An Alaska Adventure

 

The best word to describe traveling in Alaska is ‘adventure’.  It’s not that there aren’t the luxuries from home, it’s simply that you’re traveling to a sparsely populated area, with many locations still untouched by humans.  The state is roughly twice the size of Texas with a population of around 500,000.  Texas’ population is almost 27 million.  The Alaskan wild life is plentiful and the people real and genuine and for any person interested in traveling, this is must see destination.   

 With no roads between most cities in Alaska your choice of traveling is by boat or planes.  If you’re interested in local wildlife such as whales or other marine mammals and fish, then traveling by boat is a good choice. 

We choose to cruise on Princess Cruise lines and other friends cruised with Regency.  Some of us choose to be in a suite which offers room to gather talk and play cards.  However other friends took an interior cabin and had just as much fun as anyone else.  With many cruise lines offering many different itineraries and price points, there is something available for almost any traveler. 

We started in San Francisco as the airfare was less expensive than flying to Canada.  It was also less expensive to go on a ten day cruise from San Francisco than a seven day cruise from Canada.  Needless to say it’s important to shop around and keep in mind the airfare can vary widely between starting points.  We normally fly out the day before in case of any issues with weather and/or flights.  Spending an extra day in a new city can also add to the fun of your vacation.  A friend that took their family to Alaska one week early, to do some camping and exploring before boarding their cruise ship. 

We had a couple sea days which is a good way to get to know the ship and see some good shows and meet some new people.

Our first stop was Ketchikan and this is a small town with less than 10,000 inhabitants.  They are in need of doctors and medical personnel and offer some great packages for people willing to move there for a few years.  Our cruise sponsored tour took us to an old saw mill area, where we saw fresh bear claw marks on the trees however didn’t see any bears.  We saw a few banana slugs and learned they make your mouth go numb so animals know not to eat them.  According to our guide the Alaskan youth play a game to see who can hold a banana slug in their mouth the longest; her friend was able to do so for 35 seconds.  Not sure I wanted to partake in this game. 

 The old saw mill now has a bird sanctuary and we saw a Native American carving a totem pole.   Totem poles are of great importance to the local people and it was interesting to learn once created; they are never again painted so they can return to the earth.  We saw many bald eagles and the one guide said they are so numerous they are similar to our pigeons. 

The local tour guides they learn early that they have to be hearty to grow up here.  Around 5^th grade teachers take their classes into the woods for a long hike.  In the next year or two the kids are dropped off in the woods with few supplies and they are told to make it home.  Survival in this rugged area must be learned early as the weather can change quickly and they don’t ever want the kids to get stuck in the woods. 

They also play all their sports on cinder fields as grass would be too wet and muddy all the time.  They proudly show off their scars from their high school sports participation.  We also learned of a new game called “hide and seek with cars”.  Was it mentioned they seem to have too much free time in high school.

To our surprise, we learned the weather is fairly tempered.  This is due to being near the coast and the winter average temperature is in the 30’s and 40’s with very little snow.  This was different than our and most individual’s perception of Alaskan winters. 

 The main road through Ketchikan is roughly 37 miles long and then simply ends.  They are proud their road is now over 35 miles long.  One road off the main drag had a new sign stating ‘No Outlet’.  It previously had a sign that read ‘Dead End’, however as the road ends at the cemetery, they felt it was better to change the sign. 

 Most return to the ship after tours however we usually explore further.  Found a local place and spoke with few individuals.  Smoking is still permitted inside bars and restaurants though you’ll only find it in the local ones.   Alaska has recently legalized marijuana however its uncertain when it would start being sold or how it would impact the citizens.    Toward the end of the day, shop owners many times give better deals as they understand the ships are leaving. 

The next stop was Juneau which is Alaska’s capital city and has more book stores and coffee shops than the other cities.  One local trivia buff told us this is the only State Capital that borders a foreign country. 

The downtown area is close to the docks and has great shops and restaurants.  We went off the main street looking for old book stores and found some unique shopping.  At the other end of town there is a great restaurant and it’s worth the walk.   

Our planned tour for the morning was moved to the afternoon and this ended up working to our advantage.  It rained early but cleared up later.   The Alaskan guides call blue skies a ‘cloud failure’.   Rain gear is an important piece of equipment for traveling in this region.  Anyone looking for relaxing sun bathing trip would be better served heading south. 

The cruise sponsored tour was whale watching and a forest hiking trip and both were great.  We drove to the dock area and boarded a small ten person boat.  A whale came close and we able to take some great pictures.  These humpback whales migrate to the Hawaiian Islands in the winter and return for the Alaskan summer.  Each whale has a unique tail and can be tracked by the shape of their tail and the black and white color on it.  During the boat ride a bald eagle took off from a buoy and circle our boat and flew back.  He seemed interested in our small craft. 

 

After the whale watching we walked a small trail about one mile in length and not hilly or rocking.  Shortly after starting the walk we saw 4 small animals frolicking around.  Our guide was uncertain what they were so we took pictures.   They stayed around long enough that we each wanted to reach down and pet them; however we didn’t dared to do so. 

 

On each side of the trail there was gold colored moss which almost made the place feel like the land of Oz.  

 

 

There are also glacial markers from 1915 and 1925 and from their placement, it shows how far the glacier has moved in the past 100 years.  Declining glaciers are not a recent phenomenon. 

 We showed the older bus driver pictures of the small animals and he said they are minks.  These are rare in the wild and he said we were lucky to see them.   

After the tour we walked around the town and went into a fur coat store.  We told the owner we had seen minks and he disagreed.  He stated we saw muskrats or something else.  When he was shown the pictures, he was excited and said we had see minks! He asked where however as he ran a fur shop, we would not tell their location.   

 

Skagway

From others we heard this was many people’s favorite stop and anyone who wants to understand the feel of a 19^th century American town should visit Skagway.  It’s a small town that feels big.  The population is 2,000 in the summer and declines to 900 in the winter.   There are wide wooden sidewalks on each side of a wide main street.  It gives a feeling of going back in time.  There is a RV camp at the end of town.  Our guess is these were for the gold prospectors in the area.   

There are two trains that serve the town.  This is the only Alaskan city we visited with train service.  This was left over from the 19^th century however it is still used today; mostly by tourist and prospectors.   Its great way to venture in the mountains. 

The town has the usual tourist shops and has a great brewery at the end of town. The brewery also serves food and served some of the best food we had on our trip.  There are plenty of knifes, jewelry and artwork for sale at all the stops.  In some of the shops the workers work here in the summer and in the Caribbean during the winter.  They understand where the tourists travel. 

Sitka

This was an unplanned stop for our trip however turned out to be our favorite port city.  Sitka is known as the “Paris of Alaska” and has the cultural heritage to prove it.  All the shops are locally owned and the merchandise is truly unique.  The book store had a large 19^th century cast iron printing press in the store and looking it over, saw it was made in Cleveland, O.  It was interesting to think of its traveling here over one hundred years ago and compare it to ours. 

We generally don’t buy t-shirts from places we visit however we did buy Sitka t-shirts.  The only other place we have purchased t-shirts is from Jost Van Dyke.   The movie “The Proposal” was based in Sitka however filmed in Massachusetts.   This city originally belonged to Russia and still has Russian influences. 

 

Victoria, Canada

Most ships have to stop at one international port so we stopped in Canada, which was change from spending time in Alaska. 

Once off the boat there is a sign stating it is a 40 minute walk to downtown.  As it was a nice day we decided to walk.  It was only a 10 minute walk to get to Fisherman’s Warf and this is a must see for anyone visiting Victoria.  There are shops and house boats on a working dock however the charm is hard to capture in photographs and should be visited in person.

 

It was only about another 10 minutes to get to the British Columbia Parliament Building and Empress Hotel.  The Empress is an old late 19^th Century early 20^th Century Railroad hotel.  The place is beautiful and well worth a visit.  The jewelry stores are higher end than we saw in Alaska.

We were told there is a world famous water taxi ballet.  We listened and watched these and other boats perform a water taxi dance.  Volunteers told us about this show and other points of interest in Victoria. They were mostly retired individuals and a great bunch of people.  What a great way to make people feel welcomed!

From there we had a couple of more sea days, filled with fun activities, shows and more than a few games of cards. 

Disembarking wasn’t too difficult and from there we headed to the airport and home.  As mentioned above, Alaska is a must see for any individual interested in traveling. 

 

 

Stops:   Ketchikan – population 8,200 (2013)

                Juneau – population 33,000 (2013)

                Skagway – population 900 (2015 estimate)

                Sitka – population 9,000 (2013)

                Victoria, Canada