KETCHIKAN TO SEATTLE cont.

Friday.   
Sucia Island.  This is a horseshoe shaped island and we anchored in the bay which it surrounded with small islands dotted around.  It was beautiful.  We took a skiff to the Island and walked across to Mud beach and Fossil beach and then back.  When we arrived back to the place we landed on a great lunch was set out for us, including linen napkins and china plates.  A wonderful last day.

These beautiful madrone trees were scattered throughout the island.  As the bark peels away the trunks are a blood red and they really contrast against the dense green. 

 

A farewell sunset across the bay.

 

 

We all enjoyed a wonderful last night on board at the Captain's dinner with some music afterwards.  This has been a fantastic 14 days of adventure.  We have seen so many wonderful sights.  The boat was small enough to take us into passages, coves and fjords that are only possible in the smaller boats.  We've watched whales breaching,  had white sided pacific dolphins swimming with us,  sea lions and harbour seals although we still haven't seen a bear along the way.   Our fellows passengers have been wonderful fun and the crew fantastic. The food has been great and it has been hard to resist the desserts at both lunch and dinner at night.   There were hugs all round this morning as we left the boat in Seattle.   The Innerseas Discovery only started this tour last year and we were the first group to do the full 14 day trip which made it really special not only for us but the crew as well.  The season is finished now till next May when it will be warm again.  Many of the crew were looking forward to their next adventure during the winter months.  What a way to celebrate being 70.

 

 

SEATTLE

 

Back to earth in Seattle.  We arrived at the hotel too early to book in, so left our luggage and headed to the Seattle Centre which is close by.  We looked around and then spent some time at the Dale Chihugy Glass and Garden Exhibition.  How lucky we were to be here whilst this is on.  The most amazing Glass Exhibition imaginable.   Tonight we actually had to decide what we would eat for dinner.  It's been ages since we had to think about finding food.  The Thai restaurant next door was the answer. 

 

 



 

Part of one part of the exhibition. 

KETCHIKAN TO SEATTLE

We arrived into Ketchikan early and those that were disembarking here were farewelled by the crew as well as the twenty-two of us who are travelling on.  We were then asked to come to the dining room for a chat before going ashore for part of the day.  The chat was the Captain telling us that all the weather reports indicated that we would be having a very rough night at sea and suggested that it would be a good idea to start taking seasick medication early in the afternoon.   The crew then started battening down everything that even looked like it might move and by the time we arrived back to the boat even the bottom windows were sealed up with metal covers. 
We spent the morning looking around the township, visited an art gallery, found a coffee shop with wifi and a post office and generally just mooched around.  There was a great bookshop to browse through which I did whilst Ian walked up to see some salmon fishing.  It is spawning time and the creek was full of dead fish and I was happy to stay further away from them.
We all left the dining room and lounge early and went to bed hoping to get some sleep before we would be awakened by the big seas and plenty of rocking.  

Sunday morning.   Well much to everyone's surprise the really bad weather did not evenuate so we had a relatively good night.  Ian was very relieved as he much prefers to have his feet on solid gound than being on a boat.

We are now cruising south through Canadian waters and will continue cruising until we are back into US waters which will take three days.

Towards Butedale - An old cannery operation which had been abandoned. One man lives here and it is customary for the crew to drop by with a package as it is a long way from anywhere. We had been cruising for about 24 hours from Ketchikan to here

 

.Dropping off the care package.  Much to the crew's surprise the man had a lady friend and he called out and said he may be there when they called past next year now.

End of another day at sea.

Tuesday afternoon.  We anchored and went to shore on Stuart Island, found our land legs went for a long walk to the lighthouse on the other side of the island. 



Not far from the jetty we discovered this 'chest' stocked with Tshirts, Caps, sleeveless vests and fleece tops, packaged with an honesty payment system.  You could leave the money in an envelope attached to the garment or pay be credit card online later.  How enterprising and trusting is that?   The lady who owned the goods drove down the road later and Ian and I spoke with her. She told us that was how they made ends meet on the island. I almost felt bad that I hadn't bought some Tshits.



Wednesday morning we left Stuart Island very early in heavy fog and cruised on to Friday Harbour.  We were ferried ashore in the skiffs and the first port of call was the Marine Museum where we learnt about the Orca Whales which was extremely interesting.  We have seen the fins a few times but nothing up close as we have been cruising.  We then boarded a bus which took us for a tour of the island.  Unfortunately the driver suffered from verbal diarrhoea and Friday Harbour according to him had the most expensive real estate in the world, the most important people and celebrities to visit,  the most rabbits to have ever been on earth etc. etc.  Eventually someone asked to have the tour cut short and taken back to town.  What we did see was interesting though.

 

Lighthouse at Friday Harbour

 Two couples missed the bus to do the island tour and decided to hire these fun three wheelers to do their own tour.  We caught up with them at the English settlement site.  How lucky they were to miss the non stop commentary.

Thursday finds us at Orcas Island.  Ian went off on the first skiff and did the walk to Mt. Constitution along with 8 others while the rest of us decided to do the walk around Mountain Lake.  Ian's group decided to walk back down to the lake (a total distance of about 14 ks).  Our walk around the lake was only 4 miles.   We both enjoyed the day very much.  We went by bus up to the top of Mt. Constitution after lunch.   The views over the San Juan Islands from here were fantastic and we could see Mt. Baker on the mainland which still has snow on the top.   There are fires in the Colorado area and smoke from these was visible on the horizon. 

Shaft of sunlight through the giant fir and cedar trees surrounding the lake

Mountain Lake from Mt. Constitution

 

San Juan Islands jutting out through the mist, the lake in the foreground.

Day 4 cont.

We spent a few hours in Wragnell visiting the Museum and looking around the small town which  had the feeling of a past era.  The buildings were mostly single level timber.  Fishing and maritime activities are obviously the life blood.  When we were all back on the boat two local women came on board and showed us various artifacts used by the natives as well as talking about the natural plants that are still used for medicine.  It was most interesting.   It was a beautiful evening with very little cloud and we actually had a a pale sunset.    We started cruising away after dark and continued moving all night.

 

The moon is back to front!!

Sunset at Wrangell.  A rare sight according to the crew.

DAY 5

Today started about 1.00am when the captain rang a bell and announced that the Northern Lights could be faintly seen on the upper deck.  Many of us went up and watched this for a while.  I have seen a couple of good photos but mine certainly aren’t worth thinking about.

We  anchored in ‘Yes Bay’ early this morning and the early morning light was beautiful with reflections all around the shore line and clear skies again.  After breakfast Ian and I went free kayaking  for a couple of hours.  It is just so peaceful and we let the kayak float around not paddling some of the time.   This afternoon we went out in the skiff and went further into the Bay.  The late afternoon light was great.  We  watched a sea lion blowing, almost like a small whale.   There were lots of bald head eagles flying around us.  These are huge birds but so graceful when they fly.  

 

Early Morning at Yes Bay.  I love the way the puff of clouds settle in the valleys between the mountains.

 

 

 

Kayaks out ready for the day. 

DAY 6

We moved during the night and woke to the anchor being dropped early this morning in Misty Fjords National Monument Wilderness.  This is a 2.3 million acre wilderness area and the only way in is by water or by foot – a lot of walking.  During the morning we went off in the skiff again further into Walker Cove.  The granite mountains are absolutely huge – one of the passengers keeps calling them ‘mile high’ rocks and he is probably right.   I felt really minute,  almost like a grain of sand on the beach as we cruised around.   It was a brilliant sunny morning however the mist hovered low around the bottom of the mountains at the water’s edge and it was so beautiful.   After lunch we moved on to Punchbowl Cove which is more open than we have been in however the mountains are just as immense around us.

Tonight was the captains dinner, as for more than half the passengers the cruise finishes for them in Ketchican where dock early in the morning.  After dinner one of the guides had put together a slide show of photos that had been taken throughout the week which was a lot of fun to relive the week with those we have shared the experience with. 

 Another magic morning in Misty Fjord

 

WILDERNESS ADVENTURE

DAY 1

We woke this morning to a beautiful day which improved as the day wore on.  We had cruised slowly all night down the Gastineau channel then into the Stephens passage, along Endicot Arm until we stopped at the face of Dawes Glacier.  This was a fantastic sight.  Two hundred and fifty feet high of the most beautiful blue ice.  We waited out turn to go to with a quarter of a mile of the face and whilst waiting on the bow of the ship we saw a huge chunk of ice fall into the water.  The sound was like thunder and the splash enormous.   The sun was really shining and not a cloud in the sky as we took our turn to go out in the skiff.   After lunch the ship moved to north Dawes Inlet where the it could anchor ( about 150 ft depth).  The afternoon was spent preparing for and then going out in kayaks.   This was great fun getting around the shore line and seeing the waterfalls and birdlife on the edge. 

 

Day 2

We heard it raining again during the night and this morning it was really wet.  As we had put our names down for the organized kayak trip we went along.  We are anchored at Windham bay and kayaked for about two hours around coves which was great.  Much to our delight we watched a whale tail waving and playing. We saw sea lion and plenty of bald eagles and a multitude of various birds.  Both of us arrived back to the boat soaked through but exhilarated from the morning’s activities.   Just as we came back the whale nearby put on a fantastic performance, slapping its tail over and over again and then waving it in the air.   Just fantastic.    In the afternoon we moved on a little further  and watched for more whales however no more appeared so were satisfied with sea lions lazing on the shoreline rocks.  The late afternoon was just lovely.  Lots of tiny islands around us and the clouds almost danced around them, sometimes encircled them, other times completely shrouding them.  It is just so nice to have time to stand on the deck and watch the ever changing surroundings.

Day 3

We cruised all night very slowly and about 6.00 the engines revved up to get us across the bar to Thomas Bay. When we looked out we were completely shrouded in cloud and fog.  We had nominated to do the Patterson River walk this morning so garbed up again in rain gear and gum boots and the group set off in skiffs to get us to the start of the walk.  When we arrived it was low tide and had to do a wet landing and then walk across the boot sucking mud and mussel shells and through a little stream to the start of the walk.  We then walked through an old growth forest for about an hour and a half before returning to retrace our tracks through the mud again.  The skiff arrived to pick us up and the fog engulfed us again.  Luckily one of the passengers had a gps which he had set before we left the boat and we made it back to the boat.  Today is my birthday and this was announced at lunch and the crew and passengers sang ‘happy birthday’.    We then moved on to Scenery Cove, the cloud and fog cleared away and this bay really lived up to its name.  It was beautiful.  Ian joined many others and did the walk to Baird glacier.  I had a quiet afternoon reading and chatting with others that decided to stay back.  Ian was disappointed with the walk as they really didn’t get onto the glacier although anyone that had not been onto a glacier was happy with what they had seen.  My carrot cake sweet arrived tonight with a candle on it and again another happy birthday went around the dining room.  It is beautiful on deck tonight with the moon shining through the islands onto the water and stars in the sky.

 

    Not the most flattering of birthday portraits however this is what you wear on a walk in Alaska, raingear and lots of layers as well as gum boots.

Day 4

We woke about 5.00 to the engines being started up to make our way up the Wrangell Narrows, a narrow passage between  two  Russian named  islands, as Russia originally discovered Alaska.  We crossed a bar before Petersburg, a large fishing town.  We continued on past  isolated cabins, possibly used during the fishing season and have now docked at Wrangell where we spend the afternoon doing the  tourist thing.

Thank for all the birthday wishes.  It was certainly a different way to spend my birthday but most enjoyable and something to remember.

FRIDAY 14TH JUNEAU

This may well be the last update until we arrive in Seattle on 29th September as tomorrow we get on the Wilderness Adventure ship and understand we will not have any internet contact.
Today has been much the same as yesterday which involved taking a few walks in the rain around Juneau.  Apparently there is some big depression hovering off the coast dropping huge amounts of rain and the locals are sounding quite tired of rain like this.  Both days there has been over two inches and we understand how they feel.  Hopefully it will blow out before we get too far out to sea. 

JUNEAU

Thursday 14th.

We woke this morning to rain.  Apparently this is what Juneau is all about.  They tell us that they average 60 days of fine weather a year and considering in mid winter they have two hours of daylight it can't be the most exciting place to live. 

 This is the view from our hotel window.  The clouds in the hills are really quite lovely.

Juneau is a destination for cruise ships and there were three in the harbour today.  We spent a lot of the day joining the thousands of other tourists filling in a wet day around the shops.  There are dozens of jewellery stores which are owned by the various cruise ship companies who promote their own shops.  They seemed to be well patronised throughout the morning but by lunch time were deserted when, we assumed, the passengers went back on board to have lunch. 

We had dinner in a Pizza place tonight and this was the decoration on the back wall.  One bight spot in the whole of Juneau today

 

The town has an interesting mix of buildings and some lovely old houses.  Those buildings down on the harbour are older whilst there are a number of big hotels further up the hill.  Juneau is the capital of Alaska so there are also some government buildings around.  As you look up the main street it actually looks like something out of a movie set from a past era. 

VANCOUVER TO JUNEAU AND ALL IN BETWEEN

After a quiet night in Vancouver we set off last Friday (7th) for Salt Spring Island one of the Gulf Islands off Vancouver.   This involved a bus ride to the Ferry Terminal, then a hour and a half trip to Swatz Bay, the ferry terminal on Vancouver Island a two hour wait for the ferry to Fulford Harbour on Salt Spring Island.  The ferry rides were fantastic cruising around the archipelago of islands.  It was great to see Colleen waiting for us as we came off the ferry and even better to get to her home.  There was much catching up to do as it is about eight years since she stayed at our place whilst visiting her daughter Cheryl in Port Macquarie.


Colleen lives on 10 acres and the house is surrounded by forest of fir trees and cedar.  These are two big cedars off the deck.

 

Saturday is Market Day on Salt Springs.   The market was fantastic and soon we discovered what a community of creative people Salt Springs is.  Many of the stalls were filled with local crafts and goods and beautiful vegetables, cheeses, chocolates.  We had a lovely time and came home with bags of fresh food.  We visited the Art Gallery where a wonderful photographic exhibition was on.  I chatted to some of the photographers and discovered this island with a population of 12,000 had a camera club with almost a 100 members.   The photography varied and I saw some great creative images amongst them.  We left the town centre before the Gay March started and enjoyed some of the fresh food for lunch at home.
After a afternoon nap we walked over to Howard's old mill.  (Howard was Colleen's husband who passed away on new years day).  We then went for a drive around the forest over tracks that hadn't been used for ages. 

I found this wonderful squash at the markets and as I was buying it the fellow selling told me they had named it Alfred, Ian whose name is Alfred was standing beside me and we laughed.  This became a joke and here is Alfred contemplating Alfred.  Ian was concerned about the nobs on top being mutilated with a knife.  He felt they were a very tender part. 

Sunday was very overcast and cold. After a late breakfast Ian went for a walk to Fulford Harbour whilst Colleen and I enjoyed sitting around inside with the fire going looking at photos, some of her baskets she has made at a basket making group and just chatting for most of the morning.   In the afternoon we went for a drive around the Island, visited a local winery and stocked up before driving  up to Mount Maxwell where we could see Vancouver Island down the valley to Fulford Harbour.
View from Mt. Maxwell


Monday we set off early and caught the ferry to Vancouver Island.  Colleen dropped Ian and I off at Butchart Gardens.  We wandered around these beautiful gardens for a couple of hours before catching a bus back into Victoria CBD and walked around the old town built around the harbour before having lunch overlooking the water.   We met up with Colleen again after lunch and went to visit a friend of hers for afternoon tea before catching the ferry back to Salt Springs.

 

Part of the Japanese Garden

 The Sunken Garden which was the original old quarry

Tuesday we went to town, again for lunch at Bruce's Kitchen before doing some retail therapy in the great little shops selling more of the locally made products.  We were heading back towards the car and Colleen pointed out a new shop that had only recently been opened by an 'Australian' lady .  I was shopped out by then and nearly didn't bother to go in but so glad I did because the 'Australian lady' happened to be Susan Bowers a Canadian girl that I worked with at Patterson RE.  There was much squealing and laughing and tears were just rolling down our faces.  Neither of us could believe it.  Susan moved from Port about 12 years ago and we had lost contact. 

 

Bruce -  A good advertisement for his food.

Susan and I.  Her shop has a mixture of clothes and interior knick nacks.  Susan was always very much the interior decorator.   We were all most upset when Neil Jenman came and told us he didn't really like the colour of our office in Horton St which Susan had suggested.  She kept telling me I had shrunk and when I look at this photo maybe she is right. I don't remember her being tall.





Wednesday we packed up and Colleen came across to Vancouver Island with us on the ferry and we said a tearful goodbye.  We caught the ferry back to Vancouver then a bus to the airport.  We then had to fly from Vancouver to Seattle and then Seattle back up to Juneau in Alaska.  The sign said welcome to USA however we certainly didn't feel welcome we had to go through the security checks.  They offered to take me to a room if I preferred however I was happy to stand and let her go over me in front of everyone.  I haven't ever been physically search like that before, they then checked all my carry-on luggage for explosives or whatever.  It was just awful.  I must have looked sus.  

We left Seattle at 7.00pm and it was magnificent flying over the mountains that were dusted with snow and coloured pink in the late afternoon sun.  After a long day we were glad to finally arrive in Juneau about 9.30 Alaska time or 10.30 Vancouver time. 

BACK TO VANCOUVER

Today we took our last trip on the Rocky Mountaineer which was a repeat of day one.  Kamloops to Vancouver.  It was a beautiful clear day without a cloud in the sky.  Again we followed the rivers most of the way.  The line is very close to the water and on the other side are very steep slopes to the tops of the hills.  Avalanches are fairly common and there are fences and walls to protect the lines in some places.  I enjoyed looking up to the tops of these hills which are sharp and have interesting features along the edges. 
We are impressed with the organisation of the Rocky Mountaineer people.  Today there were over 550 passengers on the train.  We were all picked up from our respective hotels by 7.30 this morning by bus or taxi which dropped us off at our carriage.  When we arrived in Vancouver the reverse happens.  Buses picked us up and took us all to our appropriate hotels.  Our luggage was already in our room when we arrived.  The logistics of all this is amazing.  We have been constantly feed every day on the train and I am sure that the weight I lost before coming away is back on already. 

The train was very long today.   We were about 5 cars from the front and I snapped this as the centre of the train crossed over one of the many bridges. 

BANFF TO KAMLOOPS

Back on the train again this morning.  It has been a very long ten and a half hour journey.  We went back to Lake Louise and on to Kamloops dropping about four and half thousand feet throughout the day.  This meant the terrain changed dramatically throughout the day from the rugged mountain peaks with snow to soft rolling farmland as we came closer to Kamloops.  We followed Lake Shuswap for about 35 ks.  This is a destination place for holiday makers with many houseboats and caravan parks along the shores. 
Each carriage has a hostess and ours gave us a big spiel about a great sight coming up.  "I know you've seen lofty mountains, beautiful rivers and lakes and other great sights today but the train will 'roll by' (slow down) shortly for a sight you must not miss, so cameras ready".  This sight was- the place the last spike for the Canadian Pacific Rail Line was driven in linking the east and west coasts of Canada.  Very important in Canada's development as a nation otherwise BC would have been separate from the rest of Canada.  So here is the photo we could not miss!!!

 

After our luxury accommodation at Lake Louise, tonight we are in the Plaza Heritage Hotel.  The taxi driver suggested that in the past the rooms were possibly rented by the hour.  We are not sure that it is not in the present as well as we look out our window onto the Adult Superstore.  I've checked the pillow and it certainly doesn't come up to scratch.  I'll be checking pillows forever looking for another one like the one I had at Lake Louise.                                              .                                                                                                                                                      



BANFF

We spent the day around Banff today, firstly driving up to Sulphur Mountains Gondola and riding up to the summit.  Again the views over Banff and the surrounding mountains and rivers and lakes in the valley were great.  Ian walked up to the old weather station whilst I was happy to just soak up the views from the observation deck and find a hot chocolate. 
We then came down and went to the Cascade Gardens.  These were created as relief work during the depression and are just a lovely peaceful place to walk around and admire the flower gardens. 
We then went to Bow River Falls which reminded us of falls in Norway, very wide with just short drops cascading down.  Again the force of the water is amazing.  The river at the bottom was so clear.

At last we found a coffee shop that made real cappuccinos.  They tasted like real coffee and were hot.  After wandering around looking at the many shops, galleries etc in the main street we returned the car..  Ian always sighs a big sigh when we manage to do this without any damage.  We then walked back to our hotel and enjoyed another dinner in the hotel restaurant.

Bow River

 

 

Cascade Gardens

LAKE LOUISE TO BANFF

It was still overcast and cold when we left Lake Louise this morning.  Our first stop was at Lake Moraine.  This is only a small Lake however the reflections cast from the surrounding mountains were great and the overcast sky contributed to this on the very still water.   We then drove on to Silverton Falls.   Ian walked into them however chickened out of walking across a log to get a better view in case he fell into the cold water. 

When we arrived at Johnston's Canyon the car park was full and we had to park on the side of the road and walk into the start of the walk to the canyon.  The place was buzzing with visitors.  It was a great walk along the side of the canyon and on to the water fall.  It is easy to see how the canyons are formed when you see the force of the water coming down.

We decided to drive on and find somewhere a bit quiter for lunch and pulled over into a 'meadow'.  Whilst there a couple of motor bike riders stopped and started chatting.  They had been up north and were heading back home to Oregon where they lived.  They had had a great riding tour around the Rockies.  In this area the conifer trees are thinning out and there are groves of birch trees.  Their white trunks are lovely. 

Lake Moraine reflections

Johnston's Canyon

 

We arrived in Banff mid afternoon and checked into the hotel.  Ian went off looking to see where we drop the car off tomorrow and to find a supermarket.  As he walked out of the supermarket he was so engrossed in reading the map that he didn't realise he was stepping off a small wall and now has a few wounds to show for the fall.  Maybe the cold water this morning would have been softer on the elbow and hand. 

LAKE LOUISE DAY 2

Ian set off after breakfast to do the Agnes Lake walk to the Tea House and continued on around the Lake and up to Big Beehive.  This was about a five and a half  hourwalk, mostly uphill which he was very happy to have completed. 
I kept myself occupied wandering around the hotel shops (there are plenty of these) had lunch in the Deli and taking short walks around the hotel grounds and Lake. 
It has been very cold today with the wind coming of the snow.  There was a fresh powder shower last night and everything looked dusted in white this morning on the higher peaks. 
We both wandered around the lake again this afternoon.

Some of the images Ian took and his walk today.

 

the beehive at Mirror Lake

Looking back towards the Chateau behind the  Lake.

 

Tonight we had dinner in the Lake View Restuarant looking through big picture windows at the lake and mountains.  After dinner we walked down to the edge of the water and I chattered with a couple who were set up waiting to photograph the sunset over the mountains which didn't happen.  They were from a camera club in Tennessee and were on a trip around Canada and plan on going to the Canyons on the way home.  The lady gave me a few names of places worth visiting. 

THE FAIRMONT CHATEAU, LAKE LOUISE

This place maybe a bit over the top for us than usual however they have the best pillows I've ever sleep on.

Today we have experienced all kinds of weather.  Ian was up early and caught the sun on the lake.  By the time he came back it had clouded over and we had breakfast during a thunder storm and hail.  We then met up with some people we met on the train for coffee and light snow fell - not enough to settle on the ground though.  
Ian braved the showers and went off for a walk to Fairview lookout.  The rain has come and gone all day.  This afternoon we walked around the rim of the lake in intermittent rain.

It is a long weekend Canada and there have been a number of weddings during the day.  The bridal party all go out in the showers to have their photos taken in front of the lake.  Why hasn't a photographer come up with a green backdrop and then superimpose the images later instead of having these poor brides standing there in there wedding gowns under umbrellas freezing.   Crazy.

 

Ian's early morning shot of the reflections on to the Lake

 

 

Another by Ian taken from the lookout showing the Chateau

JASPER TO LAKE LOUISE

Just as we were about to set off this morning a great thunder storm rolled in over Jasper.  The noise was amazing as the thunder echoed around the mountains.  We waited till the rain calmed down a bit and then started our trip south.   We have spent the day stopping and looking at the wonderful sites along the way.  The 230 k trip took us about 7 hours.   We've walked to waterfalls and lakes and stopped along the road at parking places to look at the mountain peaks and glaciers.  You could pull over every five minutes if you wanted to there is just so much to see.  

Athabasca Falls

Mushroom Mountain

Lake Peyto - this is really the colour of the water.

 

We are now at the Fairmount Hotel, a bit more upmarket than our usual places to stay.  It is absolutely enormous, you need a map to find your way around.  Tomorrow we will do some exploring around the lake which is right in front of us.