Alaska update 6/23/2013

                                                           Juneau, Alaska

Juneau is the capital of Alaska and has a population of 35,000 people. It's nestled in a beautiful valley between snow capped mountains that remind me of The Sound of Music movie with Julie Andrews. I read that half the population has governmental jobs, I think a lot of people are involved in the fishing industry too, but I'm sure the rest of them are involved in the tourist industry, at least in the summer. Three to five cruise ships arrive here every day and that is good for the local economy. From our boat, we watched eagles and saw a mountain goat with our binoculars.

                

We fit right in with the tourists, everyone is very friendly. We went to the state and city museums which were very informative. I also followed Toni into just about every cute little shop in town, so we got our exercise as well. One highlight was a 3 hour flight and Salmon dinner tour over five glaciers in a float plane. We landed in the Taku River and had dinner at the Taku Lodge looking right at Hole in the Wall Glacier. The BBQ Salmon was cooked in an open alder wood fire pit . We also went to the Alaska Brewery and sampled their beer, many times. Our friends Casey and Mary arrived while we were in Juneau and we enjoyed quality time with them for two days ending with dinner and drinks on our boat the night before we left. They will continue north to Skagway and we will wander south.

                                                            Casey and Mary

                                                                  Float Planes 

                                                                   Glacier

                                                                    Glacier

                                                                    Glacier

                                                                      Glacier

                                                                       Two Glaciers

                                                                  Taku Lodge

                                           Russ and Toni in front of Hole in the Wall Glacier

We cruised south out of Juneau then northwest up Saginaw channel where we saw, in the distance, the Mendenhall Glacier above Juneau. We then turned south in Lower Lyn Canal to Funter Bay. On this trip we saw eleven whale-tail waves and early Pink salmon jumping up out of the water. We think they were eating small herring. We tied up to the state dock and took the dinghy for a tour and then a short hike through part of the forest. We have not seen any bears here but have decided the berries are not quite ready and the salmon are not yet spawning. We were the only boat tied to the dock so we had a peaceful evening watching the eagles and river otters playing before turning in. The next day we went to the other side of the bay and tied to the state dock that is close to the ruins of an old cannery. During World War II, natives were relocated to this area, for their safety and were treated poorly. Many contracted diseases from the the white man, died, and were buried nearby. We hiked back to the small cemetery and paid our respects before moving on.

                                                               Lighthouse

                                                               Fishing Troller

                                                                Funter bay

                                                              Cemetery

We crossed lower Lynn Canal into Icey Strait but the wind made the seas pretty rough and Toni suffered for that, the Ranger Tug doesn't take beam seas too well or large head seas if you have a tender stomach. Three hours later we pulled into Hoonah, Alaska and I found out I could single hand the boat and lines pretty good when my first mate is ill, really ill. (No pictures!) She was fine by early evening and we took a leisurely walk through town.

Hoonah is a small, mostly Native Tlingit Indian community on the north side of Chichagof Island, the population is about 900. The next day we took a shuttle to Icey Strait Point. This is the location of a 100 year old restored cannery and tribal site, we spent nearly the whole day there. They have spent nearly 30 million dollars reinventing this into a popular attraction that brings in the smaller cruise ships. They have a cannery museum, a lot of exciting excursions, restaurants, shopping, and nature walks. We went to the tribal dance exhibition and learned about their history and traditions. 

                                                             Tlingit Tribal Dance

                                                                   Raven Clan Totem

                                                                      Eagle Clan Totem

Our Ranger Tug, Traveler, has performed perfectly with nearly 700 hours on the engine we have logged almost 6,000 miles since we purchased it three years ago this month. We marvel at all the fun and interesting places this small boat has taken us, all the people we have met along the way, and never take our blessings for granted.

                                                              'Traveler'

While sitting here on our boat and watching eagles flying over with fish they have caught for dinner, we have decided to bypass Glacier Bay as we have seen it before on a cruise ship years ago and the weather window isn't favorable. So tomorrow we will cruise south towards Sitka, with unknown stops along the way. We will post again when have internet service. Hope you follow along. 

 Russ and Toni on Traveler