Miss W's Chorus Concert

 

40+ seventh graders and 40+ eighth graders from Edison Middle School performed their spring concert last week.

center, front row

and her short solo, one of four soloists

We are so proud of her!

Icy Strait Point AK (Hoonah AK)

Icy Strait Point was a favorite port stop for me. In its former life, it was a fishing and cannery village. Today, it is a cruise ship stop showcasing its former life. I was excited because there were geocaches. OFD was excited because it had a whale watching tour and some great souvenir shopping. Again, we docked early in the morning and left at 2:30. (Hoonah, population 931 is 1.5 miles south of Icy Strait Point.)

passengers heading into the village

our ship's mooring as seen from our balcony

one of six ropes tethered to the docks

an aerial ride option as seen from our balcony

one of two bald eagles seen from our balcony

this free 6-8 passenger gondola or cable car 

was how we got to the village

It was about a mile from the dock to the main part of the village. The walk was on a steep rocky path through the trees. Bears are out and about looking for food after their hibernation. In fact, some of the walking trails were closed because a tourist tried to take a selfie with a bear the week before. We did not know about the area bears when we chose our ride! Icy Strait Point has the highest concentration of wild bears anywhere in the world!

the first geocache 

This sculpture, called Kéet, was placed by the Norwegian Cruise Line honoring the Orcas who frequent the bay.

fresh donuts at Lil' Gen's Donut Hut

we did not stand in line for the highly recommended morning treat

the final resting place of some former residents of the village

Capt. Paul E. Dybdahl, Sr.

a Pioneer of Alaska from Norway

a great board walk throughout the village

The Hoonah Packing Company building was constructed in 1912 and was one of the world's most productive salmon canneries.

Since 2000 it has served as a museum where displays explain the local history and the fishing and canning process.

There were also a number of locally-owned shops within the huge museum building which carried authentic Alaska-made products.

notice no prices were posted

this place also had a bar

a number of the cruise folks checked the beach for treasures

one of the Marine Mammal cruise excursion boats

Icy Strait Point is near one of the world's premier whale watching destinations. Seeing whales is guaranteed on their excursions.

Although Icy Strait Point does not have any year-round residents, these three shore-side houses looked lived-in with planters and patio furniture.

rhubarb 

I remember seeing and taking a photo of a rhubarb plant in 2001 in Talkeetna that was as tall as me and the leaves were HUGE! This one is on its way!

Because of geocaching we got to see all the important sites in the village.

AK landscape 

delicious carrot cake ~ its all about presentation!

Juneau AK

 Juneau was our second port of call. We arrived at 7 AM and left at 1 PM; just enough time to ride the shuttle to the downtown area, find a few geocaches, host a geocaching event, and walk along the board- walk.

The red circle area was the location of our cruise stops. We did not get as far as the mainland. (We were there in 2001.)

Juneau is the second largest city in the US by area, after Sitka. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906 when the capital was moved from Sitka to Juneau.

We watched several sea planes take off and land while we were in the boardwalk area.

totems along the boardwalk

The two local geocachers who stopped by to visit shared there are plans to install 23 totems along the boardwalk. Eleven are in place now.

wire sculpture reminded me of whale tales

a number of these were also installed along the boardwalk

Patsy Ann was a deaf Bull Terrier who knew when ships were arriving into Juneau's harbor before anyone else. She watched over Juneau, Alaska from 1929-1942. She was buried “at sea” by lowering her coffin into the water right in front the spot she always stood watch.

our ship at one of the docks

and the location of a geocache

4 cruise ships at the AJ dock (Princess & Holland America)

our ship needed to leave so another NCL ship could use the berth

According to Wikipedia: Cruise ship tourism has expanded rapidly, from approximately 230,000 passengers in 1990 to nearly 1,000,000 in 2006, as cruise lines have built more and larger ships. They sail to Juneau seven days a week over a longer season than before, but the cruising tourism is still primarily a summer industry. It provides few year-round jobs but stimulates summer employment in the city.

Viewing glaciers is one of the reasons for cruise ship stops in Juneau. OFD took a tour of Mendenhall Glacier (which we saw in 2001) and whale watching. She did see some humpbacks 

and sea lions resting on buoys.

After leaving Juneau our ship traveled through Endicott Arm to Dawes Glacier. We were to travel 31 miles through the glacially formed fjord.

bergie bits

pieces of ice floating in the fjord waters

a waterfall in the center of the photo and varying sizes of bergie bits

We got about halfway to Dawes Glacier when the navigation crew made the determination to go no further because of icy water. This photo gives a good indication of the icy water.

Interesting that this much smaller tour boat came from further in the fjord and closer to Dawes Glacier. I have no idea if it made it to the glacier or not.

The navigation crew checking the icy waters of Endicott Arm.

The photos of travel from the dock and to Endicott Arm were taken from our 12th floor balcony on the ship.

Sitka AK

Hubby and I joined our daughter on an Alaskan cruise last week. She booked the cruise to celebrate her 50th Birthday and since no one should celebrate their 50th alone...we came along. Hubby and I had been on an Alaska land and sea cruise in 2001 with my parents and one of my brothers and his wife. That 15 day adventure was very memorable and allowed us to see a lot. So this trip of 5 ports, 6 days was just right. The weather for May can be quite iffy, but other than clouds and overcast, we lucked out; temps in the 40ºs - 50ºs and no rain or snow like they had the week before.

Mount Edgecumbe

This dormant volcano was listed as active last month when steam/vapor was noticed coming from the cone. Too many appropriately placed clouds to know if there was steam/vapors on May 8, 2023. 

Our first port of call was Sitka. I was very excited about this port as we had not been there in 2001. 

Sitka, one of the earliest European settlements in the Alaskan territory, is located on Baranof Island. It's a fairly isolated community, accessible only by plane or ship. The City and Borough of Sitka encompasses 4710 square miles, making it the largest city in the US.

The Russians in their expansion of the West coast of North America settled in Sitka in the early 1800s and made Sitka the Capital of Russian America. St. Michaels Russian Orthodox Cathedral, in the middle of town, is evidence of Sitka's history during the early Russian period.

The green domes or cupolas, historic icons, tower bells, and golden Orthodox crosses of Holy Russia are still visible and functioning in Sitka at Saint Michael's Cathedral. 

Unfortunately, the church was not open to visitors.

the rear of the church

The original Saint Michael's Cathedral was completed in 1848 in Sitka; Bishop Veniaminov designed the Cathedral and oversaw its construction. Financial support came from the Russian-America Company's headquarters in Siberia. Many of the construction materials and most of the icons and liturgical items came by a land and sea route from Russia. In the frigid early morning hours of January 2, 1966, Saint Michael's Cathedral burned to the ground during a devastating night fire that destroyed 17 downtown buildings, including the historic Lutheran Church across the street.

Courageous parishioners and townspeople managed to save almost everything from inside the burning Cathedral by forming a human chain and passing along ancient liturgical treasures from one person to another. The massive metal bells and the tower clock melted, but the pieces of melted bells were later recast into the present bells, and the clock was replaced. A few days after the fire, services were held outside on top of the Cathedral's ashes, and reconstruction efforts were initiated.

By 1976, Saint Michael's Cathedral was reconstructed by using architectural drawings fortuitously made in 1961 by the Historic American Buildings Survey. All of the rescued icons and other historic liturgical items were set back in place, where they remain today.

Today, this active parish is composed principally of Native Alaskans, most of whom are descendants of the same Tlingit families who were living in the area at the time of Russian colonization.

some of the flowers around town

tulips and daffodils 

The Prospector

Baranov Pole

designed and carved by Tlingit craftsmen in the 1940s

Sitka was settled by indigenous Alaska natives more than 10,000 years ago, making it the oldest city in Alaska. 

view of Sitka from The Hill

There was another reason for inviting ourselves on OFD birthday cruise...geocaching. Alaska was the last of the 50 states in which we needed to find a geocache.

other geocachers on the cruise looking for a geocache

we also completed an Adventure Lab giving us credit for 5 more geocaches

mission accomplished!

Washington D.C. is on our wish list...

seafood chowder

When we visited the northeast states some years ago, I was not impressed with the seafood we ordered. (I am not a seafood fan.) But eating the seafood chowders on this trip was a very pleasant surprise. We stopped at a small crowded cafe in Sitka that listed seafood chowder as a lunch option. We ordered 3 bowls, 2 soft drinks, 1 BLT sandwich and with the tip, our bill was $95.00. It was very good, but it was the last time we ate off ship!