June 2022

We took possession of the new to us motorhome on Friday 5/20/2022 from a dealership in Sun City.  The closet doors had been broken and the dealership and previous owner were working to get the doors replaced.  We were promised the doors would be available before we left town on June 2.  Short story, that didn’t happen.     

We left town and landed in Alpine, AZ to spend a long weekend with Mike & Jill Bluse and Ron & Vonette Slusser.  A great weekend.  It was a blast to spend time with them reliving old times and planning new ones.  We also hung out with Michelle and Clark Thiry and had the chance to do some bike riding with them.

When we left Alpine, we headed back to Sun City.   Our doors were ready to be picked up.  The doors were ready but they didn’t have the hardware to hang the doors.  The sales manager assured me he would send the hardware wherever I wanted when it came in.  We hit the road and worked our way to Northern CA by way of Nevada.  Short stops in Las Vegas KOA, Fallon RV Park, Burney Falls/Hat Creek KOA and then we were at Brandt’s house in Ft Jones, CA.  Burney Falls was interesting.  We had spent the entire afternoon trying to call to make reservations.  They would not answer the phone.  When we pulled in and talked to the owner, he explained the phone system was down in the entire area and wasn’t sure when it would be back up.  He suggested we use the phone booth with a payphone if we needed to make a call.  I’m not Superman and didn’t need to change into leotards so we didn’t use the phone booth. 

We spent a couple of days at Brandt’s house relaxing.  We  drove up the mountain to the secluded cabin he had spent many of his summers at helping his dad build furniture and developing the water system.  After his folks retired they lived there full-time until age crept up on them.  Electricity was provided by a generator.  There was a large propane tank to provide gas.  Water was provided by a gravity feed from a spring upstream through a 1 1/2 inch pipe to the house.  It was rustic but very livable.  

Next up we stopped in Eugene, OR and then Centralia, WA.  Teri’s niece lives in Centralia so we were able to spend some time with her and her family before heading to Bonney Lake, WA (Seattle area).  There is nothing flat around that area when bike riding.  You are going up or going down but there are some amazing sights..  Anything flat is in preparation for going up.  Dan and Brenda let us mooch dock in their driveway and we left the coach there while we were in Alaska.

On Saturday 6/18 we dropped Sarge (our cat) off at the Pet BNB.  It was a tear jerker to leave him there.  He didn’t know what was happening.  He was placed in his glass enclosure with his bed and a blanket along with some food and water.  He had a window that looked outside into the parking lot.  Ironically, the jeep was parked directly in front of his window.  As we walked to the jeep, he was standing in the window looking at us with a pleading look in his eyes.  As we drove away, both Teri and I had tears in our eyes.  We parked the jeep, shuttled to the airport and flew to Sitka.  If you’ve never flown into Sitka, you actually land on an island.  As you are descending all you see is water, then the wheels touch down.  It’s almost a terrifying event.  The team from Alaskan Dream Cruise picked us up and drove us to our hotel.  We had instructions to meet at the Hospitality Room at noon the next day.  We were scheduled to depart at 12:45pm for an afternoon of tours and then board the 60 ft boat with 4 other passengers for our 6 day cruise which would end in Juneau.  On Sunday we were walking around Sitka and received a phone call from the cruise line asking if we could meet at the Hospitality Room at 10am.  Of course we could.  We met at the Room along with the 2 other couples.  The entire Alaskan Dream Cruises team was present which included one of the co-owners, Jeremy, the operations mgr, Travis, and the reservation mgr, Terri.  One of the  couples was from the United Kingdom and the other from Maine.  Travis informed us that unfortunately our cruise had to be cancelled.  The Captain had contracted Covid and they did not have another Captain who was certified to sail our boat.  Collectively we all groaned.  One lady whispered, “You’ve got to be kidding”.  Teri and I looked at each other with ‘oh shit, what do we do now’ looks.  Travis explained the options they were willing to provide.  1) refund all expenses and cover any  change fees experienced. 2) apply all expenses to another cruise and cover any change fees.  3) Sail on the next available cruise which was sailing in 4 days (Thursday).  Teri and I looked at each other, initially with crestfallen eyes and heavy hearts then said “why not?”.  We’re retired, we don’t have any deadlines, let’s do it.  The next cruise was going to be a 9 day cruise (4 more days) and was going to end in Ketchikan with no additional expenses.  The short story is we accepted and were scheduled to sail in 4 days.  We asked what we would do for 4 days in Sitka (a very small town/city) and where would we  stay.  They gave us a list of things to do and said they  would cover all expenses including the 4 days of hotel.  They were true to their word.  They put us up in a hotel right  on the water.  They scheduled a private fishing charter ($1000 value) and an afternoon wildlife boating excursion for us.

While fishing we each caught a king salmon (1 fish limit per person per day) and we caught 1 ling cod.  Once the fish were packaged and shipped, we had 25 lbs of fish shipped to Dan and Brenda.  On the excursion we saw some Humpback Wales, sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters and there were bald eagles everywhere.  We also toured a couple of museums, stopped in to multiple shops, tested out every breakfast and dinner location in town.  When the cruise ships arrived and the tourists were walking through the city, we felt like locals.  The town officials close the main road to all motorized traffic when the large cruise ships are in port.  We found coffee at the Backdoor Cafe.  After the 2nd day, we would walk in and Dan would ask, “the usual?”.  It was a great feeling.  One morning we met a police officer at the Cafe.  After talking for about 15 minutes, I asked “are you an officer or do you have some rank” based on a statement he had made.  He   hesitatingly replied,  “I have some rank”.  I asked, “Chief”?.  He said yes.  It was a very interesting conversation we had.  We looked up his profile on Google and found he was a very respected officer in AK law enforcement.  Sitka has its own sense of history that can be seen at various historical places throughout the city.  Bald Eagles could be seen throughout the city and it was obvious the city makes its living on fishing and tourism.

On Thursday we met with the other 30 people for the cruise.  The afternoon was spent touring the fish hatchery, the raptor center and Fortress of the Bear.  The raptor center rehabs birds who have been injured.  If the birds cannot be released to the wild, they are kept in a natural environment in the center.  Their lifespan is normally doubled in the closed environment.  The Bear center is also a sanctuary for bears.  Several of the bears would have been killed if the center had   not been in existence.  The bears were caught raiding trash cans and causing problems within the city but not harming people.  They were also in a relatively natural environment.  We then boarded the boat, a 120 ft boat with 33 passengers and a 20 person crew for a 9 day cruise.  I can hear you singing the theme song from Gilligan’s Island while you’re reading this……. 

After sailing all night long, we awoke in Cedar Cove. This was the first excursion of the trip. Teri and I jumped into a kayak and paddled around the cove for about an hour.  While doing so, we were teased by seals who  would splash right behind us and pop their heads up a hundred yards in front of us. To Teri’s dismay, we didn’t see any whales. Later in the day, while  sailing through the inland passage, we came across a pod of about five humpback whales. We followed them for a while waiting for them to breach, but they never did.  

The day ended with us going to bed around 10:00 and the sun was still shining.   

Saturday morning, the sun came up around 3:00 AM. We got up around 6am and prepared for the day and were presented with pastries and  coffee which was an everyday fare before breakfast.  Breakfast was at 7:30 and had a very full menu available. As we looked out the windows of the dining room, we could see Marjorie glacier which is part of Glacier Bay. We all went up onto the top deck to marvel at this magnificent view. The sky was blue, the sun was out and then  there was a huge thunderclap. It took several minutes to realize that this was the glacier ice cracking. As we watched it calving, we saw large chunks of ice falling into the sea.  We were anchored about ¼ mile off the edge of the glacier in about 700 feet of water and could feel a slight roll to the ship as the wake from the falling ice reached it.  

As we sailed out of the bay, we had to avoid small icebergs. Returning to the inland passage, we again followed a small group of whales. We saw several large groups of seals and sea otters.  Next stop was  Mendenhall Glacier where we took a hike out toward the glacier and stood under a huge waterfall.

Lunch was another full menu consisting of salad, salmon, the chefs special or a hamburger. That afternoon, we observed a brown bear walking along the shore and then up onto an ice pack on the island. It was amazing and confusing trying to figure out  how he got there. We were unable to readily identify his destination. Further up the passage, we saw a mountain goat sunning himself on a rocky ledge of the island. 

After going to bed to the steady hum of the engines and the rolling seas, we woke up in the port of Juneau. After a short guided bus tour into downtown Juneau, Teri and I walked the  historic downtown area. The difference in the retail market between Juneau and Sitka was astounding. Most of the retail stores in the Juneau were commercial companies with the store employees standing on sidewalks enticing customers to enter their store. The commercial aspect was a put-off to Teri and I. Steering clear of the business district we went on our own walk about. Teri found a steep staircase of about 100 steps that we just had to conquer. Of course, when you go up, you must come down, another hundred steps.  

The story of Patsy Ann is an astounding one. She was a deaf terrier that was adopted by the townspeople in the 1900’s.  She had an uncanny sense knowing when ships were returning to port and which dock they would use.  The dockworkers relied on her to notify them when they needed to be prepared for the ships arrival. One story tells of the townspeople gathering at a particular dock waiting for a fishing boat to return.  Patsy Ann went to a different dock to wait for the same boat. Guess who was right. 

The large cruise ship port of Juneau was dwarfed by the enormous Odyssey of the Sea cruise ship which was docked when we arrived. I lost count of the number of decks on the sky scraper of a ship which held thousands of passengers. We reflected on how lucky we were to be on a small ship. Where disembarking in ports took minutes instead of hours.   

As we set sail, it was dinnertime.  Dinner always included a chef special, typically a salmon dish, chicken, salad, soup, bread, and dessert. With all the rich, delicious food, it was challenging to not put on a few pounds.    

Monday morning had us sailing up to Sawyer glacier where we again witnessed the spectacle of a calving glacier and the loud thunderclap that preceded it.  High up on the mountain wall, we saw a small herd of mountain goats walking along the treacherous edge. Some of the crew went out in an inflatable boat out to an iceberg and chipped off a large block of ice.  One of the blocks was later used in a contest to see who could guess when the ice would melt.  As we cruised through the inlet, there were amazing waterfalls cascading into the sea. That afternoon we saw an amazing site.  A pod of Humpback Whales decided to grace us with their presence and put on a show for us.   

Tuesday we arrived in Wrangell and took a bus tour around the community where we visited petroglyph beach. Many of the rocks on the beach had ancient petroglyphs attributed to native American civilizations. After that, while many of the passengers took advantage of a paid expedition, we hiked Mount Dewey to have a fantastic view of the bay. Then we found a nature hike through a local park.  During our walk, we met with the only Alaska state trooper assigned to the island. We returned to the boat and when everyone was on board we set sail. Each evening, prior to dinner, was happy hour which was a time for everyone to hang out in the lounge and discuss the days adventures. With such a small group of people, we were able to meet everyone.  We found a few couples we felt we shared common interests. Jim and Pam from  Congress, AZ and Bran & Cynthia from West VA were two examples.  

Our next stop was Thorne Bay and then Kasaan. In Thorne Bay, we were treated to a walking tour of the village which at one time had a major logging industry. Once a week a semi-trailer container is shipped in providing necessary supplies to the village.  

Kassan is on the same island as Thorne Bay and has a rich cultural history. Our tour guide told the tale of each totem pole as we hiked through the forest to the Chief’s house. Inside the house, he explained how up to forty people would sleep in the house and he sang a traditional ancestral song. We were introduced to a couple  who have a small antique store on the island with a lot of old, historical items that were used on the island.  They were also carving out a full size, 30’ canoe which was very impressive.  We then returned to the boat. 

By Thursday we sailed into the Misty Fjords and into God’s Pocket and the Punchbowl  Cove.  Here we were treated to another opportunity to kayak and relax on  the water for about an hour.  As we sailed out of the cove we could see New Eddystone Rock.  A rock that stands about 50+ feet out of the water, but is several hundred feet under the water and is not connected to any observable land feature.  This rock statue was created when the glaciers retreated.

Thursday night we dropped anchor in the bay near Ketchikan and docked on Friday morning. 
That evening we had a celebration dinner with the Captain providing the toast.  This was the inaugural sailing of the reconditioned boat and the crew.  There were a few hiccups but they were very minor and the trip was a huge success.

As we disembarked at the dock, we were aware that this ‘city’ was much like Juneau but on a slightly smaller scale.  There were lots of retail stores and it was very touristy.  At the port  was a sculpture titled The Rock.  It depicts the various groups of people who discovered and built Ketchikan.  We walked through the city for a couple of hours taking in the rich history of mining and fishing.

We then boarded the plane to fly back to Seattle and back to civilization.  We picked up Sarge who was ecstatic to see us.  It was nice to be back in our own bed.  I found the trip to be very liberating.  Since we didn’t have cell service for about 90% of the trip, I didn’t feel the need to check email or social media.  It was an opportunity to be in the moment and not worry about the outside world.  We had a great time, met some wonderful people, saw some amazing sights and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  We would highly recommend this type of cruise if you have any interest in cruising.

I hope you enjoyed the story.