Alaska Ferry

June 27
As we continue north, sunrise is earlier and earlier. Of course I know that's how the summer season is in Alaska, but 3:58 AM is still a bit hard to handle. I crawled out of bed at 4:40 and ate a quick breakfast. At 5:30 we docked in Juneau and jumped onto dry land. A minivan taxi took us to the USFS visitor center at the very nearby Mendenhall Glacier. Although the glacier has receded considerably since the center's construction, the view was still impressive. Baby and nesting arctic terns swarmed several nearby sandbars. Icebergs of all sizes floated quietly in the placid turquoise water. We hiked 1 1/2 miles uphill through delightful mossy forest to a fabulous view of a thundering waterfall. The lope downhill was easy and we returned to the ferry for its 9:15 departure.

The remainder of the day we lounged on the Solarium deck, increasingly spectacular views zooming by. Great snowy peaks, sharp craggy spires, waterfalls hundreds of feet tall, steep forested hillsides, deep valleys, hanging glaciers, rocky shores, and endless turquoise water. The challenge is figuring out when to blink. Over the course of second breakfast, elevensies, and luncheon we gradually consumed the remainder of our supplies.

In the afternoon we had great fun (an obvious testament to our collective moderate boredom) paging (first Phil) to the infamous Purser's Counter, then a collegiate floozy who strutted around the ferry trying to hook up with any living human.

We stayed aboard during our brief stop in Haines, and 45 minutes later, at 4:15 PM, docked in Skagway, cowering in the shadow of two (there is room for six) enormous cruise ships holding 1500-2000 people each. On an average day there are nearly 10,000 tourists in Skagway. It had been unrelentingly sunny all day, so we eagerly yanked our duct tape, packed our gear, and left the ferry. Nancy of the Skagway Home Hostel met us at he terminal and shuttled our gear the half dozen blocks to the hostel.

There we united with Lynda, who had flown directly to Juneau and taken the catamaran fast ferry to Skagway yesterday. Kathy cooked a big pot of potato soup, and we contributed a romaine salad from the grocery store next door. We celebrated the beginning of our great journey with Heath Bar Klondike Bars. Would you travel the traditional way to the Klondike for a Klondike Bar?

-Dave

June 28
Zero day in Skagway. We slept in as best we could, both wiped out from the sun and errant diesel fumes of the ferry. Lexi whipped up a double batch of blueberry scones. We strolled over to the Klondike Cemetery, where we saw the graves of celebrated con man Soapy Smith and hero of the people Frank Reid. The markers had clearly rotted away many years ago, and most were modern painted wood. A bit above we appreciated the pretty Reid Falls.

The town of Skagway is fairly ridiculous. Since 10,000 tourists a day come through, most of whom eat their meals on the cruise ships, the town has hoards of jewelry shops (at last count Juneau had 305), one coffee shop, two genuine museums and numerous bogus ones, and one dishonest hardware store. During the day the streets are crowded like Disneyland and in evening virtually vacant.

After a pizza dinner we went to the "Show of '98". At 7PM the gambling began. With "$1000" in chips, we played roulette or blackjack. Energetically acting floozies ran the games and gave out piles of bonus chips for calling them "the prettiest girl". By 8 o'clock we were cleaned out and one guy had collected 4 million "dollars". The theatrical show began with Phil winning a fundraising auction and with much drama, removing a garter from the leg of the lovely Molly Fewclothes. The Soapy Smith impersonation/can can revue was surprisingly amusing.

It took a few minutes to get several of our comrades out of the brothel, and we hit the Red Onion Saloon, filled with college kids who by day operate the numerous bike rickshaws and tour vans in town. We drank pitchers of Alaskan Oatmeal Stout and Smoked Porter before the open mic became completely intolerable.

-Dave