Bill Weber
Before we get into the report of our Alaskan trip just a comment on the Kenneth Starr Report > http://cnn.com/starr.report/ < & President Clinton Rebuttal > http://cnn.com/clinton.rebuttal/ < As most of you know I worked and voted for President Clinton both times he ran and won the Presidency. I feel that he has done much for the welfare of the country. However, I am saddened by the allegations of the Starr Report and President Clinton's confession of having a "inappropriate affair with Monica Lewinsky," after lying to family, friends and the nation for more than six months. "That I had no sexual relation with that woman, Monica Lewinsky" At this point I feel that he should step down (resign) and let Vice President, Al Gore, become President..
FABULOUS CRUISE
We (my brother Carl & wife Elaine, Thema and I) left Wilton early Wed. morning
September 2nd. taking Interstate 94 west. We traveled as far as Miles City, Montana
that first day on the second day we went as far as Moses Lake, Washington and
on the third day we went on to Bellingham, Washington where we met the rest of
our family reunion cruise members. Early the next morning ( Sept 5th) all fifteen of us drove up to Vancouver, British Columbia where, about noon, we boarded our Cruise ship
the Rapsody. > http://www.royalcaribbean.com/1.6/1.6.1/1.6.1fr.html < .
As you can see by the picture this is a large cruise ship but until you really get aboard one
does not realize the size and luxury. It has eleven decks, over 1,000 staterooms and cabins.
Theater, library, casino, two large dining rooms, beautiful lounges on most all decks as
well as exercise rooms, ballroom etc. Actually a floating city. We had inside cabins.
But other than a place to sleep we spent little time there. As there was so much to do and
see on this trip. There were about 2,000 guests and a crew of about 725.
It was a bit after 5:pm that we left the port of Vancouver and we sailed for two nights and
a day and a half up the inland passage. On our second night the sea was a bit rough going but nothing real bad. About noon on September 7th we reached:
Juneau, Capital of Alaska
It was raining when we arrived at about noon and continued to rain during our half
day stay there.(Juneau has the equivalent of over 100 inches of rain each year) We
had planned to take the: Juneau Highlights & Mendenhall Glacier Tour:
http://www.snowcrest.net/geography/field/mendenhall/glacier.htm
but due to the rain and the fact that Thema had the misfortune of falling the night before, meant her having to go see a doctor at the hospital there in Juneau. I had time however, to look around Juneau a bit and did get a chance to send off an e-mail to our children. Many people did get off the boat and took different tours around the area. There was the Mount Robert's Tramway to the top of the mountain that was a special attraction. even though the cloud level was low. Quite a few of the passengers paid $17.50 to take the trip up and back. Others had signed up for the Wild Life Boat tour and saw a number of whales and eagles. Although Juneau,( populations-30,000) is the capital of Alaska it does not have any highway access to the city. All transportation, in or out, is via boat or plane. We left Juneau about 8:00 o'clock that evening and headed north to:
Skagway
Well over 100,000 prospectors passed through Skagway, during the "Gold Rush" days leaving in their wake a rough-and-tumble town of beer halls and brothels. Today it
remains the jumping-off spot for scenic adventure and for recapturing the excitement
of the colorful "GoldFever" days.
We arrived in this lovely little town as the sun was just coming up. The fact that
the sun was shining after two days of rain was indeed a pleasant sight. We had
an early breakfast in preparation for our eight o'clock "White Pass Scenic Railway"
> http://www.whitepassrailroad.com/ < trip which was one of the tours that a few hundred
of us on the ship had signed up to take. This was about a three hour tour up to the
top and just over the mountain into the Canadian Yukon. It was an interesting trip
over the same territory that the original train ran but with three diesels pulling the
train instead of the steam engines of earlier years. Prior to the railroad, thousands
of miners and prospectors had used much the same route to get to the gold fields
carrying their supplies on their backs or with horses. Over 3,000 horses died as
they tried to carry supplies up and over this mountain and some of the trail they
used could be seen from the train. Because of the great loss of horses the canyon
was to become known as "Dead Horse Gulch."
This was one of the two main routes from the port of Skagway to the Klondike
gold fields, taken by thousands of prospectors and adventurers during the Klondike
Gold Rush, beginning in the winter of 1897/98.
This spectacular narrow-gauge railroad was born because of the mad rush to the
Klondike in 1898. It also served as the supply line for the Yukon gold fields, the
Alaska Highway and postwar mining development.
On our train trip up the mountain we went by the cemetery were("Soapy" Smith) a full fledged con man as well as Mayor of Skagway and a miner (Frank Reid, a civil engineer.) were buried. It seems Ried charged, "Soapy" with stealing his gold and organized a vigilante of local citizens. Led by Reid, he challenged "Soapy" and shot him in the heart, Reid was also fatally wounded in that shootout. "Soapy's" grave has a wooden fence around
it depicting imprisonment. The people put up a large headstone for Reid in appreciation.
> http://examiner.net/stories/080697/western.html <
Another version about "Soapy Smith" can be found on the Discovery Channel:
> http://bbs.online.discovery.com/area/locallore/locallore970407/lore1.html <
For a page of interesting stories about the Alaskan Gold Rush days go to:
> http://www.Gold-Rush.ORG/ALASKA/stories/Ala03.html <
After the train trip we went back to the ship and had our lunch. After lunch a number
of us went down town. It was a lovely town and if I were to go to Alaska for any
extended time this would be one of the towns I would like to live in. I also sent an
e-mail message to our children from here and was informed that the same service was
available when we reach Ketchikan later on in the week. We pulled anchor
at about 4:00 o'clock that afternoon and headed over to:
Haines
which was only a short distance away. We arrived there at about 6:30 that evening. It is a beautiful little town set against snow covered mountains located in the upper region of the famous Inside Passage. It is situated in one of Alaska's most idyllic settings, abundantly populated with wildlife. Haines originated as the starting point of the Chilkat Trail, a canoe portage route for Indians on their way to the salmon spawning area of the Chilkat River. The Chilkat Trail was later traveled by thousands of miners heading for the Klondike gold fields. We had planned to go see the famous Chilkat Dancers as they revealed their proud heritage through storytelling dances. But was informed on the boat that the season was over. However, I walked up town and saw a notice in one of the restaurants that there was a presentation going on that evening so I attended and was very glad I did so. The Dancers were outfitted in brightly colored tribal masks and robes, as they shared their legends through dances and rhythmic chants. It was beautifully done and they had a very nice crowd in attendance. Many children participated in the dances. Some of the passengers on the ship did attend the, Salmon Bake, but after the dances it was time to get back to ship as they were to leave at about 10 o'clock in order to get to:
THE HUBBERD GLACIER. http://www.nps.gov/glba/
by noon the following day on Sept 9th. The Hubbard Glacier is located in Glacier Bay which was proclaimed a National Monument Feb. 25, 1925 and established as a national park and preserve Dec. 2, 1980.
I got up early on Wed morning the 9th and went out on Deck 5 to view the sunrise on the
snow and glacier covered mountains to the right as we made our way north to the mouth
where the Hubbard glacier was entering the sea. It was a beautiful sunny day as we
approached the glacier, which looked like a large river of water from a distance. It took
us nearly 3 hrs to get to the glacier after we first sighted it. It was indeed something else to behold. This was our first time at seeing a glacier and it is something we will never forget. As we neared the glacier we could see hunks of the glacier breaking off & falling in the sea. The cruise ship came up to within two or three miles from the edge of the glacier and parked there for a couple of hours giving us a chance to get some nice pictures The ice would break off in what is known as (calving) from the front of the 150 foot high wall and splashed in to the sea with the sound of thunder. The ice was very beautiful with an array of colors dominated by different shades of blue tinged with red, orange etc. To many of us this was the highlight of the Cruise. I took a lot of pictures and video. Here is an interesting fact: Total visitation in 1997 was 349,375. Of that total, 306,218 came aboard cruise ships. We pulled anchor at about 11:00 o'clock that evening heading back south to:
Ketchikan - arriving there twelve hours later. Earlier we had been told that
we would have to take tenders from the ship to the city as it would not be able to dock.
We thought this was due to its size but it was actually because of the lack of docking space. However, one of the other cruise ships was unable to make it as scheduled so we were able to use their docking berth which was right down town Ketchikan. Those of us taking the tour to the "Saxman Native Totem Village" were told to meet in the Broadway Theater room and then divided in to groups that were to take part in the different aspects of that tour. Since it was raining we were kept there until enough buses were available to take us directly to the location where the events were to take place. Arriving at Saxman Village, which is about a mile square Indian reservation, and a part of Ketchikan we saw a very interesting movie produced and presented by the Saxman people. For generations it has been a tradition in Tlingit villages to welcome guests with elaborate ceremonies. After the movie we walked over to the Clan House where we were privileged to see a number of native dances. From there we had a chance to hear the many stories of the Totem Poles located near and around the Clan House. We then walked from there to one of the buildings where the Totem Carvers were carving out Totem Poles. Each Totem pole
has is own significance and represents in a large part some particular historical event or person. The craftsmen use mostly red spruce, cut green from the forest and it usually
takes a master craftsman about a week to carve a foot of the pole. We then returned
to our buses where we were told interesting stories by the bus driver as she took
us back to our cruise ship. That afternoon many, in spite of the rain, visited the town,
Again I had the opportunity to send e-mail messages to our children. Ketcikan is
a delightful place, although the bus driver informed us that their average precipitation
is 166 inches of rain equivalent. About 13 feet, so if it is sunshine you like this is not
the town for you. We set sail for a return to Vancouver about ten o'clock that night
arriving back in VANCOUVER, British Columbia early Saturday morning Sept 12th.
We were on our way back to Wisconsin shortly after 9:00 am. Arriving back home about
3:30pm on Sept 15th. after one of the most delightful vacations we have ever had.
In fact I like to refer to the experience as having just returned from a
"Garden of Eden" vacation aboard the Cruise Ship the Rapsody. Living in
"Paradise" for six days and seven nights where all our daily needs such as
food, shelter, transportation, entertainment, exercise, etc. were available
and delivered with very little effort on our part has made me wonder why
that can not always be the way it was intended in the original "Garden of Eden"
But then we realize that all this care and consideration was brought about by the fact
that others have given their time and in many instances their love that we might have a vacation we will never forget and wish it could have continued for eternity.