MV Malaspina - Alaska Marine Highway

Glacier Gardens Rainforest

We woke up to sunshine!  This is a first for us since we got to southeast Alaska.  Apparently, a rare event for the locals, as well.  It is the tenth sunny day this year!  And by Alaskan definition, a sunny day is when the sun peaks through the clouds occasionally.  We took advantage of the sunshine with a walk to Nugget Falls, and a trip to the Upside-down Rainforest Garden.  They turned dead Sitka Spruce trees over a stuck them in the ground roots up, then planted flowers among the roots...interesting.

Tenters were allowed on the top deck!

In preparation for our 4 day ferry trip to Bellingham, WA, we emptied the refer.  We still had a piece of beef and a small salmon

Stern of the MV Malaspina

fillet left.  So we had beef stew, with a salmon spread for an appetizer.  The ferry left Juneau at 12:30 in the morning, with our first stop at Sitka.  We have a nice Stateroom (2 double bunks and a bathroom) with a window.  Drex has the RV to himself, with alpha visits every 5 hours or so and whenever we are in port.  

At Sitka,  we got off and took a short walk to Old Sitka.  Next came Petersburg, at 9:00PM, with a shorter little dog walk, then came Wrangell at 3:00AM with an even shorter dog outing.  Then an on-board dog walk at 6:30 AM.  Drex is starting to get tired of me waking him up all the time.  

Day 2, we have about 5 hours in Ketchikan...after a quick dog walk, we catch a cab to downtown Ketchikan...5 cruise ships are in port....so the place is hopping...and for some strange reason, there's not a cloud in the sky. (This is a place that gets 180" of rain a year! ).  We end up at the New York Cafe for beer and salad.  There are no cabs for the trip back, so we hoof it for two and a half miles...then another quick dog walk.

Nothing says nap-time like getting up every few hours all night, a beer with lunch, a sunny day, and a long walk.

Mendenhall Campground - Tongass NF, Juneau, AK (day ??)

Sampling Alaskan beer

Our last night in Juneau.  During this trip we have spent the night with million dollar views.  We are on a lake at the toe of the Mendenhall Glacier, and since glaciers are made of ice...it's sort of like living in a refrigerator.

We retrieved the dog from Pet Nanny, and I suggested that since we must be fairly close to the Alaskan Brewing Co, that we stop and do some tasting.  As usual, Deb, the consummate navigator, pointed out the fact that the brewery was right across the street from Pet Nanny.  Deb tried 4 oz of something light, while

Early morning walk through our campground

I finished the flight with "Smokey Porter'" for which there is no other name that would begin to do it justice.  I can only imagine what it would do to a breathalyzer!  In the afternoon, we took a short walk on the West Glacier Trail...fortunately, we saw the porcupine before Drex did!

We are in the process of cleaning out the fridge because it will be off for three days on the ferry.  Today we had salmon chowder, and stir fried everything else.

Tomorrow a few hikes and maybe a garden tour....we'll see.

Mendenhall Campground - Tongass NF, Juneau, AK (day 3)

Gustavus Airport

Today's plan is fairly complex.  We have rented a car, found a place to board Drex, and now the challenge... Up at 3:30 AM, catch a 5:30 flight in a one engine Cessna to Gustavus, AK.  From there it's a shuttle to Glacier Bay Lodge.  We have a breakfast overlooking Bartlett Cove.  At 7:00 we board our tour boat for our all day trip up Glacier Bay, 65 miles to the Canadian border.  With the Park Ranger's help we identify birds including puffins, mountain goats, humpback whales, orcas, sea lions, and everyone's favorite....the playful sea otters.  At the very end of the Bay we sit in front of a 250' high, one mile wide glacier that is moving into the sea at 6-8' per day.  While we were there a huge piece of the glacier calved off (so big that our 50' catamaran had to turn bow to the glacier to avoid being thrown around by the waves).

Margerie Glacier in Glacier Bay

Once back at the Lodge, we took a short hike, had dinner, took the shuttle back to Gustavus Airport, flew back to Juneau (I got to fly co-pilot) and back to our campsite by 8:00...asleep by 9:00.

Glacier Bay Lodge

Mendenhall Campground - Tongass NF, Juneau. AK (day 2)

Sealaska Heritage Center

I had one of those midnight epiphanies.  There are no RV's on the road anywhere near Juneau, and there certainly are no parking places.  So we rented a small SUV at Alaska prices, not a pretty picture, but it turned out to be well worth it.  Today, we returned our Canadian Mifi and our emergency sat phone,  we boarded Drex...he was pretty excited about a chance to be out of the RV for a few days, and then we headed for Juneau.  A little shopping for Alaskan edibles...Christmas, etc... then a few art stores and museums...then off to what made Juneau famous, especially during the gold rush...bars...we checked out a few that were probably left over from the that time

Hike in the Mendenhall Campground

, but finally settled on a fairly new establishment with 150 different whiskeys.  Then off for some Indian food...it was Deb's idea.  Oh, so spicy!  Back to to the RV for an early flight tomorrow 5:30 AM on Alaska Seaplanes.  No living in the comfort zone for us!

Mendenhall Campground - Tongass NF, Juneau, AK

MV Fairweather

We left our seaside site in Haines for the short drive to the ferry dock...with incredible precision, the ferry left right on time, for the 2 hour, high speed trip to Juneau.  Although, there were low clouds, the seas were calm, and we got quite a bit of interesting scenery.   So it turns out I failed to read all the words.  This area is a rain forest...with rain 222 days a year.  Probably that's why the forecast for the next ten days is cloudy with intermittent showers.

Mendenhall Glacier

We arrived in Juneau, and searched out our campground, found our spot, and immediately set out for the Mendenhall Glacier...the most visited glacier in the world.  The only parking spaces in the parking lot were for cars, so we tried to squeeze in...which was sort of successful.  No sooner had we parked than we got the standard Alaska greeting from a park ranger. "You can't park here. It's not too busy so I guess it's okay, So the other day there was this...".  ("No", then a conditional okay, followed by an anecdotal story). The glacier was interesting...it's been receding since the 1700's but now faster then ever...  after viewing the glacier, we decided to go for a short hike...I asked the ranger if it would be okay to take the dog.  "No", then it would probably be okay, and a story about her dog...

The Trail of Time Hike

Beside, a lovely walk through the woods with some historic placards, showing old pictures of the glacier, there were some salmon swimming upstream to spawn...unforgettable.

Tomorrow, we think we will explore the town of Juneau.

Ocean view Campground - Haines, AK

Tlingit totem

After a fairly short, but scenic drive through the very edge of the ice fields, we arrive in Haines.  It seems like a fun idea to stay at the campground that is right at the end of Main Street on the water, but alas, the sign says "Campground Full." So I go inside to see if the sign is left over from last night.  "No sir, the campground is full, as you can clearly see from the sign!  Is that your rig...wait a minute,  are you willing to camp with no utilities?  Sure, we can fit you in...right down next to the water, with a fantastic view...would that be okay....but you gotta camp next to Bob...he's Canadian, ya know...Bob ya ain't gonna bite this fella from Virginia, is ya?"  And that's how we got a spot right on the water. This whole town looks like it was a set for "Northern Exposure." And in reality was the set for the Disney movie, White Fang.

We went out for lunch at the Bamboo Bar, seafood & local beer, then for a walk, checked out the cruise ship that's in port, and then to the local brewery for a beer, back to a recommended local haunt, The Lighthouse for seafood & beer.  Finally back to the RV to watch the cruise ship set sail.

Haines Brewing Company

The next leg of our trip is by sea to Juneau, AK.

Kathleen Lake Campground - Kluane National Park, YT

Lake Kathleen

Frosty Freeze in Haines Junction

It's our last night in Canada...much of the day is spent doing the Alaska Highway in reverse, also in sunshine rather than rain.  The views are spectacular...but with the help of our GPS, we realize that we are going to have to hustle a little, if we want to get to Haines Junction for lunch (the place we stopped at on our way westward).  This time we got to sit outside...and look at a huge gorgeous set of mountains that weren't there before (or possibly they were hidden in the clouds).  On the way, we passed over the Slims River...it made history last year when a glacier changed direction in a day...called river piracy...apparently, it's the first time it ever happened.  Now, the glacier outflow is to the Pacific...it used to go to the Artic.  We learned all about this during our, ranger led, climate change talk.  We also learned about ice cores, freshwater salmon, and spruce beetles.  (The talks are on Tuesday evenings at 8:00...bring a mug for hot cocoa or tea...if you want to know more.)

We took Drex to the lake, where he enjoyed an invigorating swim in the 50 degree water (surprisingly, he was alone in the water).

Tomorrow, we leave Canada, on our way to Haines, AK.  It promises to be another scenic but lonely day.