Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See?

When we went out to Dyea on Saturday night to watch the salmon running we'd heard that a grizzly had been there the night before. The guys we talked with said they were fishing and the bear was fishing and there was plenty for everyone so....we went back out there last night. We'd had a bit of rain during the day and it was pretty humid. This is the view looking across the water to the creek area and the tidal flats. Farther down the road we crossed a bridge and turn off to head to the tidal flats. That's where we saw the salmon running before.

There were quite a few people by the creek and one or two guys fishing. Most were waiting for the bear(s) to appear. We didn't have to wait long before we heard the dogs getting agitated and moments later our bear appeared. It's incredible that we were close enough to hear him splashing through the water. Before long he caught a salmon and took it to the grassy area to eat. He did that four or five times. We think he was kind of young because he seemed a bit inexperienced in fishing.

This is the first video I took and one of the best. Our DSL service isn't very fast up here in the northland and it took about an hour to upload this short movie. I'll try to add some more in the days ahead.

Karin and I (the day laborers) were so tired today that we won't be going back out there tonight. Now THIS is when it would be best to go back into retirement!! But with 9800 people arriving on cruise ships tomorrow we have to be ready to serve.

Wow! Wow! Wow! What a great show!

After a nice birthday dinner at Northern Lights restaurant to celebrate Don's birthday, we all decided to drive out to Dyea and hunt bear. Well, look at this guy we found. The salmon are running and we've been hearing that brown bears have been showing up to feast on the salmon. The Dyea valley was really pretty because we've had rain today and there was a layer of fog on the river. There were quite a few people waiting for the bears to arrive and I'll show you more pictures and movies tomorrow. Suffice it to say that it was the greatest show on earth in our neck of the woods. Look at the fireweed behind the bear. Beautiful. We watched for a looooooooong time. Another bear showed up (I didn't see him) but I'd used up the memory on my camera and was just contented to watch through my binoculars. And, I forgot my feet hurt!

PRICELESS!

Here's Another One Of My Favorites!

Here's Your Sign!

I've seen a lot of signs while we've been up here but this is undoubtedly one of my favorites!!

Tune in later for another one of my favorites.

The salmon are running

We heard that the salmon are running up an unnamed creek in Dyea so when we got back from Haines, we went over there. It is like National Geographic television. They have these ugly beak mouths and humps on their backs and they swim in water so shallow that half their body is above water. Groups of (mostly young men) fishermen work to catch them. More than half of them are too far gone to be good eating, so they put those back. One of the fishermen told us that the day before a grizzly came fishing with them, but we didn't see that yesterday. When we were leaving we ran into Don and Karin coming out, so we took them over to the creek. It is a small creek and the fish are easy to see in it.
Haines was fun. We got to go into a museum of native artifacts. They had a display showing tribal distribution and language. The interior tribes' languages are in a group called Athabascan. Navajo and Apache are also in that group. The shocking thing is that all the languages are dying. Some have only a few speakers still living.
We also discovered artists' shops. Lots of great stuff, but we didn't need most of it. Oh, and a quilt store. Who'd have guessed it? And wild raspberries, ripe and ready to eat.
The boat ride is the best part anyway. I feel sorry for the people on cruise ships who have cabins without windows. But I've watched the ships leave port. About 10% of the people with balconies are out watching.
The newspaper came out. They had to kill a bear in town on the 11th. Then one of her cubs was found inside a house (he had already left his mother) where he had ransacked the kitchen. (See, Casey, our bear analogies were right on) He was moved to a river near Juneau. Hope he will be okay. He was the blonde cub I had seen near the Dyea road one day.

The day after

Turns out Dave (the boss) was wrong. It is in July that things begin to boil, eh?
Yesterday morning I was outside the office talking with a potential customer (the small office can get crowded with more than 4 people) when a woman who had been inside came out just huffing about I-knew-not-what obviously more than a little bit miffed. I went inside a few seconds later and Dave had a bewildered look on his face, so I asked what had set her off. Then she opened the door and berated Dave for not having any seats in the office and left again. She did not like having to get out of bed an hour before departure to handle the paperwork associated with her tour. Her tour that I would be driving in an hour! Oh, boy! About a half hour later she was back. Something about Herb might not get here in time, blah, blah, blah. I went out with her to settle her down a bit. Turns out she is a kindergarten teacher and yada, yada pretty soon we are old friends and she is just not having a good day. She enjoyed the tour, confessed to me that she'd had ice cream the night before, and her lactose intolerant digestive system was making her cranky. When I dropped her and the on-time Herb back at the ship, she said she would be over with some cash for me at the office, she didn't have any on her. I, of course, held my breath. Then I remembered that Dave was going to Whitehorse, wouldn't be in the office, and decided that my new friend probably wouldn't work all that hard to get me a tip. I ran into Dave at the gas station and he asked me if that lady had given me a tip. I explained about the cash situation and that I guessed I was out of luck since no one was in the office. He says, no, the guy came by with $20 and Dave was curious if it was an apology tip from the man or if it came from the woman. Today when I went in to the office there was the $20 with a note from Dave, "Tip for Bill from the man with Ms Grumpy." At $20 a head, bring on the grumpies.
Besides, we got to see a big bald eagle that flew alongside the bus for about 15 seconds, the first bear in about a week, and that same family of goats from which I got my hair-brained idea.
Moratorium, schmoritorium, tomorrow is our 39th anniversary and we are going to Haines on our day off.

Moratorium Day, please.

Don is not the only one ahead of his time. My boss, Dave, reminded us again last week that in August you have to start locking things up, and beware of our moods, that people get fed up, but we can't snap at customers, etc.
It is mid-July and it is easy to forget that what I am seeing for the umpteenth time is the first time for the tourists. When people order our tour on-line, it gives the time and duration of the tour on the confirmation we send out, the directions say to bring passports, and to check in an hour early. People still book the train, or some other tour with beginning/ending times that are the same. Yesterday I had a couple on my bus, tour from 10:30-4:30, who had train tickets at 4:30. You want to slap them. Another group came in just 30 minutes early without passports.
The other day a woman was asking about polar bears and penquins. It seems like one in five people think the Yukon Territory is in Alaska. But the biggie, the frustration of frustrations, is that people walk in the streets completely unaware of the vehicles. Some are aware, they just act like the right of way is theirs. Others don't look at all. Yesterday a man with earphones on was walking right down the middle of the street (sidewalks along both sides). I got some small satisfaction that he nearly jumped all the way to the sidewalk when he finally became aware of the bus. If the cell phone is the biggest danger to drivers (and it is) then the camera is the greatest danger to walkers. Once the eye goes to the screen or viewfinder, all else is nonexistant, time stands still until the perfect photo has been created. It is not August yet, and I already want a Moratorium Day. A day when running over stupid people is not only allowed, but celebrated. A day when I can say, "No polar bear has ever survived an encounter with a penguin in the wild." A day when you can point to the 48 hour cancellation policy and say, "I sure hope you can run to the ship for your passports and make it back in time for the tour, we can't wait for you or pick you up at the ship because all these other people shouldn't have to wait for you." Oh, and I want to catch people stacking rocks, knock them over and say, "What makes you think it is okay to disturb this pristine wilderness with your meaningless stack of rocks? Get back onto the road and go home."

Boy, that felt good. I can make it to August now. But I still have to make it through September.

Just a note for the prosecutor: this is all tongue-in-cheek. I did not run that idiot down on purpose, he/she walked in front of my bus talking on the phone and composing a photo.

Lemon Lavender Cookies Get An A+++

I decided to go to the Temple of Clean Clothes this morning while others were at church. It was a time of peace and contemplation and I gave thanks for having my own washer and dryer in my other life. While that may sound slightly irreverent, I was very sincere. By 9:30 I was finished and could turn my attention to baking my lemon lavender cookies.

Now my children don't think of their mom as a baker because each of them or Bill was always willing to bake up cookies--chocolate chip, boiled, oatmeal, brownies--and come on, why would I interfere with a "chore" they were sooooooooo willing to take on. However, Dessert-Chef Peggie is my alter ego and she comes out periodically. The lemon-lavender cookies at the local bakery spoke directly to my alter ego. And, the baker doesn't make them very often, unlike her apple turnovers and cinnamon rolls that are regulars on the menu. My previous research uncovered quite a few recipes for lemon lavender shortbread-type cookies but I wanted something a little easier and without it needing to be chilled before baking. I found a drop cookie recipe and after a few creative changes I baked up a batch of lemon lavender cookies and took some over to Karin. She declared them winners. At least I think that's what she was saying. It was kind of hard to understand her because her mouth was full but that's what it sounded like when I was saying that with my mouth full a few minutes prior to taking some over to her. I don't know if Don will get a chance to declare them winners. Karin said Don really likes chocolate chip cookies (duh!) and she wasn't sure she needed to save any lemon lavender cookies for him. I think I kind of like that dark side of Karin...who knew?


These cookies need to be removed from the oven just as the bottoms start to brown. Too much brown adds a bit of a burned flavor to the lemon and lavender and it caused me to eat two or three before I knew if I was just tasting burned flavor or lemon and lavender was coming through. The next tray was removed from the oven at just the right time. That's when I, with my mouth full, declared them winners! I think I knew that after just one cookie but two confirmed it for sure.

Then...I decided to mix some powdered sugar, butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and lavender buds together to make a lemon-lavender buttercream frosting. After another cookie to test the new development, I took Don and Karin, I mean Karin, hers.

I think Bill needs to get home pretty soon or I just may have to repeat this chore....

Trip to Whitehorse

A trip to Whitehorse wouldn't be complete without a few animals and a trip to the grocery store. Sorry, no pictures of the grocery store; you'll have to use your imagination. But this fella appeared along with a few bajillion bugs. Even without the bugs we keep the windows closed when we're hanging out with bears.

We came around another bend in the road and saw this little guy. We stopped and watched him for a while. He mostly had his nose down so Bill gave him a wolf whistle, er... I mean a fox whistle and he looked up very cooperatively.

Can you see it? I couldn't either so it helps that Bill is good at his job and spots things for me.

Can you see it now?

It's fun to see the ever-changing landscape. Right now the Fireweed is in bloom and it seems to be everywhere. It grows in the alley behind the stores, along the roads, next to the water and on hillsides--great big swaths of bright pink flowers.





The area that begins around Tormented Valley appears to have a bunch of flowers on the rocks. Bill had already checked it out and said it's a grass-like tundra growth.



Upon closer examination, I decided it looks a bit like 3-D lichen.

Back in Alaska we saw this mama and kid...just hanging out...

I found food-grade lavender buds at the Coffee, Tea & Spice store in Whitehorse. I plan to make Lemon Lavender Cookies tomorrow!!!!

No moose today

Thanks for the comments on the previous entry.
I forgot to take the model ship off the stand when I took the picture. The snow on the mountain is the mountain off in the distance beyond the ship. Magnified. All of this is sooo beyond description that even pictures are inadequate.
We did see one bear, a fox, and two goats on our drive to Whitehorse. We will get the photos uploaded soon. We also walked across the Yukon on a foot bridge that is just downstream from their hydoelectric dam. In Arizona, we only have the Colorado to compare to it. And it is only a fraction of the stream it finally becomes. We had cool temps and fog in Skagway this A.M., but in Whitehorse it was like a monsoon day, heavy storm clouds drifting by making threats but not delivering anything but shade and wind. It was pleasant, not hot and humid.
You all may have to get an intervention ready. Peggie spends all day, every day in a quilt store. So where does she go and buy something on her day off....a quilt store. Sounds like a problem to me. It would be like if I went for a long drive through the country on my day off. Sheesh.

Just have some patience!

Bill surprised me by driving up while I was riding my bike home after work, putting the bike in the truck, picking up dinner at one of our favorite places and going out to the harbor to watch harbor seals and whales (people, ships, boats and birds too). He saw whales last night and I had talked with people today who saw them from the cruise ship. Tonight the whales were in pods doing bubble netting. We have no idea how many whales--three, six, seven or more--it was a bunch but they didn't come up close enough to introduce themselves. We even watched a couple of them doing barrel rolls and we could see their pectoral flippers arcing up in the air. At first we weren't sure what we were seeing so it was very nice of them to stick around for a few hours for our enjoyment. Unfortunately, we did not take this picture but it gives you the idea. It was even better in person. We were enjoying our relaxing hours and got a kick out of other people driving up, looking out at the water for a few minutes and then leaving. I guess the show wasn't happening fast enough for them. We just looked at each other and said "Isn't it nice not to "have" to do anything else but sit here and watch?"

We then noticed there was a little excitement happening behind us too...

Bill bought me my own pair of binoculars about a week ago and I've really been enjoying them. We started looking at the mountains (the close up ones seem small until you start following the trees up and up and up and up), areas of avalanche and re-growth (it almost looks like it's been logged but that's impossible), cracks in the ice and areas where tons and tons of snow have collapsed, etc.

I had a good time putting the camera up to the binoculars and taking some pictures.

You can see some areas where the snow has collapsed. It's worth clicking to enlarge this picture.



It was a great way to end the work week. We're heading up to Whitehorse tomorrow so I'm hoping to see moose, bear, sheep, goats and their kids. And, have Bill show me where he went when he had his hair-brained idea and brought home the goat hair.

Thar she blows!

Yesterday I was to take Holden bear hunting (sighting, Casey) but I couldn't locate him. Don said he and Karin had been down watching whales in the harbor in the afternoon. I decided to go ahead and look for bears on my own, everybody else was tired. I stopped to look at what I thought was a building across the inlet (it was) and saw the whales blowing. So I watched them for a while. They seemed to be just going back and forth. Casey called to chat, which we did, and no bears came out again. I did see harbor seals, though.
On the way back I had to pull over for a wide load. The road is one lane in places but has pullouts. The driver of the lead truck was Darryl from the gas station. It is weird to be out in the Alaska wild and have some one pull up and say, "Hi, Bill, I need you to back into that wide spot for a wide load we have coming through." But I was glad I knew him, because today I could ask what the load was. It is a new foot bridge to be put over West Creek, which is the one we all went out to watch flooding last month.
Then I went down to the harbor for a closer look at the whales still going back and forth.
Today I had to take a bus to Whitehorse for repairs. I left early and had the road to myself. Two trucks overtook me and passed, but otherwise no traffic either way until Carcross (65 miles).
I finally saw a moose by this road, but no passengers to share it with. If I had been a few seconds later she would have been in the road, but she turned and headed back into the woods when I slowed down. No chance for a photo.
Karin took another of her co-workers out and about today. The whales are still there.
Peggie and I are going to Whitehorse again tomorrow early. I hope we see more wildlife than I saw today.

It is all in the timing.

Yesterday as we drove beside Tutshi Lake, which is an hour from Skagway, I was answering the usual questions about the depth and fish and the lack of boaters, when one women asked if we had walruses or sea lions up here. I said "No, this is a fresh water lake and those are sea mammals." So she said she had seen something in the harbor by the ships. Oh, okay, those were harbor seals. It was just the timing of the question that made it sound stupid.
Later someone from California asked if we had forest fires up here. Again, the timing made it funny. For the last week I had been explaining that the smokey haze came from the many wildfires burning to the north of us, yesterday was the first clear day. But she made me realize that on the entire run up to Carcross, there are no old burn areas. There is no visible evidence of forest fires. Kind of weird, really.
Of course, someone asked what kind of flowers those are. I know some, but not all of the flowers. At the info center in Carcross I asked if they knew the flowers. Well, one of them had put together an album of dried, pressed flowers. It was the best flower book you can imagine. Of course it would be impossible to produce in large numbers, but great for a place like that. (The flowers in question are dwarf fireweed) Anyway, a few days before one of them had asked me about the new brewery/restaurant in Skagway. We hadn't been yet, but I mentioned that they brewed root beer. Three of the women were excited about that, because, like me, they like root beer, but not beer. Last night we had to go there so I could find out if they bottle their root beer so I could bring some to the info center. They don't. The food was okay, but too pricey, and they actually charged me for a refill on my root beer. Nobody does that.
When we returned to the RV park there were two guys with a professional size video camera set up in the driveway. I went to ask them to move it so Roger could get to his parking space. They were shooting a documentary about travel in Alaska for Dutch public television. They are going to be traveling all over the state. They had the camera pointed at the part of the park we call the slums. We don't get Dutch public television so I guess we won't be seeing how our little piece of paradise fits into the program.
The presence of a camera crew did draw people out. One of our neighbors who had been living in The Man Cave asked if we like shrimp. Turns out he has half interest in a shrimp pot, but doesn't like shrimp all that much. So he will give us his share of the next catch. In return, I will take him bear hunting in Dyea, as he has no car.
So we came home at just the right time.

Median Day

Tomorrow is Median Day. During the season there are 139 ships-in-the-harbor days. Tomorrow is the 70th day, so it is Median Day. That means our wonderful adventure is half over. Or that we still have half an adventure left! It is a glass-half-full/half-empty kind of thing.
The snow has melted to the point that the hanging glaciers are now visible under the snow cover. There are more of them than I thought. All are too far away to get to. No walk-up glaciers hereabouts.

The Police Blotter

Remember the bear I saw on the tracks at breakfast one morning last week? I wasn't the only one. This week's Skagway News has a story about a bear that has become a nuisance in town. She has shown up at the kid's park and other places. The police blotter mentions one or two bear calls all over town for about 10 days in a row. The officials have decided that they will have to shoot her. Apparently she is one of the cubs that were seen around town last year, so she is too comfortable around people. They have already worked out what to do with the meat, skin and bones. So next time she shows up, it's bye bye bear. They really do everything they can to save the bears. All agencies involved are consulted before the termination is agreed to.
Speaking of the paper....I did make it into the police blotter last time because of my passport. Today I submitted this to the Heard on the Wind: On an overcast morning on Broadway a tourist admired the flowers in front of a store. "Wow, look at those beautiful flowers! I wonder how they do that with no sunshine."
The other thing I earned with the loss of my passport is a Tlingit nickname. At the gas station I am now known as 'he who falls from horses'.

Trouble in Paradise

Don got his passenger endorsement just in time. His only bus driver is in the hospital in Juneau with complications related to his obesity, smoking, and a lifetime of bad practices. He has a jeep driver who needs to be fired, but THE BOSS in Seatle hates firing people. Another has left to join another company that does rock climbing. The two remaining drivers are buddies with the one who needs to be fired, so he is afraid he will be down to nobody real soon. The only source of replacements are workers who have lost enthusiasm where they are. Unless, Dave, you have some willing to relocate to a sub-arctic climate for two and a half months.
We also need a maintenence person and clerk person at the RV park. The couple filling those niches needs to return home. I've been told that things begin to fall apart in August as students return to school. Don is just ahead of his time.

I had the day off today, and bad boy that I am, I did some fun stuff before attacking some chores. I drove 30 miles to check out a dirt road. It was worth it, but not a good story here. I did not see any bears, but saw 8 goats in three locations.

Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

It is the 9th of July. The last time I looked we were still in Skagway. But if I close my eyes and go outside in the sun, I would swear it was May 9th in Tucson. HOT! But not in the hundreds. It is that NOBODY has A/C.

For two days now we have had smoke from the wildfires up north. Yesterday at one point in the afternoon I could not locate the sun. The visibility was perhaps two miles. This afternoon it seems to be blowing away. We can see the sky again. So many days I have to tell people the fog will lift and we will see the mountains on the way back. But you can't say that about smoke.

Yesterday I did a private tour for a family group of Indians. Most were U.S. citizens, a few were from India. They were a great audience for the gold rush history, lots of good questions. At one of the stops a man pointed out that the gap between two peaks looked like a map of southern India. ie: the sky between the two. So we named it Southern India Gap. I am sure it doesn't already have a name. I will point it out whenever I have Indians on board. On this tour we stop a lot for photos on the way out, but not as much on the way back, just because I like to stop on the side I'm driving on. So one of the men was video taping (digital, really) everyone's impression of the tour. Some of them sang something in an Indian language. Soon, different individuals or groups would sing a familiar (to them) song. I was entertained almost 45 minutes, with a few photo breaks, and these people could sing! No off key renditions. It was so much fun. Nobody does that in the quilt store.
Now remember I get paid for this, and they gave me a tip. If this sounds like your job, good for you, if not, come on up!

The Way Things Work Out...For the Better

I decided to see if I could climb up the mountain to recover some of the goat hair that was falling off the goats I saw yesterday. See, my thinking was that when Peggie gets around to making a Skagway-for-the-summer quilt, she could incorporate things like goat hair. My impression was that the spot might be within climbing distance even for me. I wanted to go up in the evening after it had cooled off a bit. I knew that it might not be easy climbing so I wanted Peggie to come as my spotter and to get me rescued if necessary. I don't have crazy illusions about my youth and physical condition. She was not even close to being interested in my hare-brained idea. But Don was. So after his last tour got in, he called to see if it would be okay to bring his crazy-over-anything-about-animals crew. Sure. But even they wondered why I wanted goat hair. So we drive up there, get out of the truck, and I point to the spot where the goats were and we start to discuss whether it is possible to cross the gulch to climb the other side. In the time it took me to type that, the three young guys had already reached the bottom of the gulch. One of them seems to be part mountain goat himself. He could pick fairly easy climbing routes and go right up. The other two struggled more, but kept at it. Don and I had already decided that it was too much for us, so we offered guidance about direction and stayed at the truck. The one guy, Blair, made it up there in about ten or fifteen minutes. I could already tell it would have taken me an hour. The other two took longer, but once they were up there they got all excited. They found tracks in the moss. Then some hair stuck to a bush. Then a bedding spot in the shrubs, and lots of hair. They stuffed their pockets and went exploring the mountain side. Coming back down was the same. Blair just jumped from rock to rock and came down as if there was a trail. The other two got trapped in some trees, backtracked, slid on their rumps, and generally struggled. They all got back okay. And with two pockets full of hair and the downey undercoat that is more like wool. They gave this to me like it was mine, then asked if they could keep just a little to show when they take out a tour. I'm thinking, you just climbed all over the mountain to get this, and you're asking me if you can keep some? So I got the hair, and the idea of showing it to tourists, without even climbing over one rock. These guys had such a good time, they asked me if I had any other hare-brained schemes they could participate in. So if I come up with any, I will be sure to include them.

Alaska's little hot spot

At 89 degrees Skagway was Alaska's hot spot today. There are 61 active wildfires in Alaska right now. This is not normal, and the forecast is for more of the same all week. Judging by the hazy air, Yukon probably has fires, too. But at least fanning at the mosquitoes keeps us cool. I heard a little girl complaining to her mother about the heat "I thought we were going to Alaska. It's supposed to be cold."
Or maybe, that's what I said to Peggie.
We Arizonans are used to the asphalt melting. It is melting here, so they spread sand to soak up the seeping oil. This is on the highway out of town, not in the town itself.
Today on my tour we saw a brown (black) bear with really long hair. I am sure I haven't seen that one before, and he was in a place where I've seen a black one before. Then we saw some mountain goats all lying down on the Goat Mountain not too high up. Then on Sheep Mountain we saw a ram who, after awhile, struck a pose like he wanted the cover of Field and Stream. On the way back the mountain goats, four adults and two kids, were moving around. One of the kids seemed to be trying out his ability to move around on steep rocks. We heard him bleating and his mom came running. They are feeling the heat, too. Their hair is clumping off. It was neat to see all these animals so close. "Did you take a picture?" Karin asks. (hit myself in the forehead) "No. I forgot I had the camera."
At least the store had ice cream today, so after dinner we went bear hunting in Dyea, then came back for ice cream. No bears in Dyea.
The sun will be setting in another hour, so I am going to bed.
You will be reading this on 7-7 so Happy Birthday, Margie. I wish your age and our temperature were the same. No,No,No, I'm not wanting you to be older, I want us to be colder.
It is 10:15 and they are moving trains around and it reminded me of a piece of trivia for you all. The White Pass and Yukon Route company invented the container shipping system now used world wide. I had lunch with the grandson of the man who concocted the idea. He also designed the low-boy cars they carry them on.

You asked for it.

Okay, readers, we really enjoy your comments and respond when appropriate.
So, Greg. Some people with too much time on their hands and charitable hearts write numbers on the bottom of 1000 little ducks with a Sharpie. Then tickets are printed with corresponding numbers. You purchase a ticket, fill out your contact info and go on about your business. At the appointed time and place, which in this case was Pullen Creek at 5:00pm on the 4th, the 1000 duckies are dumped into the stream. They float to a catchment point far enough downstream so spectators can cheer them on. The first duck to reach the finish line wins a prize ($1000)and five more are randomly selected to win a smaller prize ($100). Afterwards, anyone could exchange their losing ticket for a losing duck to keep as a souvenir. If you won, you get to keep your winning duck. Most people did not take a duck, so they will be reused in following years. The event is sponsored and the ticket receipts are used for whatever outfit is the beneficiary. Here it was the Chamber of Commerce. They also sell Ducky Derby T-shirts, so I have one.
That was just one of the quirky activities during the day, in addition to some ordinary things like, arm wrestling, horseshoes, softball tournament, food booths, and a beer garden. The slow bike race was cool. The winner is the last one to cross an intersection without weaving, stopping, or putting a foot down. They started with kids. One youngster did not understand the concept. He crossed the intersection, then went the whole block full-out before anyone could tell him it was a sloooow race. There is nothing like a parade in a small town. The co-grand marshalls were the two still-locals who were born here in 1959. They rode in a nearly 100 year old Model T. There was a bagpipe band from Whitehorse, a troop of Mounties in the classic red coat uniform, several classic cars, hastily made floats, fire engine spraying water on spectators, 6 dachsunds pulling a sled, and clowns. And after marching the 8 blocks that comprise the "downtown," they circled the last block and came back again, so we got to see the whole thing twice! I bet Macy's and Pasadena don't do that!
Then today, as I was eating breakfast, I heard the now familiar boom of the bear-scaring gun, so I looked out the window...at the bear!! Right away two RR company trucks pulled up and the bear jumped the tracks and headed up the mountain. Then the bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the mountain....sorry, the tune just popped into my head. It's my mother's fault. Actually, several minutes later I could hear him not too far up the hill crashing his way through the trees. You can bet I kept my eyes and ears open when I went over by the tracks to get my bus.
Did we mention in an earlier blog that bears are coming into town a lot, and that "they" use some kind of BOOM, BLAM, BANG to scare them off? It can wake you right out of a sound sleep.
Remember we came here to get out of the heat? We are now in another multi-day heat wave. It is like warm days in February in Tucson, but that is heat here. And we didn't bring warm weather work clothes. We had to turn on the A/C again today. Buildings here don't even have A/C. The snow is once again on go-away-fast mode, so the rivers are up.
Peggie had the day off and she actually got her sewing machine out, so she needed the A/C. She is the loser in the 'who-has-the-best-sewing-room' competition. Janie has the toy hauler part of her trailer, Karin has the slide out living room, Peggie has an 18"x24" computer table shoved up against the sofa.
That brings us up to date. Somebody has a birthday soon....I'm sure it will come to me.

The Ducky Derby

Our ducks raced their little hearts out but didn't win the $1000 or $100 for us. Oh well, we think they're great anyway!

The Parade!

We walked into town for the 4th of July parade today. I'll post just a few pictures of the happenings. Nap time and then we'll head back out for more activities.

Celebrating Alaska's birthday...

A few of our friends from the north...they stayed afterwards and played some great music...

A classical car club from Fairbanks and Anchorage came with some great cars. This was a fun license plate...

Not everyone in Alaska is a Sarah Palin fan...

We watched the flag-raising ceremony at the post office. Although Alaska became a state officially in January of 1959, the 49 star flag could not be flown until July 4, 1959. It didn't get much wear and tear before we had a 50 star flag. The Skagway museum allowed the original Skagway flag to be flown today.

It's the 4th of July!

Happy Birthday, United States!

Happy Birthday, Alaska! We had our fireworks on July 3rd because the company that does the fireworks has to be in Haines tonight to set off theirs.

We didn't really mind. It was a fun way to start the festivities in Skagway. Look, it even got kind of dark. We all really enjoyed the fireworks. The show lasted about 20-25 minutes and came from two areas. The ferry blew it's horn very loudly to lots of applause and then there was a small finale of fireworks from the barge. Then another few loud bellows from the ferry and we came home.

Here are a few celebrants awaiting the fireworks. They look rather tame, don't you think?

This morning we have the parade, the firefighters barbeque, the Ducky Derby (we're entering--more later) and FRIED PICKLES! I don't know about that one.

FYI: IT WAS ABOUT 11:00 P.M. WHEN I TOOK THIS PICTURE OF THE CELEBRANTS.

The Grizzly details.

In the previous entry in which DON GOT HIMSELF STUCK IN THE MUD AND I HAD TO GET HIM OUT the bear was a grizzly. I apologize for the ommission of detail. I have taught many fifth graders that description helps your reader to see, hear, taste, smell, feel what you are telling. But in my defense, the main idea was that DON GOT HIMSELF STUCK IN THE MUD AND I HAD TO GET HIM OUT. Also, this is a blog and I can relax some of the conventions of formal writing.
The normal everyday (almost) bears are still interesting. Today we saw Cindy alone on the side of the road. I could tell it was Cindy because it was in the right neighborhood and only Mabel would let a cub alone like that. Yesterday as I topped a small rise I thought for a flash that a horse was in the road. It was a bear the color that so many horses have,(sorrel?) but not that big. He was the biggest normal everyday bear I have seen.
Also, yesterday, I made a second run just to the summit (where the Welcome to Alaska sign is). Some inconsiderate bear left a large pile of scat in the downhill lane. He was inconsiderate because he did it sometime between my trip up and my trip down. And I didn't see him. Somewhere, someone who saw him is authoritatively telling everyone that bears do NOT scat in the woods afterall. What a great story. But what is next? Is the Pope really Catholic?
Happy Birthday, Dick. You and Margie and I have those meaningless birthdays this year. But Happy Birthday, anyway. I didn't have any cake today, but I was thinking about you when I had some ice cream.