- Aug 1-8 Berkeley, CA; Seattle, WA; Bainbridge Island, WA; Ketchikan, AK
- Aug 9-11 Ketchikan, Misty Fjords, Metalatka, Petersburg, Le Conte Bay, Tracy Arms
- Aug 12-13 Tracy Arms, Sawyer Glacier, Sitka, Neva and Olga Straits, Sturgis Narrows, Peril Straits
- Aug 14-15 Glacier Bay, Skagway, Whitehorse Pass (Canada), Chilkat, Haines
- Aug 16-17 Juneau, Mendenhall Glacier
- Aug 9-11 Ketchikan, Misty Fjords, Metalatka, Petersburg, Le Conte Bay, Tracy Arms
- Aug 18-19 Yakutat, Cordova, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Coldfoot, Barrow
- Aug 20-21 Fairbanks, Anchorage
- Aug 22-23 Anchorage, Denali, Backcountry Lodge
- Aug 24-25 Denali, Anchorage
- Aug 26-27 Anchorage, Turnagain Arm, Hope
- Aug 28-29 Turnagain Arm, Seward, Kenai Peninsula boat ride
- Aug 30-31 Seward, Anchorage, Seattle, WA, Berkeley, CA
- Aug 20-21 Fairbanks, Anchorage
I woke up and had breakfast at Pioneer Cafe. I had French Toast. Next, we went to the Tongass Museum. It was awesome. It had carving tools that you can put into your pocket. After that, we went to a Hatchery. We saw Eagles, Salmon, and owls. It was cool. The salmon really could jump. They layed millions of eggs. The Eagles were fascinating. Finnally, we went to the boat after Indain dancing. We got on the boat and I met Adrian. He’s really nice. We played chess and then went to bed.
2-027AP1110172.JPG
Tongass Museum, Ketchikan, AK: Arthur & Martha Luehrmann
2-027AP1110177.JPG
Creek Street, Ketchikan, AK as of about 1940
2-029P1110178.JPG
Tongass Museum, Ketchikan, AK: Indian basket weavers offer their wares in the early 1900s
2-029AP1110182.JPG
Tongass Museum, Ketchikan, AK: Tlingits at Fort Tongass in 1868
Thursday, 8/9/2007
We woke up and had breakfast at the Pioneer Cafe in Ketchikan. Then the three of us went through the local Tongass Museum, which had displays of native dress, tools, and furnishings.
Then we went on a tour to a salmon hatchery, which also housed a pair of eagles that had been injured and could not fly. The birds were beautiful, and the fish hatchery was fascinating. They divert some of the spawning salmon into the hatchery, where their eggs and milch are taken from them, mixed, and the eggs and fry are incubated in holding tanks before releasing them back into the stream.
2-030AP1110186.JPG
Ketchikan, AK: Natan Luehrmann mimics one of the totems at the hotel
2-030P1110194.JPG
fish hatchery and raptor center, Ketchikan, AK:
2-03146
Ketchikan, AK: removing the roe and sperm from salmon at the fish hatchery
2-030AP1110210.JPG
fish hatchery and raptor center, Ketchikan, AK:
2-030A64
Ketchikan, AK: swinging through the trees
2-030A68
Ketchikan, AK: swinging through the trees
2-030A62
Ketchikan, AK: swinging through the trees
That afternoon we were given a short presentation by Cruise West, and a welcoming lecture on the Tlingit (pronounced Clinkit) culture by the Tlingit mayor of Saxman Village. Not only was he a great inspirational speaker, but also he brought about 6 members of his family in ceremonial dress and they all danced a couple of welcoming dances. He had a few of the audience out with him, learning the dances.
2-031AP1110220.JPG
Totem Heritage Center, Ketchikan, AK:
2-031AP1110217.JPG
descriptions of totem carvings
2-031AP1110218.JPG
2-032AP1110223.JPG
Tlingit welcome dances at our hotel, Ketchikan, AK:
2-032P1110224.JPG
Tlingit welcome dances at our hotel, Ketchikan, AK:
2-033P1110230.JPG
Tlingit welcome dances at our hotel, Ketchikan, AK:
2-033AP1110279.JPG
Ketchikan, AK:
Wildlife Watch
mew gulls, glaucous-winged gulls, a blow of a humpbacked whale
2-036-80
Ketchikan, AK: boarding our ship, the Spirit of Yorktown
2-035-1012
Manager Corey Roettgers, First Officer Thomas Darlington, and Captain Paul Figuenick
2-034-78
our boat and a big cruise liner
2-035-82
our captain, Paul Figuenick
Friday, Day 10, 8/10/2007
I woke up by Bop scratching my back. We had breakfast and I met Kai, Adrian's older brother. He's also nice, and very logical. I played chess with both of them. We had a blast. I saw a 350 lb. bear. Next we saw two people get off and kayak to a cabin. Once they were gone, we had lunch. We stopped at a Native American town. We watched dancers. I learned a few dances. I danced, too, as an Eagle. Then we went back on the boat, had dinner, and went to bed.
2-038P1110236.JPG
We board our boat and set off from Ketchikan, AK to the Misty Fjords, AK:
2-037A-362
a black bear fishes for his breakfast
2-037A-108B
Misty Fjords, AK: black bear hunting salmon for breakfast
2-037-112B
Friday, 8/10/2007
We woke up that morning in the Misty Fjords, just south of Ketchikan. Beautiful misty steep cliffs. As we went up one of the fjords we saw a black bear trying to catch his breakfast in the salmon stream. We had two rangers with us, who told us about the flora, fauna, history, and geologic history of the Misty Fjords.
2-037AP1110245.JPG
a black bear hunts for a salmon breakfast
2-040P1110250.JPG
2-038A-103
our ranger is on the left
2-039P1110267.JPG
Natan Luehrmann and our nature and science guide, David Miller
2-041P1110285.JPG
Misty Fjords, AK:
2-041A-146
our ranger departs
2-042-114
Natan Luehrmann and his chess set
After lunch we set the rangers off in their kayaks and continued to Metalatka, a Simshian Indian reservation.
The Simshians are not native to Alaska, but came over from Canada to escape harsh persecution against Indians in Canada. Like most tribes, they are trying to re-establish their cultural traditions. When most of the native tribes of Alaska were given the choice, they chose to become corporations and integrated into the rest of the Alaska communities, but the Simshians elected to remain on a reservation. They were the only tribe in Alaska that decided to stay as a reservation. We went to one of their totem lodges and a museum where they are keeping totems and repairing them. In the old days, totems were not moved, and if they fell or became damaged, they were not moved or repaired, but now the museum is storing and restoring old totems to keep them intact. We learned some of the totem stories. Totems typically showed you clan and moiety and history.
2-043AP1110298.JPG
Tsimpshean village, Metlakatla, AK:
2-043AP1110299.JPG
2-043-220
Metlakatla, AK:
2-043A-214
We all danced, and Natan danced as a member of the Eagle clan.
2-045A-198
Tsimshian child and grandmother
2-045P1110319.JPG
Tsimpshean village, Metlakatla, AK:
2-044-188
Metlakatla, AK: Tsimshian village
2-047-206
Metlakatla, AK: Tsimshian village
Back to the boat for a delicious dinner, and on to bed. I slept a bit poorly, with bad dreams.
Wildlife Watch:
brown bear, marbled murrelets, glaucous-winged gulls, bald eagles, pigeon guillemots
Saturday, Day 11, 8/11/2007
I woke up, had a very quick breakfast and went on a jet boat. We saw ice burgs that were 2 hundred feet deep, 10% showing. I touched one and sucked on one, too. Brrr. We went to a 15 storie Glacire. Some fell off. Then we came back to the boat. We watched whales. They kept coming. One came under us and sprayed three feet away from the boat. We had dinner and went to bed.
2-047AP1110343.JPG
Petersburg, AK:
2-047A-329
2-047A-402
near Petersburg, AK: fishing
2-048-428
Stellar Sea Lions
Saturday, 8/11/2007
Natan fell out of bed this morning, and he was in the upper bunk on top of Arthur!
When we woke up this morning we were steaming through the Wrangell Narrows to Petersburg. As soon as we arrived in Petersburg, those of us who were going on the jet boats were whisked away to our two boats. Ours was driven by Dwight, with a science teacher as a guide. It was fantastic!
We went up Le Conte Bay, which is a 12-mile long fjord terminating in the huge Le Conte Glacier. On the way, we saw some harbor seals sunning themselves on a buoy. Arthur saw a bald eagle. Then we all began seeing more and more icebergs, in fantastical shapes carved out by the sea. One looked like Rodin's "Thinker".
The glacier is not frozen water. It is fallen snow, which becomes packed under great pressure, to the extent that it becomes clear. The ice that is subjected to the greatest pressure, like the ice at the base of the glacier, has a brilliant blue-aqua color due to its ultra-density. The glacier moves like a slow moving river. The Le Conte glacier moves at the rate of 3 feet a day during the spring months, and much slower the rest of the year. Its shape also changes by melting, and with global warming, the Le Conte glacier is accelerating the shrinkage. Much of the melting comes from underneath, and is not visible until a big berg calves (falls off). We watched the glacier calve a bit. There was also a big ice sheet on which were about 100 sea lions sunning themselves, and some floes with harbor seals. We were lucky enough to have a sunny day, and could see the glacier and icebergs clearly.
2-049P1110348.JPG
on a jet boat up Le Conte Bay to the Le Conte glacier, AK:
2-050-406
near Petersburg, AK: iceberg with bald eagle
2-051P1110356.JPG
The Thinker icebergs
2-052AP1110362.JPG
Le Conte glacier and icebergs,
2-052P1110379.JPG
Le Conte glacier and icebergs, :
 2-052A-PERSplate1986 confluence of the Valerie and Hubbard Glaciers in 1986 |
2-049P1110402.JPG
Le Conte glacier and icebergs, AK:
2-052AP1110419.JPG
2-053P1110423.JPG
2-054P1110438.JPG
harbor seals
2-054P1110445.JPG
Natan touches an iceberg from the Le Conte glacier
2-054AP1110446.JPG
iceberg up close
2-054AP1110451.JPG
coming back to Petersburg from the Le Conte glacier
Back to Petersburg, which was settled around 1897 by Norwegian fishermen who loved the abundant halibut, salmon, and a special shrimp, and also found they could use the glacial ice for easy fish storage and shipping. Many of the inhabitants are blond rosy-cheeked Norwegians even today, and many of their houses are decorated with Norwegian designs in the window shutters and around the windows and doors.
2-054A-256
Petersburg, AK:
2-054A-394
near Petersburg, AK: glacier from a seaplane
2-054A-233
Petersburg, AK: perched eagles
2-055A-250
Petersburg, AK: birds
2-055A-364
berries
2-055A-P1120692.JPG
Wrangell, AK: petroglyphs
2-055A-354
Petersburg, AK:
2-055A-370
Petersburg, AK: water on a Devil's Club leaf
2-055A-384
Petersburg, AK:
2-055-274
Petersburg, AK:
2-056A-284
Petersburg, AK:
2-056-292
Petersburg, AK:
2-056A-310
Petersburg, AK: Forget-Me-Not flowers
2-056A-306
Petersburg, AK:
After lunch, we steamed into Tracy Arm. We saw LOTS of whales!! At first I thought it was a big pod of whales, but they were humpback whales which don't group into pods. They just happened to all be together because the krill and other phytoplankton are so rich in this area. The humpbacks don't eat at all in the spring when they are having their calves in their Hawaiian breeding grounds, so they lose around 25% of their weight, and have to eat like crazy in the summer to make it up. They don't eat in Hawaii because, although the place is great for birthing and rearing young, there is very little phytoplankton and no krill for them to eat. Humpback whales are baleen whales -- they sift the krill through long leathery and feathered "teeth".
2-059A-436
near Petersburg, AK: David Miller's finds
2-059AP1110479B
pink sponge
2-059AP1110479C
near Petersburg, AK: David Miller's finds: purple dwarf olive
2-059AP1110481.JPG
Sitka periwinkle
Sea Otters eat 25% of their weight every day, and they can weigh up to 90 pounds.
Rockweed grows under the surface of the water, and its swollen leaves have a fluid that acts like aloe vera to heal wounds and burns.
Kelp starts as a low plant attached to the bottom in the spring, and can grow a foot a day. At its top end, it has a bulb filled with carbon monoxide to hold the leaves up towards the sun.
2-059AP1110482.JPG
David Miller's collection of shells, seen on our way to Tracy Arms, AK: egg case of blue mussels
2-059AP1110484.JPG
Thatched barnacle
2-059AP1110485.JPG
David Miller's collection of shells, seen on our way to Tracy Arms, AK: spiny scallop
2-059AP1110486.JPG
Baltic macoma
2-059AP1110489.JPG
horse clam
2-057-440
Tracy Arms, AK: bow-head whales
In Hawaii, all male humpbacks sing the same song to attract females. Every year, the song is slightly changed, but all the males will sing the same newly changed song. Whales up here eat about a ton of food a day. They "sleep" in cat naps on the surface of the water. They can "sleep" on half of their brain at a time.
2-060-438
Tracy Arms, AK: bow-head whales
2-058-446
bow-head whales
2-059-450
bow-head whale flapping his fin to stun the fish
2-058AP1110532.JPG
Tracy Arms, AK:
Sperm whales are toothed whales, and they can dive 2 miles down.
An Orca (killer whale) is really related to the dolphins. Orcas are very acrobatic. Orcas travel in matriarchal pods. They will sometimes form "Super-pods" of 200 or more for breeding purposes. This helps to ensure that the offspring will not suffer from inbreeding. When a male orca mates with a female from another pod, he will go join the female's pod. there are "resident" orca pods, and "transient" orca pods. Both use echolocation to find their prey and to communicate. Transients are is much smaller pods, and hunt in larger areas. Residents are in larger pods and hunt in smaller areas.
Dolphins and porpoises are both toothed cetaceans.
Wildlife Watch:
Steller sea lions, harbor seals, black bear, mountain goats, gulls, ravens, northwestern crows, humpback whales