Haines

Our last day, boo hoo, but we were in the town of Haines which was quite a treat since it is rarely on their itinerary. And we got to ride bicycles! Yippee! Today one of the options was taking out rental bikes, set up by the ship, so there was no way Mike was going to skip that, and Tami was more than happy to do a little riding as well.

Beautiful morning

Alaska flag by the dock – of course Tami got one for her flag collection

Sid and Susie biked with us

It turned out to be emphasis on ‘little’ but that was just fine because Haines was quite a nice town. We did not go far at all, but the bikes were a fun way to get around and sightsee. We started out at Fort Seward, which was established in 1902 and closed in 1945. It was very reminiscent of Fort Lawton in Seattle, and now some of the buildings are galleries and tourist housing. We spent a while in the shop of a very entertaining artist. He especially enjoyed showing up his native american puppets, doing voices for them, etc. We bought our favorite puppet to bring home.

Some totem poles on the ground next to the longhouse

Front of the longhouse

The main part of town was only about a half mile away and includes the world famous Hammer Museum. Drats! It was closed! Actually, we have read that it is quite interesting. Oh well, just another reason to come back to Haines.

Mural in town

The Hammer Museum – as seen on TV

Sculpture outside the cultural museum

Before we knew it we had to head back to the ship and fuel up for the afternoon adventure, a float on the Chilkat River. The morning float group was late returning so we had free reign at the lunch buffet. At lunch, we heard that they were delayed because of the winds on the river, the cold winds, that slowed the rafts. So we bundled up in many, many layers for our turn in the rafts. Well, Tami did.

We gathered at the dock to board our bus and the guides mentioned that it was the last pit stop before we would be getting in the rafts. The women were sitting on the bus, amused to watch the line of guys headed to the restroom in this sixty-something group.

Heading down the river

Our river guide worked very hard rowing us into the wind

Mountains in the distance

One of the boats

They drove us up to the put-in point and we started out down the Chilkat, which is known for the huge population of bald eagles that convene there every year and feast on the returning salmon. The wind was blowing quite strongly and it was cold. Very cold. Tami had seven layers on but Mike only had four. He was cold. Very cold. Not happy. So Tami enjoyed the trip far more than Mike did (sorry, Mike) but it was very beautiful and we saw a lot of eagles.

Flying eagle

Best eagle shot of the trip

Raven

Halfway into the float, the sun did come out and the wind lessened considerately, so it did become more comfortable. The heat on the bus back to the ship did feel mighty fine, though. Feeling returned to our toes.

The sun finally came out

Just a nice shot by Tami

Old floats

Various rumors as to how this canoe got here

Back at the dock

We had our farewell dinner and Tami once again went for half and half, a popular meal option on the ship. The choices are all so good that one just can’t decide so you get a plate with a half (or full!) portion of two choices. It has also been known for some to have a bit of all three choices. Tami’s choice was bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin and the portobello mushroom Wellington. Wow, that was a mighty fine combo. Mike had the sesame-encrusted halibut with wasabi, also delicious.

Dinner was followed by the slide show put together by the crew. They have been taking pictures during our entire trip and it was so fun to see all of us out having fun and adventuring, accompanied by a great soundtrack.

But wait, there’s more! After retiring to our room, while Mike was snoring and Tami was reading, the bridge came on the intercom and announced that the northern lights were going on outside. Alaska saved it for the last night and what a grand finale to the trip!

The next morning we arrived in Juneau, from whence we would fly home. We had a couple of hours so we walked around town a bit with Mary and Sid. We even found a bike shop to peruse (surprise, surprise)! Then it was off to the airport and the flight home.

Our best whale shot – sculpture on Juneau waterfront

Building in Juneau

Passengers waiting at the airport – several in native hats, we guessed a native dance troop

Another glacier

We were woken at 7:30 am by an announcement that we were parked in front of a couple glaciers and would be sitting there for about 20 minutes. You have never seen us scramble to get dressed so fast. It was still snowing, and one of the crew told us they had to clear off at least six inches this morning.

Snow piled on kayaks as we leave the glaciers

Cool

After morning we reassembled in the lounge where a number of people – passengers and crew – worked to complete their booklets to earn their Junior Ranger badges, while our park ranger worked on a birthday card for her sister. Many crayons in evidence. Apparently there will be a graduation ceremony later. The activities on a small cruise ship are certainly different from the large ships.

Puzzlers in the lounge

During a geology lecture we heard about how the most recent volcanic eruption turned out to be some people burning a pile of rubber tires in a nearby crater. It just happened to be April 1. The lecture was finished with a special song by Ranger Tania about earthquakes (and more). Tania Lewis, Live at the Outpost, cdbaby website.

We overheard our ranger say she was disappointed that this time no one on the ship had asked what the elevation is here at Glacier Bay. Our guide Lauren mentioned that she has had people ask what keeps the islands from floating away.

Susie and Lauren getting their Jr. Ranger badges from Ranger Tania

The Junior Ranger ceremony was touching, and then we ate. After lunch we decided to go for a walk. Fortunately the ship pulled up to a dock and we were able to get off without getting wet. Our guides took us on a trail along a river. We got to poke at and try to guess the animal the produced a certain pile of poop, and kept our eyes out for the moose that had left hoof prints on the trail ahead of us. For good or bad, we never found the moose, even though Mike did sing his moose calling song, “hey moosey moose, won’t you come out to play, come out to play,…”.

Coming into the bay

Carving on tree

Whale

Longhouse

Moose tracks!

Trail

Small stuff

Shelf fungus

Forest gummies

After a wonderful dinner of lamb shank, and a dinner discussion of cannibis laws in various jurisdictions and stories related thereto, we retired to our room to write, and avoid the nature trivia game in the lounge, though we are still getting to listen in over the speaker in our room.

Uh oh, Mike just overstressed a button on his new hiking pants. Funny, those pants were fitting rather loosely only two weeks ago.

Looks like some cold kayaking!

Snow! The sunshine of the last few days was a distant memory as we woke to grey seas and skies and the precipitation was in the form of wet snow. We had picked up our National Park ranger and were heading into Glacier Bay. As we finished breakfast a group of several sea lions started playing right alongside the ship, seemingly showing off for us. We all headed up to the lounge in hopes of seeing more sea life. Having just finished breakfast, and with it snowing outside, no one had yet donned outer wear. We looked out the windows in time to see our sister ship, the Wilderness Adventurer, passing closely on our starboard side. They were all in their outdoor gear out on deck, waving at us. We were all standing inside looking at them through our steamy windows, thinking how warm we all were here on the Explorer. Okay, we were then all shamed into grabbing our outdoor gear and cameras.

Guides on deck

We soon passed by South Marble Island, which had many sea lions lounging upon it and oodles of birds perched on its steep cliffs. Next stop, Gloomy Knob, known for mountain goats.

LOTS of birds

And a very distant goat

Mike was the wise one and stayed in the room to work on editing the ridiculous number of photos that Tami had taken over the previous two days. Tami joined the crazies on the foredeck looking for wildlife. Stepping out on deck we were blasted by cold and snow, but all binoculars were focused on shore. Ben, one of the crew, got First Goat award when he finally spotted a goat perched on the ridge. Next, Tania, the ranger spotted a group on the cliff side but they were so obscured by the ‘blizzard’ that Tami never spotted them. But Megan, another crew member, got the Low Goat award when she spotted a goat lower down on the cliff. Tami’s fingers were so cold that she could barely feel the shutter, but she managed to get a picture then decided it was time for hot cocoa in the lounge. She asked the bartender for a slug of creme de menthe. No problem, perfect.

Stopped and looked at a glacier

Icy slush floating in the water

Man that looks cold out there!

How many layers can one wear and still a) get inside a kayak and b) still paddle? We pushed the envelope of layer physics in preparation for the afternoon kayak next to the glacier. The question du jour was “how many layers are you wearing?” Tami also noticed ice forming around the kayaks as they sat on the water waiting for us. Adventure!

Kayaking involved bundling

Sid and Mary

Us in front of the glacier

We launched into the frigid water with the snow falling heavily and the water completely calm. The melting snow thickened the water to the consistency of porridge and it felt thick against the paddle, yet we seemed to glide so effortlessly through the water. We were in a bowl of snow covered cliffs with the Reid Glacier poking through the end. A group of hikers from the ship were up on a cliff overlooking the water and called us over to see the snowman they built. It was quite impressive!

Hikers

Hikers’ snowperson

We spent some nice quiet time enjoying the sound of snow pattering onto the water and gulls crying in the distance. As we turned to return to the ship, which was completely obscured from view by the snow. We could hear raucous laughter coming from the direction of the ship. It was too early for the upcoming polar plunge, so Ben, our guide, checked by radio to see what was happening. The reply was a very suspicious sounding “nothing”. All was revealed as we approached the fantail and a barrage of snowballs targeted Ben in his kayak. The crew are certainly enjoying their first experience of Glacier Bay as much as we are!

Heading back to the ship

Post-kayak, we sit in the lounge watching the snow accumulate on the decks and listening to Tania, our ranger, play the ukulele and sing songs. We are warm and happy, having just had a most amazing kayak paddle in the snow.

We chose NOT to participate in the polar plunge, though our friends Susie and Sid did. Many of the crew also did it. The water with the ice and slush floating in it looked VERY cold. Sid did mention that after he got out, the air actually felt warm. We had wondered why they were not rushing indoors to get dry clothes on!

Susie and Sid going in

Sid coming back out – he looks COLD

Some of the crew

More crew

Warming up and celebrating

Leaving the area at the end of the day

Guide Lauren

How could we resist an activity called Yak-N-Whack? Every evening before dinner the options for the next day’s activities are announced and you let them know what you want to do. There are always multiple choices and it can be hard to choose, but Yak-N-Whack was an all day activity that involved a long kayak to a picnic lunch spot followed by a short bushwhacking hike, and then kayaking back in time for cocktail hour. Sounded great!

Gear up! Since we would be bushwhacking we needed to wear our rubber boots, waterproof pants and wet weather gloves, along with layers for warmth. But the sun was shining! Woohoo! Sunscreen was applied.

Launching off the aft

Our friends Sid and Mary, and guide Wilson

After launching off the aft we all started paddling out of the bay where the ship was anchored and we were soon surprised by a humpback whale off to our right that surfaced, showed us the length of its back, then a nice showing of its fluke as it took a dive. Wow! Tami’s camera was still in her pocket so no picture, but what a fantastic start to our expedition.

We continued paddling south along the shoreline and soon had to briefly pull into shore to remove layers as the sun was shining strongly and we were quickly warming up. The older men also found it an opportunity to “unload the morning coffee”. The tide was low so we could easily see some of the interesting geological formations and sea life stuck to the rocks.

Interesting life forms visible at low tide

These barnacles were huge!

As we rounded one point that revealed a shoreline with some beach, the kayaks ahead of us exclaimed that they had just seen a black bear on the beach! Unfortunately their appearance had scared the bear off and it had skedaddled by the time we could see the beach. Drats! Of course we accused the guides of just making it up to get us to paddle faster.

We also passed the site of an abandoned cannery. The only thing remaining were some rusted metal parts near shore that looked like old boilers. Every time a new beach came in sight, we thought that must be where we are stopping for lunch, only to find ourselves paddling right on by.

Old boilers at the cannery site

Washed up crab pots

Lauren looking into cave

We continued south and approached the mouth of a creek with flat shoreline on both sides. As we neared we could see a group of five deer playing on the shore to the right of the creek. They were frolicking around and seemed to be having a grand time. We beached our kayaks on the beach to the left of the stream and the deer continued playing, even splashing around in the water. We sat and ate our picnic lunch on the logs and watched the deer; they approached closer to watch us. If that stream hadn’t been there it seemed as if they might have just come on over to join us. Eventually they meandered up the creek.

The playful deer

Looking for a place to land

Pulled up on the beach

Our guides broke out some hot chocolate as well to go with our lunch. Then they broke out our special surprise to celebrate their first visit of the season- a bottle of schnapps! Mmmm, that went just fine in our hot chocolate. Cheers!

Adding some schnapps

The kayaks were dragged up the beach, tied together and fastened to a large log. We headed off on our bushwhack and followed a deer trail up the hill. In case you’ve never noticed, deer are shorter than humans. We got to do some whacking and the branches got to whack us. But be careful not to grab onto the devils club! On of our party later spent some time picking out stickers from an accidental encounter. Apart from the boobytraps it was very fun. We eventually found an open area where muskeg seemed to just be forming. Very spongy. We kept hearing the mystery bird sound of the trip – a low, deep repeated call, hauntingly thrumming through the trees. Very atmospheric.

Bushwacking – looks like a sasquatch

Spongy area, but didn’t loose anyone

Too soon it was time to paddle back. We would be paddling against the current and the wind, so we needed to allow extra time. It was quite the paddle across some open water, but we found our rhythm and churned away. It made us appreciate how far we had come. We eventually rounded the final point and there was the welcome sight of our ship waiting for us, with time to spare before happy hour! We did feel we had earned some extra cocktails.

Later, Susie told Tami that lunch on the ship had been another Dungeness crab feast. Tami was crestfallen. Good thing Susie was only joking!

Saw this while ship leaving the area at the end of the day – apparently it gets touched up from time to time out of respect

Just a pretty scene

Not an eagle

First thing in the morning we enter the Wrangell Narrows under sunny skies. We are talking narrow here. Tacoma Narrows has nothing on this. The red and green channel markers are so close together that it feels more like an Olympic slalom course. It is low tide and the channel is only 18 feet deep at its shallowest point. Fortunately the ship only draws nine feet. It is quite a long channel and many of the numerous channel markers are claimed by a solo bald eagle. The novelty of seeing a bald eagle soon wears off. Seeing a cormorant on a marker becomes the novelty.

Cormorants on a channel marker

Eagle not on a marker

Birds

More birds

Deer

On the way

Who IS that guy?

Finally the channel widens and Petersburg appears around the corner, set against the backdrop of snowy mountains and fronted by several docks of active fishing boats. We are quickly moored and get the all clear to head into town. Woohoo! You’d think we were a bunch of sailors with shore leave after months at sea! It’s just fun to stop at a town that is rarely on the beaten Alaskan tourist path and we have hours until lunch.

Cannery on the docks

Across the channel

Petersburg is a town of 3000 people with a strong Norwegian heritage that calls itself Little Norway. Between that and the fishing fleet, we practically felt like we were back in Ballard. But we saw no hipsters and most people were wearing Sitka Sneakers (XtraTuf rubber boots) and seemed to know everyone else, so we were clearly in small town Alaska. First off we walked by a great independent bookstore so we had to stop and support the local economy. We then went by the fellow sprucing up the paint on the small Viking ship outside the Sons of Norway lodge in preparation for the pending blessing of the fleet. Maybe we really were transported back to Ballard?

Sons of Norway hall

Getting ready for the parade

Keenan – they spelled it wrong!

We had to stop in the drugstore for more sunscreen (what???) and continued to meander until returning to the ship for lunch. During lunch we saw a humpback swimming along out of one set of windows while a couple of Stellar sea lions were fending off seagulls while they munched on herring out of the other set of windows. We were in a quandary trying to decide between lunch, whale, or sea lions? Well, none of us went hungry.

Sea Lion

Lunch was followed by a talk on the docks about all types of fishing boats out of Petersburg and details on the local fishing fleet. It was curious that our guide referred to the various boats as “he” rather than “she”. He had worked as a local fisheries biologist for thirty years. He told us how each fishing boat is required to have an observer onboard. However the observers were usually young newbie biologists who were NOT prescreened for susceptibility to seasickness, which sometimes led to them being less than observant. Those problems have led to them beginning to replace observers with cameras.

Just like Skookum Law Group!!

Tubs of long line

Puppies!

Heading out

We were then passed off to a second guide for our town tour. Tami took offense at her disparaging remarks about both Swedes and people from Seattle (as absentee owners). The two main industries in Petersburg have been fishing and canning fish. It was fun seeing the rosemaling (traditional Norwegian flowery decorative painting, not sure if I spelled it correctly) on various houses and buildings.

Outside the federal building

Our guide told us that this is such a sleepy little town that one time someone called the police about one of her tours because “there are people walking in the street”.

After the tour we parked ourselves near the fireplace in the local library to take advantage of the WiFi. Many of the crew were in there doing the same thing. We were very pleased to get three blog posts up before we had to head back for dinner (we cannot afford to miss any food, given how skimpy the portions have been – we DO need to put on our winter pounds before the upcoming hibernation).

What we woke up to

Opening the cabin door to sunshine burning off the morning mist in a quiet cove surrounded by snowy mountains. That was how our day in Shrimp Bay and Klu Cove began.

Where we woke up

After breakfast we donned our thick socks and rubber boots, rain pants, and rain coats for the morning’s adventure, bushwhacking up Orchard Creek Trail. The skiff dropped our group at the shore for a ‘wet’ landing and we soon knew why we brought those rubber boots. The rocks were slippery with kelp and the trail headed steeply uphill. Soon we were enjoying squelching through deep muck between tree roots, dodging deeper muck in the low spots, climbing under and around branches, and carefully testing the melting snow before fully committing to taking that step. It was a blast!

Close to our trailhead, the water coming out of Orchard Creek

Heading up the trail

The trail was actually in pretty good shape but we were very glad to have high rubber boots. The trail went over a ridge and then back down to Orchard Creek Lake, which was still mostly covered in ice. On the return trip over the ridge, we walked into an area of muskeg and snow covered ponds for a group photo. Mike nearly lost a boot in a hole of muck after standing in one place too long and sinking as the picture was taken. We got him out, though, so no boots were abandoned and no Mike was abandoned. If only we could have recorded the suction sound of the boot pulling out!

Sign on the way to the lake

The lake was still mostly covered with ice

Mighty explorers

Fairy barf

One of our group did find a femur, however, alongside the trail. A big one. It was right near the sign pointing to Plenty Cutthroat Cabin. Hmm. We looked for teeth marks or saw marks, but cause of death was indeterminate.

Mucky boots

After the hike the skiff took us back to the ship and everyone gathered on the foredeck to relish the sun. Someone mentioned the idea of eating our lunch up there, and the crew instantly made it happen. Just another example of how this crew takes such good care of us all. Oh, and lunch was excellent as usual. Black bean bourbon soup, pulled pork, apple poppyseed slaw, and a pretty darn good potato salad. And snickerdoodles for dessert (which made Tami extra happy).

Lunch on deck

???

We got to open kayak for the afternoon, which meant we could head out on kayaks on our own without a guide, but we just had to stay within the boundaries. We were far less bundled for this kayak trip and the water was nearly flat in most areas. It was glorious paddling in the sunshine along the shore checking out little waterfalls and larger waterfalls and the rocky shore showing scrape marks from when the glaciers passed this way.

Rocks scraped by glaciers

We headed even farther down the shore until we got rounded up by one of the skiffs. Oops! We had gone beyond the boundary and they came down to ‘wrangle’ us back to where we were supposed to stay. Guess we better stay out of trouble.

Our friend Susie from Scotland

We paddled and paddled, then had to make a pit stop back on the ship, then launched again and paddled some more. Ah, life is so hard. Many of us spent the next couple hours enjoying the 360 degree views of this wonderful setting from the lounge and recovering from our day’s exertions, enjoying appetizers, and sharing stories of the day. The jigsaw puzzlers are on their third puzzle.

One of the puzzlers

We also had a floatplane visit us a couple times. First to deliver a part for our radar along with a technician to install it, and a second time to pick the technician up after he was finished. It was quite something to hear the floatplane roaring up behind us as we were paddling up the cove. But it made for some good pictures as it lifted into the air next to us.

Delivery

Just over our left shoulder whole paddling

Whale!

We pulled away from the Ketchikan dock before breakfast, headed for the Misty Fjords National Monument. Binoculars and cameras at the ready, crew and passengers spent the morning scanning for wildlife.

Eagle!

Suddenly a shout would go up, “whale!”, or “over there!” If you looked fast enough, you might spot a hump before it disappeared again into the water. Everyone would remain staring at the spot hoping for a reappearance. Sometimes to be rewarded, other times to disappointment.

Whale!

Tami’s strategy was to remain out on deck for long periods of time, eyes glued to the water, freezing her tushy off. Mike chose the soft man approach of hiding, cowardly, in the lounge until the call went up, only then to rush out on deck hoping to locate the latest spotting before it was gone.

After a while we began to also see some porpoises. They were harder to spot, quickly jumping out of the water and splashing back in. By the time you could raise your optics to your eye for a better look, what you were looking for was no longer there.

Porpoises!

Rocking out

In the afternoon we sailed into Walker Cove for some skiffing and kayaking. Mike attempted to make up for his earlier failings as a male by suggesting we do the long kayak – covering up to eight miles in three hours. Tami rolled her eyes before wisely pointing out he could probably not last that long without a bathroom break. She proposed that we might instead try the open kayaking, where we would be free to go where we wanted, as long as we remained within sight, and thus rescue, distance from the ship. Mike gracefully, and gratefully, allowed Tami to win that argument.

Misty Fiords

Walker Cove

Open kayaking was fun, though we did at one point try to talk another couple into making a break for open water with us. As usual, Tami ended up damp. For some reason she seems to get leaks around her spray skirt. It may have something with her wearing it like hip huggers, while Mike hikes his up near his chin, kind of like his boxers. We may experiment on that theory tomorrow.

Kayaks waiting for us

Spray skirts

Mike bundling up

We have been enjoying meeting other people on the ship. Today we ate with a Texas minister and his wife. Not cut from the usual cloth, however. The wife mentioned the she herself is atheist, and the preacher described his religion as mythological. They also have a strong LGBQ element in their congregation. If we were inclined to go to church, theirs is the one we would want to go to.

After dinner one of the guides gave a talk on whales. At one point he mentioned that baby blue whales put on about 200 pounds per day, which breaks down to around 8 pounds an hour. Someone in the audience noted the only other creature who does that is the cruise ship passenger.

Everyone looked forward to happy hour each day

Last look at Walker Cove

The morning that awaited us

Uneventful night and we were able to dock in Ketchikan. Our ship had to dock at the big ship dock, even though we were only ship in town, and the dock was really not set up for a small ship like ours. This meant the crew had to do a lot of maneuvering to get the gangplank in place. I think it took over an hour to find something that worked.

Joe

Once he was finally able to board the ship, a local Tlingit guide named Joe (he told us his native name, which he said explained why he went by Joe outside of his tribe). He gave a good background talk on the local native culture. He told how until a couple generations ago there were very strict rules about family life. There are two tribes in the area, the Eagles and the Ravens. An Eagle was required to marry a Raven, and vice versa. Each family was required to have at least one son and one daughter. As you can imagine, that could lead to some large families! The children were then raised by aunts and uncles from the mother’s tribe.

Creek Street

Next he led us on a walking tour in the pouring rain. Good thing we brought all our rain gear! We needed it. The continual rain was like Seattle on steroids, so we were seeing the real Alaska. Joe told us that it averages 160 inches of rain per year. As we walked along the Creek Street boardwalk, he explained the street’s history as the red light district in town up until about the 1950’s. He also told us about the trail that came down to join the boardwalk. This was, and still is, called the Married Man’s Trail. This provided access to the bordellos for the married men who could not be seen strolling along the boardwalk. Now the area is all shops and restaurants.

Taking advantage of the rare internet connection

The only shops that were open were those that were run by locals, which was a really good thing. All the diamond and tanzanite shops owned by the cruise lines were shuttered. We felt like we were seeing the real Ketchikan, and indeed, we discovered that we were the very first ship of the season to dock. Several shops we went into were busy unpacking boxes of items to stock the shelves for the new season. We stopped in a coffee shop for chai and internet and overheard the locals saying “The first one’s in today, it’s starting!” And of course, clerks in shops knew we were off the ship because we were strangers, and everyone knows everyone else here.

For Deb

Alaskan’s are Seahawks fans

Everyone we talked with was very friendly and made recommendations on good places to see. We already knew about Ray Troll’s shop and the Tongass Trading Post, but also learned about a couple of other galleries with works by local artists, and the Discovery Center, which was a beautiful museum. We were disappointed that one of our favorite native artist’s shop was closed for the winter – Marvin Oliver spends part of his time in Seattle where last we heard he was also teaching some courses at the UW. At least we were able to purchase several Ray Troll t-shirts. Later we also ventured farther afield to the Totem Heritage Center that had several very old totems.

We finally decided to get out of the rain and went back to the ship where it was now obvious that the tide was quite low. The ship now looked like a river cruiser as only two decks were now visible above the dock. The gangplank was also missing! As we approached the ship Megan met us and led us down a ramp to one of the skiffs for a 50 foot ride to the stern of the ship. The boat was now so low in the water that the gangplank could no longer be used! With all of the challenges and changes that we have had on this trip, one constant has been the ability of the crew to accommodate and come up with contingencies for every situation. We know we are in very good hands.

Playground on our walk

Liked this tree

Two full days of sailing through BC. Grey, rainy skies but dramatic mountains with fresh snow on the trees. Brr, it’s cold on deck but the vistas are beautiful and though we try, we can never capture the immense grandeur that we are passing through.

Got all your gulls in a row?

The crew provided various diversions, including an excellent presentation on a salmon rearing project in Bella Bella with the First Nations by Will, who has been working on the project for many years. It really brought home how important salmon are both culturally and economically to all of us who live in the region, and how protection of our waters is critical.

Michelle, one of the crew, set up the afternoon activity, which was watercolors. She enjoys painting with watercolors and offered it up to anyone who wanted to try. Well, Tami couldn’t pass up a chance to mess around with colors so she gave it a try. Never having done it before, it was a, well, interesting result. Let’s just say she was seeing how it all worked. And once again, water is our friend, as she found that if you mess up, just put more water on it and it all kind of washes away. She had great fun, though!

Tami’s first watercolor (Mike wanted her to put in an orca)

As nightfall on the first day arrives we are approaching the north end of Vancouver Island and will soon be leaving the protection of the island. The captain says there is ‘interesting’ weather ahead of us and perhaps we might all want to retire early. He hopes we can push through but if it gets too wild we will have to find a protected spot to wait out the weather, but we are really hoping we can get through. So we decided to take his advice after another delicious dinner and we must say, it’s nice to snuggle into our cozy cabin and do some quiet reading. We can feel the swells begin and we wonder, what will the weather bring tomorrow?

The second day we were able to continue sailing north. At one point we stopped to take a look at an old abandoned cannery. We could not get off the ship as we do not have permits for more than just transiting Canada. We had hoped to be able to lower some goodies over the side to the caretaker, but the presence of a government worker there at the same time nixed that.

Cannery

Cannery’s ice cream shop?

Waterfall next to cannery

Tree

In the afternoon we were able to take a tour of the ship galley. NOT like the galley on a big cruise ship. There was just barely room for the four kitchen staff to work. They must bump into each other a LOT. But they produce amazing food from that small galley.

Our chef showing us the kitchen, oops, GALLEY

Our captain bringing us in

Early morning comes and we are awakened by the sound of the anchor chain being raised. Tami takes a peak out of the window in time to see us start steaming away from Rosario. Hey, wait a minute! We’re going the wrong way! The captain comes on to announce that we need to find better shelter because the winds are once again plotting against us and blasting us from the south.

The NEW plan is to sail to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island which is a much more protected harbor. We will hike on the island which gives us a chance to see those lands where the pig war raged. There is even a rumor that maybe, just maybe, our ship will arrive and take us away to Alaska.

Tami’s new hairstyle

The seas were certainly tempestuous as we sailed to Friday Harbor and it was quite the show watching the captain and his crew get our ship snugged up to the dock with the winds gustily trying to send it elsewhere. We were soon able to leave the ship and there were vans waiting to take us away to our hiking sites on the island. The crew have done an amazing job of arranging the logistics for every day’s activities despite the constant changes to The Plan. The vans had originally been waiting for us on Orcas but had to all catch a ferry to San Juan to pick us up there instead.

We hiked the American Camp (famous from the Pig War) area on the southern bluff of the island with a spectacular view of the Straits of Juan de Fuca and the Olympic Peninsula. The rains hit before we quite made it to the trees, but we were soon under cover and walking under the protective umbrella of the rain forest. Before we even made it down to the beach the sun was peaking out and glistening off the ferns and tree moss. The magic of the temperate rain forest.

Lunch on the beach

Devices come out and pictures are taken – our friend Susie from Scotland

Being spied upon

Molted shell

We were all provided with a sack lunch as we left the ship and found a spot on the beach with plenty of seating on the driftwood and calm, sunny views out over the water. What a change from our wild sail to the island! (People also used the chance to check email, etc. using the cell signal we were able to pick up there.)

Driftwood

And more driftwood

On the ride back to the ship we went by a field where some foxes were hunting rabbits so our driver pulled off and we had a chance to watch and take some pictures. We saw lots of bunnies, and the foxes trotting around looking predatory, but we did not witness the demise of any wabbits.

Catch them wabbits!

Our bus driver was working very hard to keep us entertained. At one point on the way back she stopped the bus and had everyone get out to see the spot where an eagle nest used to be. She also sang us several songs. Back in Friday Harbor she drove us through several back streets to see more of the town. She took us back to the ship for anyone that wanted to get off, and then was going to continue on to English Camp for those who wanted to continue the Pig War theme. Surprisingly, most everyone on the bus chose to get off at that point.

We had a chance to wander Friday Harbor a bit and made a visit to San Juan Brewing. If we had made our planned stop on Orcas, we were scheduled for a brewery tour of Island Hopper Brewing. The owners, Nate and Becca, have been on our cruise and gave a talk about the brewing process. We were very disappointed not to stop at their place, but they arranged for us to have a tasting at San Juan, so we sure didn’t want to turn that down! Very good beers, and a beautiful facility, too.

Back to the ship and the good news that our ship was finally coming in! Yay! We had one final dinner with the whole gang and, wow, what a feast it was! They had all the Dungeness crab you could ever want served with drawn butter and homemade rolls. Mmmmmmmmm. That crab was amazing. Mike and Tami each ate more than was humanly thought possible. And then they had dessert. Oof.

Our bags were already packed and we had to scoot off the ship right after dinner as the Wilderness Explorer was lurking outside the harbor, waiting to snatch us off the dock and carry us away to Alaska. We said our quick goodbyes to those we were leaving and with whom we had already shared so many fun times. Then they deposited us on the dock with all our luggage and left. There were a few jokes about being abandoned, but we could see the Explorer already steaming in to get us. They were soon tied up and lowering the gang plank to our new home for the next week and a half. Another welcome of bubbly, a quick orientation, and then we all headed off to bed after quite a busy day, and the ship immediately headed north, full speed ahead. We did vow to never eat that much crab again.

Waiting for our ship to come in.

And it appears.