Speaking of rare events.....

It is July, the busiest month of the season, and today is a no-ship day. The town is deserted. I did my laundry first thing this morning. The gas station, the pizza station, the book store, the hardware store, the grocery store, and the Sweet Tooth Cafe are open. Except for the weather, it is like winter here.
The Southeast Alaska State Fair is happening in Haines, so the ferry between is busy with everyone here having the day off. Our company is throwing a big picnic in Dyea today. Hopefully, some bears will attend.
Or better yet, will hold their own picnic on the creek, and leave us alone.
We had a good time doing the Bill and Peggie show yesterday. We took a grocery sack of smores popcorn to the crew at Caribou Crossing to thank them for participating in our anniversary celebration on Thursday. I had called them when Peggie left on her tour and asked that everyone wish her a Happy Anniversary. They all did. Even singing to her and giving her a bouquet of wild flowers. She got hugs and kisses. When I arrived I got handshakes and good wishes. No hugs. No kisses. And the girls there are pretty. Sheesh.
But we saw two bears yesterday. Very good since bears are rare events this month, too. And the cook gave us several pieces of left-over bbq chicken. And we went shopping and spent $184 dollars of gift shop credit we earn when our passengers buy optional activities at Caribou Crossing. And we still have almost half a season to earn more credits. Cool.
Smores popcorn is caramel corn drizzled with melted chocolate and melted marshmallow cream and allowed to harden. Oh yeah! It is!

Happy Birthday, Don

Okay, I messed up with Dick, so I am getting in a day ahead with Don to even things out.
He is too old to make jokes about.
Today I had a great moose sighting. She stayed and watched us watching her instead of running off. For such a large animal, they sure are spooked easily.
Tomorrow we are going to revive The Bill and Peggie Show. We are going to tell the passengers that we are celebrating our anniversary by doing the tour together. This time Peggie will be driving one of the regular buses in anticipation of taking the CDL driving test next week. She wants me to talk so she can concentrate on driving. I want her to drive so I can concentrate on talking. A marriage made in heaven.

Happy Anniversary, Us.

Tomorrow will be 43 years since we tied the ol' knot. Funny it only seems like a lifetime. We were mere children or we couldn't be married that long and still be this young.
Yesterday was a good day for bears. We saw a sow with two cute little cubs and she sent them up a tree where we could enjoy watching them climb. They are very good at it. Then she tried to follow, but she was too big or something because she only got three feet off the ground. I mean, she had one of her four still on the ground. The cubs went all the way to the top branches. I was not sure if she was scared of us, or the other bear we saw 100 yards up the road.
In the evening we (Peggie and I) went to Dyea to look for grizzlies. On the way out we watched a humpback in a place called Long Bay. The whale was so close to shore we could have thrown rocks at him. We wouldn't have hit him, but we could have thrown rocks. This was the closest we have seen a whale, including the times we saw them from boats. There were no grizzlies, but the eagles gave us a good show.
Today I saw Peggie's grizzly by Windy Arm. By Peggie's, I mean one she has seen and photographed before.
Oh yeah. One of our drivers quit so we have been short handed. Our friend and favorite bartender, Dennis, is going to take her place next week if he passes the CDL test tomorrow.

Busman's Holiday

Yesterday there was only one tour so we decided to let Bryan take it and we would take the day off. Then we decided to ride along so we could see it as our passengers see it. Also, another employee who just got her passport was going. We would make a party of it. It was fun, but no bears. And it rained the entire time.
We did see Dall sheep for the first time since early May.
When we came back, we all went out for Burger Madness (burgers & fries for $10. 95 instead of $15.95).
Then Mary, Joseph and I went to Dyea to look for bears. Peggie and Bryan can't stay up past 8:30 so they stayed home. And we saw Bruiser. He is the extra large bear I think of as my Sunday morning bear. Last time we were up here I often went out on Sunday morning and there he would be at the mouth of the creek. And that is exactly where he was last night. He is the second largest grizzly I have seen, but I have seen him often, whereas the larger one, I saw only once. One thing about Bruiser is that you cannot get closer than a quarter mile most of the time. He rarely moves to a closer position. I can't (won't) drive closer because I don't want to take a chance of getting stuck on the tidal flats.
So now I will be willing to lose an hour's sleep more often since the bears are back in Dyea. And since we live at the same place where we wash our buses, it is easy to immediately was the Dyea mud off the truck when I get home.

Bushwhacking

For the second time in my life I went gold panning. Or prospecting, since there was no gold. I went with two friends, since we had the day off and Peggie was in Anchorage. We went to Dall Creek where an acquaintance has a claim we can use. Same place I went before. There is no trail. Not even a path. The creek falls rapidly, so it is uphill going in and the undergrowth, and the overgrowth, are very thick. The canyon narrows in some places so you have to cross the creek several times. Dry feet? Forget it. Slippery rocks? Oh, yeah. Thorn bushes? Yep. Spider webs? Uh huh. Fresh, ripe raspberries? Just pick & eat. Other berries? Don't eat 'm if you don't know 'em. Watch for bears. They eat 'em.
Once again, it is fun to do, no gold required. Being that far into wilderness, running water, picnic food, having an adventure, it's all good.
We did see a bear on the way there, in a place where bears are less common, and none of us had seen this one before. A bald eagle delighted us with a low fly over when we came out of the creek.
Went out to Dyea to see grizzlies last night, but only a few salmon are in the creek and the bears were no show. Later this week we will try again.

First of the second.

Half, that is. Today is the first day of the second half of the season. Yesterday was Moratorium Day. Unfortunately, Moratorium Day is not "officially" sanctioned. Too bad. Because on Moratorium Day there is a moratorium on law enforcement, rule following, and just being reasonable. That means you can (should be able to) run down tourists who walk blindly into your path, answer dumb questions (or even good questions) with comic answers, provide false facts about the gold rush (like the whole thing was started as a story in a silent movie).
So yesterday I (imagined I) ran over three tourists who walked right out in front of me as I was leaving a stop sign. I was already moving, and they stepped right in front of me. That is just the sort of thing that makes you want a moratorium. I explained the large boulders at the quarry by calling it the prison yard where the absence of small stones proved Skagway's low crime rate. And of course I told the morning tour that the water pipe at Pitchfork Falls was keeping the falls flowing.
I had a good time with it, eventho it is not "real."

New (this year) stuff

Yesterday some whales appeared in the harbor. We heard it first thing in the morning and I was able to watch them for a while during the day, then we both went down in the evening and watched. The harbor was also full of boats. Apparently the salmon are in the harbor waiting for whatever the signal is that starts them up the creeks for spawning. So we wondered if some third thing attracts both the whales and the salmon at the same time.
But the excitement isn't about the salmon, it is the fourth thing. Grizzlies. Yep, salmon means grizzlies. Within the next week, we will be able to head to Dyea and watch the bears.
Speaking of bears, I had a fun sighting today of a sow with two tiny cubs. The cubs were tumbling around like puppies (or cubs) and fell off a rock. Too cute. On the 4th, Peggie saw a grizzly on tour and her passengers emailed her the good photo they took of it. And told her it was the best tour they had ever had.