Tracy Arm Fjiord

For those of you who don't know..... Juneau is land locked.  We're part of the mainland, but there are no roads in or out of Juneau.  The only way you can leave is by plane or boat.  This makes it not only expensive, but also difficult, to get away for the weekend.  For those of us without a boat, a day trip is usually a drive "out the road."  From one end to the other of our road system is about 60 miles. 

Another option for a day trip is to take a cruise to Tracy Arm.  This is a full day of pure enjoyment as you join Adventure Bound Alaska for some of the most beautiful scenery in the world! 

That's what we did on Monday.  My sister is visiting Juneau and it was a challenge to come up with some kind of activity that would keep her mind occupied for the day.  This was important because it was the one-year anniversary of her husband's passing....  We knew it would be a difficult day for her.  That there could be a lot of deep sadness. 

So we packed some survival food.... and headed to the Captain Cook, a 65' sightseeing boat.  Along the journey we saw so many whales....

And icebergs....  Deep deep blue in color.  They say 80 percent of the berg is under water so just imagine the damage this berg could do to our little boat! 

I love finding shapes in objects--like this mushroom. 

We saw some of the most incredible scenery, with sheer cliffs etched out from glaciers long ago.  There were deep deep cracks in walls of rock that look like it would break away at any minute.  Dainty yellow, orange, blue and red wild flowers creeping along any inch of surface they could find. 

This is a trip everyone should take.  At least once in their life time.  I know Steve (my sister's husband) would have enjoyed this trip immensely as he was a mountain climber in his younger days.  I bet he would have imagined himself climbing these very sheer cliffs. 

But Steve is in another place now.  Or so we thought....  Imagine my surprise when I learned that the Captain's name on the boat was Captain Steve!  Coincidence?  I think not.  I hope my sister found peace on this day. 

glacier

The Mendenhall Glacier on a sunny and clear day. I never cease to be in awe of its beauty on a clear day. It looks like someone painted a mural in the background. That's Canada behind it.


When I came to Juneau in 1971, the glacier stretched to the barren part of the mountain on the right. It's constantly calving large chunks of ice that float in the lake. You can walk up to the face of the glacier.... if you're one of the braver souls. Me, not so much....

Hiking on both sides of the glacier is a favorite past time of locals and tourists, where you have some great views of the ice field and lake.

Later! Nancy

local attractions

It's that time of year....

For spawning fish.... trying to make it up Sheep Creek so they can die.

What a way to go....

For wildfires in Canada and Alaska.... (wildfires have burned more than 2.2 million acres this summer in Alaska....). Some how the smoke manages to filter its way to Juneau. What you can't see in this photo is the glacier or the mountains surrounding it. We have THAT much smoke!

For garbage bears.... This bear is making the rounds in a neighborhood, enjoying tidbits it can find. These are the dangerous bears because they get used to humans and get harder and harder to shoo away. They'll eventually get relocated or removed....

Some things never change in Juneau.... Nancy

winter is on its way

It appears winter is on its way now.... This isn't our first snowfall of the season and it won't be our last. I wish Fall didn't leave us in such a hurry though, but would find reason to linger a little longer. The colors of Fall are such a simple pleasure, and even more so once you realize that it wasn't so long ago when the only landscaping here was the color of ice....

With the Mendenhall Glacier just down the road from us, we've been watching it recede for years. As huge chunks of ice break off and melt, more of the mountainside underneath becomes naked; now a bare canvas to the possibility of cottonwood, spruce trees, and other foliage transforming the bare rocks with a carpet of color. And it is!

When I moved here in 1970, I found it to be a very difficult transition for many reasons. But one of the biggest was that there wasn't any color in the landscape. Despite rumors that nothing would grow because of our weather and the poor poor soil, die-hard gardeners plunged forward, finding the perfect blend of plants and colors to transfer our gray town. Slowly, over the years, seeds are deposited in the forested land and new foliage takes hold. Today our town is filled with color all season long! Cottonwoods have found their niche in the Tongass National Forest, adding their personal touch to the landscape painting. We have nurseries that bring the perfect addition to our yards.

Our color is all gone now. For another season. And, in its place, we'll have the color of black and white for the next several months. The darkness that winter brings and the snow that helps lighten the days. But that's okay because it brings its own mystic to the landscape and goes perfectly with the winter Holidays!

Have a wonderful weekend! Nancy

the colors of winter....

We don't have a lot of color in Juneau. Mostly different shades of gray. You'd think when our weather was so gray all the time that people would paint their homes a bright, lively color! But we don't.... Gray and various shades of gray.... grayish blue, concrete gray, pale gray, slate blue (which is similar to gray in our gray weather). Okay so you get my point.

Today we're in the middle of our winter storm. We're supposed to get 16-28 inches of snow by tomorrow and then more tomorrow.... It's snowing but not accumulating too badly just yet. We did go for our daily ride this morning (per our dog, Sadie's, orders and expectations....) and I took some pictures along the way.

Like I said, Juneau is just a lot of gray.... whether it's a rainy/dreary gray or a snowy darkness. But I promise, starting tomorrow I'll try to get more color on to my pages! I hope you enjoy the ride!

Egan Highway; our highway into town. Up until the 70's, we had a two lane road that went from downtown Juneau to The Valley. If there was an accident, the road would be tied up for hours with traffic having no other way in or out of town. Egan Highway is a fairly new highway as it was built in the 70's when sand was dredged out of the Gastineau Channel (a body of water between the mainland and Douglas Island), forming this road. Most people traverse to and from town on this road now. We drive right along the Channel and have a gorgeous view of the water and even whales some times.

This is "the Channel." When it's cold, the salt water will freeze over and then as the tide comes and goes, it breaks it up into these ice flows. It's pretty awesome looking in real life. You feel as if you're up in the Arctic.

This is one of our boat harbors downtown. The harbor water freezes in the winter too. We have a lot of people who live on their boats year round. Blue tarps are a staple for Juneauites. It also adds a little color to Juneau's skies!

Okay, we're almost downtown now. We're just passing our high school area. The dry snow is squirreling along the highway. The winds can get pretty bad down town. We have what are called "Taku Winds." These winds come from Canada, across the ice fields, and are strong and cold. One thing you don't want to do is get caught in the middle of one of these gusts unless there's a car, a building, or some other object to grab a hold of. I've seen more than one person get blown across the road as if they were a rag doll. Taku Winds. Not fun.

Okay, we're here, downtown Juneau, the southern part of it anyway. This is the tourist part of Juneau. It looks pretty desolate this time of year without hoards of tourists milling about. This is our sleepy little town in the winter. Snow is blowing. It looks deserted!

This is uptown Juneau, the main business district and shop area. Juneau is an interesting town. It's built at the base of two mountains--Mount Roberts and Mount Juneau with the Gastineau Channel on the other side. During the mining days, downtown space was expanded by building on pilings driven into the Channel. But, still, downtown Juneau is only a few blocks in size, just a small area.

Here we are, home again. Hope you enjoyed a little bit of our blizzard conditions today!

a winter's day

Our home.




One of my loyal friends.

Juneau is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful places in the world, but never more than when the sun is out. Sadly, we don't see the sun often enough.... Lack of sunshine and long nights can cause severe cabin fever in the winter time as we long for more day light hours and more sunshine. Lack of sunshine depreciates our vitamin D and we get so pale looking. Mostly, when the sun shines through the windows and rays stop long enough on a table top, lamp shade, or a portion of the floor.... the first thing you notice is the dust and dirt and dog hair that has been hidden for so very long in the darkness! Talk about ruining a good thing!


Too much snow.

But today was one of those beautiful sunny days that filled us with hope and renewed our spirit. It was a good day! Never mind it was minus 10 degrees when we woke up this morning. That would be -10 like in below zero. Minus 10.... Now we're in for more harsh weather.


Out the road.


The national weather service says we have a winter storm coming our way. Tonight will bring minus temps again and "gusts" to 65 mph.... That would bring the wind chill factor to -35. Brrrr. Tomorrow we're supposed to get more snow; a total accumulation of 14-24 inches. Tomorrow will be a heavy day of shoveling.
A winter storm a brewin.


A beautiful sunset.

These are some pictures of Juneau; not necessarily this year. Just pictures that fairly represent the good, the bad, and the ugly of Juneau. Enjoy!




Our airport area. Much of our commute to and from remote villages are done by float planes.


A rainy day in Juneau.

you know you live in a small town when....

I know this is my second post today, but as I'm sitting here listening to the radio, and laughing, I just had to make another entry. I wasn't actually listening to the radio but was on hold with the car dealer and the "music" was our local radio station. Problem Corner on KINY.

You know you live in a small town when your daily call in program is to sell and buy and trade and barter or just to visit! "This is Phyllis (the Alaskan Native says)..... and I'd like to wish my sister Harriett and her husband Tom Feller happy second anniversary....." Or Henry who has an 1985 vehicle for sale, cheap.... Or Marge who's just lonely and wants to chat for awhile. Maybe you're looking for some seal oil.... or mukluks.... or canning jars.... or instructions on how to knit socks.... This is THE place to shop!

KINY radio is a main source of communication between all the small villages and towns in Southeast Alaska. Natives living in Angoon will call Problem Corner (in Juneau), asking that their son call them. They're regulars. The DJ doesn't need to ask names or phone numbers. He has it all memorized from talking to these people day after day after day.

And if you're a day laborer, you can call Problem Corner looking for work. Have shovel will travel! If you need someone to come shovel snow, this is the means you would use in Juneau. If you have something to sell, or just want to sit and visit, just pick up the phone. If you have a political view .... just call KINY and let us all know what it is.

When I moved here in 1971, I didn't miss a day of Problem Corner. It felt like a piece of home. Families calling and talking about what's going on in their homes that day or relaying messages to other families in Southeast Alaska. But 30 some years later, you'd think we would have moved out of this simple, back road means of communication, bartering, visiting, and keeping in touch. But we haven't. Every day you can visit and chat with Dennis Egan from 10:15 until noon. He's your family.

We don't listen to KINY so much anymore. I guess I outgrew it.... but every now and then I turn the radio on it takes me back home 30 years ago. It's good that some things never change.

Trading Spaces

I'd like to say I was one of those people who never watch tv. But I'm not. And I do. And I love my special programs! All the new season premiers are on and I'm ready to settle in for the winter. I love Dancing With the Stars, ER, and, sadly, The Bachelor.

I used to be addicted to watching Trading Spaces every Friday night. Okay, Tye.... But then they got rid of whats-her-name and changed the whole theme of the show and I stopped watching it.

Guess what? It's coming back! And one of their new carpenters just happens to be from Juneau! Chad Mills; check out his profile. As I was watching the video, his mother came on and I know her! What a small town.

Have a great day!

first snow

The last few days were so stormy; windy, rainy, ugly. Typical Juneau weather. Today it's gorgeous. Brisk; 40 degrees. A perfect fall day.

Yesterday while driving home from work, I thought I caught a glimpse of snow on the mountains surrounding the glacier. But then it could have been cloud formations as well....

My first instinct was right. Here's some pictures of Juneau on a beautiful, fall day. Enjoy!

This is Mendenhall Lake, taken from Skater's Cabin at the west side of the glacier. That's Mendenhall Glacier .




Just a zoomed in version.



I find icebergs fascinating and like imagining imaginary shapes.... This is a glacier duck.


This is Skater's Cabin. I'm not certain the history behind it but in the winter when the lake is frozen, you can stay warm inside this little cabin and the frozen lake will be alive with ice skaters.




I guess it's been around for awhile...




What a beautiful view! How grand to get married here, or have a picnic.



This was, indeed, a gorgeous day.

a road trip to the glacier

Today you get to be a tourist. I thought we'd take a trip to the Mendenhall Glacier. It won't take long. And it won't cost you a dime! So come on! Let's go see what's happening at the glacier today!

This is the road to the glacier. It's just about a two mile drive from our home. You can see the top of the glacier there in the middle (the white area).


Since I came to Juneau in 1971, the glacier has receded considerably. Now there's so much rock and mountain exposed. It's a pretty incredible sight. You can sorta get an idea when you look at all the ice that has recently calved off.


I hope you wore some comfortable walking shoes as we'll be venturing out on to the observation trail. The forest service built this incredible trail and viewing areas for tourists where we can observe the bear in their natural habitat (eating, fishing, climbing trees, nursing, snoozing) without the worry of getting mauled. We're in luck today as I see sign of bear!

One of their many fine dining areas along Steep Creek. This creek is a favorite dining spot of theirs as it isn't very deep (inches) and the spawning sockeye salmon plentiful. You can see half eaten salmon along the creek banks.



Another sign of bear: their bathroom.... (the little red specks are either fish eggs or berries. Sorry, but couldn't get close enough (or want to!) to see for sure!


And we're not the only tourists here today. I wonder what they're looking at....


OH! A little black bear! Don't worry. The forest service guide (in the green clothes) has everything under control....


He's not shy around so many people as you can tell. Another forest service guide keeps watch below (his boots). We have plenty of guides around us for protection, if we need it. Don't worry.... They're here to protect us AND the bears and will remind you to talk quietly, walk quietly, hurry along.... as the need arises.


And yet another forest service guide possibly preventing the little guy from getting up onto the trail (and us!).


Even the forest service guides take pictures! Here, the little guy decides just maybe he doesn't want to go any further and returns in the direction he came.


And says "goodbye" for today.


I hear yells, "can we follow him? Can we follow him?"

No, we can't follow him! Why? This is why:




Trail closed for the rest of the season due to increased bear activity. Evidently a couple bear "rushed" some tourists more than once and the forest service had to close the trail to protect us. So the caution signs could keep us from passing through.... but what about bear coming from the other direction?




Hope you enjoyed the tour! Unfortunately, you were looking at the rotting sockeye when Mike and I came upon a momma black bear and two cubs.... One cub was way up high in a cottonwood tree, the other on the ground near its momma. After a bit, the momma walked over to the base of the tree and must have gave the treed baby bear a look, or something, because the bear started making these little bear sounds and scurried back down. Momma and two cubs went to their pad, laid down, and nursed. Sorry you couldn't be there to see it.... Until next time.... N.

a road trip

I love road trips! They put me to sleep though.... It's a good thing we live where we do because our road trips don't take much more than an hour's time. Maybe 1-1/2 hours depending on how much time we spend taking pictures. If you start from one end of Juneau and drive to the other end, it's about 60 miles. Here's some pictures from this week's road trip:

Alaskan cotton. This grows in a marshy, muskeggy environment (soggy) and is sometimes difficult to get to because the ground is so damp. It blooms for a couple weeks and looks like a ball of cotton. This picture was taken at the end of it's cycle and after the wind and rain has been beating on it for days. It's looking a little shabby, but still a beautiful field of cotton. I was hoping to get some cotton picked on this trip but it just wasn't meant to be.


Deer. On the way home, we turned into a driveway of some new houses that just went up 4-Sale. We heard they are low income housing.... overlooking Auke Lake.... Interested, because they're not very nice houses, we wanted a closer look. As we were "critiquing" them, we happened to notice a deer just feet away from us. I was snapping pictures like crazy, knowing the deer would take off at any second. Sadie was barking like crazy, like she wanted to attack this deer. The deer just stood and looked at us for the longest time. As we started backing out of the driveway, my husband noticed a second deer! So we stayed a little longer and appreciated their stillness while I snapped away.

Fireweed. Isn't it gorgeous? Fireweed is one of our most vibrant, and massive, wild flower. The stems can grow up to 5-6 feet high. The flowers start blooming from the bottom of the spike and as the days and weeks go by, more flowers open up until they get to the very tip of the stalk. When they reach the top, the old timers say we have six more weeks until winter.... This gorgeous view is from Brotherhood Bridge with the wild Fireweed in the foreground and the Mendenhall Glacier in the background. This view is about four minutes from our home. How lucky we are to be so close to such beauty.


Cottage. We don't have many cute, cottage-style homes in Juneau except in the downtown historic district. Most new houses are just big, ugly boxes with no class, no individuality to them. This is one of my favorite little homes in Juneau. I think it's just as cute as a bug's ear and I'd love to live here. It's next to the main house and is probably a rental or maybe a grandma apartment unit. I just love it. If I lived there, I'd probably put a different window on the left . It looks like the perfect homestead for my sweetie and me.

Container Van. Most everything that comes to Juneau comes in these container vans, on a barge, towed by a tug boat up through the Inside Passage, along the Alaska coast line. Groceries, clothes, furniture, new vehicles. Most everything. Some perishable items will arrive via Alaska Airlines as freight. We live on the mainland; we're not an island. We just don't have any road systems in or out of Juneau. To get to Juneau you either arrive on Alaska Airlines, the Alaska Marine Highway System, or your personal boat or small plane. The barge arrives on Tuesday of each week. In the 1970s and 80s, you could find yourself in a pickle if you needed milk or eggs on a Monday morning.... only to find the shelves empty and the barge not due for another day.

This was a short road trip but thought you'd enjoy seeing some local pictures of Juneau.