The Anti-Juneau

May 25, 2023

Like Juneau, Ketchikan is a small coastal town in the Alaskan Panhandle and it is not “on the road system.” Both towns are perched on a narrow strip of land between the mountains and the sea. But to the eyes of casual visitors from Anchorage, that’s where the similarity ends. Juneau is a city full of white-collar workers: government employees, lawyers, lobbyists, etc. It is neat and tidy, prosperous looking, a little bit hipster, more than a little bit foodie. Ketchikan seems to be much more a blue-collar community. The importance of commercial fishing is evident everywhere. And, of course, boating and aviation. Lumber was once a major industry here, as well, until the pulp mill closed in 1997.

So it comes as no surprise that the prosperity that favors Juneau is harder to find here in Ketchikan. Yes, cruise ship tourism has brought a windfall to both cities. But Ketchikan remains a gritty, rough-around-the-edges town, whose residents, in many cases, don’t have the extra money or time to beautify their property and maintain their houses. The parts of the city where tourists usually don’t go are generally shabby and run-down looking.

There is a small downtown/tourist area populated by way too many jewelry stores and gift shops. You can find a few pieces of public art here, a bit of recently added wayfinding there, and only a handful of restaurants.

It’s interesting that every time we are in this part of town, we see/hear at least one jaywalking tourist getting yelled at by the locals. I’m not sure what this says about Ketchikan.

Today we started out by walking north, away from the tourist district. We walked past a number of worn-looking docks where fishing and tourism vessels and aircraft came and went. However, this was clearly not a place where a tourist was welcome to wander onto the docks.

A fishing boat heading out (or maybe heading in - it looks a little low in the water)

These hovercraft added a pop of color to the drab waterfront 

Shortly thereafter we climbed up a series of steep blocks through unkempt residential neighborhoods. 

Sometimes the views were magnificent.

And sometimes not.

Sometimes the residents could drive  right up the hillside to their houses. Sometimes they could not.

Some of the stairways actually had street signs, and names.

Many houses had boats and commercial fishing gear stored in the yard, and often a lot of other junk. Many of these houses needed paint and other repairs. This is an extremely rainy climate, and it shows. There were no cute Victorian homes or charming little inns or B&Bs. Not much in the way of parks, either. It’s just so clearly not Juneau.

Yeah, we saw a goat tied up to a house.

And sometimes there was stunning beauty.

Love this rhododendron

Sometimes people left trash on the ground, like they didn’t care. And sometimes there was evidence that they really did care.

We saw a few of these stickers around town. They showed the community’s support for Libby Oaksmith, who died of cancer in August 2021. They now show that she is still remembered and missed.

We finished our walk but decided to head south, toward the tourist district, to visit a quilt shop. We passed one of the pieces of public art. It is called The Rock, a nickname for Revillagigedo Island, where Ketchikan can be found. 

The Rock: a memorial to the early settlers of this region

This noble fellow perched on top of a church steeple and admired the view, and probably waited for the fishermen to discard some scraps

Tonight was “Dress to Impress” night. In other words, Princess has given up on the idea of “formal night.” Very few people bothered to dress to impress. Apparently it is ok to look like a slob because we are in Alaska. I guess they are taking a cue from the locals.

We saw a show called “Sweet Soul Music.” It is a show that has been part of the repertoire on board for years, and we have seen it before. Half of it was not really soul music, if you ask me.

We also saw a juggler called The Mighty Quinn. I don’t really care about juggling, but the lawyer part of my brain was wondering how this guy was allowed to pick a volunteer from the audience, have him lie on the floor, and then walk over the volunteer from toes to head while juggling large knives - on a moving ship. And how was he allowed to do backflips over the marble floor of the piazza while juggling a chainsaw and a knife?

Today’s color is pink.

The Ups and Downs of the Capital

May 24, 2023

On another chilly, drippy day we did a walk plus shopping in downtown Juneau. It was actually quite a fun day, despite the ever-present threat of rain. Downtown Juneau has so many interesting little nooks and crannies to explore.

It was a bit of a hike to get from our ship, out past the Ice House, to the real heart of downtown. First one must walk past a seemingly endless array of jewelry stores and tacky, made-in-China souvenir stores. Upon reaching the Alaska Fudge Company, you may take heart that you will shortly arrive at the true, year-round Juneau. Here you will be able to find businesses that cater to the folks who live and work in Juneau: a drug store, two book stores, a shoe store, a couple of dress shops, and a couple of small art galleries featuring local artists. All of this is no more than a ten-minute walk from the State Capitol building.

Downtown is very tourist-friendly, too. There is some wonderful public art and excellent wayfinding. We loved the masks and totem pole in front of the Sealaska Building (an Alaska Native corporation).

Directions, walking time in minutes, and a map color-coded to the directional signs. Topped off by a bit of formline art.

However, everything here is either uphill or downhill, so you will get a good workout.

Some of the “streets” are very steep. These streets have names, but no parking to speak of.

Looking uphill toward the bear statue and the State Capitol building

Statue of William Henry Seward in front of the State Capitol building

Totemic art in a park behind the Capitol

A park behind the Capitol offers a good view of the two cruise ships in port today

Tiny St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church

We had fish tacos at Deckhand Dave’s

We wrapped up our Juneau sojourn with shopping at Annie Kaill’s (pottery), Changing Tides (fabric), and Alaska Fudge Company (health food).

So the Capitol building is a little underwhelming when compared to other state capitols. I have seen 45 of them. I really mean underwhelming. But otherwise, Juneau is a great place for its size. It is clean, the topography is interesting, the Victorian houses are charming, the narrow winding streets of downtown have a lot of character. The Filipino food trucks near the dock and Tracy’s Crab Shack on the dock, and Deckhand Dave’s Fish Tacos remind us that Juneau is also a port town - one that is interested in food. The houses downtown are well maintained and have neat yards for the most part. The local shops are fun and funky. The diversity and artistry of Juneau’s residents are celebrated. It’s got a lot going on, as they say.

It was such a busy day that I did not see Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Iditarod, who brought some of her sled dogs onboard Majestic Princess this afternoon. I did not have time to go to Knitters & Natters. And I did not have time to watch A Man Called Otto, which I have been wanting to see. But I enjoyed the day in Juneau very much.

We got dressed for “White & Gold Night,” which is appropriate because gold is what put Juneau on the map. (Of course it was always on the map of the Native Alaskans who lived here long before the arrival of Joe Juneau and the other miners). Then we ran off to the Captain’s Circle Party, where Captain John Foster did a credible stand-up routine telling “dad jokes.” We learned there were 245 Elite level passengers aboard, and 310 Platinum level, out of a total of about 3500. Over 2000 of the passengers were on their first Princess cruise.

Today’s color is gold.

Rebound

 May 23, 2023

This is a story of the resilience of a people who survived in the shadow of a glacier for centuries, perhaps for millenia, whose ancestral homelands were wiped away by the glacier, whose survival was later threatened by the closure of a cannery, and who managed to find a new path forward through creativity and determination.

Icy Strait Point is a cruise ship port developed by the Huna Tlingit clan and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Icy Strait Point is not a “made place” like some of the ports we have encountered in the Caribbean. A salmon cannery used to be located here. Prior to that this area was used by the Tlingit people for fishing, fish camps, and other seasonal uses. Icy Strait Point is adjacent to the village of Hoonah, on the edge of the Tongass National Forest, on Chichagof Island, the fifth largest island in the U.S.

Our ship docked at a newer dock a little distance away from the cannery site. There was a path through the forest to the cannery. There was also a free cable car or aerial tram that could be taken between the cannery and our dock. 

The free cable car

Near our dock there was another cable car that went to the top of a steep mountain. It was $50 per person to ride it, though the ticket price included a snack and a few other amenities. We did not do this. It was very steep. The mountain. (And the price.)

The $50 cable car

We did take the free cable car over to the cannery area. The cannery site has been fixed up very nicely. There are some shops and a fire circle. The smell of the campfire helps you to imagine what this place was like in the early days when the Huna people had a fish camp here.

There is a beautiful walkway along the water. It’s about 1.5 miles into Hoonah. We walked to Hoonah, and then back. The weather was cold (upper 40’s), but the sun was out and it felt much warmer. It may have warmed up into the low 50’s later in the day.

Scenes from the walk into town . . .

Three or four WW2 era houses can be found near the cannery. They are occupied, ad the occupants have a fabulous view

A Russian Orthodox church - a legacy of the Russian occupation of Alaska before the US purchased it in 1867 for 2 cents an acre

Cannery buildings and derelict fishing boats

Icy Strait Point also boasts “the world’s longest zip line.” I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know that there is no way you are getting me on that zip line. It is my understanding that it was sold out the day we were there. There were two other ships in that day.

Overall, we were very impressed with the job that was done to develop this property. Considerable effort was made to preserve the look and feel of a Tlingit fishing village while providing the infrastructure necessary to receive thousands of passengers and move them around. There are numerous reasonably authentic activities, including fishing, whale-watching, hiking, bear-viewing, and so on. The cable-car up the mountain may not seem as authentic, but it allows you to get a wonderful view of the area and I presume the absence of a road up the mountain makes the view much better. As for the zip line, well, it doesn’t leave a big footprint on the land, and again, it puts you right out there in the environment.

Footnote: The Huna clan lived in Glacier Bay for centuries — probably for millenia. In the mid 1700’s, a Little Ice Age occurred. This has been documented by Huna legends as well as by historical records. The colder weather caused the glaciers in Glacier Bay to advance all the way to the present-day entrance to Glacier Bay. The Huna people were forced to leave their valley, as the rapidly advancing glaciers combined into a single large glacier and covered all of their land. They settled in Hoonah in 1754. The glacier eventually receded, but it had scoured out the valley, so as the glacier receded seawater flowed in and the traditional Huna lands remained covered.

In the evening we saw a new production show called Fantastic Journey. I didn’t like it that much. Most of the music was unfamiliar to me (yes, because I am old), and I couldn’t figure out the theme or storyline (I don’t think there was one).

Afterwards, we went to listen to the soprano, Elina Moon. She is very good, and quite charming. Her show was well worth going to.

Today’s color is dark red.

Icebound

May 21 and 22, 2023

Two Postscripts to my May 20 post:

First, our ship is the Majestic Princess. It’s the same ship we sailed on last year.

Second, there is a tragic addition to what I wrote about the dangerous mudflats of Turnagain Arm. A 20-year-old man visiting from Illinois got stuck in the mud near Hope and drowned in the incoming tide on Sunday. So horrible.

Sunday

Today the Majestic Princess sailed into Yakutat Bay to visit Hubbard Glacier. It is an enormous glacier, 6 miles across at its face. And, it is one of the very few glaciers in Alaska that is advancing. 

Unfortunately, the weather today was not nice. It was cold (upper 40’s) and rainy. It was also unfortunate that there was so much ice floating around near the glacier that it was not safe to approach it. 

That’s really too bad. I remember our visit last year. It was a nice sunny day and we got very close to the glacier. It was really spectacular.

The third unfortunate thing is that neither one of us took any photos today. None.

We did have a nice evening, though. We very much enjoyed the production show, Encore. It had a lot of popular music (mostly “oldies”), and some opera pieces. The lead soprano was awfully good.

Monday

The morning started out cold - in the upper 40’s - but as we entered Glacier Bay, the sun came out, it warmed up, and the water was almost like a mirror. 

Some rangers from the National Park Service came out to our ship on a boat and climbed up a rope ladder to board, along with all of their equipment. They gave a talk in the theater and then set up a little shop in the conservatory. You could ask them questions, stamp your National Park Passport, and buy various souvenir merch from them and from a representative from Alaska Geographic. The highlight for me was the live commentary from the navigational bridge provided by one of the rangers. He probably had a script, but it was a very good one and it added a lot of richness to our visit to Glacier Bay National Park.

Everybody - from the Captain to the park rangers, to the passengers to the crew - couldn’t stop marveling at the wonderful weather today. It was so warm in the sunshine that we were able to stay out on our balcony all afternoon in shirtsleeves. The water was smooth - there was no wind. It was just stunning in Glacier Bay today.

Near the entrance to Glacier Bay

Margerie Glacier

The fascinating blue ice of Margerie Glacier

Johns Hopkins Glacier

Lamplugh Glacier

The astonishing blue ice of Lamplugh Glacier

We spent almost 12 hours in the National Park. We saw lots of ice: icebergs, bergy bits (the size of a house), growlers (the size of a car), and brash ice (less than 2 meters across). We saw dozens of sea otters and five or six gray whales. It was fantastic. It was wild. It was glorious. It was absolutely majestic.

Obviously, today’s color is glacier blue.

 

Southbound

May 20, 2023

We can’t say “no” to a cruise we can take without flying, so it was a no-brainer that we would book the same cruise we enjoyed so much in 2022. We left our house at 9:45 this morning, and in an hour we reached the Portage Glacier turnoff.

On the way we passed an Alaska Railroad train headed from Whittier to Anchorage, or perhaps Denali.

All the melting snow resulted in dozens of “pop-up waterfalls” along the side of the road.

We passed a number of people dip-netting in silty, muddy Turnagain Arm. Usually we only see them along the streams flowing into Turnagain Arm. Not long ago, a man got stuck in the mud up to his waist at the mouth of one of the streams flowing into Turnagain Arm and had to be rescued. You can read more about it here.

These people are hooligan fishermen. Now, I am not saying the people are “hooligans” who are fishing. I am saying they are fishermen and fisherwomen, and they are fishing for “hooligan,” also known as eulachon or candlefish. These small fish are a type of smelt. This is a subsistence fishery, and most of these people are fishing for their own use.

Right before the turnoff for Portage Glacier is an animal sanctuary, the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. They care for injured and orphaned wildlife, and it is a popular stop for tourists. From the road I could see a group of bison, but it never occurred to me to take a photo for my blog. Oh, no. But if you have a nickel you know what bison look like. 

Soon we were turning off the Seward Highway and proceeding toward the entrance to the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. It’s a one-lane, 2.5-mile-long tunnel, with alternating train and vehicle use. It’s also the only road to the port of Whittier. It took us about 15 minutes to get to the tunnel entrance, and then we had to wait for the next tunnel opening for vehicles going to Whittier.

As we passed the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center (fka the Portage Glacier Visitor Center), we could see some icebergs floating near the shore. The glacier itself is no longer visible from the Visitor Center.

Inside the tunnel

When we emerged from the tunnel on the Whittier side, we could see our ship, not far away. Within minutes we had dropped off our luggage. While I waited in the terminal, Ken drove to a long-term parking lot across the road from the terminal. Within 10 minutes he made it back to the terminal on foot.

After checking in and boarding we went to our cabin to drop off our backpacks and jackets (it was 46℉ in Whittier today).

Our aft cabin 

The view from our balcony

We went to the pizza restaurant for lunch. It’s called Alfonso’s, or Alforgetto’s or something like that. Maybe Alfredo’s. You probably know where I am going with this. Even though it wasn’t at all busy, somebody forgot to put in our order. 

During the half hour that we waited, we listened to a duo singing and playing guitar in the piazza, which is right next to Alforgetto’s. I think the name of the duo was Dis-harmony, or something. It’s really amazing to me that people choose to make a career in a field they are not very good at.

There is a new restaurant onboard. It’s called Rudi’s Catch. We had dinner there, and it was very nice. It’s in the space that was formerly occupied by Rudi’s Sur Le Mer Bistro. They have reconfigured the space so that passengers aren’t able to wander through it while people are eating. I think that is a huge improvement.

Most of the menu is new, with an emphasis on seafood. The format is still the same: pick one appetizer, one main course and one dessert. There are more choices to pick from now.

Salmon tartare with avocado

Marinated lobster tail with grapefruit and sesame oil

Catch of the day: King Salmon

A Dali-inspired dessert

Triple “S” : something I didn’t order, thankfully. I wouldn’t have expected this, based on the description

The ship left Whittier about 90 minutes late due to problems with a train carrying some of the cruise passengers to Whittier. It got sorted out and we left without any fanfare.

Today’s color is Champagne. Here’s to the start of a new adventure.