On the hook in Haines, Alaska

This is our eighth day on the hook in Haines, Alaska!  We came in when the winds were blowing 30 knots and we could not get tied down in the marina, SO we have been dancing around the crab pots in Portage Cove ever since.  A guy came by to harvest his pot Sunday and then we realized it was tangled on our anchor chain... ugh.  Between Bill raising part of the chain and the man working from his dinghy, they finally freed it.  The weekend was beautiful, with Saturday hitting 91 degrees, if you can imagine that!!  Then Monday it turned ugly and we did not get to go on north to Skagway.  It was just as

well, as Bill has had a really terrible sinus infection.  He is just now beginning to feel better, after a week.  We were entertained yesterday by the weekly arrival of the one cruise line that docks here: Holland America, and it was especially interesting for us since we came to Alaska in 2008 on the Zaandam.  The Statendam, shown here, is a sister ship to the Zaandam.

A fishing we will go~

Bill bought an Alaskan fishing license and a salmon stamp, too, in hopes of getting halibut, salmon and crabs.  We are equipped to do all three, but at this point have caught nothing.  At the anchorage shown above we dropped the crab pot and put out the halibut pole, as you can see...  However, we got nothing.  As we have talked with locals about catching salmon we have been informed that you must troll at about 2 knots with your bait about 30 feet down.  We cannot travel that slowly, so maybe one day Bill will try to catch a salmon using the dinghy.  At any rate, we sure hope we catch SOMETHING.  Otherwise, the out-of-state license will be a very expensive venture.

Three cheers for Juneau~

Dorothy and Alice have prowled the town and one day had lunch at the Red Dog Saloon, one of the remaining buildings from Gold Rush Days!  Our local-made root beer and pulled pork sandwiches really hit the spot.  Great service, too, even though a big sign on the wall said: " If you are not happy with our standards for food and service, then lower your standards!"  As I am typing this blog in the downtown public library, I am also watching the fourth cruise ship of the day pull in towards the dock.  We were here on the Zaandam in 2008.  It sure is neat to be able to be doing Southeast on our own boat this year.  What a different perspective it gives us!

On Traveling to Alaska...

"There is one word of advice to be given those intending to visit Alaska for pleasure, for sightseeing. If you are old, go by all means. But if you are young, wait. The scenery of Alaska is much grander than anything of the kind in the world, and it is not well to dull one's capacity for enjoyment by seeing the finest first." Henry Gannett 1899 Well, there you have it, folks! This must be why we are here... We ARE old and now we are seeing the finest the world has to offer! Mr. Gannet's quote was posted in the Wrangell City Museum.

North and South Sawyer Glaciers

Although both glaciers are tidewater glaciers, we were thwarted in our effort to get to the face of No. Sawyer.  We could see the upper edge of it creeping down the mountainside and had to be satisfied with this photo, as it enters the fjord past the point where there were just too many icebergs for us to handle!

However, Bill's efforts were rewarded with the stunning view of South Sawyer Glacier, shown above!  There was a pinkish cast to it, in addition to the traditional blue hue that glacial ice develops over time.  This photo does not begin to do it justice.  We have no idea how high the face of this glacier is, but do know that some are more than 100 feet tall.  This one sure looks like it would be that or more~  This is not the end of our glacier adventure.  We hope to see Mendenhall Glacier, just north of Juneau and Glacier Bay has a mere 12 tidewater glaciers and 4 more hanging glaciers (those which have receded to be landbound).  There WILL be another chapter on glaciers...

Icebergs, Icebergs, Everywhere!

On June 14, 2012, we ventured into Holkham Bay and then up Tracy Arm Fjord to get a look at both North and South Sawyer Glaciers.  We had no idea what to expect, other than that the Carnival cruise ship ahead of us was also going in and we overheard the conversation between them and a Forest Ranger saying the iceberg condition was 'good'...  It seemed strange

to think that we were following this huge vessel up the fjord, and, of course, they left us in a cloud of - not dust- but ocean spray!  Bill was determined to get to the end so we could see the glaciers, so he carefully guided Grey Wolf around tiny ice blocks on up to house size icebergs, and that was on the surface.  The blue photo above shows the top of an iceberg the size of our boat,

 above the water line! The gray sculptured iceberg shows how much earth and rock a glacier can pick up in its descent down a mountainside!  By the time we neared the face of No. Sawyer, the channel was full of icebergs, and we stopped.  Right behind us came a tour boat which plowed right on through.  Of course, the pilot knew just what to do...

Dorothy's Wildlife Trip

Upon our arrival in Prince Rupert, northernmost city on the B.C. coast, we checked in to the Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club.  Then Dorothy and I took off to check out to town.  We came across an office where tours were being advertised~  Dorothy has been dying to see bears and even imagined a couple on the shore as we traveled (rocks or shadows). A seven hour catamaran tour was offered for the next day, but the price was $199!  Then the lady said she would be willing to give a discount.  Alice spoke up and said, "Well, if it were $100 that would be fair." And the lady agreed to give Dorothy the tour for $100~ she was not disappointed, seeing a dozen bears, lots of harbor seals, and many, many bald eagles. The crew even fed chicken to the eagles so they would swoop down for photo opps.  Dorothy got great photos, as seen above!

Waterfalls Galore~

  One day as we were traveling through British Columbia, Dorothy spotted an article in our guide regarding waterfalls. Thus began our waterfall adventure ~ The next day we headed out in search of Lacy Falls. On our way we saw many other falls, unnamed on the map, but large enough to warrant photographing. THEN we came to Lacy Falls, and what a treat that was: bright sun, close up access thanks to Bill, and a feast for our eyes. Dorothy and Alice stood on the bow of the boat taking every possible angle of photo. By the time we left waterfall country we had named several of them: Firemen Falls, Lady Falls, Shoestring Falls, Baby Falls, Split Falls, Long Tall Sally Falls, etc.  What a show the snowmelt gave us!

The Great Adventure North Begins

On May 15, 2012, Grey Wolf and her crew of three pulled out of Chinook Landing Marina in Tacoma, WA, headed for Alaska and points in between!  Our first three nights on anchor were in Washington state.  Then we checked into Canada in Bedwell Harbour, So. Pender Island. We had U.S. potatoes on board and were told to hurry up and cook them all so we could keep them!  Nothing like eating a ten lb. bag in a hurry!! Since then we have been traveling north along the coast of British Columbia.  Even though Bill's new GPS was supposed to cover the coastal areas throughout, by the time we reached Campbell River it had given up on any details. We had to wait three days to pick up new GPS cards, since stores were not open on Sunday and the following Monday was a national holiday... We whiled away our time on anchor by working on a 1000 piece butterfly puzzle!  We really did do 2/3 of it, but the centers of the wings finally got to us and Alice just piled the remaining pieces in the middle and took a photo- looks pretty good, right?  After calculating tides and currents with a new tide book, we headed north again.  Some nights we anchored alone, with the most in one anchorage being five boats.  The night in Cutter Cove found us by ourselves in a most pristine and isolated place akin to a land when time began!  We bundled up and put the dinghy in the water so we could enjoy this solitary place~

Happy, Happy Birthday, Bill!

 Alice spent a lot of time planning a surprise 75th birthday party for Bill, and Carolyn offered to have it at her daughter's home in Burien, WA on May 6, just five days before the real big day.  As luck would have it, Bill 'smelled a rat', but went along with the plan to have dinner with them that night.  There were the seven boating friends shown below, plus Carolyn's daughter's family, in attendance.  Many friends and family members had sent greeting cards and emails and the captain was very well-remembered!  And, guess what?  He is STILL 29- imagine that!