Greetings from the Great White North

Wednesday: We arrived on schedule late afternoon to 82 degree weather in Juneau, a welcome change from triple digits down home. The temp up here broke a record for that day.

Day 1
We got a few groceries, shampoo, necessities, etc. Drove up to Mendenhall glacier to see how far it has receded since we were here three years ago. I can tell the difference, but it's a good distance away so we can't measure it in feet with the eye. Mid afternoon I helped the guy who took us fishing in Gustavus three years ago. We put a new water pump on his boat. Then Mom and I went downtown where the cruise ships come in and walked around a bit. Too crowded with cruise tourists so we didn't stay long and headed back to our residence. They have five pullets, something I have never seen in Alaska in four or five trips. We had to feed them morning and night. I wondered how the chickens survive bear wanderings in the neighborhood? So far so good.

Day 2: I got out early to catch low tide off a spit of land about 15 miles north of town. It's a rocky walk, and at low tide moss and other sea creatures are revealed. I've fished there before and enjoy the remote of the area. I could hear whales blowing up channel. You can hear them across the water for great distances. By the time the sound reaches you the whale has usually sounded so you don't get a visual. As the morning progressed the sound got closer. When they dive you never know where they will come up. There I am fishing off the shore. The water in these glacial-cut fjords gets very deep quickly, sometimes almost a vertical drop. Suddenly a 35 foot, 35 ton adult whale came up on its side, left flipper in the air, so close I could have hit it with my fishing lure. No kidding! It happened so fast it startled me. Coming up on its side makes a huge disturbance in the water. She was there for only a few seconds and slipped below the surface. I figured there was only one whale. Then another blow a few hundred yards behind her. It was her calf, probably 18 feet long, following slowly behind mama. I stood in awe. I have never been that close to a major sized whale, even when we watched them breaching in Icy Strait years ago. If I had a camera close it all happened so fast I couldn't have gotten a pix of the encounter. It made my whole day and perhaps the whole trip.

I caught a pink salmon earlier, decided to filet it and head back before the tide came in. I pulled out the filet knife and slipped on the sea moss and went down on my left forearm and right palm. I thought on the way out to the point, this is rough. If I fall and break a hip I am in trouble. I guess that's why I sacrificed the arm and hand. The barnacles cut me pretty good. I finished with the salmon, stuck the filets in my pack, and walked the 3/8 mile back to the car. Once home I cleaned up the cuts which bled pretty good, and decided they were not deep enough to need stitches. Paulette found some disinfectant which we applied. Saturday morning the area is looking healthy except for one spot on the fleshy part of the thumb that shows a little infection. Nothing to worry about.

We spent the afternoon looking for a real estate agent, visiting a Catholic retreat area near the spit so I could show mom where I saw the whales, and wandering an arboretum just opened to the public. When we parked at the retreat center a motorcycle couple was getting off a Harley. Paulette struck up a conversation asking if they were touring. Then asked where they were from... Ans: So Cal. Where in SoCal? San Bernardino - Redlands area. Whereupon I said we were from Mentone. He asked, Mentone Beach? They then said they were from Yucaipa. Small world. But it gets smaller. I asked their name. When they gave the name and said what they did for a living Paulette and I both knew them immediately. Turns out I sold them a few pianos 30 years ago. There we are 2000 miles from home. Amazing.
I brought up the whale sighting to myself the rest of the day. Paulette brought up the people sighting and couldn't wait to tell her sister, who knew the couple very well.

When we got back to our domicile the folks who were on vacation had come home early. They insisted we stay. We could use the boys room with its bunkbeds. I feigned terrible arthritis trying to get the bottom bunk. No luck. And I fell and hurt my arm. No luck. The mattresses were harder than we are use to so a difficult night on our arthritic hips, but we survived and are grateful for the hospitality and a roof over our heads for a few days.
We now have moved to the location where we will be the rest of the trip, and have some internet. We are not taking many pix so far. I guess it's old hat being here.
Mom says Hi to all.