Greetings all and once again we're going to try this blogging thing. This time we head North to the great 49th state of Alaska. Both Beanie and I have been here before but not together and not as a vacation so this should be little different. Just as another heads up, I am going solo on this blog - Beanie is concentrating on not fixing my stuff!!
Were departing AZ on 10 May and returning late on 30 May. One of my side goals for this trip is to keep up my step count goal of at least 10,000 steps per day. Could be challenging on a 200' long ship. We'll see. Let the adventure begin . . . .
10 May. After exhaustive planning (by Beanie) we're reading kick this off. It's 0300 (3:00 AM for you civilians), the alarm just sounded, the car pickup time is 0430, and time to go. We finished the final packing. Not too bad, two large suite cases of ~ 32 lbs and two carry on piece. Off to the airport. Everything went smooth and we're wheels up at 0700 to Seattle. The flight was quite good. Haven't either not flown or not remembering flying on Alaska it was excellent service. Food was good, flight attendants vey good, and all went smoothly. We have a 5 hour layover, in Seattle before we catch a puddle jumper to Sitka with a short stop-and-go at Ketchikan along the way. Might be a good chance to catch up on steps.
For any of you flying Alaska Air with a layover at Seattle,the new Alaska lounge in the North Terminal if terrific. Great food, nice bar, and some of the best airplane watching available. We got online, did some snacking and some terrific airplane watching, and I snuck out for a walk about to catch a few steps.
We got off a bit late on our trip but made our way to Ketchikan. We had a short layover and wanted to stretch our legs a bit so we disembarked to check things out. The airport there is very small, one gate and a couple of venders. I thought this sign pretty much summed it up.
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| Couldn't agree more!!!! |
We reboarded and off to Sitka. It was rainy, about 41 degrees, and just getting dark. Luggage was there in a jiffy and the shuttle van from the Longliner Lodge & Suite was on time. Beanie booked a "suite" for us. In my mind a suite in Sitka could be a wide variety of results, but as usual, Beanie did it right and we checked without any issues. Many of the folks actually staying in Sitka this time of year are hear for the fishing. It's known for very good salmon fishing as well as halibut so the rooms somewhat cater to a bunch of guys spending some time fishing. Our room was larger than our first apartment; full kitchen, one bath, a master BR with a king bed, a great room with two full size beds, and a pull out sofa. If you had 6-8 guys that were good friends, you could put them all up here and just have a few minor brawls for access to the one bathroom. We got settled in and headed down to the restaurant to grab a light dinner. We split a nice shrimp dinner called something I don't know or remember (Beanie ordered it) that was very good, a cold beer, of off to hit the sheets. It was quiet, comfy, and we both were out like lights.
Step Count: 12.562
11 May. The sun was up around 0500 and we rolled out of the rack around 0730. It was a beautiful day, In an unusual event, the sun was making its way out, no wind, and ravens and gulls all over the place. The view our the front is of the Sitka Channel. It's about a 1/4 mile wide and a working waterfront. Here's a couple of pics.
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| View From Our Balcony to the Restaurant Area |
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| Some Ships Can Fly! |
There's a Coast Guard Station directly across from us. I say a Buoy Tender, the Kukui, and a 25' Rigid Hully Response Boat, and a wind sock indicating there's Helo landing area. We caught the Kukui heading out to see later that day. Always good to see America's Coasties on the job.
I was just looking out over the channel when I saw something breaking the surface. Beanie said there was a local seal here named Fred. I tried to capture a short video, but he dove and stayed down for a long time. I was just getting ready to bail when a seal broke the surface. I started to record and then another seal broke the surface - twin damn Freds or neither but it was fun to see.
Beanie had researched a Raptor Rescue Center so that was today's agenda. It's about 2 miles from us so we figured we do a walk about and pay them a visit. In many ways Sitka reminds me of growing up in Maine. It's a quintessential working, waterfront town. Fishing boats every where heading in and out of the channel, seagulls following both ways looking to scrounge some food, and the sounds of working the waterfront. The major difference is Sitka has 1000s of really large, vocal, inquisitive ravens. They make more sounds than any ravens we've ever encountered.
We headed out and stopped for a light breakfast along the way. It's Mother's Day so the very few restaurants that are open were packed. We ordered what turned out to be a very good avocado toast and Beanie had an iced mocha and we were on our way.
The town is very quaint, a bit touristy, but very welcoming. We're a couple of weeks ahead of the batshit tourist season kicking in so everybody seems pretty chill. About a mile down the road we came across the Sitka National Cemetery. It was so well kept and looked great. We walked around a bit, checking out the gravestones which dated back to the 1860s.
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| Sitka National Cemetery |
We continued on to the Rapture Center, which, spoiler alert, was terrific! You may want to check it out here,
Alaska Rapture Center !
The first hint of goodness was the parking lot was empty, no cars, no tour busses, just me and the Bean trudging up the driveway. We ran into a couple of workers and chatted for a bit and before we could even buy a ticket, a young lady came walking out with a Peregrine Falcon on her wrist! This particular falcon was a rescue from someone that wanted to get into falconry, but this bird didn't work out. Birds that can't be released into the wild become of imprinting on humans so in essence, they become the face of the center. Because they have been habituated with humans they lack the natural instincts, but are great for getting along with the general public. We chatted with the handler for 15-20 minutes while she educated us and treated the falcon with a few pieces of dead mice.
After the nice welcome from the Peregrine, we started to explore. Our tickets, a mere $16, was well worth the 15 minutes with the falcon, started with a short video about the center and a visit to the Eagle Flight Facility. This is an enclosed room, about the size of a gymnasium, where injured eagles that are almost fully recovered come to test their wings. It has multiple perches, each designed to evaluate balance and strength, a running stream, and enough airspace to test their wings. Food is place throughout the area so there are no fights over it. After a period of time, a final physical is performed to ensure skeletal structure is sounds and the bird is tagged and scheduled for release back into the wild. They've released almost 600 birds, about 18 per year since they opened. I think it's pretty cool, but then again, there is something about a bald eagle!!!
We continued to explore the grounds. There were additional eagles that could not be released, various hawks, snowy owls, and others. There were also a couple or trail throughout the grounds. We did some more exploring. It was so interesting to see the different areas. The forest reminded a great deal of Maine, lots of moss, old forest downed trees, temperate rain forest and fresh brooks and rivers. While on one of the trails we came across another member of the staff out walking a kestrel, the smallest of the raptors. These little guys are about the size of a robin and really vocal. They have a lot of cool traits, physical and personality. This guy fell out of a nest and some folks found him and thought he would make a good pet. Less than a week later, they realize their mistake and called the center, but by that time he had imprinted on humans and missed the window when he would needed to learn to make it in the wild. As an example of how he lost some of his nature fears, while we were chatting, another staffer walked by with her two dogs and the kestrel never even flinched! Here's what he looked like.
One other fun thing we did was measure and compare our wingspans. Many of you may not be aware of the fact that Beanie has gorilla length arms. Most folks think she is taller than she is at 5' 6"; however, she has the wingspan very comparable to me at 6' 3". Fun facts!! Here's the proof!!
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| Spread from the O to the ? - about 6' |
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| Spread from the O to the N - also just about 6' |
After we finished up we headed back to the room. Along the way we stopped at an infamous local watering hole named the Pioneer Bar. It's a local spot with a wide collection of interesting people to include the barmaid, Rita. Rita has been been bartending here for 44 years and she is, without a doubt, the monarch of the establishment. The walls are papered with pictures of locals going back to WWII. We were chatting with one the workers that told us there was a picture of Rita, topless, from some 40 years ago. We didn't actually see it, but I suspect it would have been worth the walk to check it out!! I probably missed an interesting opportunity.
Dinner was at the hotel restaurant, more shrimp with rice and mixed veggies for the Bean and I had another Caesar Salad. Once again, quite good, excellent beer, and good service. Back to the room, Beanie was out in a matter of minutes and I wasn't too far behind her.
Step Count: 15466
12 May. Jumped out of bed at the crack of 8:00! We headed down to the hotel restaurant for yet another nice breakfast, and surprisingly good coffee!! Today's calendar event is a visit to the Fortress of the Bear, a bear rescue organization. We hitched a ride from the hotel shuttle as it was about 7 miles one way.
The "facility" is a repurposed industrial complex that included multiple "containers" each of which is circular and about 150' in diameter. Each container has 5-20' high stone walls which really makes them ideal places for something like a bear. Too tall to climb, too strong to push over. They equipped each with a flowing water feature, ponds, lots of toys, and other curiosities such as fir trees, huge tires, sand pits. They have 2-3 bears in each facility. In addition they've added an external wall the results in another facility where they house the black bears for a total of 8 bears. All bears are orphans from either vehicle accidents or being shot for encroachment on humans. Alaska has a very healthy bear population so there is a hunting season. Here's a couple pic that will hopefully make my descriptions make a little more sense.
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| Very Healthy and Alert! |
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| Various toys, tires, tubes, fir trees, and of course, a private pool |
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| Large, healthy, and curious black bear. |
After the Fortress of the Bear we decided to follow up with a hike to local trail called Thimbleberry Lake - Heart Lake Trail. It was about a 1 1/2 mile hike to the trail head. Though the walk was along the road, it was along the bay area and very nice.
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| Little overcast, but still a really good day, |
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| My Bean - she wasn't as cold as it looks |
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| Periodically we came across staircases down to the water |
We made it to the trailhead without issue, but had to scurry ahead of cycle tour group - no problem. Common words of caution - bears are everywhere with general rule of one every square mile. The trail very well laid out and maintained, Thimbleberry Lake was pretty close, 1/2 mile or so, small but a great location. It was another 1 1/2 miles to Heart Lake. There was significantly more elevation, but still a great trek. We came across a couple other hikers with dogs, which is always good. Little disheartening when the dogs ran straight past me to get to Beanie! The hike itself was a wonderful old world temperate rainforest, all part of the Tongass National Forest - the largest national forest in the United States. We came across increased signs of bear - lots of poop - really big poop. We made it to Heart Lake and it was well worth the effort. We made the turn and began the trek back to the road. It wasn't too long after we made it to the road and started walking back to hotel we pooped out and called a taxi back to town. Did a little shopping and walked back to the hotel.
After we made our way back to the room, got cleaned up and tried to find a place to eat. The restaurant at the Longliner, like many in town, is closed on Monday. After exhausting research we settled on a place "downtown" and walked in. Beanie went for the halibut fish and chip and I had seafood chowder and a caesar salad, All pretty good except Beanie wasn't happy with the fries, little droopy and perhaps a bit too much grease. Me, I could drink french fries and be happy!! We made our way back to the hotel, Beanie fell asleep on the sofa with her head on my chest. Perfect way to end the day!
Step Count: 20,984
13 May. Today is moving day, from the expansive hotel to our intimate (means really small) cruise ship for the next 5 days. As we couldn't board our ship until 5:00 PM we were in no hurry and hung around the room until our late checkout at 1:00. There was lot's going on so we just spent our time observing life on a working waterfront.
We enjoyed our last meal at the Longliner, Club Sandwich with wavy potatoes, kind of like crinkle fries. There were also more ravens and bald eagles hanging around. We finally headed out to the cruise, checked in and still had a couple of hours to kill. As this cruise is affiliated with National Geographic, they told us that there was a film playing in town about Sitka called Sitka's Hidden Wonders and we could get free admission. To be perfectly honest, the last thing I really wanted to do was see some film about a small town made by some rookie film maker on his iphone, but . . . . Beanie wanted to go so off we went. We got there and we had a 30 minute wait for the next showing so I suggested we just go in, catch the last 15 minutes of so, then watch the first 30 minutes and be done with it. When we proposed this to the ticket people, we found out the maker of the film was also hawking the tickets and "highly recommended" waiting as the movie was made with the end building on the first parts. So, I'm thinking I can't catch a break!!
We headed out, it started to rain, and we had about to kill 40 minutes - still can't catch a break! We wondered aimlessly through a few local stores feigning interest in $120 sweatshirts until movie time finally arrived. We entered our free movie in an old, old theatre in the middle of renovation and I'm thinking, I really CANNOT catch a freaking break! We, along with several other people, grab a seat and the movie begins and bang, it's got Dolby surround sound that is off the hook! It starts with a ten question quiz about Sitka which was pretty interesting and we pretty much nailed it with our 48 hours of living the Sitka life. Then the movie began. It was FREAKING AWESOME! The film maker has lived in Sitka for 16 years, has done wildlife filming around the world, and focused on how the food chain works for the ocean in Sitka, from little single cell protoplasms to humpback whales. It was made by Ben Hamilton whom I have now learned is an award winning film maker. Pretty cool! If you're interested you can find out a little more here,
Sitka's Hidden Wonders. We went back to the ship staging area, caught the shuttle bus, road it for well over 200 yards away, got off and boarded!
My first impression - man, this is one small ship! I think it holds about 70 passengers. Beanie reserved us one of, if not the, largest cabins on the ship and I will tell you it was well over 80 sq ft! That includes the bathroom. That being said it is probably one of the best examples of space utilization I've seen. Here's a couple of shots!
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| Master Bedroom |
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View of Great Room from Master Bedroom
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The elegant toilet-shower complex
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We did some preliminary unpacking and headed to the bar/lounge for our what to do if we sink drill. Drill complete we set out exploring! Didn't take long. The kind of cool feature is the top two decks, totaling 22 room all exit to an outside deck - almost feels like a balcony! It has a launch for the zodiacs in the back and pretty good viewing from almost everywhere. It's 33' wide, or about the wingspan of a humpback whale. It's an older ship built in 1982 and is really more of a river ship that's been repurposed for the inland water ways of Alaska and transitions to the Baha region in the winter. Back to the room and my first encounter with the master bath shower - oddly enough it wasn't too bad. It's basically a 6' x 30 "(?) room with a toilet and shower. There's a shower curtain to keep the toilet side dry which is nice because your towels/racks are on that side. The shower is either handheld or on an adjustable rod for any height. It's instant on hot water so it no muss - no fuss!
We sauntered down to the bar for a beverage before dinner and chatted with a few folks. We have quite a few folks from the East coast, some from the West coast, and others are spread around including another couple from Phoenix that we have yet to chat up. We had dinner and like the Quark ship, everyone eats together, crew & passengers, at the same time. Food was good (not Quark good), service was quite good and very friendly.
Back to the room to finish unpacking and organizing before we head out to watch departing Sitka. We left pretty much on time. It is an amazing waterway. I got a couple of pics, a video, and stop action video to try and capture it.
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| Local trawler |
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| Heading to and thru the breakwater. |
Good time and off to bed. Waters are smooth so it should be a nice night!
Steps: 7,271
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