Icy Strait Point

Yesterday we had a very enjoyable day at Icy Strait Point which is a privately owned tourist destination just outside the village of Hoonah on the island of Chichagof. It is owned by the Huna Totem Corporation which comprises of approximately 1350 Alaskan natives with Aboriginal ties to Hoonah and the Glacier Bay area. Many of them are from the Tlinget people. The community created a cultural and wilderness experience for cruise passengers. They only allow one cruise ship a day during the season from May through to September.

A decaying 1930's canning factory has now become become an informative museum, with several shops and restaurants. All the new structures were built with sustainable local wood by native Tlingit men. Everything sold is locally made. The large scale commercialisation we have encountered in some other ports we have visited is refreshingly missing here.

The Heritage Centre houses the Cultural Theatre where shows are performed by the native students wearing national dress. They share their history by performing dance, song and story telling.

It was such an interesting and very scenic spot and we wished we had had more time there as there was so much to see. The weather was beautiful for most of the day.

The above photo is one of the sink holes we were warned to watch out for on the board walk trails. Our guide put a stick in one to show that it was over six feet deep.

 On our early morning guided walk we encountered a mother bear and two cubs. Unfortunately, even though I saw the cubs I wasn't close enough to photograph them as they were further down stream.

 Her fishing trip was unsuccessful which surprised us as we had had seen numerous salmon further down stream. She was also aware of us too and after a short time began to retreat back upstream.

 I will never tire of this beautiful countryside. It is so rich and green and in some places the vegetation is very dense.

 On the left of the boat ramp is the part of the old cannery which has been restored

 An abandoned wharf which has its own beauty.

 Richard and his Aussie mate Bill relaxing by the open fire.

 A teriyaki halibut filet for lunch while we enjoyed a spectacular view.

 An outdoor part of the museum.

 This family were enjoying a 'summer day' on the beach.  The father gave his teenage daughter a dunking in the sea. By the sounds of the screams from both of them we gathered it was freezing in the water. Well it is Alaska!

 Great walking paths around the bay.

Haines and State Fair

 Haines was a simply charming slightly eccentric town that we really loved. We spent the morning discovering what there was to see in the town and then found our way to the State fair in the afternoon. It was running for three days and had several events. It was a lot of fun and something the locals really got involved in. One band we listened to was very entertaining but the music made no sense to us and I couldn't make up my mind whether its was out of tune or just badly played. Another two girls we listened to had beautiful voices but had obviously written their own songs about their drinking experiences. After listening to two songs I wasn't sure whether I was also starting to feel a little intoxicated even though I hadn't had a drink but it was entertaining up to a point!!!

 There were many colourful stalls ( or Booths as they called them ) mainly selling handmade clothing and jewellery.

 The ferris wheel was a treat to see. Very very very old and looked quite fragile. It was painted in bright colours. Wasn't very high  and was very slow but it seemed to be in demand.

 The food stalls were interesting with plenty of American flavour.

This young Mum operating her own food stall made a great choice to keep her little one entertained while she waited for customers. He was bouncing up and down having a great time.

 Plenty of colourful hand knits for sale.

This lady had been participating in the Wearable Arts Parade which we unfortunately missed. I was very disappointed about that as we could only imagine how much fun that must have been.

 These are some of the awards from the flower show.  All looking a little bit wilted by the time we saw them but it was all very simple no memorable displays. But we loved it all for its simplicity really.

 Our walk into the back blocks of Haines to finish off our exercise for the day. The views were spectacular.

 This huge crab we found at Traceys Crab House in Juneau. It was the biggest crab either of us had ever seen. ( the plate was bigger than it looks in the photo)

 You could buy just one leg at a time and sit and eat it and then go back for a second if you wanted another. They were huge and inexpensive because of course Alaskan crab is very plentiful and fresh daily.

 They had a very good camping ground in Haines but the young ones choose to camp on the beach and the town parks. It was around 15 deg C in the afternoon but the temperature drops down very low at night

Juneau Alaska

 On our way to Juneau the capital city of Alaska the scenery was just beautiful and we saw the first of many small icebergs. The fading light gave off some beautiful hues. There is a long twilight up here as once the sun is set it takes about another hour for it to be completely dark.

All was not well on this ship which looked beautiful with its lighting. We noticed it had slowed and stopped around 9.15pm. Thought nothing more of it until the next day when it docked in front of us in Juneau around 8am. Then in the news we heard there had been a murder on board at 9pm the night before. Of course the news went world wide. We felt very sorry for the passengers who had their cruise of a life time disrupted. No one was allowed to leave the Ship until 7pm that night and their cruise itinerary had to be re-scheduled. Ironically they had had a murder-mystery on board the evening of the murder and at first the security crew though it was just a mock up only to find it was very real.

 In Juneau we visited a salmon hatchery which was run on a very large scale. The hatchery each year collects hundred of millions of eggs from returning salmon. These are incubated and grow in a totally dark environment. They then require one year of rearing in fresh water or also called imprinting. When they are finally released into salt water they 'imprint' on their home stream and the salmon memorise the the unique chemical makeup of this water as their birthplace and then they are able to find their way back home for spawning. Amazing creatures.

 The start of the salmon ladders. the water was thick with salmon trying to get up the ladders.

 The capital city  of Juneau with a population of 32.400 is still only accessible by sea or air. It has the feel of a small town in the centre but the housing spreads out along both sides of the river. The historic buildings were beautifully maintained and there were some very nice small local shops. Unfortunately in Alaska all the large cruise ships own large souvineer shops which all sell the same merchandise. We soon learned to stay clear of those. We had never seen so many jewellery shops in each town we went to and also all selling the same.

 The Mendenhall Glacier which is one of Alaska's most accessible glaciers and is about a 40 minute drive from Juneau.

 Mid town in Juneau.

 This fishing boat and the smaller boat cast a circle of net in the water just off the wharf. They dragged it in slowly and had a huge catch of salmon in the net. The harbour was so full of salmon. Apparently they did this three times that night.

 Juneau at dusk from the ship.

Brown Bears at Annan Creek

 The arrival of this juvenile brown bear at the area meant that the black bears retreated to the rocks above but kept a watchful eye on him.

 He was pretty clumsy with his method of trying to catch a salmon but eventually persistance paid off.

 This bear kept an eye on the brown bear for ages.

 The forest area we walked to and from the bears feeding was spectacular and reminded us of ' Davy Crocket' country.

Well I seem to have achieved quite a muddle up in getting these photos downloaded. Hope to do better next time. Some were from my phone and some are from my camera. Maybe thats why.