125 Gustavians

125 Gustavians (sounds like a planetary group on Star Trek) are pictured saying farewell to their old dock. A new dock is being built to accommodate a ferry. This is a great picture of the general area. When we transferred money for the purchase the gal at the bank asked if we had purchased our parkas yet. I laughed. Click to see the full picture and look at the summer attire on a sunny day.

I copied this account from an internet blog... an objective description.
The next morning we set off via small charter plane to Gustavus, a tiny coastal frontier town (pop 400) which is only accessible by plane (no ferries or roads). It's adjacent to Glacier Bay National Park. To give an idea of the size - “downtown" Gustavus is a 4-way intersection with a pizza place, a gas station and an ice cream store. No power lines are visible (all buried underground), making for uninterrupted wilderness meshing with an occasional small house. The scenery in Gustavus is breathtaking. The town is surrounded by white-capped mountains, but in July the temperature is perfect (upper 60s and low 70s). Tall, majestic spruce trees are everywhere along the roads. There are many clearings with gorgeous red, purple, or gold wildflowers. Salmon River runs through town, and as you can guess, the salmon run there in mid-July. There’s also no way you can miss the bald eagles. Down by the docks, you’ll see dozens just hanging about, or from a distant shoreline you can easily make out their white heads scattered among the pine branches.

Sarah Palin resigned as governor of Alaska last summer. At the 4th of July parade in Gus she sort of showed up.

The Human Connection

Gustavus is known for Glacier Bay, a pristine fresh environment, world class fishing, and abundant wildlife. So most everyone tends to post pictures of bald eagles, whopper fish, moose, whales, or glaciers. Those features are indeed awesome, but not the whole picture. Here is a look at the personal charm of the place. Have fun studying the faces.