We got up early on Sunday, May 15th, as we were coming into Ketchikan. We got a table next to the window in the cafeteria and watched the scenery go by as we ate breakfast.
We then went up on one of the upper outside decks and watched as we pulled into dock.
We were the fifth and sixth people off the ship in Ketchikan. We wanted to make sure we would be able to make it to Saxman Totem Park (see also here) before the crowds did. We debated walking the three miles or taking a cab. We started to walk thinking we would take a cab back then seeing a cab waiting at the curb we decided to take the cab to the park then walk back.
We were the first people to arrive at the park. The person taking the money told us that the next day, when four cruise ships would be there they expected to have 10,000 people visit. According to the 2010 census the town of Saxman has a population of 411.
As we were leaving another couple showed up. We couldn’t have timed it better.
I recharge the ridiculous and it just all comes out.
Barb L. May 15, 2016 [We were in Ketchikan, Alaska waiting for the bus to take us to the float plane for a trip into Misty Fjords National Monument when Barb, as is typical when she is happy, spontaneously erupted with funny stuff.—Joe]
Friday the 13th we departed Seattle on the Celebrity Solstice for a seven day cruise to South East Alaska. We were told this was going to be the largest cruise ship in Alaska. It is quite large and even though we had one of the cheapest cabins it was, at least to us, luxurious. The glass elevators, the live tree suspended in the “courtyard”, the fountains, the lawn on the top deck, the hot tubs, the swimming pools, the food, the views, it was all amazing.
From the ship the view of Seattle and a surreal Mount Rainier in the distance made the departure almost make believe.
We lounged on one of the upper decks and watched Seattle disappear as we sailed out into the Puget Sound among the San Juan Islands.
I’ve been trained for bear encounters. So if we see a bear, what you need to do is, gather around in a circle with me in the very center.
Chelsea Karthauser May 17, 2016 Guide for Gastineu Guiding in Juneau, Alaska. [We went on a hike to see a glacier with Chelsea (her nickname is Whalebait, interesting story on how that came about).
If you ever get the chance ask her about the time she fell off the trail in the snow, lost almost everything, including her shoes, was saved by Devil’s Club, made her way around the mountain to the tram, where people took pictures of her but wouldn’t help her.
We enjoyed our hike but most of the time we could have easily mistaken the scenery for that which we could have found with ten miles from home. We could have seen the glacier with a ten minute hike instead of a three hour hike. Now, the people from Texas, Arizona, and Florida saw some things quite different from their home area.
With both kids away at college and unable to do something in person for Mother’s Day I decided to help by taking Barb to dinner. I told her to pick anything she wanted within an hours drive. She suggested Red Robin and I frowned. I told her I was thinking of something more like the Space Needle or a nice steak house.
After considerable thought and my repeated insistence that she should not be concerned about the price she came up with I Love Sushi on Lake Bellevue.
It was very nice. The food was good and we had a nice view of the lake.
Barb and I went on a walk to Poo Poo Point via Chirico Trail yesterday.It was a little more elevation gain than we wanted (1760 ft.). But it was supposed to have a nice view at the top. The weather was nice so we decided to go for it. We figured we should leave the house before 9:00 AM to be able to get parking easily.
We arrived at the parking lot about 8:15 to find the lot full and the sides of the road filled with cars. “What’s going on?” [Grumble, grumble] We found a place a couple hundred yards away that let us park for $5.00. [Grumble, grumble]
We were at the trail head at 8:27 and saw people with radios who explained this was the landing zone for paragliders and to not dilly-dally around as we cross the zone. [Grumble, grumble]
The hike was more than I was really prepared for. I got winded easily and sweat profusely even though the temperature was in the low 60s. There were a lot of people on the trail. [Grumble, grumble.] It was a nice trail though:
We stopped to rest many times and it took us an hour and 45 minutes to make it to the top.
It was a nice view. It was a very nice view:
But there were all these people:
Oh. They were launching paragliders from here! Cool! No more grumbling.
This was an unexpected bonus. More pictures below the fold:
