Blood on my crocks.

Blog Post 7

Saturday, June 11:

Dundas Bay is inside Glacier Bay Park but does not require an entry permit. Heading up the bay we see lots of very cute sea otters.  Some are moms with babies riding on their chests.  They paddle hard with their back feet to increase the distance between us but prefer not to dive unless they feel really threatened.  We spot a huge brown grizzly on the shore, then a black bear who appears as large as the grizzly bear. Just across from our anchor spot is another single grizzly.  He comes and goes during our stay.  The water is turquoise from the snow melt.  Lots of harbor porpoises swim around our cove. 

Crab omelet for breakfast.

One of the great views as we work our way up Dundas Bay.

Sea otter with her baby.

Sea otter in the emerald waters of Dundas Bay.

This loon greeted us as we anchored.

The view at the head of Dundas Bay

Couldn't resist another otter.  So cute!

Sunday, June 12:

A smooth & sunny run to Elfin Cove.  Past Sea Lion Rock where most of the residents were in the water frolicking and tossing around their fish breakfasts.  Room for both of our boats on the outside transient dock. We walked the boardwalk (their highway).  No motorized vehicles allowed here. The little store was closed on Sunday.  The cafe was open but had only one item for purchase, hamburgers.  Mooched 5 fish heads for crab bait but we will need to wait until we are out of sea otter territory before we try for crab.

The wheelchair ramp from hell in Elfin Cove.

Sea Lion Rock in the Inian Islands.

Monday, June 13:

Watched 11 river otters checking out all the docks for good things to munch.  Away at 7am.  Heading for Pelican.  Just outside of Elfin Cove were 7 or 8 humpbacks cruising on the surface.  Lots of Trollers (line fishermen) fishing in Cross Sound.  They are catching King Salmon. Pelican's transient dock only has one visitor.  Very few cruisers this year.  Pelican is going downhill.  Lots of places empty.  The student population has gone from 50 kids to 12.  One class.  The store, laundry, and cold storage have closed. The fishing boats are idle and in need of paint.  The boardwalk highway here is wider and 4 wheelers race up and down it.  We decided to stimulate the economy and go out to dinner at the only place serving in the evening.  Rose's Bar is listed in the boating book as "infamous".  It turned out to be tacky, dirty, and smokey.  No menus, just a recital of what the waitress/bartender was willing & able to cook. We chose our salad dressing by the youngest expiration date on the label.  The price came when you were ready to pay.  Our boat dinners have been better....but we did contribute to Pelican's economy.  The stuffed Salmalope on the wall was worth something!

The docks in Pelican.

Tuesday, June 14:

I awoke to the sound of flipping and flapping.  John was filling a bucket with herring which he was jigging from the boat deck.  These will come in handy for luring in bigger fish.  I bought some earrings from the little cafe made from Halibut ear bones.  Drizzly run back to Elfin Cove.  We launched our kayaks and paddled from Elfin Cove northwest to view the wave sculpted rocky shore.  We kayaked with 3 humpbacks that were slowly cruising just off shore.  I got to within 15 feet of one, then chickened out and backed off.  Would have been cool to touch one but I was leery of the huge tail. Around the island we met up with a group of sea otters.  They were very curious about our yellow kayaks.  The teenagers squealed and made shrill calls which brought everybody's heads popping out of the water.  I squealed back and we had a conversation for a while.  The moms with babies kept their distance but the single ones kept popping up beside and ahead of our kayaks. Such cute little faces.

Roxie kayaks with the whales.

Peering into the bat cave.

A very curious otter.

Wednesday, June 15:

Backtracking to Hoonah.  Another long drift at Point Adolphus where 50 or so humpback whales were cruising and feeding.  We shut down the motor and drifted through their spouts and tails.  Did I mention before that the larger whales sometimes sound like an elephant trumpeting when they exhale?  Grocery shopping in Hoonah and a much needed garbage dumpster. King salmon for dinner compliments of Rod & Susan who bought a fish on the Elfin Cove dock.

Whales every which way at Point Adolphus.

Thursday, June16:

Onboard Xanadu, John & I sneak away early so we can stop to fish at Spasski Island. This is where we caught our huge halibut three years ago.  We didn't tie into a "barn door" halibut, but did get two nice ones.  Ended up with about ten pounds of fillets. I did the fish processing on the way to Tenakee Springs.  We saw two deer swimming way out in the water.  From the way they were going we think they just crossed Icy Straits, a distance of 6 & 1/2 miles. It's a good thing the waters were calm.  A single Dall's porpoise stayed with our boat for a good 20 minutes.  I am sure he was aware of the persons on the deck and seemed to respond to our noises.  At this point I am no longer making note or counting whales.  They have become common experiences, like bald eagles and loons.  Dropped in the crab pot in Sunshine Cove just before Tenakee Springs. In Tenakee we walked the path, their infrastructure, along the shore.  Tenakee is the bedroom suburbs of Juneau.  The homes here are very nicely maintained.  There is a school, library, fire department, cafe, grocery store and city hall.  All are connected by a 4 foot wide dirt trail.  4 wheelers are allowed, but lots of people bike here.  The ferry comes here twice a week from Juneau so citizens can get supplies often.  There is a community hot tub filled by the hot springs.  Access is divided into male & female hours.  Nudity REQUIRED, no swimsuits allowed.  Tenakee has no cell phone towers or coverage.  Most of the homes do have Internet access as does the library.  We will try to send our this blog spot from there.  Dinner is fresh halibut burgers on home made buns.

I cleaned up the fish and put on my boots after spattering my crocks with fish blood.

Afternoon sun hits the ferry dock at Tenakee Springs.

Deer swim across Chatam Strait.

Cow Parsnips and Xanadu at the dock in Tenakee Springs.

This is the public toilet in Tenakee Springs.  It is perched on a pier over the beach so the tide can flush.

A streetwalker on the only road in Tenakee Springs.

Friday, June 17:

John & I have our 44th anniversary today.  No fancy restaurant but the sea has provided fresh crab.  John caught some small greenlings for bait and we tried Tenakee Reef for more halibut but nobody was biting.  John & Rod will try out the hot springs.  Susan & I will wait for a clothing allowed site.  The moldy walls, sulphur smell and rocky lining of the pool did not inspire us to tear off our clothes and jump in.  I know, go ahead and say it.......prudes!  I'm thinking Haagen Das Ice cream for anniversary dinner!

Whale's Tales

Friday & Saturday,  June 3-4:

We spent our first 2 nights in Juneau tied to the City Docks.  Usually this dock is totally full but since no one seems to be cruising Alaska we found plenty of room for both boats at the preferred dock.  From here it is only a half mile walk to the downtown area.  Another miracle occurred when I was able to get a hair cut without a week away appointment.  Juneau has hordes of mooching ravens that hang out in the cruise ship area where they are hoping to get invited to the cruise ship smorgasboard.  We spent both days restocking food, propane and clean laundry.  We did a little sight seeing with a walk past the Governor’s mansion and the State Capitol Building.

A view of Juneau from the water as we enter.

The Raven lineup.  These are very smart birds!

Sunday, June 5:

Partly cloudy but with enough sun holes that we had sun twinkles on the water as we backtracked to the south to round Douglas Island on our way to Auk Bay.  This is where visiting boats usually go.  On the way we had a humpback whale “sound” just in front of the boat.  We were quick to take the propeller out of gear.  Wouldn’t want to run over it!  From Auk Bay it is a short bus ride to the Mendenhall Glacier.

The Mendenhall Glacier as seen near Auke Bay.

Eagles find many convenient perches on the boats in Auke Bay.

Monday, June 6:

Arrived at Swanson Harbor to find only one fishing boat on the two large public floats.  The wind came up in the afternoon and we had lots of waves and rockin’ going on for all evening and late into the night.  It was too rough for bottom fishing or crab pot retrieval so we just lazed around.

We round Point Retreat on the way to Swanson Harbor.

A Hairy Triton we caught on our crab trap.

Lower Lynn Canal

The view from our moorage at Swanson Harbor.

Tuesday, June 7:

Two crabs in the trap when we pulled it in the morning.  Nice flat water for our run across Icy Strait for Hoonah.  Cooked the crab on the way.  Just past Sister’s Islands we were joined by a large pod of Dall’s Porpoises.  They are so amazingly fast.  Just a two hour run today.  Time for a little boat cleaning.  Licked our way through homemade ice cream on our walk to the Cannery (Hoonah’s major, and only, attraction).  The Cannery only opens when a cruise ship is scheduled to arrive.  It is a very nice museum with fish canning history.  From the Cannery you can load onto a bus for the ride to the top of the “world’s highest zip line”.  Three years ago it was only $90 for the 90 second ride.  Today it was $120.  John & I will save our money for other adventures. 

The ravens begged for handouts in Hoonah.

At The Cannery in Hoonah.

Wednesday, June 8:

Another short run, destination Neka Bay.  We were hoping for more crab, grizzly bears and bottom fish.  We came up short on all three counts but the meatloaf sandwiches with homemade bread made up for it.  The bay seemed void of life on the bottom.  Our crab bait was not even touched.  Weird!

The results of Roxie's baking as we travel.

Anchored in Neka Bay.  John spotted two bears on the shore here.

Thursday, June 9:

We are crossing Icy Strait again, this time north for Glacier Bay.  Along the shoreline I spot our first Alaskan Grizzly.  It is a momma bear with two little cubs.  Our course takes us past Point Adolphus.  We have never been here without experiencing many whales feeding off the point and we are not disappointed this time.  Spouts, dorsal fins, whale tails and exhalation moans all around us.  We stop and turn off the engine.  It is awesome just to drift, listening to all the bird calls, seal barks and whales blowing.  We could stay for hours but we have reservations for entering Glacier Bay.  The park limits visiting small boats to 25 per day, but do let large cruise ships in so that is often the best way to see Glacier Bay.  Plus, you don’t have to worry about sinking like the titanic if you ram a sunken iceberg.  Just before we enter the park (a call is required) we see our first wild sea otters.  Ten of them are floating on the water and do not seem very concerned with our approach.  We slow up and get some cute pictures.  All visitors are required to attend an orientation at the park office so we tie up to the huge dock in Bartlett Cove and stretch our legs a bit.  Afterwards we anchor in the cove, as stays at the dock are limited to 3 hours.

Near Point Adolphus

A sea otter.

He otter be in pictures!

Friday, June 10:

We have reservations for 3 days here in Glacier Park.  Rod & Susan on Merlin have purchased tickets for the catamaran ride to the top of the park.  We did it last time we were here and it is worth every penny of the $200 per ticket.  It is an 8 hour ride with a naturalist onboard pointing out all the wildlife with stops whenever special sightings are made.  It makes memories for a lifetime.  This year we are taking care of Katie, Rod & Susan’s dog.  She is not allowed on the trip and loves to be with us on our boat.  Katie can walk around on the roads but dogs are not allowed on any of the trails.  They would probably just be lunch for some hungry grizzly bear anyway.  I discovered a HUGE bear poop and pee in the middle of the road when I walked Katie this morning.  It has been a nice day for Rod & Susan’s ride up the bay.  John & I took Katie for a kayak ride up the river while the tide was high. 

A native carving on a spruce tree in Glacier Bay National Park.

Roxie and Katie kayak in the park.

Flippin' Bergies!

Friday,  May 27:

A warm front drizzle accompanies us to Wrangle.  Three porpoises spend 15 minutes playing at our bow.  The auto-pilot takes over and both John & I stand out on deck to admire their antics.  In Zimovia Strait a humpback whale surfaced just off our starboard bow and we passed by two more heading south as we were heading north.  There is room for us at the Wrangle City Dock.  We walked through town (takes 15 minutes).  John & Rod spent the day replacing a large bow thruster battery.  Susan & I did laundry.

Pat & Rick from Tranquility joined us for happy hour.  They brought fresh crab legs, yummy! 

Humpback breath (eewue!)

Saturday, May 28:

Grocery shopping day.  There are two grocery stores here in Wrangle. We go to both to find everything on our list.  John spends most of the day at the Wrangle Library doing Internet stuff on his computer (bills, blog spot, & messages).  We time our afternoon walk with the tides as we are going to see the petroglyphs on the point north of Wrangle.  If you look carefully you can still find many on the beach.  Back at the boat I visit with a fisherman who is cleaning his two King Salmon on the dock cleaning tray.  I am mooching fish heads and bones for our crab bait but end up with a huge 1/2 salmon fillet. SCORE!!! He said he wanted our stay in Wrangle to be a memorable one!

Rocks on Petroglyph Beach near Wrangle.

Were early peoples visited by space aliens?

John relaxes among the petroglyphs.

Dude! I am Alaskan and I am cool!

World's largest dandelions.

Sunday, May 29

Away at 6:00.  Heading for Petersburg via the Wrangle Narrows.  Gray day with light drizzle and smooth water.  Our previous experience with docking at Petersburg was SCARY!  But this time no huge currents or wind so No Problemo!  Walked around town. This is a Norwegian community.  Lots of wealthy timber & fishing barons settled here.  All the restaurants are closed and will be tomorrow too for Memorial Day.  We were hoping for pizza but will make do with fresh salmon ;-). 

Note the lower, triangular, Norwegian speed bump sign.

In front of the Sons of Norway hall in Petersburg.

We are proud to have half-Norwegian grandchildren.

Monday, May 30:

Beautiful sunny day.  A short ride today heading north into Thomas Bay.  This is a fiord with glaciers flowing toward the saltwater but they have receded and do not actually touch the water.  They do however, color the water a brilliant turquoise blue.  That color contrasting with the snow fields above and the dark green forests make for a memorable trip.  Water temperature is 37 degrees here.  We tour through Scenery Cove and see a moose running (more like a gangling lope) along the opposite shore.  Our first Moose!  Hope we see more, they are a rare sight.  Anchored in the south nook of Ruth Island by 10:30.  Reading, relaxing and taking in the magnificent scenery.  High snow peaks to the south, east and north.  Snow peaks to the west are hidden by the forests on the shore.  Sunny & warm all day.  Crab pots in and retrieved at dusk.  John & Rod bring back eight large male dungeness crabs, four in each pot.  They go into the crab hotel for safe keeping until morning.

Morning departure from Petersburg.  Note the sea lions on the buoy.

Xanadu shadow on opaque glacial water in Thomas Bay.

There is always freshly baked bread on this cruise ship.

Tuesday, May 31:

Hard getting used to the early daylight and late twilight.  John & I are both up early.  I decide to get the crab ready for cooking.  I kneel on the swim step where I whap them with a fish bonker, pull off their shell, shake out their guts, pull off their gills and rinse them in the saltwater.  Sounds violent but it is quick and much kinder than putting them into boiling water while they are wiggling.  The crab is cooling in the counter when we hoist anchor at 7:30.  We are heading for the Sandborn Canal inside of Port Houghton. On the way I crack & pick the crab.  One saved for dinner tonight, two put in the freezer and one right into my mouth for lunch:-).  A beautiful cruise!  Warm & sunny with lots of whale sightings.  Rod & Susan had their first long Dall Porpoise visit on Merlin.  We watched as dolphins splashed around their bow and then a humpback surfaced just ahead of their boat.  A really memorable day for them!  Our anchorage was not as picturesque but we suddenly ended up with four boats sharing the same canal.  Weird, because we have been alone at most all the other places we have anchored.  Pretty sure I heard wolf noises off in the hills just at dusk.

All you can eat!

Wednesday, June 1:

Totally blue sky. Anchor up at 6:00. Peeked into Hobart Bay just two hours north of last night's anchorage.  Found the little 100' float at Entrance Island empty.  A tranquil little cove with eagles & ravens greeting our arrival.  Took a vote and tied up for the day.  All day to explore & relax in another piece of paradise.  It was low tide so John & I popped into our kayaks to explore.  John made it all the way around Entrance Island.  He saw an eagle's nest, black sand beaches and rock faces colored like rainbows.  As he paddled around the outside of the island he could hear whale spouts and deep slapping reverberations from humpbacks farther out.  I only made it as far as the nearest rocky point where I discovered thousands of frilled dog winkles (a type of sea snail).  I collected the frilliest and the peach colored ones to add to my sea treasures.  I cooked up the snails for cleaning.  Pizza onboard Xanadu.  Wonderful day!!!

Dogwinkle City

Eagle's nest on Entrance Island.  No, Jennifer, I did not photoshop this.  It really does look like the Muppet Eagle.

The current carries my kayak past multicolored rocks to the sound of whales breaching in Stevens Passage.

Early morning departure from Entrance Island Cove.

Frilled Dogwinkles.

Thursday, June 2:

Off to Taku Harbor at 6:00.  Humpbacks cruising ahead of us.  They sounded (nose down, tail up heading for the deep) as we got near.  Three white-sided dolphins came past our bow but didn't stay.  Whale spouts in the distance.  Ahead of us up Stephens Passage we spotted multiple white dots which grew into little icebergs being spit out from the glaciers up Tracy & Endicott Arms. They are so beautiful when the sun is shining, turning them turquoise.  We nosed up for better photos and two of them rolled right in front of us.  Very impressive!!!  The largest rolling berg broke into some smaller pieces as it rolled. John & I collected the chunks of "Bergie Bits" for our evening happy hour.  Fun to have 500 year old ice in our drinks!  Taku Harbor has a huge public dock and an additional 200' float.  We were amazed to find the harbor empty!  Where is everyone???  Another sunny day.  Three years ago there was a huge grizzly bear patrolling the shoreline but no signs of bear today.  Explored the cannery ruins and took turns on the giant swing.

Sumdum Glacier.  Really.

Xanadu noses up to an iceberg.

Merlin approaches and iceberg in Stevens Passage.

The iceberg that flipped over unexpectedly.  Yes, we were too close.

Just after flipping.  The skipper has jammed it into reverse!

It is rocking back and forth.  The skipper adds power in reverse!

The iceberg stabilizes.  Holy Cow, that is why you don't get too close to those things!

Pieces of "The iceberg that flipped."

Can you find the face of the grumpy old ice curmudgeon?

There he is.  (certified not to be photoshopped)

The other iceberg that flipped over as we watched.  Note the ribbon of kelp on the ice.

This is a common sight.

Cannery ruins in Taku Harbor.  Left to right: piling, piling, piling, Katie, piling, Roxie, piling, piling...

Xanadu and Merlin are alone in Taku Harbor.

500 year-old ice comes in handy during happy hour.