It’s been a year since Craig and I banged around for 21 days in Alaska. We flew into Anchorage and took an Alaska Marine Highway ferry down to Bellingham three weeks later. Among our various stops, we spent a few days in Juneau, the state capital, which is a busy tourist mecca (for good reason) with many cruise ships docking there.
I took the above left picture from The Hanger on the Wharf, a lively bar overlooking Gastineau Channel, which is where the massive ships disgorge their passengers and also where the city’s seaplanes land and take off. What an unexpected dance, to see the cruise ships and seaplanes moving efficiently yet so close to each other.
For a respite from the crowds, we chartered a boat and captain (John Joeright at Sailing Alaska) for an overnight trip to Taku Harbor, part of the Taku Harbor State Marine Park, where there is a small dock for boats (no roads, no air strip, no town, just wildness). We were one of just four small boats who tied up there. A trail took us past an old salmon cannery, long gone now, but still strewn about with the most interesting remnants of its existence, like the sheet metal that now looks like an old book flung open, pictured below.
I can’t really describe the impact of the beauty, the quiet, the majestic views, the debris of the past that is melancholy and also somehow charming. I can say that it all lingers a year later.
We’re gearing up for another big trip, and, as we did on our Alaska travels, we’ve built the itinerary ourselves. Looking at these photos now, I’m remembering how much I like being in the planning and anticipating phase. It adds a richness, knowing we’ve been essentially our own Rick Steves. Props where they are due, of course. I love checking the Rick Steves website for ideas about places to go and things to see.
But if this kind of planning sounds overwhelming, then definitely let the Rick Steves and Road Scholars and other travel planners work their magic when you get the urge for going.
Susan Palmer's Exquisite Now 