What a beautiful day!
Clear skies and sun pouring down.
We were up-and-out by 6:30, in order to scarf down some breakfast and be
in line to exit the boat for a 7:30 start to our boat tour of the Misty Fjords
National Monument within the vast Tongass National Forest. Good thing, too, as the line to get off the
ship was half-the-ship long.
Our tour vessel had pulled up right alongside the cruise
boat, and we snagged good seats on the enclosed upper deck. The catamaran was powered by four heroic thousand-horsepower
jet engines, which gave the craft great maneuverability as the strong water
flow could be forced in any direction.
In fact, it was a boat from this manufacturer that was the only vessel
nimble enough to get near to the airliner that landed in the Hudson River a few
years ago & help rescue the passengers!
The day was calm as well as sunny, and we enjoyed the patter
of the various guides. There was a lot
to learn about the Native peoples of Alaska and their art, the ecology and
economy of the area, and of course how geologic forces had, literally, shaped
the land.
Wisps of fog and small clouds snagged on the treetops and in
hollows gave shape to the name of the Monument.
It’s a rain forest, relying on these pockets of humidity as well as
extensive rainfall and some snowmelt to thrive.
Ketchikan is the 4th-wettest place on Earth, boasting 154” of
rain annually. We were told often what a
lucky day we had, and we believed!
As a result of our good fortune with weather conditions, we
were able to go to some places not usually on the itinerary. The sheer cliffs and googles of trees just
defy description. The snowmelt was
providing some waterfalls from great elevations, and lakes captured high up
where a glacier stopped short of reaching the water provided “overflow” falls
as well. (Did you know that the
definition of a fjord is a valley that ends in salt water?)
At the south end of a middling island, we got within a few
yards of the rocks at the tideline, to observe symbols painted by the resident
tribe after Europeans arrived on the scene.
Lacking a written language, they still wanted to designate their
ownership of this land, which held all the resources they needed to
survive. So they drew a rising sun on
the east side and a setting sun on the west and a line of dots to indicate
ownership from east to west to north…which you can still see on the rocks
today.
The Alaskan tribes declined to be limited to living on
reservations; rather, they formed actual corporations to protect their land and
their interests. Between those lands and
areas protected as Federal parks, monuments, forests and such, vast tracts of
land remain in pristine condition. A
possibly- unanticipated side effect? Few
roads, as there just are not long contiguous areas available for paving! So the fact that the state relies on boats
and light planes for most of its transportation is not only picturesque, but
quite practical.
Outbound we were at low tide, and could see the various
striations that are defined by the tideline.
Inbound was high tide, with most of these demarcations covered by
water. There was a gangplank from a tall
pier down to water level close to town, it was interesting to see the steep
angle we’d seen in the morning much smoothed out to a manageable incline on the
way back in.
We had an hour between re-docking and our ship’s departure,
so we walked along the waterfront and explored a good half of the 12 blocks of
waterfront roadway. A booklet we
received on the tour detailed the length of the road going north or south from
town, to “end of pavement” and then “end of road” a little more than 10 miles
either way. Cozy!
Back on board, we thought to order room service from the
dining room menu, but no such luck. The
room service menu was uninspired, so we reluctantly classed up our clothing a
LITTLE and went on down to the dining room.
It was Italian Night, and we wound up seated with our companions from
last evening and a couple who had dined with all of them before. We needed to wiggle in one more chair to make
it all work, but the negotiation with the maître d’ was successful and we had a
fun evening.
SO MUCH fun, in fact, that we missed a good chunk of the
movie we’d thought to see at 7, but no matter … we’re heading into whale
territory and so we’re hoping one may appear on our side of the ship.
We also received our marching orders for the land extension,
which was a relief. We’d tried to get
confirmation from the “shore excursions” desk on how luggage would be handled,
but this was out of their purview. Now
we have VERY specific confirmation: we
need to pack through the end of the land tour in our carry-on, and cede our “checked
bag” until we finally re-unite in Fairbanks.
Our "carry on" gets transported with us but isn't accessible until delivered to our room each night. Our “personal item” stays with us but needs to be skinny as the train
seats are not too accommodating. This is
what we thought we knew, but it’s good to have the confirmation.
So the remainder of the cruise is beginning to lay out …
whale watch, glacier experience, and salmon dinner tomorrow; then two “at sea”
days where we can alternate gawking and figuring out the re-pack. Ideally we’ll be able to work it out so we
don’t have to re-pack AGAIN in Fairbanks, as that day is quite packed
itself. We shall see…
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