streets or the old MOPAR that we saw that was under construction on a garage's side lot or the little old guy who stopped me at dinner last night to let me know he's restoring a '58 Cadillac.

Day 92 (Sunday, 18 July): 60's, Overcast.

Juneau, AK

Man, Juneau has changed a lot since I first visited in the early 80's. The cruise ships have come to town (today there were 6 in dock!) and with them, the city has redefined itself. Heck, even the Red Dog Saloon has moved from its historic location on Main Street to down nearer the cruise ship docks. And it has set up a Red Dog Merchandise shop adjacent to the saloon just to sell its souvenirs to tourists who aren't really interested in dropping in for a beer. Unfortunately, the new building just doesn't have the ambience of the old saloon.

I suppose the best way to describe Juneau today is Gatlinburg! If you take Gatlinburg, Tennessee and set it on the mountains of Seattle or San Francisco, you've got today's Juneau. Actually, there are 3 named areas in the valley, Juneau, Auke Bay, and Douglas over on the island plus the valley areas. All are developed and reminded us of the areas around Seattle. You can definitely feel the difference between cosmopolitan Juneau and the Alaska where we've spent the last several weeks. There are roads - good roads - and fast food restaurants and the big box stores and taxi's and all the things we find in Huntsville or Birmingham. Isolation hasn't hampered Juneau in the least.

I'm an avid Alaskan Brewery Company beer drinker when I can find it at a specialty shop; heck, I remember way back when they were the Chinook Brewery (on the tour today, I was the only person who knew the answer to that trivia question). My favorites are their Summer Ale, Pale Ale, and Amber Ale. They're the only beer I've been drinking since we got up into the Wyoming area as its only distributed throughout Montana, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, California, and Nevada in addition to Alaska. The tour guide said their distributor in Las Vegas sells more of their beer than anywhere else to include Alaska! Hmmm, maybe they need a distributor in Alabama?

The entire time we've been on the trip, I've looked forward to visiting the brewery. Well, today we did, and it was great! They have 7 different beers they are marketing right now so, during the tour, they give you a glass of each - free! That's 7 glasses of beer! Well, since Jerri doesn't drink beer, that was 14 glasses of beer for me! And they aren't real strict on you moving through their product line up. When I told the girl at the bar I really only wanted to try my 3 favorites, that was okay with her so long as I tried the ESP (Extra Special Bitter) ale. I did. It was good. And then I returned to drinking my 3 favorites. And they're not worrying about you getting drunk and driving. I mean, where are you gonna drive? We're going to take the free tour again tomorrow!

The only way to get to Juneau right now is by water or air. There are no roads connecting the state capital with any other part of the state. There are, however, plans to build a road to connect Juneau to the rest of the state. Governor Murkowski has promised that construction will begin within 4 years, and feasibility and route studies are presently underway. Actually, the main highway out of Juneau is 40 miles long and ends about halfway to Haines (though Haines is on the opposite side of the Inside Passage while Skagway is only about a hundred miles farther north). Up in Skagway we saw bumper stickers that read "Build the Road"; here in Juneau they read "If You Want More Roads, Go Down South".

Some photos from our first day in Juneau:


Capital Building The State Office Building nearby that houses most of the state departments is affectionately known as the "SOB".	Windfall Fisherman One of the many statuary/mini parks scattered throughout the city.	Governor's House ca 1912 The governor doesn't have a mansion though this 'house' takes up an entire city block. However, note that there are no gates, fences, or guards. My ubiquitous MGB just pulled right up under the portico to turn around for this photo!	St. Nicolas Russian Orthodox Church The oldest in the US, it was built in Siberia in 1894, disassembled and shipped to Juneau & is one of the 500 Most Notable Buildings in the US.


Mendenhall Glacier 12 miles long, 1-1/2 mile wide, 400-800 feet deep, the ice in it has traveled for 250 years to get out of the Juneau Icefield.	Beaver dam in Tongas National Park	Mendenhall Lake Into which the glacier calves. Canoeists and Kayakers get out & about on the 30 to 40-something degree, cold waters.	Another view of the Mendenhall with Nugget Falls dumping ice water from the Juneau Icefield.

	Auke Bay, Alaska The billboard at the local elementary school proclaimed: "Have a nice summer. Read a book. Catch a fish." That principal's priorities are in the right place!		Juneau is situated in the heart of the Tongas National Forest, the largest temperate rainforest in North America. The Sitka Spruce & Western Hemlock trees even have their own version of Spanish Moss though its light green instead of gray.

I initially started keeping up with all the interesting cars we ran across today. Then, I realized they're everywhere. Juneau is 30,000 people strong. Its going to have its share of collectors. There's probably all types of cars here though one guy did ask me, "Nice car. What is it, a Triumph?"

Day 93 (Monday, 19 July): 70's, Partly Cloudy.

Juneau, AK

Okay, day 2 in Juneau, Alaska's capital city:


The city center in the morning...	...and late afternoon...	...and there were only 4 cruise ships in town. See what we meant by comparing Juneau to Gatlinburg?	Looking across Gastineau Channel at Douglas Island.	Juneau is built right up the side of the mountain. The big white house in the bottom left is the governor's house.


Juneau is a little city trying hard to be a larger, more cosmopolitan city. Even the dogs are 'wannabes' (can you imagine a REAL Alaskan being caught with one of these in the back of his pickup in the middle of winter?)	Like I said, the only way to get to Juneau is by water or air - or both. This is the scene at the city center airport; about 19 miles out of town is the International Airport; and all morning helicopters were taking off from a helipad about halfway between this port and the huge, commercial one, sometimes 6 at a time. I thought I was in a war zone the first time they came over!	Totem pole inside the SOB (state office building) on the 8th floor. The atrium extends upwards to the 12th floor; and this is the tallest building in town.	Just a neat old boat undergoing a paint job.	Jerri liked this particular paint scheme. The hull is forest green and the house a cream. Its an old canoe stern fishing boat the guy is renovating into a live aboard. He told me his next major project is removing the huge fish well in the rear deck and adding a lower house much like a trawler's. (Now, there's a REAL dog on the aft deck!)

And, this afternoon after spending some time in the Alaska State Museum, we went back to the Alaska Brewing Company for a little free beer and to buy some souvenirs. Can you imagine living near a place that gives its beer away? And we visited Rie Munoz' art gallery. She's one of Jerri's favorite artists. I'm glad we went, now I know what her 6 Munoz's are worth! We both decided we liked Juneau but, considering its just another Pacific Northwest coastal city, we couldn't decide if its Alaska or Washington state; but its definitely different than any other place in Alaska we've visited.

Day 94 (Tuesday, 20 July): 50's, Rain.

Juneau, AK - Sitka, AK (Alaska Marine Highway Inside Passage: 175 nautical miles)

A rainy day spent on the ferry. Not including loading/unloading times, it took 8 hours travel time to transit the Inside Passage to Sitka. And we had to stay inside the whole time because the weather was so bad. But, man, Sitka is isolated. Were it not for the ferry and Alaska Airlines, those people would be in their own little world. Actually, they are! I'll bet they could care less for what's happening in Washington, DC!

Take a look at the map to the left. That's the route the ferry has to take from Juneau, going and coming. There's no other way in or out by water for large ships (unless they come in directly from the Pacific) because of the water depth. There are some places where the channel is so narrow that there's only 20 feet or so on either side of the boat from the shore, and the ferry we were on was 280 feet long! Jerri did, however, get to see a humpback whale before the weather turned real bad, well at least his tail.

And I've picked up a cold!

Day 95 (Wednesday, 21 July): 50's, Overcast, Rain, Partly cloudy, Sunny.

Sitka, AK

If you're wondering about my weather description, all of that happened today. I've come to the conclusion that Sitka is the place where if you don't like the weather, wait a minute and it'll change. From a very overcast morning we went into rain storms and then partly cloudy then sunny and finally more rain until the sun came out to stay around mid-afternoon. And in the rain forest part of the island, it was constantly raining.

Even with the 4 cruise ships in port, Sitka is still absolutely beautiful. Everywhere else in Alaska, the argument is over building a road to connect the capital, Juneau, with the rest of the state. Here, I saw a bumper sticker that proclaimed, "Build communities, not roads!" The consternation here in Sitka is over building a huge docking facility for the cruise ships. Right now, they have to anchor off shore and bring their passengers to town via shuttles. The cruise ship companies want to build a docking facility right off the national park; the majority of Sitkians don't like that idea. We'll see if they sell their town's soul or do what the bumper sticker said.

Back to the beauty of Sitka, I think I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Sitka is located on Baranoff Island where it has been home to the Tlinkit peoples for eons. In 1804, the Russian-America company established itself on the island in search of sea otter pelts, establishing the city of New Archangel which later became Sitka (Shee Atika in Tlingit), the capital of Russia's venture on North American soil. Even after Russia sold Alaska to the US, Sitka remained the seat of Alaska's territorial government until 1906 when Juneau became the capital. There's so much history in this island city of 8,800 fulltime residents.

During the morning, we visited the local raptor center where they nurse broken birds back to health and, hopefully, life in the wild. The young man in the photo below with the immature bald eagle is its handler. He's worked with the bird for almost a year now. It can never return to the wild as its been injured to the point where it can't fend for itself, so he takes it to schools around the state to teach little kids about eagles. In a year or so when it matures and gets its head of white feathers, the plan is to take him all around the country teaching school kids about the bald eagle.

Then, we poked into Sitka's Russian history. Sitka was the capital of Russian America. It was also the location for the transfer of ownership from Russia to the USA. The Russian Orthodox religion and Russia itself are an integral part of Sitka's lineage. Tomorrow, we'll explore even more of the history.


Bishop's house ca 1842 Bishop Innocent (Father Ivan Veniaminov) was the bishop of all Alaska and lands stretching from Japan up the Katchemka Peninsula. The second floor was his home; the ground floor an orphanage and school. Bishop Innocent served through 2 czars & later became Metropolitan of Moscow, the highest religious position in the country.	Bishop Innocent's Chapel Also on the 2nd floor of Bishop's house, all the icons are original to when the house was built.	Saint Michael's Cathedral ca 1840's (though the present one is an exact replica of the original that was destroyed by fire in 1966)	Russian Blockhouse In Russian times, a stockade separated New Archangel from the Tlingit village. The blockhouse was part of the wall enclosing the town.

Next, we visited Alaska's oldest national park, the Sitka National Historical Park. It was established in 1910 to commemorate the 1804 Battle of Sitka. In 1905 Alaska's district governor brought a collection of totem poles donated by native people throughout southeast Alaska to Sitka. They have been placed along the park's wooded pathways. A few of them:

Most of the tales that the totem poles tell are lost in the past. There is one, however, that resonates even today; and it is a tremendous story in restrained anger. Apparently, a white man cheated an Indian chieftain in a business deal. The chief had a totem pole carved telling the story, along with a likeness of the man at the top (stories start at the top of the pole). It was placed outside the village to wan the man never to return.

Cars in Sitka:

We ran into this lotus at a quick stop where we were getting a soda. The young professional who owned it was taking it out for a spin - the road's only 7 miles long! He lamented that he really didn't have a place to "open it up", but was pleased that it'd never get a lot of mileage on the odometer. I think he toyed with me because we stayed together till the end of the road.; then, on the way back into town, he disappeared real quick-like!

This photo is important for 2 reasons: we parked next to this little Midget late in the afternoon when we stopped by the local supermarket for some fresh veggies. The second reason is the backdrop for the grocery store's parking lot: the ocean! Prime real estate

Now for the best part of the day. After we left the grocery, we stopped and bought 2 live Dungeness crabs right off the boat. When we got back to the RV, I went out to the rocks at the edge of the ocean and cracked/cleaned them. Then, I scooped up a pot of ocean water for Jerri to boil them in. Melted butter and wine. Hmmmm-good!

Day 96 (Thursday, 22 July): 60's, Sunny.

Sitka, AK

Paris of the Pacific. That's what Sitka was called when the Russians owned it. Today, we visited Castle Hill, the original location of Baranoff's Castle, the home of the head of the Russian delegation in Alaska. The castle was the site of the transfer of ownership from Russia to the US and also the site of the first time the Alaska flag was raised when Alaska became a state (both color guards were from the 9th Infantry). After the Russians left, the castle was the home of the US territorial governor.

Then, we spent the remainder of the day enjoying Sitka's scenery.

Day 97 (Friday, 23 July): 60's, Sunny.

Sitka, AK - Prince Rupert, Canada
(Alaska Marine Highway Inside Passage: 451 nautical miles)

Finally, it was time to get on the ferry for the trip south. Around midnight, we loaded onto the M/V Matanuska, a 480' boat that runs between Skagway and Prince Rupert, Canada. After a night's sleep in our cabin, we spent the entire day on deck enjoying the scenery. This day was the perfect ending to our Alaska trip, enjoying the most beautiful scenery there is. We also visited Petersboro and Wrangle while on the ferry on our way to Prince Rupert Canada. And the weather couldn't have been better for the trip.

Today was Jerri's birthday so we had a little private celebration in the boat's lounge.

Links to the main portions of the journey so far:

USA:

theAutoist Takes Off	Memphis to Kansas City	Across the Plains to the Badlands & Black Hills	To Yellowstone & Beyond
the Pacific Beckons

CANADA:

Into Canada	The Alaska Highway	Dipping into Alaska

ALASKA:

Retracing our Alaska Roots	The Heart of Alaska	Anchorage	The Kenai Peninsula
Shannon's Visit	the Marine Highway

HOMEWARD BOUND:

Across Canada Again	the USA!

ALASKA HOME