North to Alaska Part 4

 

North to Alaska Part 4 

At 7 a.m. we arrive in Juneau and we have lucked out again. It is another beautiful day, the sun is out and it is warm.  Juneau has a rainy climate, although it is said to be typically light rain, you will still need some type of rain gear for about 230 days a year. Today it is 76 degrees, no wind. It just doesn’t get better than this.

Most people think Anchorage, not Juneau, is the capitol of Alaska.   It never crossed my mind one way or another. Then again, because I live in Nevada who would think Carson City would be Nevada’s capitol. 

Juneau is unusual because it is the only U.S. capitol where there are no roads to get here. You need to come by either boat or air. One look at the high steep mountains and rugged terrain you understand why.   The construction of roads would be a huge challenge since they would need to cross glaciers, rivers, unstable terrain and be subject to avalanche closures.

 Most tourists come here by cruise ship. Today there are five cruise ships in town, bringing  over 10,000 people into port. Of course, many of those go on excursions like whale watching, dog sledding, panning for gold, fishing, helicopter rides, or bear viewing by floatplane. Some stay on board, but the majority walk the downtown historical section of Juneau, like we did this morning. 

Shops don’t open until 10, then all hell breaks loose. Tourists tend to be either gawkers or shoppers or try to get a table at Tracey’s, the place to go if you want crab or stand in line to get into the Red Dog Saloon to get that reindeer sausage sandwich they think they  have been craving. The other hotspot is the Alaska Fudge Company which features 22 flavors of fudge. We wandered in thinking we might get a sample of this local delight, but there were no free nibbles, probably providing samples to all the hordes of tourists would leave them nothing to sell. 

Surprising Juneau has a notable homeless crisis for its population because of its remote location. I guess it makes hitching a ride to somewhere a bit challenging, not to mention surviving elements, the moose and bears. The cost of living here is as high as the mountains. Many cannot afford housing, let alone groceries that are said to be 1/3 more than anywhere in U.S. I read that Juneau pays people to live here on an average of a $1,600. stipend a month as long as they have lived here the previous year.

 We saw quite a few homeless early this morning but by the time shops opened, and cruisers flooded the streets they either blended in or ran for the hills. 

I think Juneau is a beautiful place but no way I would live here. The rain alone would start making me start to quack. I would undoubtedly suffer from S.A.D. Seasonal Affective Disorder in both winter and summer. On December 21^st the sun is up for only is 6 hours. In summer June 20^th is the longest day of the year with 18 hours of light causing many to suffer from mood agitation, anxiety and insomnia.

Once back on the ship we watched float planes come and go while soaking up some sun on our balcony.  We decided to eat a late lunch and skip dinner. Too much Food!

Tomorrow we will be in Sitka.

 

SITKA

Now I know why we brought our rain jackets… today is typical Alaska weather, overcast, foggy, gloomy and looks likely to rain. Skita Sheet Ka originally settled by the Tlingit (pronounced Kling kit) then was taken over by Russians then Alaska was sold to the U.S. in 1867. 

It is a small town with only 8,000 population and like Juneau is only accessible by air and sea, thus again impacting the costs and availability of goods and services. Fishing industry is the backbone of its economy, and the views are postcard worthy. To me it has a rugged working-class vibe, everything from mobile homes to wooden frame houses although there are some very nice waterfront properties with million-dollar views.

Once in town we took a long walk along the shore and stopped at a working-class salmon hatchery where we saw hundreds of salmon leaping, flopping upstream to return to the place where they were born. It is quite entertaining but also it is kind of heartbreaking watching the salmon jump to their death and then probably be eaten by a bear. Just the act of spawning to me is like driving cross country dodging traffic in bad weather just to sit down at the dinner table with an aunt you never really cared for… it is the circle of life.

 We continued down the trail into Sitka National Park where there is a one-mile Totem trail through a rain forest where you see a totem pole about every fifty yards. It is serene, beautiful, peaceful.  I would never say if you have seen one totem pole you have seen them all but I will say Jay stopped taking pictures after about the first six. 

Then it was back on the ship to get ready for our specialty Tuscan dinner at Toscana where Jay has already decided on Scaloppini de

Vitello al Limone. Cause Jay always says, “If you can get veal, get it”.

After dinner there is a special Blue Horizon party on board. Guests are urged to wear blue and to try the signature blue cocktails. We are going for sure but I can’ t say for how long. We attended the captains party a few days ago and it was so crowded we couldn’t get a canapé.  After walking through the room we left and went down to the Martini bar. 

Tomorrow is Wrangell Alaska