In September 2021, we decided to go back to Alaska–cruising by water, not land. Earlier that year, we had gotten a call from my husband’s parents inviting us to go on an Alaskan cruise with them. We, of course, said “yes”. So we put Beast (our motorhome) into storage in Lolo, Montana and a great storage place Lolo Creek Storage. Beast was parked behind a tall fence with razor wire on top. But still, we were both a bit nervous about leaving our home parked at a storage facility with all our possessions inside. We put our suitcases into Beauty (our Jeep) and drove to Seattle. As we drove away, I offered a pray in my heart that Beast would be watched over and protected.
We arrived in Seattle the next day and met our parents (my husband’s parents, but they are mom and dad to me too.), at Mike’s uncle’s house. His uncle & aunt live in a suburb of Seattle in a beautiful area. We went to dinner with them at Anthony’s. Yummy!!!! Amazing views!!! It was such a lovely evening. The food was excellent (seafood, of course). The view of the harbor was awesome at sunset and the company was excellent as well. I would definitely come back to this restaurant at some future time. So good!!!!
The next day, Mike’s uncle picked us up and took us to downtown Seattle and myself. mom and dad and uncle rode on the ferris wheel that is right on the wharf. That was fun and gave us an amazing view of the harbor. Then Uncle took us to the drop-off location for us to board the ship, and we were off on our cruising by sea adventure.
We visited Juneau first and we chose to ride the tram up to the top of the mountain. It was a very rainy day, but the view from up there was rather spectacular. There were hiking trails on top that took us past totems and trees with wood-carvings. It was a fun day. However, Mike started to feel a bit sick so we headed back.
At Ketchikan, we participated in the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show. That was really fun. We enjoyed watching the lumberjacks compete with each other in their craft. They are very talented athletes. They set the show up so that it was Dawson Creek (Canada) competing against Spruce Mill (near Ketchikan, USA). They divide the audience into the teams to cheer on their team. It is very energetic, funny and just plan amazing as you watch these world champion athletes compete with each other in sawing, chopping, chain saw cutting, ax throwing, tree climbing, log rolling and more. It was a really good time.
Then we visited the Saxman Native village and was welcomed to the Beaver Clan House. It is a beautiful building made from massive cedar trees. It smells like a cedar chest. I love that smell. The Saxman are part of the Klingit or Tlingit people. They have a very rich heritage. We were educated about their culture through the demonstration of some of their songs and dances. It was cool and interesting to learn about their beliefs and culture.
Then we were able to roam around their totem park, which is one of the largest gatherings of totems in the world. We learned about the stories that the totems tell. One in particular I loved was about Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William H. Seward. He was involved in the purchase of Alaska from Russia and visited the area. While there, he was welcomed and honored by the chief of the Tlingit people, Chief Ebbits. They in essence, “rolled out the red carpet” for him in their cultural norm. They laid out furs for him to walk on and for him to sit on an ornate chest. They gave him a lot of really nice gifts. Seward left and he never reciprocated the hospitality or gifts. This is a very bad thing in their culture. So they made a totem of him. He is sitting on a chest with furs on top of the totem. There is nothing else on the totem. This was meant as a totem of shame. This totem is definitely not the most beautiful of the totems and not ornate, but to me it symbolized how important it is for us to understand each other’s cultures. If people had spent time to understand the cultures of the original inhabitants, then perhaps they would not have been treated so badly. There is beauty in their culture and it is unfortunate that there was persecution to try to remove that culture from them. I am grateful they are preserving that culture and teaching it to the younger generations.
As part of keeping their culture alive, they have a totem carving center, which we visited next. Here, master totem carvers teach apprentices their craft. Their work is complex and beautiful. We had a demonstration from one of the master carvers. Artists are amazing in finding expression of their stories and emotions in their medium. The totem carvers are true artists and masters of that medium. So cool!!!
Sitka was another port of call. We visited the Raptor Center and saw all kinds of Raptors. They are a rescue facility. They try to rehabilitate birds of prey who are injured. Their goal is to release them back to the wild. However, sometimes their injuries are so debilitating that they can not be released back into the wild, so they either keep them or help them to find homes in zoos or other facilities where they will be cared for. They had a Bald Eagle who was in this category of not being able to return to the wild. We saw snowy oils, tiny little owls, eagles, hawks and falcons. It was cool to be up close to them.
After the Raptor Center, we visited the Naa Kahídi Community House (Raven Clan House). Here we got to hear some traditional stories and hear some traditional songs. Apparently the Raven is a mischief maker, trickster. The stories all portrayed him that way, but there was normally a lesson to be learned from the story. This was very educational as well. The clan house was beautiful and the heritage is rich. It was nice to see the similarities and differences between the two native experiences we had.
We also stopped at a place called Icy Strait Point. We arrived late in the day and only had a few hours. They had a museum that talked about the fishing and canning industry that was at this location. There was a cool statue of an orca and the beaches were nice to walk along. The scenery was really beautiful. It was a relaxing and nice few hours we had there.
We also cruised through Glacier Bay National Park and saw several glaciers and lots of wildlife. It was spectacular. One particularly incredible view was at a place called “Jaw drop point”. It’s called that because when you come around the point the view that you are greeted with makes your jaw drop. It is spectacular.
This is the first cruise that I have ever gotten seasick on. I think my not getting seasick is a thing of the past. I seem to have gotten sick in several situations where I wouldn’t have before. There was one or two days when the two of us were not feeling very well at all. Mike’s mom was also struggling with it too.
Overall, the cruise was really fun. It was great to share this experience with mom and dad. We drove back to Lolo, Montana, and back to our home, Beast. All was well when we returned. We will probably take a trip again one day and leave our home stored somewhere–a new experience for us.