Walk Across the Lake

This December has been pretty cold so Mendenhall Lake was frozen over enough to walk on.  On 12/22 Richard and I walked across the lake to the face of the glacier.  It was an easy ~1.5 miles to the face, though we couldn't get too close to it since we saw cracks in the ice when got close the glacier.  Since it hadn't snowed in a while, there wasn't much snow to trudge through either.

On 12/24 Matt and I walked the lake on the other side at Skater's cabin.  That's where most people go skate skiing across the lake, but we didn't have skiis.

On 12/25 couple of people supposedly fell through the ice.  The risk of falling through always exist, so take precaution and if the ice looks dodgy, don't walk on it!

Winter Wonderland

View from Airport Trail

Winter had arrived in Juneau shortly after returning from our Hawaii trip in October.  Temperatures had dipped into the 30's and we received some flurries.  This fall has also been unusually dry, which was a much needed break from all the rain we've been getting for as long as I can remember.  I was expecting this fall to be bad, so I had planned a three week trip back to Virginia... unnecessarily.  Still, it was good visiting all of my friends and family back East.  I felt like I had a life again.  Life in Juneau had been quite laid back.  My life here primarily consists of working and walking the dog.  The upside is, I like my job and seeing Millie run around off-leash makes me happy.  This is probably the best place I can be for dog walking, and not just because of the beautiful scenery.  I'm not sure what I'd do if I moved back East.  I guess I'd have to settle for leash walking and dog parks.  That will be sad.  Part of me wants to stay here for all of the nice trails that Millie and I love so much.  Part of me wants to go back to Virginia to be near family and friends.  Part of me wants to go where I can have a social life and the beautiful outdoors.  For the time being though, I am enjoying the winter in Juneau.  It was snowing on the day I got back, and has snowed a few times since.  We have about 20" of snow on the ground in our yard, and everything around town is blanketed in white.  It is very beautiful right now.  I think I might like the winter when it snows more than the summer.  At least in winter you don't have to worry about bears and Millie jumping into mud puddles :)

Millie and Charlie in Mendenhall Recreation Area

In addition to being dry, this winter also seems colder than last.  Definitely bundling up more.  Our house is also quite drafty and old, so it is cold in our house.  (Ok, so we're also cheap and try to save on heating.)  It's not uncommon to see the thermostat in some rooms dip to the 50's.  Thermostat in the living room is set to 64, but I don't think it's actually that warm in here :(

After all the traveling I did in October and November, I plan to lay low for December.  Not sure what 2013 has in store for me, but I hope to be doing something early in the year.  This might be my last post for the year, so I'd like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Maui

 

Boy, do I have the post-holiday blues bad.  I came back yesterday from a week in Maui to rain.  I wish I was staring at palm trees and the ocean instead of the gloom outside my window.  I had such a great time in Maui but it is so hard right now to write about it because I feel 180 degrees opposite of what I felt there.  Although I think Maui is a bit overrated when it comes to sights, there's definitely something awesome about sitting on the beach or by the pool and enjoying the sun.  Our first and last days were pretty much relaxing, but here's how rest of the trip went:

Day 2: Drive to Hana

The drive to Hana was touted in the guidebook as being very beautiful so I was quite eager to do this, but was slightly disappointed.  It was beautiful, to be sure, but I'd say a drive around Alaska is prettier.  Probably the drive would be nicer on a less hot/hazy day and when the waterfalls are more fuller.  What I enjoyed most about the drive though were the flowers - all sorts you don't see on mainland or in Alaska.  We did a stop at the Garden of Eden, played with Macaws, drank coconut water, and walked around a bit.  The drive to Hana has a lot of turns so it's pretty slow going.  By the time we got there it was early afternoon.  Instead of driving back the way we came, we decided to drive around the South side of the island, even though we knew there'd be some bad roads there.  Once past Hana, we did a quick stop at Hamoa Beach and Oheo Gulch.  Although we wanted to stop in other places, like Red Sand beach, we didn't know what the drive ahead was like so we kept on.  The Southern route was less windy, which I liked, but there were sections of unpaved road (~7 miles), and another 18 miles or so of poorly maintained road.  The scenery on this side of the island was quite different.  Brad said it looked a lot like English countryside.  Eventually we ended up on a nicely paved road, but if you get stuck behind a slow poke, it is very difficult to pass.

Day 3: Canoe Excursion, Tropical Fruit Plantation, and Lao Valley

The hotel we stayed at, The Fairmont Kea Lani, was pretty awesome.  They didn't nickel and dime us for anything as a lot of things were free - parking, internet, beach umbrellas, pineapple bites, and even sun block.  The food at their restaurants and services were excellent, and the only gripe I had the whole time was in-room dining.  They offer variety of activities in the morning and evening entertainment in the lobby.  One of the activities I signed up for was an hour long canoe excursion.  They gave us a bit of overview of the Hawaiian language, and took us to a place where we could see sea turtles.  Our guide also picked up a sea urchin for us to get a closer look.

In the afternoon we went to the Tropical Fruit Plantation and Lao Valley.   We saw all sorts of fruits growing in the plantation.  At Lao Valley, we saw the Lao Valley Needle, and walked all the trails, which aren't very long.  It's a beautiful area, but you won't need to spend more than an hour there.

Day 4: Sunrise from atop Haleakala Volcano



This day we had to get up at the ungodly hour of 2am for a 3am departure to the summit of Haleakala to catch the sunrise.  The parking at the summit fills up fast, but we were one of the early ones lucky enough to grab a spot.  This is probably my third sunrise I've seen above the clouds (once on top of Mt. Fuji, and once on top of Mt. Warning) so it wasn't as awesome this time around, but it was still quite nice.  My mom especially enjoyed it.  Since we had an early start, we were back by 10am at the hotel.  We relaxed rest of the day, and enjoyed a superb dinner at the hotel's Ko Restaurant.

Day 5:  Snorkeling at Molokini Crater

Mom left early on this day so Brad & I joined a half-day snorkeling tour with Kai Kanani to Molokini Crater.  It was supposed to be one of the best snorkeling spots in Maui, but I wasn't impressed.  Still, if you have the time and money to spend, it's a nice way of spending four hours.  They also did another stop for turtles, but we didn't see any except the one that looked dead at the bottom of the ocean floor.  The boat was nice, staff friendly, food & drinks good.  Probably as good as a snorkeling trip can get on this island.

Vacationing in Hawaii is quite nice.  If you want to do a sight-seeing type trip though, I would say go somewhere else.  I am also not sure I could live here.  Sitting by the beach or doing water activities is nice, but I hate doing anything else in the heat.  It also helps when you stay in a nice resort or hotel to set the ambiance.  If you can catch a deal, the extra cost is definitely worth it.  I might have to do these luxury vacations more often.  Now only if I didn't have to deal with the post-holiday blues....

Skagway & Whitehorse

View from Klondike Highway

I took advantage of a four day weekend over Labor Day to take a short trip up to Skagway and Whitehorse.  The trip started off with beautiful weather and a very nice 6.5 hour ride on the ferry to Skagway.  After arriving in Skagway, I headed straight for Whitehorse over the White Pass on the Klondike Highway.  I had heard it was a nice drive, but I didn't realize how beautiful the drive was!!  I've been to some really nice places, but this was probably one of the most beautiful drives ever - more than New Zealand, Switzerland, or the Canadian Rockies.  There were lakes and mountains everywhere.  I stopped at just about every pull over for a look and photo.  It was such a nice drive that I was really disappointed to arrive in Whitehorse earlier than expected.  Even with all the stops it only took about 2.5 hours to get there (versus the three I expected).  I wish I had spent more time  getting there since it was all kinda downhill from there with the weather turning for the worst. 

Miles Canyon

Day two of the trip was gloom and doom.  Well, just gloom.  I managed to check out Miles Canyon, fish ladder, and S.S. Klondike in the morning before the bad weather started setting in.  By mid day it was cloudy, windy, and cold so I wasn't really much in the mood for exploring despite there being few other touristy things to do.  I ended up spending rest of the day getting through A Clash of Kings and chatting with some of the other travellers at Beez Knees hostel.  I met a lot of Canadians, including a woman who stereotypically kept saying "eh", a guy from Montreal, and another two who had just hiked the Chilkoot Trail (I want to do this some day).  I also met a Japanese guy who has been travelling for five straight years!!  I wish I could do something like that, but I'm not sure I could sleep in a tent for weeks on out or bike to Prudhoe Bay like this guy did.  Plus, I'd get home sick after a few months.  Kudos to him though for being able live such a lifestyle.  His blog (in Japanese) is at http://shimoba.jugem.jp/.  Then there was this Canadian couple who is traveling around the world on their motorbike.  I think they're just a few months into the trip, but plans to travel for the next five to 40 years.  They plan to work along the way, as the Japanese guy did, to fund their travel.  Their website is http://theperfectworld2012.webnode.com/. 

Day three was the drive back to Skagway.  Weather cleared up a bit and I was enjoying the beginning of the drive very much, although for some reason I wasn't recognizing the scenery.  I didn't think much of it though until about 50 miles later when I saw a sign saying "East" and hundred and some kilometers to a town I didn't even recognize... not Skagway.  By now I figured I was going the wrong way and pulled over to look at the map.  Sure enough, I had missed the turnoff to Klondike highway.  I wasn't paying much attention because I thought it was a straightshot, but it wasn't.  As I drove back the way I came, I wondered if I have enough gas to make it to Skagway.  I thought it'd be close, so I ended up driving back to Whitehorse to fill up.  Moral of the story: 1) pay attention to where you're going, and 2) fill up on gas whenever you can... just in case you make a wrong turn.

As I finally turned onto the right highway I saw a hitchhiker with sign for "Skagway."  Picking up hitch-hikers is not something I do much but I did this time.  He was Martin, a man probably in his mid or late 20's from Dresden, Germany.  He was scruffy, unshaven, and smelly, but a very nice guy.  We stopped at some view points along the way and at Carcross Desert, the world's smallest desert.  Once back in Skagway, Martin went on his way to find a camp spot, and I checked into Alaskan Soujourn Hostel.  This hostel, as well as Beez Knees, were very clean with ultra friendly staff.  They are highly recommended as a place to stay.  The only thing I really don't like about hostels these days though, is you can get stuck in a room with someone who snores.  Then again, half of my friends and my husband snores, so I can't really get away from it :( 

I didn't do a whole lot in Skagway since I was mostly interested in finding out a bit more about the Chilkoot trail.  I got some info from the visitors center and watched a 20 minute video on it.  Since I had to be at the ferry terminal at 0500, I turned down an invite to go hang out at the Red Onion by some other travellers.  I am probably going to make another trip to Skagway at some point to spend some more time there. 

I love ferries, but having to check in so early is pretty brutal.  The weather on this day was crap, so I slept pretty much most of the way back. 

Eagle Crest Hike

Perhaps I was a bit premature with the last post since we got another day of summer today.  DeAnna and I went somewhere we haven't been yet - top of Eagle Crest.  Although you can't find this information in the trail guides, you can take the service road from the lodge to the top of Eagle Crest.  It is 1400' elevation gain, probably over about 2 miles, and takes about 1.5-2 hours to walk up it.  Once at the top of the lift, you can continue behind it on trails that lead to spectacular views of the channel, and even Admiralty Island.  I did not know this when I went up, so it was a very nice treat.  From the top, the trails are only about another 1/2 mile and few hundred feet gain.  This hike is a great one to do if you want the views but don't have all day to hike one of the other mountains from sea level. 

Winter Is Coming....

Next weekend will mark the end of the summer, and I'm actually looking forward to the upcoming winter.  Don't get me wrong, it can be miserable here with the rain and the darkness.  I don't enjoy driving in snow or shoveling it either.  However, there's something peaceful about the winter here.  Maybe because all the tourists and fair weather residents are gone.  Also, this summer was quite disappointing with the frequent rains.  I made it out on a few hikes, but only to one new trail.  I didn't even make it out fishing like I had planned to.  Oh well.  At least I have a few trips coming up this fall - starting with a trip to Skagway (or Whitehorse) over Labor Day weekend, Maui in October, and home for Thanksgiving.  I always like change in seasons.  Too bad there are only two here as far as I'm concerned.

Peterson Lake Trail

I've been a bit of a slacker lately, getting way too engrossed in Skryim.  This past Sunday though, I finally got off my butt for a decent hike up Peterson Lake Trail with Matt.  The trail, which starts at mile 24 on Egan, is 4.3 miles each way with a 700 feet elevation gain, so it's not too easy and not too strenuous.  However, the trail is not that well maintained so navigating around muddy spots and walking over protruding roots made it much more difficult than it should've been.  The fact that it was a bit of a rainy day didn't help.  Sometime I wonder why I put myself through a hike like that.  I could've been home on the comfy couch in my dry warm home getting many hours of game time in.  Actually, I was really glad to get out and get some fresh air even if I was wet and muddy by the time I was done. 

At the end of Peterson Lake Trail is (tah dah) Peterson Lake.  There is also a newly renovated US Forest Service cabin that can be rented out for $35 a night. 

Seattle

With the July 4th holiday being smack in the middle of the week, I managed to make a five day weekend for a much needed get away. I flew to Seattle since I had couple of friends there (Sue & Jaime) I wanted to see, and it turned out to be a great few days. I did some sightseeing around Seattle, but also got introduced to Season 1 DVD of Game of Thrones. Can't wait for the Season 2 DVD to come out. Sue's husband, Mike, was also into Skyrim, and I got a few pointers on him that I've been trying out since getting back.  Sue also took me to lots of great restaurants.  To top it all off, it was sunny everyday and a pleasant 70 degrees :)

As for the sightseeing, here's what I did:

Mt. Rainier National Park

Sue had to work & was preggo but Mike and I drove down for the day to Mt. Rainier.  We initially planned to do some hikes around Paradise, but seems the snow is lingering longer this year so they were all snow covered.  So much for seeing wildflowers :S  We did a short walk around the area, and then moved onto Box Canyon, which was a very short walk to a cool overlook of a canyon.  Much recommended spot.  We kept on and did another walk to Silver falls, and then onto White River campground.  Here we hoped to do another walk but ran out of time before having to get back to Seattle for dinner. 


Japanese Garden

I've been missing Japan a lot lately, so I decided to get my fix at the Japanese Garden in the Washington Park Arboretum.  We got there first thing when it openned, so it was a nice peaceful stroll through the gardens.  Few other people were there, and couple kids feeding the koi and turtles.  More people were visiting by the time we left.  It was a short visit, but it will have to do until I get an opportunity to visit Japan again.

Harbor Tour

After the Japanese Garden I met up with an old Coastie friend, Jaime, for lunch and afternoon.  It was such a gorgeous day I thought it would be great to spend some time on the water, so we hopped on an hour long harbor cruise.  It was a bit more like a tour, since the narrator gave a nice history and overview of Seattle.  We also saw the two Coast Guard icebreakers Polar Star and Healy.

Aquarium

If you don't have time to take advantage of the City Pass, the Aquarium and Harbor cruise combo pack for $35 is a good deal.  Turns out my friend's Microsoft Passport card got me a better deal though.  Both, the harbor tour departure and aquarium are near the new ferris wheel in downtown. 

Even though it was a Friday, everyone was in town and the aquarium was a little packed.  It was still nice seeing all the fishies and other marine animals.  I especially enjoyed watching the otters, who just happenned to be feeding when we got there. 

Where the Hell is Matt? 2012 Video

I first came across Matt's original video six years ago and thought it was cool. He made another video few years after that, but I think I like his 2012 version a bit better:

Tracy Arm Fjord Cruise

One of the most recommended day cruise out of Juneau is a cruise through Tracy Arm Fjords.  I've been wanting to go since last year, but finally was organized enough to book before a weekend when I knew the weather was going to be good.  There are couple of operators that do the cruise, but DeAnna and I went with Adventure Bound.  We took the boat Captain Cook, which sat about 50 folks.  The trip is all day long, departing at 8am and returning at 6pm.  It took about 2 hours to get through Gastineau Channel and Stephen's Passage, and another 2 hours through Tracy Arm Fjord to Sawyer Glacier.  If you think the ride through the channel is pretty, the ride through the fjord is even better.  The scenery is very beautiful and waterfalls are everywhere.  The boat also slows for any wildlife sightings, icebergs, and also gives passengers close up views of some of the larger waterfalls.  The boat also stayed at the Sawyer Glacier a long time waiting for some calving. We saw some small ones but no huge ones.  We had a pretty good views of wildlife on this trip, too.  First we saw a brown bear, then a lot of harbor seals near the glacier, and then some whales on our way back to Juneau.  I highly recommend this trip, but only on good weather days.  It'd be a bit of a shame if you had to sit in the cabin most of the cruise because of poor weather.  You'd also miss out on the beautiful views of the fjord, which is the main purpose of going on this trip. 

Top 10 Stupid Tourist Questions

Alaska is a popular tourist destination and Juneau gets its fair share of them.  On any given day in the summer, there are two to six cruise ships bringing about 5,000 tourists each.  My husband interacts heavily with these tourists on a daily basis as it is his job to provide security in downtown.  He often tells me stories from his work.  Some can be as mundane as "I had to keep tourists from trying to get too close to a bear to take photos."  Often though, they are quite funny... in a sad way.  He once told me of a guy who came off the cruise ship huffing and puffling whilst clutching his heart that asked, "Sir, how high are we?  I can feel we are quite high up."  Um... look around you... we're at sea level.  I've asked my fair share of dumb questions in my lifetime, but some of the questions that these tourists ask are amongst dumbest of the dumb.  Here's the top ten list of dumb Alaska tourist questions, as well as my husband's response to them below in italic.

10. "Where can I find igloos?"

Down the road and to the left.

9. "Really?! There are bears in Juneau?!"

Uh, yeah...
8. "Where are all the eskimos?"

Sounds like the tour guide sold you a duff deal, sir. The true eskimos are much further north. You have to be careful about calling native americans "eskimos" here, because they don't take kindly to it.

7. "What is that white stuff on top of the mountain?"

Shaving foam. We have a terrible shaving foam shortage in Alaska, that's why you'll see many of us roughing it with big beards. Every year, the helicopter's will dump us our years supply and that's all we get for the season. We just have to make do.

6. "Where abouts in Australia are you from?"

I'm British.

5. "How often do you guys wash the glacier?"

About once a week. The convicts help with it. If you go down there on a Sunday afternoon you'll see all the prisoners in orange shirts with their vacuums and mops. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.
4. "What do you do with the igloos over the Summer? Don't they melt?"

They go into cold storage. Down the road there you'll see Taku Smokeries, it looks like a big warehouse. Behind that building are the igloos.

3. "How do I open this trash bin?"

You stick your hand under the handle and lift the lid. What's that? - No, nothing inside will bite you.

2. "Do the mountains stay there all year 'round?"

Yes, ma'am. There's no escape for them around here.

1. "What is the glacier powered by?"

A complex refrigeration unit. I couldn't even begin to tell you how complex it is.


Honorable mentions

"Do you live around here?"

No, this uniform is just for fancy dress. I'm going to a costume party.

"Somebody's pet bear is running around behind the shops!"

Nobody has pet bears in Juneau. That's a wild bear.

West Glacier Trail

Looking down on Mendenhall Glacier from top of West Glacier Trail

Brad and I did the West Glacier hike again yesterday and found it a bit more difficult than when we did it last year.  The trail itself is considered a difficult hike, gaining 1300 feet over 3.4 miles.  This year, though, there were several downed trees you had to navigate around, and the trails were more muddy and slippery due to all of the rain we've been getting this year.  There was also bit of water crossing that I don't remember doing last year.  The view up top is wonderful and worth the hike, but it's not one I'd casually do on a regular basis. 

The Spring in Juneau this year has been unusually wet and cold.  The temperatures have been hovering in the mid-50's mostly, with rain almost every day.  This means there aren't as many flowers in bloom, trails are extremely muddy, and snow from the winter are taking longer to melt.  It's a bit of a disappointment since we were looking forward to a nice summer, but what can you do?  I hope that we will get an unusually dry fall to make up for it, though I'm not counting on it.

Alaska Road Trip

Since I do not know if I will be here next summer, I want try to see as much of Alaska as possible while I can.  As such, I took off on a little(?) road trip with Jackson that started in Anchorage on the May19th and lasted about a week.  Although I didn't have to do the driving, it was a long stretch from place to place.  The trip went something like this:

Day 1:  Anchorage to Seward

We took the scenic Seward highway from Anchorage to Seward, stopping at various view points along the way.  Unfortunately weather wasn't on our side, and it was mostly overcast with some rains at times.  We wanted to do a walk somewhere, but it was quite windy in Turnagain Arm so we skipped that.  The drive South took us across a mountain path, and it was still winter up there.  At lower elevations trees are just starting to show leaves.  Up there, the trees are still bare.  We did a side trip to a town called Hope and saw our first of many mooses.  We also stopped in Kenai Fjords National Park to see the Exit Glacier.  By the time we made it to Seward, it was already dinner time.  We ate halibut and then walked around town a bit for photos.  We stayed the night in Seward.


Day 2: Whittier and Glacier Cruise

We headed out of Seward with plans to catch the 1030 "tunnel" going to Whittier.  You see, to get to the town of Whittier, you have to take North American's longest and most inconvenient tunnel.  The tunnel is one-way, and shared with the trains.  A 15-minute slot an hour is alloted for vehicles to get into Whittier.  If you miss that slot, you have to wait for the next one.  We had a cruise booked that departed at 1230, so we wanted to be sure we had one other opportunity to take the tunnel if we missed the first.  We made our first.

The cruise that we took was Phillip's 26 Glacier Cruise around Prince William Sound.  Again, the weather that day was shit :(  Still, since it was early in season, the cruise was only half full, and the boat was really nice and comfortable.  We saw tons of otters, few whales, and lots of birds.  We didn't really see 26 glaciers, but we saw enough of them.  Not a great day for photos, but it was a nice 5 hour ride nonetheless.  I would do this cruise again if I was in the area. 

Once done with the cruise, we headed back to Anchorage for the night.

Day 3: Anchorage to Denali

We had a roughly 4.5 hour drive to Denali, but we took a side trip to Eklutna Lake and the Independence Mine on the way.  The drive up to Hatchers Pass, which was still snow-covered and closed, was very beautiful.  We passed some nice creeks going up, and saw some ground squirrels once there.  The mine was actually a bit further in there where our car could go though, and snow was too soft to walk on.  We had to look at it from a distance. 

Once back on the Parks highway, we found an view point where you can see Mt. McKinley (or Denali as they call it).  We saw the base of the mountain, but the summit was cloud covered.  Shortly afterward, we arrived in Denali, checked into our hotel, and drove into the park.  The park only lets you drive the first 15 miles into the park.  Still, that was enough for us to see caribous, moose, and a wolf. 

Day 4: Denali National Park



Today we took the park service shuttle to mile 53, or Toklat River.  The shuttle, which looks like a school bus, will stop when there are wildlife around for viewing.  Our driver was also very good at commentating and giving us lots of information.  There were also stops for bathroom breaks and view points.  Initially we though we might get off in places to more time off the bus, but we found it just easier to stick with the same bus.  We were also doing really well with the wildlife sightings.  Caribous, moose, Dall sheep, and grizzlies!  The highlight of the trip was a sow and 2 cubs.  The cubs were so tiny (and cute) - they had just been born this past winter.  They came down a mountain, crossed the road in front of us, and continued down.  We also saw another, lone grizzly later on the trip.

Our shuttle trip was done by 2:30, so we headed back into the park again afterward with our car.  We were hoping to see that wolf again, but no luck.  We drove as far as we could, to the Savage river, and did the 2 mile loop around.  I really enjoyed this particular walk.  If you're looking do hikes in Denali though, there aren't too many options.  There are some trails near the park entrance, but none in the park past mile 15.  You pretty much just go where you want.  The park actually encourages people to explore.  Be sure to read up on all of the rules and safety info before venturing out though.

Day 5: Denali to Fairbanks

Another long day of driving....  The ride to Fairbanks was actually only couple hours and a bit, but it was the hour or so to Chena Hot Springs that made the day long.  I wanted to see what that place was like since I was planning to go this past winter (only to have my flight and trip cancelled due to weather).  Can't say I was overly impressed with the place, but I can see how it'd be a charming getaway in the winter.  We did the ice museum tour, a 3 mile walk mainly for the exercise, and checked out the hot springs (tho we didn't go in).  Back in Fairbanks, we stopped at the Gold Dredge No.8 and crashed some tour that was going on.  It wasn't quite clear if it was open to the general public yet since we kept getting ushered around with the other tourists. 

Day 6: Barrow

We didn't expect there would be much to do in Fairbanks, and the drive to the Arctic Circle seemed like a really long way.  So we planned a day trip to Barrow, the Northern most town in North America.  Well, planning meant we had our flights that would get us there around 10:30am, and leave at 8pm.  We weren't exactly sure how we'd get around though since we couldn't get a hold of any car rental or tour companies.  Once there though, we somehow bumped into a guy looking for someone who had a car reserved.  Although we weren't that person, we needed a car so we went with him and got us an SUV for the day.  Definitely much better than cabbing it everywhere like we thought we might have to do.  We took the car and drove as North as we could go, and all around town.  We wouldn't get too far on foot either, and it was quite cold up there (it was ~32F but wind chill made it colder) as you would expect.  We saw the Arctic Sea and the whale bone arch you see in all adverts on Barrow.  We also went the Inupiat Cultural Heritage Center where we learned more about whaling and saw some traditional dances of the natives there.  What I really wanted to see in Barrow though were the polar bears.  We drove all around looking for them but had no luck. About the only thing I left with were bragging rights for having been there.


Day 7: Richardson Highway



We had a very long drive today from Fairbanks to Copper Center on Richardson Highway.  We got some nice views of the Alaska Pipeline on the way down, as well as of the surrounding mountains and lakes.  Man... I was really exhausted by this day.  I didn't want to do anything by the time we got to the hotel.

Day 8: Wrangell-St.Elias National Park

Today we visited our largest National Park, Wrangell-St. Elias.  It's not a very accessible park though with only like 2 roads going into the park.  It took us nearly 4 hours just to get to a footbridge near McCarthy, 60 miles of it on gravel road.  At the footbridge, a shuttle ran every hour to Kennecott.  We didn't realize we had to take the shuttle there, since we couldn't drive past this point.  Luckily, we just happenned to arrive 10 minutes before the next shuttle.  Once in town we signed up for the 1:30 tour of the old Kennecott Copper Mine.  It was very interesting to see and hear about the history and operations of this quite impressive mine.  We had hoped to do some walks, like to Root Glacier, but we didn't plan anywhere near enough time for that.  Since we had a long drive back, we took the next shuttle out of Kennecott and went back to Copper Center for the night.

Day 9: Back to Anchorage

The trip back to Anchorage took us over many mountain passes, which made our trip a lot longer than expected.  The weather was quite crappy this day too, so that didn't really help.  I was so exhausted I slept half the way back.  The only notable view on this trip was the Matanuska Glacier.  It was quite an impressive one that you can see from a view point on the road.  We did arrive in Anchorage relatively early compared to the other days, but we were pretty spent from the drive back.  The last evening was a fairly relaxed night.

Overall, it was a good trip, but it could have been better in many ways.  For one thing, we could've hit better weather.  We were also on the shoulder season, so not as much greenery in some areas, and too much snow prevented us from doing some of the things we had planned to do.  If I do this trip again, I think I'll try the shoulder season at the end of the summer, instead of the beginning.  Or, suck up the crowd and try to hit it in season.  I would like to go back and do some things again, like all of the national parks, and see more of Chugach State Park.  If I'm still around Alaska next year, I may go back to one or two of those areas and spend more time ther.  If not, well, I've at least got a taste of it all.

Visit Back Home

May ended up being a pretty busy month with travel.  I already had an Alaska road trip planned for latter half of May, but an unexpected Employee of the Year Award at work earned me a free trip to the East coast to receive it in person by senior leadership at headquarters in Maryland.  The award ceremony was on the 15th and I had to leave on the 16th to be back in Juneau in time to fly out on the 18th for Anchorage, with some time to spare for repacking.  So as soon as I found out about the travel opportunity, I booked my flight out to DC for three days later, on May 3.  It was going to be a tough squeeze trying to see everyone in a week's time.  I have friends in Reston to see, a brother in Charlotte area, and a brother in Virginia Beach. 

Travel to DC from Juneau is an all day affair.  I catch the first flight out of Juneau to Seattle, and then an early afternoon flight to DC, which gets me there around ten at night.  By the time I got the rental car and made it to my first stop on the trip, Spa World, it was nearly midnight. 

Yes, I stayed at Spa World on my first night.  I was so looking forward to this place before I even got there.  I just really loved the idea of taking a bath right before going to bed, and getting one right after waking up.  Besides, I didn't want to bother any of my friends for a place to crash so late at night on a weekday.  The place isn't exactly designed for sleeping, but it is designed for relaxing.  There's a common area where people can rest on seats or on floor mats with wooden head rests.  A few had managed to sprawl across the seats and sofas.  I found a spot on the floor, with about 10 others doing the same.  I can't say I slept well though because the floor was hard.  The baths and saunas there are really nice though.  I can probably spend an entire day there - bathing, reading, sauna, napping, eating, relaxing, reading, bathing, etc.  I only had a few hours after waking up though, before I had to go meet couple of friends for lunch.

The first couple days there were spent meeting friends.  Then I had a 7 hour drive to my brother's house in in SC.  Luckily I had online training that week so I planned to work from his home all week.  It was a silly idea in retrospect though, because he had a 1 and 5 year old that wreaked havoc all the time.  Still, it was really good to spend that time with them.  On Friday, I drove another 6 hours to my other brother's house.  I only had couple nights there, but I got a chance to see their new house.  They upgraded to a larger house, so now I don't have to kick the kids out of their room when I visit. 

I drove up to Maryland on Sunday and met up with a friend who came to visit me.  We spent Monday meeting up with another friend, and visiting the zoo.  Tuesday was the award ceremony and Wednesday was my flight out. 

It was really nice getting that visit to see family and friends.  I had been so home sick, especially since I was having a rough winter.  I also got to enjoy lots of really good food, something I don't get much of in Juneau due to shortage of restaurants.  Then there was the sun and warm temperatures.  For the first time in a long time, I wasn't cold.  On the flip side, I recalled some of the reasons why I wanted to leave the East coast, like traffic.  Some days I really want to be back on the mainland, some days I am glad to be away from it.  I keep having this inner debate in my head about where I want to be more and it's driving me a little nuts.  I want to buy another house and put down roots somewhere but I just don't feel settled here in Juneau.  It's a bit of a shame because I really like my job here a lot.  Most likely though, we'll be heading back East in the near future.   

An Ex-Soldier at an NRA Banquet

Cartoon source: http://www.usdemocrazy.net/2010/12/01/gunning-for-schools/

Alaska has historically been a Republican State and is well-known to be extremely conservative when it comes to gun ownership.  Those in the lower 48 either thinks or jokes that the everyone in Alaska owns a gun.  Well, it doesn't seem to be far from the truth.  There is a lot of hunting opportunities in Alaska, and some enjoy it for the sport.  Then there seems to be the folks that have them because they are right-wing nuts.  As a liberal, I have been fortunate to have been sheltered from most conservative rhetorics, aside the occasional democrat-bashing or god-worshipping spam I receive from an acquaintance or a friend.  I try to overlook a person's political views in making friends, especially since I do disagree with some aspect of Democratic views, like excessive free handouts (i.e. welfare and unemployment).  My dislike with Republican politics stem mostly from their constant theme of trying to make the rich richer and trying to impose their religious views in deciding what's good for the nation.  I never really had an issue with their stance on guns though, since I stand in the middle on gun control.  Last night, however, my husband's experience at an NRA banquet only reaffirmed my view of Republican politics as self-serving and out of touch with rest of the nation.

My husband is an ex-soldier in the British Army.  He also currently works in an environment that requires him to carry a firearm.  As such, he has had a lot of experience with various types of weapons and has an interest in them.  Therefore, when a colleague invited him to an NRA Banquet evening, he was excited to go.  For whatever reason, we've had difficulty making many friends in Juneau, so I had hoped he would have an enjoyable evening out.  Well, he came home a lot sooner than I expected and told me the evening was more than disappointing.  Turns out he spent the entire night being picked on by rich old men for coming from an unarmed country (England) and not having had a "collection" of guns.  He managed to hold his own by emphasizing he had other priorities at this stage in life, yet he got the sense that some were offended at him putting the importance of guns down.  My husband is also somewhat of a conservationist, so he was quite irked by all the boasting of who killed what.  When asked how many animals he killed, my husband could only reply, "Can that number include humans?"  Everyone he spoke to assumed he had no knowledge or experience with guns, but the fact is my husband could probably outshoot 90% of the people there.  The evening got a little better with some support and backing from the friend who invited him, but there were other aspects of the event that left a bad taste in his mouth.

The most offending part of the night seemed to be the celebratory attitude they took towards guns.  They touted the Second Amendment and claim "gun = freedom".  The NRA chairman said firearms are "peacekeepers" and that they save lives.  At that point all my husband could think of were his squadmates that got their legs shredded by 50 caliber rounds and will never walk again, or of the mothers of his dead combat buddies.  My husband agrees that the Second Amendment is a mark of freedom and is something to be preserved.  However, he does not think that guns should be valued so much that people must make void and thoughtless comments to try and justify their use.  In my husband's words, "No gun is a peacemaker.  Anybody that has seen combat will tell you that a gun is a tool of death.  It is designed to kill, nothing more.  Must we hold celebratory events in order to brainwash gun owners into believing that guns are instruments of peace?"

Hike from Hell to Eagle Glacier

Eagle Glacier

I don't even know how to begin explaining our experience on the Eagle Glacier Trail. I wouldn't say it was horrible, though Brad may disagree. I was disappointed in some ways since the trip didn't quite turn out as expected. Yet, I was glad to have done it.

Start of the hike

The hike started off easy enough. I was a bit worried about the weight of my pack since I was not used to hiking with one. However, that did not seem to be an issue and my legs handled it fine.  We had also scouted the first couple miles of the trail a few weeks back and knew we wouldn't have much issues with at least that part of the trail. There was lots of snow on the ground still though, and I worried about what the conditions may hold for us later in the trail. We started on a pretty slow pace, stopping for photos and shouting for bears.  We left just before 1pm and expected to get there around 5ish. Well, it turned out that we only covered about 3 miles in that time and still had another 2.5 miles left to our cabin at Eagle Glacier. The snow and ice on the trail slowed us considerably, and there were other obstacles such as dodgy bridges, flooded trails, and fallen trees. The trail by everyone's standards is rated "difficult". There's no total elevation gain, but there is enough ups and downs to give you a good work out.

Brad falling thigh deep into snow

The last two miles of the hike to the cabin was absolute hell.  We'd walk for a long time and get very discouraged when we look at the GPS and saw we only covered a third of a mile. Friday the 13th indeed. There was more snow cover here and the recent warm weather made it soft.  We both kept falling knee and thigh deep into the snow. Snowshoes would have been really helpful for this part. Brad had it even worse, since he weighed a lot more than me and didn't have poles or cleats. I was a bit frustrated since I did warn him against taking unnecessary gear and encouraged him to take poles and cleats. However, I was also very concerned since he was really hurting. It is easy to twist an ankle or hurt your knees in these conditions. He had the additional danger of slipping on ice. I knew I could continue on, but he and I were unsure whether he could. What if he really did injure himself and physically couldn't go on? We joked at the possibility that we could end up on the show "I Shouldn't Be Alive." He pushed through his pain and kept going though. 

We eventually reached the cabin at about 8pm, seven hours after we started. The hike was not the most strenuous one I've done, but it was probably the most difficult. At the cabin we got a glimpse of the Eagle Glacier (above) just before the sun went down. At night the sky was clear and the stars were magnificient. I was hoping to see the aurora borealis but wasn't quite so lucky.

Eagle Glacier Cabin

Our original plan for our second day was to hike two miles to the Eagle Glacier and back. Well, after yesterday's ordeal, we knew it would be difficult getting there in these conditions. Plus, we needed to rest up our legs for the trek back the next day. I also wanted to see this waterfall that was supposedly only a quarter of a mile past the cabin. We couldn't find the trail to it though amongst all of the snow. So instead, we relaxed at the cabin and enjoyed the peace and quiet. No one showed up at the cabin that day, not that we expected anyone would be crazy enough to come out here and go back on a day hike. The only wildlife I saw were squirrels, but Brad claims he saw a wolf in the evening while outside peeing. Despite not being able to do what I wanted to do this day, I actually enjoyed just being at the cabin. I liked being there so much I'm considering booking another cabin somewhere. In a way I want to come to this same cabin again, but in the summer.

The next day we set off quite early at 0630. We had to get to Pet Nanny's by 3pm to pick-up Millie. We worried it might take us longer to get back with our tired legs, but we did a little better coming back. We were back by noon. It was a little easier to get back because we hit the hardest part of the trail first whilst we had the strength. Plus, we were able to trace back our footsteps (or holes) and avoided falling into the snow as much. Brad had also shed about 30lbs of food and water, which helped a lot. It was a tiring hike back but our spirits were much higher than the hike in. After about 3-miles walking, we ran into three women who were planning to hike out to the cabin in back in one day. One woman was unsure if they'd actually make it all the way out there, but the woman with a f'ing cup of coffee in her hand made it sound like this was a stroll in the park for her. There's a lot of fit people in Juneau who probably do these types of hikes all the time... but hiking with a cup of coffee?  I really would like to know if she made it there and back on that particular day.

Google Voice, Skype, and Wireless Carriers

I came to Juneau with a Verizon cell phone and service.  Although Verizon is not a carrier in Alaska, they are partnered with Alaska Communication Systems to provided extended service.  This means you can make calls, but other services were limited:

• You cannot use data service, including picture or video texting
• In-coming calls go to voicemail after 3 rings
• You cannot update your phone
• Backup assistant (for your contacts), and probably other applications, won't work
• You cannot activate a new phone with the same service

Unfortunately, I had just gotten a new contract right before moving so I was stuck for a while.  Initially I tried to get Verizon to resolve some of these issues, but this went nowhere and a lot of time was wasted.  After putting up with their crap service for about a year, my phone started physically falling apart at the hinges.  I tried to convince the customer service rep and his supervisor that they should let me out of my contract because I am not getting the same service as everyone else.  They wouldn't budge because as of 2 years ago or so, they no longer guarantee service outside of the original contract area.  That must have been in the fine print somewhere. 

I was pretty furious after the call and began looking into my options here in Alaska.  By now I didn't care if I had to pay $100 to terminate - I just wanted to get rid of Verizon.  I checked out all of the carriers located in Alaska - AT&T, ACS, and GCI.  At the end of the day though, I had no intention of getting into another contract with any wireless carrier.  I just wanted a no-contract, pre-paid phone service.  The downside to getting one of those was that I could not port my phone number to a pre-pay phone.  I wanted to avoid changing phone numbers

I started looking into other options - Skype and Google Voice.  Skype would have been the best choice since they had variety of call services and user friendly interfaces.  You could also buy phones designed to specifically work with Skype.  The downside is you could not port your # to Skype.  You could, however, port your number to Google Voice (GV).  GV is actually pretty feature rich for a free service.  It has just about all of the features I really needed, as well as the capability to forward my calls anywhere.  One thing that was not clear to me though was how to make calls using the computer, or how I would get a VOIP phone working with GV.  I eventually found out how to use Gmail to make calls from, but it was not a convenient way of making calls.  So here's the solution I came up with:
- Port cell number to Google Voice
- Cancel contract and service and complain to BBC to get termination fee waved (it worked)
- Get pre-paid AT&T cell phone and minutes for emergencies
- Get Skype-in number, subscription, and Skype phone for use while at home
- Forward my GV number to office, skype, and cell
- Use office phone or skype when possible to make calls
- I chose not to forward text messages to my cell, but texts sent to my GV number are sent to my Gmail.  I can easily reply to texts by replying to the e-mail.

The result of all of this is reachable practically everywhere on my old number except when I get no reception while hiking.  Since majority of the time I am at home or the office, my pre-paid cell usage is kept to a minimum.  I could potentially stretch the $25 pre-paid minutes to the max 90 days that it is valid for.  The Skype phone was a bit overpriced at $60-70ish, but I find it quite convenient to use it since I don't have to be logged on to the computer to use Skype.  One year's worth of Skype-in number and US service (unlimited calls) came out to about $60 with the promotions going on.  Assuming I use $25 in pre-paid cell services every 90 days, the first year average phone costs per month is about $20. 

This setup probably won't work for those who spend a lot of time outside of home and office, or those who are attached to their data service.  For me though, it works quite well and I am very happy not to be relying heavily on a wireless carrier service.

Winter Anchorage

A musher and his dogs take off for the start of Iditarod

Last weekend Brad and I went to Anchorage for a much needed time away from South East Alaska.  That Saturday was also the ceremonial start of the Iditarod dog sled race and we thought that would be a neat event to see.  In addition to Iditarod, we enjoyed a walk on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, some Fur Rondy events, moose sightings, and more.

Tony Knowles Coastal Trail

The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail is a 11-mile stretch of paved trail running from downtown Anchorage South along the coast.  It is a multi-use trail and in the winter, cross-country skiing is very popular.  We saw runners and dog walkers too. We walked about a mile up to Westchester Lagoon, which is a great area for skating in winter. 

Westchester Lagoon is a skater's heaven in winter

Moose Sightings

Seeing moose wasn't exactly on our agenda, but we saw our first while walking along 4th Street in downtown.  Apparently they are fairly common in Anchorage and the surrounds.  We also saw a moose chilling in the snow right next to the coastal trail. 



Iditarod - The Last Great Race (History)

The Iditarod sled dog race was established in 1973 to save the dog sled culture and Alaskan Huskies.  Historically, dog sleds were used widely in transportation around Alaska, particularly in the Native villages. The Iditarod trail is a reconstruction of the freight route to Nome, and the mushers must travel from checkpoint to checkpoint as they did back then.
The race began this year with a ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage on March 3rd.  On the following day there is a restart in Willow.  The mushers and their dogs will travel to Nome, which is about 975 miles from Anchorage. 

There are several other dog sled races in Alaska, but Iditarod is probably the most popular one. Dog sled races are also held outside Alaska, including other countries, but Alaska remains the world mecca for dog sledding.

Iditarod - Ceremonial Start

Dogs waiting by their kennel

We only had a weekend in Anchorage, so we only caught the ceremonial start, which begins at 1000 on 4th and D.  We got to 4th Street right around 9 and realized we were behind the Start line.  We saw a few dogs and their mushers waiting next to their mobile kennels.  It wasn't quite what we expected.  We both thought there would be a frezy of dogs everywhere, but it was a bit more organized than that.  Each team of dogs were spread apart, and each dog in a team were usually separated from each other also.  After walking down the street some we ended up with a spot right behind the Start line along the fence.  We almost thought we had a great place to view the race from, until all of the VIPs who were allowed inside the fence started blocking the view.  We moved on past the Start line on 4th and eventually found a spot along the fence after pushing some kids away (just kidding - they were already leaving).  When the race started, each musher got an intro before taking off.  There were 66 racers total, and a team took off in intervals of two minutes.  This was also unexpected, as we thought all teams would take off at once.  If you think about it thought, that would probably just lead to a tangled mess of dogs and sleds. 

Excited doggies rearing to go

We watched several teams taking off before we started getting cold and deciding we had enough for time being.  Having our hotel nearby at the Westmark was pretty convenient since we could just pop in to warm up and rest when needed.  We went back out again to join the festivities and had a reindeer sausage for lunch (it was yummy). 

Fur Rondy

Fur Rondy is Alaska's annual winter festival that runs the week before Iditarod.  We were in town only for the last couple of days of it, so we didn't see much.  We saw the snow sculptures from the competition (and ice sculptures from a competition back in January).  Unfortunately some time has elapsed since they were first carved so the sculputres had all been weathered down a lot.  Probably the most interesting event we caught was the Running of the Reindeers.  This is Alaska's version of the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona.  Runners here dress up in costumes though, which help make it more interesting.  Btw, our celebrity sighting of the day was Bristol Palin.

The women's heat taking off...

... and the reindeers running after them.

Japanese Restaurant

Aside from checking out the events and walking around town, we also did some dining and shopping.  There's a proper Simon's mall on 5th Street in downtown.  Although I went with a half-empty suitcase, I was a bit disappointed to realize there's really nothing I need from a 'mall'.  The clothes I wear these days aren't fashion items of any sorts.  For food, my favorite place to eat was Kumagoro's Japanese Restaurant on 4th Street.  You can't get decent Japanese food in Juneau, so I was really glad to find this place.  Their sushi was fresh and tasty, and they offered variety of other Japanese dishes.  I also had miso ramen one day and ice cream with red bean for desert.  Their prices aren't cheeap, but is comparable to other restaurants in town.  One sushi place I really disliked was Urban Sushi Spot.  They took 2 hours to deliver to our hotel around the block, and the sushi was tasteless and the rice was hard.

The Visitors Centers



There are two official visitors centers in downtown Anchorage, both right across from each other on 4th Street.  One is in a small log cabin (above) and only has a few brochures.  The other is in the Federal Building and requires going through security to get in, but well worth the visit.  They have much more information there and have a small exhibit on Alaska wildlife and culture.  They also show short films that give you some history of Alaska.  I saw one on Alaska's wildlife, the 1964 earthquake, the Klondike gold rush, and Denali. 

Looking forward to another visit...

This was just a short trip to get a taste of Anchorage in winter.  They received a near record-breaking amount of snow so it was pretty.  It was also interesting to walk around neighborhoods with a wall of snow about 3-4 feet high on either side of the sidewalks.  A lot of the main attractions surrounding Anchorage are best visited in the summer months though.  While there's not a whole lot else I'd care to see in Anchorage (perhaps except the Anchorage Museum), I do want to visit the towns, parks, and glaciers surrounding it.  I'm hoping to take a week out this summer to do a combined Anchorage/Denali/Fairbanks trip.  If anyone wants to join, let me know!

February Update

Glacier chunk on frozen Mendenhall Lake

Shortly after our Haines trip, my dad left Juneau.  I don't think he had too much fun since it rained everyday (literally) and he didn't really have anyone to talk to but me.  I'm glad we got to spend the couple months together though.  It would've been a very long winter without him. 

Soon after he left, my husband came back home after spending some time in England visiting family and volunteering with conservation groups.  He had just missed our last dump of snow, which was about 18".  It was pretty in the woods but messy on the roads for a while.  Now all of the snow has mostly melted, and the sun is out a lot more these days.  At the very least, it's not raining nearly as much as it used to. 

We had couple of windy days though and one happenned to be on a day I was supposed to fly out to Fairbanks.  The plan was to stay at the Chena Hot Springs to see the Aurora.  The flight ended up getting cancelled, which led to the entire trip being cancelled.  It was a bit of a bummer.  We have another trip planned in early March though, to Anchorage for the Iditarod ceremonial start.

The most unfortunate news of the year so far though is Millie's chip fracture, which requires surgery to fix.  She has been limping for sometime, and after seeing two morons, I finally got a conclusive diagnosis and a treatment plan from vet #3.  She is actually scheduled for surgery the weekend of our Anchorage trip, but fortunately we can board her at the animal hospital while we are away.  The surgeon is a visiting specialist, so it could be 3-6 months for another surgery opportunity if we missed this one.  Shortage of medical care for animals (and people), is one of the downsides of being in a remote place like Juneau.  I suppose there are places much more remote than here though.

Not much else to report as of the moment.  This long weekend will be spent relaxing, enjoying walks, perhaps snowboarding, and playing Skyrim.

Oh, btw, saw a Pygmy owl today on a walk.  Got about 5 feet from it!!!  I need to remember to start bringing my camera with me everywhere I go.  You never know what you will see.

Haines, AK

My dad wanted to ride the ferry while he was here, so I decided to take him to Haines.  I had never been there, and it was one of the shorter rides at 4.5 hours.  (Sitka is 4.5 hours too, but I had already been there.)  It was a morning ride, and the weather wasn't that great so the views were only ho-hum.  They also left the lounge lights off, so I couldn't do any reading unless I went to the cafeteria.  (Remind me to bring a head-lamp on my next ferry ride.)

Although the ferry ride was uneventful, Dad seemed to enjoy Haines a lot.  I had no idea what we would do there in the winter, but since we got lucky with the sunny weather, we drove up and down Alaska Highway every day.  We did it initially for the scenery (jagged snow-capped mountains all around) and eagles (it goes right through an eagle preserve), but we saw a moose on our first day so we just kept going back looking for more.  On our second day I blurted out that I wanted to see one crossing the road, and I wanted to see a bull moose (we saw a cow on the first day).  Probably not even 5 minutes later, we came up on a bull moose and a cow crossing the road!  I didn't bring my good camera so I didn't get great shots, but we were pretty stoked to see them.  We watched them for a bit and moved on.  On the last day, we though we had exhausted our luck with the moose, but on the way back we saw a cow and her calf crossing a river!  We again watched them for a bit before moving on.

Canadian border on Alaska Highway 7

One thing I did not realize was how close Haines was to the Canadian border (~44 miles).  Next time I'll have to bring a passport and health certificate for Millie so I can cross over.  I would like to do the Skagway-Whitehorse-Haines loop sometime.

Aside from the drive around, we did very little else.  The town itself was buried in about 3 feet of snow so we couldn't really find a good place to do much walking.  On the last day we did find a trail that supposedly goes to Chilkoot lake, but by then we had to go catch the ferry so we didn't go too far.  Probably better for poor Millie though, who now has a fractured elbow and is on forced rest. The view of the river along the trail is very nice though.  If I go back, I would like to see what is at the end of that trail.

The population of Haines is 1800 according to the 2000 census, but I wonder how many of them actually stick around for the winter.  There wasn't a whole lot going on.  We found only 3 restaurants in the whole town (one was near the Canadian border) and no stop lights.  While we got lucky with sunny weather, this could have easily turned into a disaster.  We could've been stuck hanging out in our motel for 3 days if weather was bad.  Definitely would recommend visiting in the summer for those who are coming from far away.