May 2013

(This blog entry was originally started on my last trip at the beginning of May. It has taken me a few weeks to complete it, which is why it all ready seems dated.) 

I have been meaning to write this for months, but there always seems to be something else that is more pressing; something that requires immediate attention; or a brain that just needs to do nothing.

Right now, I am sitting on the deck of the Matanuska, one of the ferries that operates on the Alaska Marine Highway.  This is my second ferry ride this week.  Thursday I took the ferry from Juneau to Sitka.  It was a four hour ride on what everyone called “the fast ferry”.  This ferry doesn’t run in the winter, and I was told I probably wouldn’t like the winter ride very much.  The weather the day I went to Sitka was gray and rainy.  Imagine that.  Gray and rainy skies in Southeast Alaska.  Typical.

In Juneau there was still snow on the ground.  They had just received about 4 inches of snow a few days before I arrived.  A quick calendar check means that was April 27^th.  Yes, it is supposed to be spring, but it just hasn’t arrived in most parts of the state.  However, in Sitka, even with the rain and cloudy skies the temperature was in the 40’s.  It felt like a heat wave.  I didn’t see any wildlife on the ferry ride.  After all, this is a trip through the Inner Passage where whale watching is a prime activity.  But the scenery was still fantastic.

You can follow the ship’s progress via GPS.

The next day I flew to Ketchikan, and now I’m off to my next destination.  Which is why I am sitting on the ferry waiting to depart.  I think we leave in about an hour.  It’s a 14 hour trip, and I will arrive at my destination around 7 AM.  On the ferry you can stay on the observation deck and just doze here while you wait to arrive at your destination, or you can get a cabin. 

I reserved a cabin since I will be staying on board overnight, and I kind of like the idea of private bathrooms.  Essentially, this is the poor man’s Alaskan cruise.  As long as you aren’t putting a car on the ferry.  But as a pedestrian, it’s cheaper travel this way then on the plane.  And actually easier for me to get some work done too.  I find working on the airplanes next to impossible, and even in the airport my time is so fragmented that it’s hard to accomplish very much.

Today I had a little time to explore Ketchikan.  This is my 4^th trip here.  The last two times I did not have a rental car, and the weather was so cold and wet that it was no fun to explore.  Today it’s about 55 degrees.  I can’t describe how nice it feels to sit outside at 55 degrees.  Without a coat or hat.  I understand they are predicting snow for Anchorage today, so this is like paradise.

The town of Ketchikan doesn’t have the same appeal to me that Sitka does, but the surrounding area is equally as beautiful.  

away from the tourist area of Ketchikan

Ketchikan is known as the First City of Alaska. And like so many towns it clings to the surrounding mountains.  This is a view of downtown from the port where the Cruise ships arrive.  The tourist season is just starting and there have only been a couple of ships this year.  The port holds 4 ships and I think they get about 8 - 12 ships a week during the season.  Sitka only gets 1 -2 although they used to get more.  The decrease in the amount of visitors has had a huge financial impact on the town economy.

These are the shops you would see as you disembark from the cruise ships.  The stores are just starting to open and many of them are still vacant.

Ketchikan is full of totem poles. There is a park called Totem Park.  I missed it on this visit, so it will wait for my next visit. As a side note, when I called home last night at 9:30 PM it was pitch black in Ketchikan, but Steve said it was still bright daylight at home.  Interesting what several hundred miles can do.

This used to be the town’s red light district, but now it’s full of shops.  Not one of them was open today, and it is Saturday.  I saw a seal head in this little water area, but wasn’t quick enough to snap a photo.

Anchorage and Juneau (and parts north) still have snow, but in SE Alaska the wild roses are getting ready to bloom.

I watched this Kingfisher do his thing as he successfully caught (and ate) some little fish.  At least there isn't any ice on the water like there is in Anchorage and parts north.  Heck, even Juneau had several inches of new snow on the ground...

One gripe I have about the Ketchikan airport is they hold you hostage.

The boat on the far side of the channel is the ferry that take you to and from the airport.  For a car and passenger to go across I think it’s $15.  One way.  Pedestrians are $10 one way.  There is a break if you purchase a round-trip ticket.  I guess that’s one way for a municipality to make some extra funds.  After all, this is another community (like most of them) that you can only get to by air or water.

The ferry is at dock in the background.  The ship in the forefront is a fishing vessel getting ready for the start of the season.

The past several months have seen many changes.  Tara and Sky moved into the new house, and a few months ago, moved into a new place of their own.  We still see them frequently, which is good, because I don’t like to miss out on my Nana/Mom time.

Jake left for the Alaska Military Youth Academy at the beginning of October.

He came home for Christmas, as did Joe.  Joe did not return to Hawaii, but went to Ohio and transferred to Kent State. 

We were preparing to take Jake back to the Academy and I tried to get the guys together for a group picture.  Don’t they look like a happy bunch of fellows?

And then a certain someone walked into the room... Guesses?  And no – it isn’t the dog.

Our own version of Three Men and a Baby.

I continue to enjoy my job.  Not only do I receive a lot of personal satisfaction from it, but it’s hard to complain when it gives me the opportunity to travel and see such amazing things.

Steve recently changed jobs, and for once, he doesn’t travel.

Rosey and Riley are fine.  It’s break-up season in most of Alaska, where the snow SHOULD be melting and the ice SHOULD be going away.  What’s left behind is mud.  And where there is mud there are muddy dogs.  Unfortunately, the carpet in the house is very light beige.  Keeping the dogs in the garage for a little before they come into the house helps.  A little.  Even the walls have mud on them.  I can only guess it happens when the dogs run up and down the steps, or shake themselves off.

Actually, one of the worst parts of break-up season is the smell. As the days get longer (we’re at about 17 hours of daylight now) and the ice does melt, all the dog poop from all around the city becomes exposed.  And let’s just say that most people aren’t very good at cleaning up their back yards.  The smell in the neighborhoods over the past few weeks has been fairly horrific. Which is really interesting because the air quality report for Anchorage was published about the same time the air became so fragrant.  Apparently, Anchorage has great air quality, one of the best in the nation.  Fairbanks, on the other hand, not-so-much.  The burning of fuel sources (wood, pellet, oil) has really diminished the air quality.  Hard to believe since there isn’t anything around Fairbanks.

I had the opportunity to go to Fairbanks, just for a day, in the middle of March.  It was bright and sunny, but so cold.  It was -19 (a warm day for them) but the wind was to bitter cold to do any walking around.  Even the local residents said "oh no, you don't want to be outside".  I took them for their word.  Just the walk from the airport terminal to the rental car parking lot was brutal.  But I did see some lovely mountain ranges on the flight out.

During winter, the sun doesn’t really get above the horizon until about 10 AM. This picture was taken in November around 9:30 in the morning.

Now it’s light at 5 AM.

Right around Christmas, and around the time when there were talks of a government shut-down, some enterprising criminal in Anchorage started to steal mailboxes.  I mean the big metal things that are usually anchored on street corners and in front of buildings.  Those thefts prompted this in front of our post office –

I know, that’s a little hard to read – but it says Out of Order - Do not Use.

Somehow that really seemed to describe our government at that time – Out Of Order.

I’m going to put this away for now.  The ferry leaves soon and I want to be able to whale watch.  I probably won’t have the internet connection to post this for a couple of days.  If I’m lucky I’ll have some good pictures to put with it. (addendum: I never saw any whales.  The trip was a tiring one and I actually took a long nap in my cabin. But I did see one large body glide through the water that probably couldn't have been anything else but a whale)

Random photos:

Drill Team Competition Day

Graduation day! One cord is for being in the Honor’s group and the other is for obtaining his GED.  In Alaska you can obtain both your high school diploma and your GED.

I am a nurse, even if it looks more like I’m an IT person. I wrote for a small amount of grant funds to do some statewide training with another co-worker.  To reach a statewide audience there has to be a fair amount of IT involvement. I just didn't realize it would be me!

As the days lengthened, the ravens started to pair up.  Another way to tell spring was here was the arrival of the seagulls.  They showed up in the beginning of April, long before the first robins will make it to Anchorage.

On the ferry from Ketchikan to Kake.

The accommodations are Spartan, but hey, I have my own private head.

Here’s a barge bringing goodies to some remote village. I hope it's got some good stuff on it!

 

In Kake, the weather was 50 + degrees.  The snow is long gone, and I got to do a little beachcombing.  I’m hoping that no one is still using this swing.  The beaches around here were just littered with beach glass. Some of it very worn by the sea, but unfortunately, much of it didn’t look too old at all.

Beach front property at low tide.

The views are spectacular.

The morning I left, eagles sang me a wake-up song outside of my window.  It was worse than listening to a cat fight at midnight.  I walked to the airport and saw these bright spots of yellow:

Jack-in-a-pulpit.  A sure sign of spring so I knew that somewhere in Alaska spring had arrived. 

What I didn’t see until the plane was taxing down the runway (and let me say how happy I was that it was the big plane again.  It was a full flight with 7 passengers – including the little baby) were the bears.  I had been sitting outside on the luggage rack enjoying the sun and I found out that Mama black bear and 2 yearling cubs were doing the same thing about 200 yards away from me.  Of course, my camera was nowhere to be found.  They were the first bears I’ve seen in Alaska that haven’t been on the other side of a fence.  A really big STRONG fence.

Back home in Anchorage, I think spring may have arrived.  The temperatures hit 50 and the snow is gone off most the sidewalks.  However, places under trees and in the shadows still have several inches to contend with. And of course there is the daylight.  Last night it was midnight and you could still see outside, like twilight.  Up at 5:30 AM and the sun is all ready high in the sky.  It’s hard to believe that the longest day of the year is almost upon us when spring seems to have completely skipped us.  We are heading straight into summer. I only wish break-up season was over so we didn’t have to deal with the mud.

(Addendum #2 - spring did not arrive.  Instead, we had measurable amounts of snow on May 17th, making this the longest winter on record. By the following week, the weather was in the high 60's and we launched into summer.  The only spring we talked about this year was the one we never had)