Cruise To Alaska: Juneau, Skagway, Mendenhall Glacier, Sawyer Glacier (Part IV)

We passed lots of small fishing boats fishing for salmon and we were constantly seeing large salmon leaping out of the water. Later on six dolphins came alongside right where we were sitting in the lounge and for 10 minutes or so they kept alongside leaping in and out of the water obviously enjoying themselves and our company. It was super to see them so close to the boat.

It has been a great cruise, Alaska has been wonderful. The weather has been much warmer than I thought it would be, all my heavy jumpers are unused. We have had quite a lot of rain but mostly this has been at night and hasn't spoilt any of our trips. In fact the only time we got wet was at Haines.

We disembarked from Windward and checked into the Coast Plaza Hotel at Stanley Park.

We walked to Stanley Park. Everyone in Vancouver is so helpful, if they see you looking at a map, which we were doing frequently, they stop and help.

We went into the aquarium. Just before we went into the aquarium we saw four raccoons being fed bread by a family. I have never seen raccoons in the wild before. They came quite close to us and didn't seem at all frightened.

Beluga whales


The aquarium,which is in the middle of Stanley Park, was really good and very well laid out. There were lots of hands-on things for children to do. We had some good views of Beluga whales which are all while and live up in the cold waters of Alaska. We were told there are more Beluga whales in Canada than anywhere else.

We took a horse bus ride round the park. The cart was pulled by a couple of grey shire horses that had been born in England and had been flown out by Air Canada three years ago. We had an interesting commentary as we clip clopped around the park. We saw a group of totem poles that looked splendid in the sunshine. As we drove round we saw a bronze statue on a rock just in the bar, called 'Girl In a Wet Suit'. The people of Vancouver had wanted to put a little mermaid there but the Danish people said no, quite rightly, so there is a little statue of a lady diver with flippers and goggles. It is about the same size as the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen but not as beautiful.

We had a great sunset across the Pacific Ocean tonight and after the sun went down the Rockies were like cardboard cutouts against the afterglow which gradually turned from bright orange to red then purple.

The following day we drove through China town which was just waking up, and then into Gas Town. The city was originally known as Gastown after saloonkeeper "Gassy Jack" who looked after the needs of lumberjacks and sailors in the 1860's. The statue of Gassy Jack, so called because he used to tell tall stories in the bars, looks like a drunk standing on top of a barrel which is probably what he was.

In 1886 it took on the more dignified name of Vancouver after the navigator George Vancouver.

We stood watching the Gas Clock. This clock is the world's first and probably only steam-powered clock. It signals the hours with a resounding whistle and with much blowing out of steam. It makes a wonderful sound. Although this clock has only been around since 1977 it has very quickly become an attraction in Vancouver, and certainly of the Gastown neighbourhood. Claimed to be the world's first gas powered clock, the steam comes from underground pipes that supply heat to many of the buildings in downtown Vancouver. The clock whistles every 15 minutes and the whistle is a replica of that from a famous B.C. lake steamer the "Naramata". While waiting for the whistle the interior workings of the clock can be observed through glass panels in the sides.

We passed the 9pm gun, so called because daily at 9pm it was fired so sea captains could check their instruments.

We crossed Lions Gate Bridge. This bridge was built with money donated by the Guinness family who had a lot of property over the bridge, now one of the most expensive places to live in Vancouver.

We went on to the Capilano suspension bridge. This suspension bridge is 230ft above the fast flowing waters of Capilano Canyon. I ventured about a quarter of the way over and then turned back, it was swaying too much for me

We went on to Prospect Point. There is a great view of the City from here. Lastly our tour of Vancouver ended up at Granville Island, a triangular peninsula of markets, cafes, galleries, boutiques and theatres. The whole complex is huge and we only managed to see a small part of it. We walked down to the waterfront and watched the water taxis doing a good trade. There is a wonderful indoor market and the food looked very inviting

We have loved this holiday. Alaska has lived up to and surpassed all my expectations.

Vancouver is a beautiful city and we will come back here again. We fell in love with Canada and the Canadians.

Cruise To Alaska: Juneau, Skagway, Mendenhall Glacier, Sawyer Glacier (Part III)

We are going to see some Indian dancers followed by a salmon bake dinner. The dancers were the Chilkat Indian dancers and the dancing was performed by young children, it was rather amateurish, and not something I particularly enjoyed. We saw a lot of dances, all depicting a story or a legend. The bear and raven dance I quite enjoyed, the Indians believe that the Raven created all the world.

When we went to dinner the rain was still hammering down. We sat in an open fronted marquee with the rain crashing onto the canvas. We were all dressed in heavy anoraks, and were cold and wet, not really the sort of evening for this sort of trip at all.

The next day we woke up and found we were sailing past small icebergs and will soon be entering the Tracey Arm, a very narrow gorge which leads up to the Sawyer Glacier. There were lots of waterfalls falling hundreds of feet from the snow caps and glaciers into the gorge.

I saw a seal sitting on an iceberg. The crew lowered a lifeboat and collected a lump of glacier ice for tonight's midnight buffet. The boys started to carve it up on deck and we all wondered what they were carving. We later discovered it turned out to be a horses head.

The glacier sounded, at times like gunfire or thunder as it was constantly moving with ice breaking off from the glacier into the sea. The colour from the glacier is such a beautiful blue. The boat stayed at the Glacier face for a couple of hours. It was so peaceful. It was a wonderful quiet peaceful morning and we were so lucky with the weather which was bright and sunny. The sun, unfortunately was in quite the wrong place for photographing the glacier but you can't have everything right.

During lunch we again got the call that there were humpback whales off our port and starboard bows. We saw eight or nine whales.

This afternoon we again went to a talk by Bill Tauck, the naturalist. The subject was 'The Rush for Gold'. Bill's slide lectures all this week have been very interesting and his slides are superb. His voice over the ships loud speaker system telling us that whales, dolphins, seals or whatever are off the starboard bow are most exciting. He has a wonderful soporific voice.

Bill's talk with a lot of old photographs of the gold prospectors was great. He had a picture of Soapy Smith and had some funny stories to tell us about the old timers.

The next day we arrive at Ketchikan. Ketchikan is located in a rain forest and is known as the Rain Capital of North America. It was also once known as the salmon capital of the world because of the number of fishing canneries found here. In the early 1900's Ketchikan grew as a result of the gold rush. When the gold and copper mines closed down during World War 1 the salmon fishing and lumber once again became the city's major industries.

Ketchikan is the epitome of a waterfront town. Discoveries of gold and copper gave rise to a booming mining centre and the population reached 800 at the turn of the century. When the mining boom folded in 1907, Ketchikan's fishing industry was strong enough to sustain the community.

We went on a City tour here which we found pretty boring. We visited the Totem Heritage Centre. The most interesting thing here was the creek which was full of spawning salmon. Inside the centre were four old totem poles. The lady here had a flat uninteresting monotone voice and as she droned on we learnt that totem poles were of no sacred value. They depicted the history of the Indian tribes, and could be thought of as a sort of family "Coat of Arms". We then were driven through town and up to a National Park. We hoped to see brown bear as there are a lot here and they often wander into town at this time of year, but it was raining so hard that any sensible bear would be in a nice warm, dry cave!

After coming back to Windward for lunch we went exploring Ketchikan on our own. We first make for Creek Street which is where the town started. There is a sign as you enter the street which says 'Where Fish and Fisherman go up the Creek to Spawn'!!

There are hundreds of salmon in the creek spawning like made, we didn't see any fisherman though! We met Dolly and her friend, the local red light girls.

The creek was fascinating, a wooden broadwalk with brightly painted wooden houses and shops, left just as it was in the old gold mining and fishing days.

Back on board and tonight is the traditional night for the parade of the baked Alaska and what better place to have this served. The waiters had the baked Alaska on their heads as they paraded through the dining room.

The next morning we enjoyed a very pretty cruise along the Inside Passage, very narrow in places with waterfalls falling great heights down between heavily wooded cliffs.

As we came out of the Inside Passage into the Pacific Ocean the boat started going up and down and people were walking around the ship looking drunk. One man we passed wondered if they had laced his soup at lunch.

This afternoon Bill Tauch gave us another interesting talk on Living in Alaska which he and his wife do every winter. He had some very good slides of the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, something we have always wanted to see.

About 4.30pm we started to sight killer whales. For about 40 minutes on all sides of the boat they followed us, it was a wonderful sight.

Cruise To Alaska: Juneau, Skagway, Mendenhall Glacier, Sawyer Glacier (Part II)

We arrived at 7.00am the next morning at Skagway. When gold rush fever hit in 1898, Skagway was overrun by hordes of prospectors. The prospectors came in their thousands until the population numbered over 10,000. Skagway soon gained a reputation as a lawless frontier town. Over 30,000 of these '98ers crossed the perilous trails during the first year of the gold rush to the Klondike. Skagway remains a gold rush town thanks to the spirit and enthusiasm of its people.

We joined a coach and our first stop was to a viewing area. We had a good view of the Skagway Canal, so called a canal as the man who named it couldn't spell Fjord (or so we are told!). We drove to the Gold Rush Trail Camp tucked into the mountains at the foot of the White Pass. We were met by a malamute sled dog who was a real gentle giant.

After a very interesting and amusing talk on what it was like here in the old days. We were entertained by two men and the madam of the camp who told and sang stories to us about the gold rush. We then panned for gold, the gold we found we brought away with us, it was a lot of fun. The camp was laid out just as it was in 1898.

We were told about Soapy Smith. Soapy was a con man who convinced the gold miners that inside the soap he sold was a ten dollar bill. By the time the soap was used and the miners realised they had been conned, they were miles away from Skagway. He was also a small time crook and the townspeople were pretty fed up with him. Soapy Smith killed Skagway's surveyor Frank Reid in a shoot-out on a July evening in 1898. Soapy died straight away and Frank Reid, wounded, died some days later. Both are buried in the Gold Rush Cemetery which we next visited.

Gold Rush Cemetery

Frank Reid's tombstone is inscribed "He gave his life for the honour of Skagway". Nearby, we are told, is buried one of the notorious ladies of the town, with the obituary "She gave her honour for the life of Skagway". The Gold Rush Cemetery is a wooded area just outside of the town and right beside the White Pass Railway Line. Most of the gold miners died young. We saw, just outside the cemetery, 'The Largest Nugget in the World' - a large rock, painted gold!

Back to Windward for lunch and out on the White Pass Scenic Railway tour.

White Pass Scenic Railway Tour


We climbed aboard the narrow-gauge railway car that was right beside our cruise ship. The railroad was born of the rush to the Klondike in 1898. It became the supply line for the Yukon gold fields. It was an engineering marvel of its time, and still is. More than 200 miles of track were laid in 17 months. The gold rush ended almost as quickly as it had started, but the line continued to run commercially until 1982. Then, more recently, it was reopened for the tourist trade.

The scenery was breathtaking. On the way up the track we were sitting on the scenic side, then at the top we all changed sides so that everybody had a good view either going up or coming down.

The original Klondike trail can still be traced, etched into the rock by the hobnailed boots of the thousands of gold prospectors, trekking with their mules. When we reached the top of the White Pass we were in Canada, we had crossed the border and were therefore not allowed off the train.

We were told that the Mounties would not let the gold miners into Canada until they had enough provisions to support themselves for a year. The gold miners had to make many journeys up from Skagway carrying all their provisions before the Mounties would let them into Canada.

People, younger and fitter than us, trek up the trail today following the old trail up into the Yukon. On the way down we stood on the outside platform. The conductor came and chatted to us for a while, he was a cheerful chap. The old railway bridge, thankfully not used today was made of wood and looked very dangerous.

We arrived back at the docks at 4pm. All along the dockside are paintings of the logo's of all the ships that have called in here with the name of the captain written there too. We were told that if we looked we would see Windward but there were so many ship's names spread over a large area that we never did find Windward's name.

We leave Skagway and cruise to Haines which only takes about one and half hours.

Haines began as a trading post in 1879. Until then the Chilkat Indians had controlled this spot. We arrived at Haines at 6.15pm. As we came down in the lift we found we were sharing it with a big white polar bear and a moose. As I patted the moose on the nose a hollow voice said

"It's jolly hot in here". The polar bear answered in a plaintive voice "Someone's got to do it".

As we left the ship we met the bear and the moose on the quayside acting as photographic props. We had our picture taken with them of course. It is raining quite hard.

Cruise To Alaska: Juneau, Skagway, Mendenhall Glacier, Sawyer Glacier (Part I)

At the end of August we flew by Air Canada to Vancouver. After a 10 hour flight we landed at Vancouver. Canada is 8 hours behind UK time so our time clocks needed to get adjusted. In 1997 the exchange rate was 2.23 Canadian dollars to the pound. In 2001 the exchange rate is 2.2295 Canadian dollars to the pound, very little change.

We stayed overnight at The Ramada. Not a hotel we were impressed with as there was no porter available and room service doesn't open until 5pm. Luckily we are only here for one night.

Our Cruise ship Windward was looking splendid, as she was dressed overall. We had to go through immigration prior to boarding. We have to do this as our first stop on our cruise will be on American territory.

As with all cruises we have the life boat drill at our boat station before we set sail. It was very hot in our bright orange life jackets. We sailed out of Vancouver harbour to the strains of 'North to Alaska' playing on the ships sound system. We sailed under Lions Gate Bridge in the late afternoon.

The following day we went to a slide show on Alaska given by Bill Tauck, the naturalist aboard. He had some super slides. We are cruising up the inside Passage and the scenery is beautiful, the heavily wooded slopes of the mountains coming right down to the water with waterfalls cascading down into the sea was just as I imagined it.

We sighted a bald eagle away in the distance and a porpoise and some dolphins. Waterfalls falling great distances down to the sea through the trees and patches of snow on the mountains made for a spectacular afternoons viewing. We saw some fishing boats and a logging camp but no villages or habitation at all. The Inside Passage is a long narrow strip of mainland with thousands of islands and fjords.

The next day after breakfast we went to a slide lecture on Juneau. During breakfast a call came over the loud speakers to say that porpoises and hump back whales were off the starboard bow. We collected our cameras and went on deck. There were a lot of hump back whales surrounding the boat, though all at some distance.

We are cruising through squally showers. Alaska is a very wet area; they don't measure their rainfall in inches here but in feet.


We arrived in Juneau at 1.30pm. Juneau has 16 feet of rain on average a year! Juneau is the largest city in the United States (land wise) and is the capital of Alaska. This region was so rich in gold at one time that the mines produced more than $158 million in gold by the early decades of the century. Gold was first found in Gold Creek, which now runs through the centre of town.

Windward is at anchor so we have to take a tender from the boat to the shore. Lifeboats were lowered and a shuttle service was run to and from the boat to the shore all day. We went on the Juneau highlights tour.

Our first stop was the salmon hatchery. It was a good time of year (September) for a visit as the salmon had come back to spawn and we saw some huge salmon in the holding tanks. Inside the visitor centre we saw displays on the life cycle of salmon. There were also displays of animals that prey on the salmon like the bald eagle and the bear.

The highlight of this tour was the Mendenhall Glacier which is just a few miles outside of town. The glacier is a moving river of ice with rugged crevasses and a distinctive blue colour. It is more than 200 feet high, three miles wide and 12 miles long. Fed from an icefield high above Juneau, Mendenhall Glacier is a dynamic flowing force, grinding and scouring everything in its path as it carves its way down to the sea. The blue colour of the glacier is remarkable. Glacial ice has a structure which absorbs or reflects light. As light strikes the ice surface all colours of the spectrum are absorbed except blue, which is reflected back. The glacier is moving forward at a rate of two feet a day.

Mendenhall Glacier

Mendenhall Glacier is one of many 'rivers of ice' in southeast Alaska formed during the Little Ice Age which began about 3,000 years ago. Before 1750, the Mendenhall Glacier was advancing; its face was 2.5 miles down the valley from its present position. Since then, due to slightly warmer temperatures, the glacier began receding. Land buried under the ice for centuries is being exposed.

Our guide told us a great story: Some elderly visitors went into the local pub for a drink. "Barman, we'll have ten whisky's. Make them three parts whisky to one part water".

"Don't you mean one part whisky and three parts water" said the barman.

"No, said the elderly man, at our age we can hold our whisky but we can't hold our water".

We were told that most people here owned a car but the furthest they could drive was 40 miles as that was as far as the road went. They never have to worry about stolen cars here, there is nowhere to take them. Most people own a boat and the only way in and out of Juneau is by boat or float plane, people here learn to fly before they learn to drive a car.

Alaska's Inside Passage

The ghosts of conifers glide by the portside windows in the gray light of dawn. Once outside, the eastern sky turns to hues of phosphorous blue, while gradual threads of violet and magenta weave their color onto the clouds. God is finger-painting the sunrise today.

I move to the stern of the ship and sit on the steps leading to the closed off deck, tempted to re-enact the scene from “Titanic.” Coffee in hand, I am warm in my heavy wool sweater. A soft breeze combs my sleepy head.

“It’s over there,” says a man’s voice. I look up at the deck above me and realize he’s talking to me. “There, in the back. Quick, the sunrise.”

I turn to the portside again and catch my breath. God’s been busy. The light is streaked with all the colors of the spectrum; mountains of gray and dark blue, merging with the silver of the ocean, provide the stunning backdrop. On the aft of the ship, I stand with a handful of others to welcome the day.

The light changes right before our eyes; from light yellow to thick, glossy gold; from fuschia to light pink; from midnight to neon blue. I rush only a little to get Paul up. He’ll die if he misses this; but he’s already sitting up from the floor where we’ve all been sleeping.

“Quick, it’s the sunrise. You’ll miss it,” I urge him.

He rises from the ground groggily and then suddenly points out the starboard windows: “Orcas! Look! Over there!”

I don’t see them at first, but we’re both rushing out the doors in opposite directions. My way is closer to the deck and I catch the sea-crested fins of three whales.

This is a place of healing. This is where you will be reminded that God knew what he was doing when he created this world. As the light reaches the darkest skies, I mourn for that special moment when all is private between Him and I; where people quietly smile their good mornings, knowing we are all sharing the same secret before the rest of the world is awake.

“Hi,” I say, giggling euphorically toward the sea. I don’t care who sees me. I salute the world with my coffee and bestow good graces on the scenery before me. “Good to be with You, again. I’ve missed You.”

The sea, speckled with whitecaps, rolls beneath us gently. Our ferry -- the M.V. Matanuska -- is enormous so it’s difficult to feel the rugged waters. By watching the horizon, I can see that we are swaying a little from side to side. It’s another beautiful day and I marvel at our luck. I expected the need to don on my winter gear up here, but it’s pleasant. Certainly, it’s not the Mediterranean, but today, I’m looking forward to turning thirty. Hell, if it’s nice enough when we reach Haines, I may just sunbathe in the nude anyway.

It’s always good to make friends with the kitchen help. The dog hasn’t been eating but once a day and I want to make sure he stays healthy. Tsyhan (the Ukrainian word for “Gypsy”) is a 15-year-old Husky-Wolf mix and is locked in a carport for the first 72 hours of this ferry ride from Bellingham to Ketchikan. So the cooks are saving me a little bacon grease to coat his food in order to tempt him to eat during one of our infrequent visits below deck.

We are docked in Juneau, Alaska on the morning of my 30th birthday. It’s just after seven a.m.; Paul and I meet down on the car deck to get the dog prepped for his walk ashore. We’re both still sleepy and Paul announces that he won’t be joining me.

“The city is twelve miles from the ferry landing and we only have an hour and a half,” he explains.

It’s fine with me; I look forward to the walk either way -- anything to get out of the sluggish habit of this ship.

John, a young army cadet from Texas on his way up to Anchorage for cold weather military training, joins my impromptu morning stroll. We walk along the dark, gray bay, the streets wet from either rain or melted snow, but it’s not too cold; about mid-forties. The dog jaunts along happily while John and I exchange stories, one of us stopping in mid-sentence to watch two eagles take toward the charcoal-swept skies. Fishing boats edge their way along in the opposite direction.

About two miles from where we’d started, we see a bent sign with the familiar national forest icon for a hiking trail. One heads up the mountain toward snowcapped peaks; the other toward the bay. I’ve had enough of the water and want to explore the forest instead. The incline continues for a couple of miles through moss-saturated cedars, a pine needle cushioned floor, a cold, fresh creek and one dark canopy overhead. We reach a small waterfall as dawn turns light gray, giving us the affect of a peaceful yet mysterious forest. It’s beautiful. There is no other word for it. Juneau’s Tongass National Forest is beautiful.

A bend in the trail leads us to higher, water saturated ground. Just before I step on it by accident, I notice the fresh bear paw print in the mud. “John,” I whisper, choking, “Look!” His sea green eyes are cast in brilliant light as I see the flash of excitement.

“It would be so cool to see a bear!” Then, as if to comfort me, “They’re afraid of humans though and this time of year, they’re not hungry.”

I assess the size of the dog again, especially since nobody knows we’re here.

A few feet further up, John and I catch the fog-crusted peak of a mountain ahead of us. It’s part of the Mendelhall glacier area. Time is running out and we have to hurry to make it back to the ferry. When we reach the dock, it is just in time for the final call. From the back of the ferry, back with Paul, we sip hot coffee and watch the Mendelhall glacier grow; it’s neon blue face appearing to be a moving, living waterfall instead of frozen ice. Porpoises bob about between the boat and shore, some closer to the boat, some closer to shore. We see a number of humpback whales blow air first and then dive deep under, their wishbone tails flipping up in a salute before disappearing into the ocean -- where the water has turned from silver gray to sea green; we marvel at how it matches the color of John’s eyes, exactly.

Gorgeous, castle-like lighthouses; crisp blue mountains; the same evergreens; waterfalls etched in the mountain faces, hundreds of sea lions and inland glaciers pass us by. We seem to be the ones who are standing still. It drizzled lightly and now it’s begun to snow a little. This is the Alaska I imagined.