Abbotsford

18 July 2014

Getting caught up. This could be a long one hopefully pictures as well.

This morning we went to a restaurant on the water front to listen to a group play over the noon hour it was quite good.  Then we went to Potlatch park there were many buildings and totem poles, one of the poles has feathers on the bottom made out of wood, the children that come there paint these feathers then they are attached to the pole, it is a nice idea to get the children involved.

We got on the ferry around 4:00pm went and had showers, got my pictures together then went to sleep for a few hours.

19 July 2014

Arrived in Prince Rupert around 4am had a good sleep on the ferry so started to drive, and of course it was raining and I rained all day so I kept driving well it ended up being a marathon day, we did stop to watch some natives fishing in Moricetown BC. we ended up driving to Clinton, like I said a marathon day.

20 July 2014

We took the road down the sea to sky highway to Whistler it was quite cloudy most of the way, when we got to Whistler we decided to do the peak to peak even though it was quite cloudy but we thoroughly enjoyed it, we left Whistler around 4:30 and drove to Abbotsford to my friends Corrine & Larry's we are staying here a couple of days so nice to see them and the family again.

                                                                                  Where they do Ocean Ranching

 

 

                                                                   Whale tale

 

 

                                                                At the bear fortress

 

                                                              400 year old totem poles

 

                                         At the Totem Forest

 

Getting eagle ready to release when they cover their head they are very relaxed

 

                                                                The release

 

                                                                    Seals on the buoy 

 

Wouldn't we like one of these with your own helicopter

 

                                                          Nathan the master showing how it is done

 

                                                                  

 

                                                                            Eagles fishing

 

                                                                        Mumma with 2 babies

 

                                                                            Caught a fish

 

 

                                                                            Creek Street

 

 

 

                                                                         Pacific Sunset

 

 

                                                  Check this he looks like he is laughing

 

Will catch up more tomorrow

Ketchikan

Today we spent time this am on the computer getting caught up.. Went to the Totem Heritage
 center very interesting.

Went for seafood chowder for lunch, another delicious one.

After lunch we went to the Alaska discovery Center they showed a film about the Tongass  National Forest it is the biggest rainforest in the world, it comprises of 17 million acres it is huge.it talked about the ego system, the fishing, hunting and logging in the area.

Took a ride on the free bus around the town, can't beat free.

Met the young group for supper they made a meal for 60 people, lasagna, garlic bread salad and chicken, chocolate pudding for desert, yum

We had a devotion and a speaker he was very interesting, I love to see the young ones so interested in the message.

Now we are here at McDonalds getting caught up but no pics yet still to slow.

Next post in Canada

Ketchikan

I am posting all these days in one we are having trouble with wifi, still no pictures they just won't download so when I get back to Canada in a few days I will make a few posts of pictures.

13 July 2014

Tonight we got on the ferry and it left around 11pm we had a cabin and went and had a wonderful shower no timer on that one, then into bed.

 

14 July 2014

Today is a sea day we will be on the ferry until 10:30 tonight, we met a group of young adults who came from all over Alaska they are going to Ketchikan for a mission trip, going to be with the young people and doing some teaching.  We have been invited to join them on Wed to have dinner and a bonfire on the beach we are looking forward to it.  We have seen quite a few whales on this leg of our trip, also some seals on one of the buoys.

I spent the day cleaning up my picture on the computer and getting them transferred over to Ritas computer, it took many hours but passed the time, when we got up this morning it was wet (whats new) and foggy, but as the day went by the sun came out and it was very beautiful. The trip ended up being very nice.  The ferry stopped at Petersburg and Wrangle, very small places but I would have liked to have stayed a day or so on each.

We arrived in Ketchikan at 10:30 and needed to find a place to stay, where else but good old Walmart, yes there is one here.

15 July 2014

This morning we went into town to get a couple more charms for the bracelet we got in Juneau these are giveaways with coupons which we were able to get, they tell us these coupons are for the cruise ship people, well today we were from the cruise ship, we only needed a couple more to complete the bracelet.

We checked the town out it is one of the bigger island towns.  After lunch we went to the totem village of Saxman, one of the master carvers was there (Nathan Jackson) he is very famous for his carvings.  He was doing an interview for a documentary I was lucky enough to be able to see this, he spoke about his life and how he got started in carving.

After we left him we went to Herring Bay and we were lucky to see about a hundred eagles fishing for salmon, the run has just started, and then we got really lucky we got to see bears fishing, so much fun to watch them there was also a mother with two cubs.

 16 July 2014

Today we took a drive to Totem Bite, this place was named by the natives because it was a small inlet and it looked like the piece  of land had a big bite out of it. This was a small walk thru the trees and by the sea there were many totems, a clan house and a restoration center.

We drove to the end of the road nice drive along the water.  Back to town and went to a place that had been recommended to us for burgers very good, good recommendation. Left there and went to a place called Creek Street, this is a boardwalk area along the creek, it is a place where many years ago was a place of prostitution and alcohol, we toured Dolly's place she spent many years as a prostitute, she was even prostituting at age 70, she actually died here. The rest of the buildings are now shopping stores and bars.  We walked to the end of the boardwalk to see the fish ladder, not much action yet.

Supper time we had been invited by the group we met on the ferry, to have supper with them, what a welcoming group, after supper we had a devotion, then I took 8 of them to see the bears, one young girl that lives in Alaska had never seen a bear in the wild, she got to see three.  After this we went for a bonfire and smores what a great evening,  Thanks to all these young people. They have even asked us to come for supper again tomorrow.  Must like having grandmas with them.

17 July 2014

It is still early so we havn't decided what we will do today.  Tomorrow we leave for Prince Rupert.
See you again soon

Leaving Sitka tonight

13 July 2014

Up this morning to another rainy day, I don't know how people can live without sunshine.

Last night I went to a concert at the fine arts collage, this collage runs thru the summer with young students from all over the country, they offer music, dance, art. there are over 2,000 students here at one time for a two week period.
I was at the music finale, the students were amazing at what they learnt, it was a two hour show.

As I said above it is raining, we went to church and after they had a delicious lunch, so good to have good fellowship over a great meal.

Wanted to take a drive up the mountain hoping it would clear up, but of course it didn't so we went anyway, it was a very nice drive very steep and narrow but enjoyed it.

Now we are sitting outside the collage using their wifi then we head out to the ferry in about two hours. getting things we need as it is a 23 hr trip.

Again no pictures hopefully soon they are piling up

Next time Ketchikan hope we get better wifi, but we are lucky to get it at all and its free

Sitka

12 July 2014

Yes we are still here in the rain, one more day then the ferry tomorrow night
.
Today we went to the Raptor center it was very interesting, they try to rehabilitate
the birds, the ones that can't be repaired stay in the center or go to zoos in other places.

Well today they released 4 eagles back into the wilds, most of those were only there for a couple of weeks.  One of them that was released had been found by a fishermen floating in the water it had no strength to get out and fly, the couple that found it was there today and was able to hold it to release it.  When they found it they called the center and was told how to get it out of the water and to cover its head and wrap it up so it didn't get too chilled.  The lady who found it showed me the pictures of the capture.

Went for clam chowder and salad for supper, we are going to the arts school tonight to see a performance, more about that when I get back on line.

Again no pictures, I will have a lot to show you when I get a good wifi connection.

Have a good one y'all

Sitka

11 July 2014

Another rainy day so you put on your raincoat and off you go.  We started by going to the St  Michaels Orthadox Cathedral very different way of worship.  It is Christian and they have many icons for this religion.

Went to a coffee shop and had a bagel and coffee.  What else to do on a rainy day.

Drove around and saw the Russian Blockhouse, in the 18^th century the Russians had a battle with the Tlingit natives.  The Russians had built a fortress and what is left is the Blockhouse. 

The Tlingit still are here today they are beautiful craftsman, you see a lot of their work around town.

We put on the rain coats and went to the Totem Pole park the walk thru was very refreshing in the rain, many different Totems, inside the visitors center was a film and some very old (400yrs) Totems. Great to see these

I went to see the Bishops house it was built in the 18^th century and was taken over by the Forestry Service  in 1972 and it was restored to its original state with many of the original artifacts.

 

Again no pictures too slow for that

In Sitka

Had to get up at 4:30 this morning to get checked in for the 6:30 ferry to Sitka, It was a bright morning and the trip was beautiful, we saw whales one even breached, beautiful sight.  There were a couple of bears along the banks.

Arrived in Sitka around 11:00, left the ferry and went to the end of the road to the north, then went the other way to the end it is a very pretty island.

We stopped at the Fortress of the bears, these bears have been orphaned or they were a nuisance to the community.  They are so playful it was so good to see them playing and having fun, we watched them for quite awhile.

We came back into town and went to a Russian dance show, it is a troupe of 30 girls, not all were dancing but they put on a good show.

Rita was having trouble with her leg today so we didn't do too much walking,  I went for a walk in the downtown area all of 4 blocks, it is a nice little place.

 Finally I have been able to download a few pictures more to come soon.

                                                                This is the style here in Alaska rubber boots even with skirts

 

The next few pictures are on the trip from Haines to Juneau

 

                                                                   Rainbow glacier

                                                                                                                                      

 

                                                           A pod of killer whales

 

 

                              The next few are from Juneau

                                                                         The Red Dog Saloon 

 

                                                             St Teresa's shrine

 

                                                                  Check this fence out (Skis)

 

                                                                 Mendenhall Glacier

 

                                                 Waterfalls at Mendenhall Glacier

 

See you soon

Still in Juneau

8 July  2014

Before I forget while we were in Haines, we travelled a back road and met a lady who lives on the side of a mountain she is in her 70s, we asked her about her house up on the cliff she told us it is up 201 steps which she climbs at least once a day, she carries up a 50lb bag of dog food and all her groceries, is she in shape or what.

Back to today we went back downtown and bought raincoats they are reversible and warm we paid $20.00 for them what a bargain.

Had coffee and a bun and walked in the rain it rained all day.

Decided to take a drive we went to the end of the road each way north and south, then we took a cruise thru the residential area if you want to see hills come to Juneau, people do a lot of walking here and you don't see too many overweight people, it seems this place is good for your health.

Went to the famous Red Dog Saloon for fish chowder and a beer, excellent

Then off to bed

9 July 2014

Today it started off raining but not for long, we went back downtown as I was having trouble with my camera and there was a repair shop there the lady showed me a trick of how to fix it, hopefully it won't give me anymore trouble.

From here we went to Mendenhall glacier it is a glacier that you can get quite close to if you are able to walk out about a mile.  There is a beautiful water fall to the one side.  Very beautiful spot.

Went to the place called Ocean Ranching this is not a farm raised place.  The salmon come back here to spawn, what happens here is the fish return to where they were bred, what happens when they come up the fish ladder they are separated male & female the eggs are taken out and the sperm from the male is mixed with the eggs, they are put in an incubator until they hatch then put in holding tanks until they are a little bigger then let go, they will go out to sea for about 5 to 7 years then return here to spawn and die,  The dead fish are used for dog food and fertilizer so nothing goes to waste.

After here we went back up to the residential area again to take a video to try and show how high the hills are, we had a good time experimenting with this.

Talked to a local and asked where to get good fish and chips he recommended a place just outside of town, he was right they were very good.

Spent some time at the water and watched all kinds of eagles, with the salmon coming in they are going to be well fed.

Now we are here doing the blog and wasting some time until we go to the ferry dock, we will wait there for our ferry.  We have to be there for 4:30am so we are going to stay on the dock.

Hope we can find a wifi in Sitka that's where we will be next.

Again no pictures wifi too slow

Juneau

July 6, 2014

 

This wifi is very slow so no pictures until we have better connections.

Last night we left Haines for Juneau, the 4 ½ hr trip was just beautiful lots of sun the mountains were spectacular, we saw a pot of killer whales wonderful.  Close to Juneau in the distance we saw humpbacks.  Arrived in Juneau around 10:30, found Walmart and went to bed.  It rained a little in the night.

 

July 7 2014

This am we went into town, this is a very mixed up town for anybody not on a cruise ship,  the information center is not where it says it is, people down by the cruise ship docks really don’t want to deal with people that are not on the ship. The stores only open down there when there is a ship in. The coupons we got at one of the stores are supposed to be only for cruise ship people, Oh well we got what we wanted and had some crab bisque which was very good.

One good thing we were able to park for free supposedly for 2 hrs but we kind of overstayed our time by a couple of hours and all was ok

We started out of town to find a wifi and I was able to get my nails done  So here we are at one of the malls for the night.

Hope to be on again soon.

Still in Haines

This is out of order didn't realized that it didn't get published

July 3, 2014

Not much doing today we went to Johns to see if my bead was ready, after lunch we went to the Eagle foundation this was very informative.  I sat for quite awhile getting my pictures up to date and making a few collages.

We went and had a fish chowder oh was that good.

This evening we went out to the weir but no bears.

July 4, 2014

We have found a wifi spot that seems a little stronger than the other day.  Today is the US independence day, but not a very nice day it has rained all night and all day very depressing.  Went to the Legion for pancake breakfast, watched the parade, the rain slowed down a little at that time.

Went to the weir again to see the duck race but it didn't happen we don't know why, sat and watched the eagles at the dock they are so beautiful to watch.

Wen't back and had another bowl of that wonderful fish chowder.  Now catching up on the blog.

I am going to try and post a few pics here  it worked


                                                                                                     Fireweed

 

 

                                                                             A Heron

 

 

                                                          One of the many bald eagles

 

 

These rocks are all balanced on one another nothing holding them together

 

                                                                 Blue Jay

 

 

A neat tent I think our friends Kevin & Ruth had one of these in Africa

 

 

                                                            The bear we saw the other night

 

 

                                                     A mature, an immature eagle & a crow

 

                                                              Here is my Eagle collage

 

 

 

                                              All the birds and animals we have seen

 

 

                                                                    The Bear collage

 

 

Hope to get on line real soon

Leaving today for Juneau

July 5, 2014

Today was a busy day.  First we tried to get on line and my computer had issues, tried to get it fixed but the fellow who was fixing it said it would take 2 hours well after 2 1/2 hours it wasn't fixed so  I said give me my money back and forget it.
I found out later it wasn't my computer it was the wifi, oh well the joys of travelling and finding wife's
Now it's time to do the laundry and have showers went to an RV park where they welcome you even if you don't stay there.  Sat outside while it was washing and one of the fellows there said he would get me a crab, great.
We then went for a drive up the Haines hwy to see if we could see the eagles and visit a native village then we would stop at this restaurant to have burgers that we have been told are delicious, well we don't know if they are delicious or not because the place was closed.
Back to Haines and went back to the restaurant where we had fish chowder again can't get enough of that it is soooo good.
Stopped back at the RV park where we had left our laundry basket and sure enough the fellow had a crab for us.
Went back to the weir but no bears yet.  Stayed the night out in that area.

July 6, 2014

Came into town, had coffee and now we are on the internet, this is the last time to post in Haines hope we find wifi on Juneau.
We leave here at 5pm on the ferry hope the weather stays as nice as it is now for the trip.
See y'all in Juneau.

                                                                                                     Fish Wheel

 

                                                                   does anybody need reservations

 

                                                               The clouds hanging

 

 

                                                               The crows are huge up here

going to Haines

July 1, 2014

Not having a good internet since Whitehorse, I will  try and catch up here.

Being July 1st and my birthday we went over to the park in Whitehorse and had pancake breakfast, then we watched the parade, it was quite good.

We left Whitehorse in early afternoon to go to Haines Junction, went and saw Thomas and Lyn again, said our goodbyes then headed for Haines Alaska.

The road down is just a beautiful drive, we stopped at million dollar falls they were just rushing the sound is mesmerizing.  Onward down to Haines, down further we saw eagles at the wildlife preserve this is an area they come to every year in the fall they tell me there are literally thousands of birds.

We arrived in Haines around 6pm and decided to go to the mud flats hopefully to see the eagles fishing, there were about a dozen there fishing and flying around, we stayed the night there.

July 2, 2014

Today we went to see John Svenson he has a beautiful art shop his wife and himself are great artists, he made me some beads after Ray passed, I wanted him to make me another one a little smaller, he will have it ready on Thur afternoon.

Onward to town to the bakery for breakfast, it was the same place I was in before but it is managed by different people, we went out to the weir where they count the salmon coming up to spawn it is a very pretty drive out there, we didn't see any bears or eagles.  Back to town to see if we could get on the internet but it was so slow there were many people from the cruise ship on it, so it didn't work for me.

This evening we didn't know what to eat for supper so we made pancakes and they were quite tasty, after supper we went back to the weir to see if there was anymore wildlife, well lucky us we got to see one bear he was quite far off but with the zoom on the camera we could see him.

We stayed by the river this night and it started to rain in the night it rained quite hard most of the night and morning, right now it has cleared up quit a bit.

The internet here is very slow and I won't be able to post pictures, Don't know when I will be able to get on again, We catch the ferry on Sun 6th and arrive in Prince Rupert on the 19th we will be stopping for a couple of days on some of the islands, so you might not here from me until I get to Rupert.