Sarah and Jackie arrived 2 weeks ago. I could hardly contain my excitement when their plane landed in Juneau and I was already crying (tears of joy) before they had even gotten off the plane. Bill made me promise not to squeal when they came through security so I just ran and grabbed them both in a huge hug. It is the first time we have been together in our new house and it finally feels like a home.

We have been going nonstop since they arrived and have had very little internet so I haven’t had a chance to update our blog until now. You can see new photos on the photo pages of all our adventures. We hit our northern most point at 59 degrees of latitude in Glacier Bay National Park and have started the trip back down the inside passage. We spent Bill’s birthday in Misty Fjords National Monument kayaking, hiking and relaxing. The entire two days we spent there we saw only one other boat and they left as we arrived. We entered British Columbia today (Sarah was excited to be in Canada for the first time) and are excited to share with the girls some of the places we found on the trip north and also to explore new places together.

My favorite time of day to paddle my kayak is in the evening at twilight. It gives me time to refresh, regroup and reflect. Tonight as I took my evening paddle, I paused to reflect on the amazing man who has made this trip possible. We have dreamed about this trip for many years, but it is Bill who has made it a reality. From captain to chief engineer he is tireless in his daily duties of keeping the family afloat.

Thank you Bill, I am the luckiest woman in the world to have such an amazing partner in life.

It all depends on your perspective. We were in the middle of a forest on Baronof Island in Southeast Alaska hiking to Lake Eva. I would be amazed if more that 100 people a year hiked this trail yet it was perfectly maintained with a gravel path and platform bridges all the way to the lake. You can only get to the trail head by boat and there was no one else on the trail or for that matter anywhere in the immediate vicinity. We took all the precautions for hiking in Alaska. Bill carried his shotgun followed by Jackie with the air horn. Sarah was third in line with the bear spray (pepper spray on steroids) and I took the rear. Bears don’t like to be surprised so I jangled my keys and talked loudly to make sure if there were any bears they heard us coming.

About 20 minutes into the hike Jackie said, “It’s so pretty here, just like a fairy land!” To which Sarah responded, “Really, because I feel like I am in the freaking Hunger Games. We could be attacked at any moment”. We all laughed at the opposite perspectives each girl had. The hike was amazing and while we saw lots of signs of bears, thank goodness, we didn’t actually see one.

Juneau wears many hats. It is the capital of Alaska and also hosts at least 4 cruise ships a day from May – September. It is a mix of government employees, old hippies, artists and fishermen. It sits surrounded by mountains with waterfalls cascading down the cliffs. We are enjoying some down time getting ready for Sarah and Jackie to arrive tomorrow. I can hardly wait for the 4 of us to be together for the first time in our new home!

I had just given up on being able to wear my down jacket when we visited Dawes Glacier in the Endicott Arm. We were the only boat there and Captain Bill picked his way through the ice to get us within a third of a mile of the face. The bay was filled with seals relaxing on the bits of ice floating by. The closer we got to the face the more intense the winds became. The face of Dawes glacier is 300 feet tall which is hard to capture with the camera. It was a magical afternoon!

Check out the photos on the photo page.

It was hard to feel that we were larger than an ant in Fords Terror (don’t you love the name!). We had to cross through narrow rapids at slack tide to get here. We spent the Fourth of July anchored in the bay surrounded by mountains, granite cliffs and waterfalls.

The salmon were so thick in the water that it was amazing it was taking the female black bear so long to catch one. She was positioned at the bottom of the falls where the pink salmon were battling for their lives to get to the top. She hunched down again, watching the water carefully while always keeping two paws on the shore and then pounced and got one! She carried it up the hill to eat away from all the other bears. It is early in the season and only the alpha male bears will be left unchallenged to eat their fish by the river.

Suddenly the three black bears all scampered up the hill. We looked down river to see a brown bear (better known as a grizzly) come sauntering up to fish. She was obviously at the top of the pecking order! Unlike the black bears, the grizzly jumped right in and as the ranger called it “snorkeled” for fish. It was amazing to watch as she put her head underwater to look for the salmon. Up in the trees there were over a dozen eagles waiting for scraps left from the bears and at the entrance to the harbor there were multiple seals splashing and slapping the water as they dove and fished for salmon.

We felt like we were in a National Geographic special however we were at the Anan Bear and Wildlife Observatory. Each year the pink salmon return here to spawn and the bears, eagles and seals come to feed on them. The observation platform is at a waterfall a ½ mile hike from the entrance on a narrow boardwalk through the woods.

Before we could hike out to the platform a forest ranger spent 15 minutes giving us the rundown on what to expect. “Make noise as you go around blind corners in the trail to let the bears know you are there and stay together because the bears get really stressed out if they get between you”. Hmm, I was thinking that I might be just a little stressed out too if we had a bear between us, but I just smiled and nodded. He added, “It isn’t unusual for the bears to be within 15’ of you. Don’t make any sudden moves, don’t turn and run, just talk louder and make yourself look bigger.” Ok, I am thinking, this is for real! Luckily for us, there were no bears on the trail, only lots of their scat!

We had such an amazing time that we went back again the next morning. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience that we will never forget. Check out the photo page for a few more photos and as soon as we have better internet I will post more.