An Alaskan Adventure

by David & Joann Young

From SIF SATELLITE 50, Summer 1998

In July of 1997, we spent two weeks on an Alaskan vacation. Now, two weeks in any place certainly does not make one an expert on that area, but at least we can share our thoughts and our impressions of this "49th" state of the United States.

The first week was spent mostly on the water, as we sailed from Seattle, on the small cruise ship, "The Spirit of Endeavor". In about a day and a half we were on the "Inner Passage" of Southeast Alaska. This was truly a beautiful and breathtaking adventure. As we sailed north, the land grew more and more rugged. Eventually all roads end and sea and air become the only way to access the area.

Forests of evergreen abound and yet we could see large areas of "clear cut" logging which caused our guide, Monique, to speak of the great debate between those who favor this method of logging and those who do not. The large "scars" do indeed look terrible, but to their credit at least, the logging companies do replant and the area does renew itself, though it takes many years. The balancing of the demands of society, the need for jobs, and our natural environment is not easily accomplished, but it is bothersome how quickly economics seems to win the day over environmental issues.

Being on a small cruise ship meant that we could easily come close to shore, and later to the great glaciers. We had some wonderful views of bear, moose, deer, and the like on the shore, and of course "killer" and humpback whales, plus lots of family groups of dolphins, in the water. At one point, Dave saw a humpback, the size of a Greyhound bus, come straight out of the water, do a pirouette in the air, and hit the water again with a sounding splash. That was a powerful and awesome sight to see!

We made three stops on the cruise: at Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Sitka. In each case, we took several hours to tour and take in the local color. Fishing, and fish processing, of course, abound, with salmon, of course, being the big industry. Ketchikan calls itself the "salmon capital of the world", although the fishing industry seems even larger at Petersburg. That is where we toured a cannery to see salmon, shrimp, and many other kinds of fish being processed. Ketchikan was originally a Tlingit (Native American) village, but Petersburg was settled by Norwegians, and it indeed reminds one of a Norwegian fishing village.

Our third stop was at Sitka, of Russan background. Of interest there is the Russian Orthodox cathedral, left over from the early days, with its priceless and beautiful icons. We also visited a raptor center, and saw a bald eagle up close, and heard about their work at rescuing these and other birds from serious injuries, with the goal being to release them back to the wilds.

Alaska truly teems with bald eagles. There are more of them in this one state than in all of the other states put together. They fly around and nest in the trees everywhere. Quite a sight! They seem to be in a state of recovery from being an endangered species, which is good to hear! There is also a wonderful museum in Sitka, which enabled us to learn a great deal about the background and settlement of this area, and all of Southeast Alaska. This particular area of land is quite different from the main body of the state in that it is quite a bit warmer, partaking of the benefits of the "Japanese current". Its weather is not really that much different from Iowa, from where we "hail". This climate promotes also a lot of rainfall, and the forests and flowers are beautiful, as is typical of any "rainforest".

At the museum complex in Sitka, we stopped in a building where totem poles were being carved. They begin with huge logs, and spend days carving. You can buy the finished creation, but be ready for a huge price as well, beginning at $500 and up. We're not sure how many totem pole craftspersons there are left, but someone did mention that the day may come when this is a lost art!

The moment we had been waiting for was the trip up John Hopkins Inlet in Glacier Bay National Park, to view, up close, the John Hopkins Glacier. One has to see this to really appreciate it. The mighty roar as huge pieces break off of the front of the mile-wide glacier; the many pieces of ice hitting the front of the boat (why did the Titanic come to mind??); the hundreds of harbor seals laying on the many ice floes, having recently calved; the cold wind blowing off the glacier; as we stood there in the wind and rain taking our pictures and gazing in awe at the sight, we thought "this is really Alaska--this is what we came for!" This was truly the highlight of the trip, although it was marred some by Monique telling is about the fact that the glaciers are retreating, probably because of global warming. One wonders how much longer these treasures will be available to us!

Ketchikan

Our sea adventure ended at Juneau, the capital of Alaska. Anchorage has been in competition with Juneau for this honor, but so far, no change has taken place. One would think that Anchorage would be a more logical choice with its more central location, but we shall see! There is lots of traffic in Juneau, and even an interstate highway. However, once one gets outside of town, the interstate only goes a few miles--and ends when it gets to the mountains.

We left Juneau by air, traveling to Anchorage, where we spent two nights, beginning our week-long land tour. We saw few evidences of the earthquake of over thirty years ago--the land heals itself rather quickly. Anchorage is really becoming a modern "big" city, although it is somewhat quieter than Seattle, or Chicago, or L.A., to be sure.

Anchorage has a beautiful historical museum, where one can learn a lot about its history, especially the gold rush days. Those days have a rather sour tone to them, based as they were on greed, but they are still part of what makes Alaska what it is.

We took a side trip down Prince William Sound to a ski resort, and saw much beautiful scenery along the way. We were not far from the oil spill area, but that part of the state was not on our itinerary.

We left Anchorage by bus and traveled to Danali Park, which was a real highlight. It would have been better if we could have seen Mt. McKinley, but unfortunately we never did see it from the ground because of rain, clouds, and fog (we did manage to see it from air a few days later but that was all!) The time in Danali (which means "the great one"--i.e., the mountain) was spent in a long bus tour to the end of the one road. No traffic is allowed on that road, save the buses that take large groups in. The scenery is breathtaking, as is the wildlife. We were especially thrilled as a large sow grizzly bear and her three cubs came right up to the bus and spent some time just being "natural"--they paid little or no attention to the commotion of camera and video camera taking their pictures from the open bus windows. Two of the large, three-year-old cubs even got in a "scuffle" right outside the window! It was great!

The town of Talkeetna

From Danali we rode by domed train to Fairbanks. Fairbanks is a far different town from Anchorage, and disappointed us somewhat. There were some parts that were pretty run down. We took a riverboat cruise and saw some interesting Athabascan Indian historical things, but otherwise the tour was a very commercialized one, and we were somewhat turned off by that. We did get to see Susan Butcher, who has won the "Iditerod" several times. The museum at the University at Fairbanks was a very interesting place, featuring a lot of the wildlife and geologic history of the area, with special emphasis on the aurora borealis.

During July it never gets dark at night in Fairbanks. The sun is down from about 11 until 2 a.m. and in between it's twilight, which was a little disconcerting. I would really dislike the many hours of darkness during the winter--as well as the cold. We heard that it was down to 60 to 70 below this year (Fahrenheit)!

One of the stops in the Fairbanks area was at a section of the Alaskan pipeline. Actually not a lot of the pipeline is above ground--only in the areas where there is permafrost, and the pipe might be heaved up due to that. The pipeline is heavily insulated, of course, and has computerized "pigs" running through it to keep it clean. Oil of course is the moneymaker in Alaska--in fact, it earns enough for the state that there is no need for state income taxes or property taxes. As a matter of fact, every citizen of the state receives a $1000 rebate each year! The only way that one can lose these "gifts" is to deface the pipeline in some way. As you might guess, the pipeline is in "perfect" repair!

Editor's note: a reader from Alaska writes that property taxes do exist there, and can be fairly steep. Additionally, the amount of money Alaska citizens receive (as a taxable dividend, rather than a rebate) varies according to the current value of the Permanent Fund. Also, he writes that defacing the pipeline has nothing to do with Permanent Fund dividends. Living outside of Alaska for more than a certain number of days per year, however, will disqualify one from receiving the dividend.

After two nights in Fairbanks, it was time to fly back to Seattle and end this fabulous tour. Alaska truly has many faces, but what stands out for us are the wildlife, the fantastic scenery, the power of the glaciers, the beauty of the rainforest, and of the sea. We would advise this trip for any and all--it is truly worth your while!

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