Priceless time off

I am secretly wearing my Moratorium shirt which Peggie featured in the previous entry. I wear one of my solar shirts over it. But I know the message is there.

Peggie is having a rare treat, three consecutive days off. She traded with Janie because Janie's daughter is coming for a visit next weekend.

Friday night after work I took a bus to Whitehorse for repairs, trading it for a bus already there. Peggie went along for the ride. On the way up we saw a fox. Cool, but no big deal. However, the return trip held our interest. We left Whitehorse at about 10:00pm local time. We were treated to a real southwest-style sunset, complete with golden clouds and pink and orange sky. It was the first sunset we have seen this summer. Then it started to get dark. Then we saw the moon rising. We have not seen the moon all summer either. It was barely above the southern horizon and was beautiful above the mountains. Then we saw a planet. Probably Jupiter or Saturn.

We did not see any stars since the sky never achieved full blackness and there was thin cloud cover. Then we saw a bear. He was black. I saw him in the headlights (first time we really needed headlights to see) by the road. We had to turn around for a look-see. He obliged by crossing the road and he was the largest black bear we have seen up here. His coat was glossy reflecting the headlights. He did not stick around long, but his size and the darkness made him more ominous.

Saturday we both had off so we took the Fjord Express to Juneau. It was the best recreation we have done so far. First off, the boat ride was amazing. Just watching the coast mountains and waterfalls and glaciers with no names was all amazing. But we also saw harbor seals and sea lions hauled up on the rocks, lots of bald eagles and eagle nests, and on the return trip, orcas and humpbacks and Dall porpoises. There were lighthouses and gold mines on the islands and mountains. In Juneau, we took the cable tram up Mount Roberts. The mountain has hundreds of miles of tunnels from gold mining. Much of downtown Juneau and the airport are built on the waste rock from the mines. The tram ride was spectacular. Over 3100 feet on a single span of cable, rising 1800 feet above the port. Then the bus took us to Mendenhall Glacier for a too-short visit. One could spend a day there easily. All in all it was a great day. We will probably have to do it again.