Juneau and the Mendenhall Glacier

 

The Mendenhall Glacier is possibly Alaska’s most familiar glacier. It is close to the Capital of Juneau and easy to reach by car or in our case by bus. It struck me that easy access being the explanation for the popularity of this glacier is ironic as Juneau cannot be reached by car. The joke so many tour guides tell is that there three ways to reach Juneau - plane, boat, and birth canal. The same joke is used at a couple of other cruise ship destinations. 

The Mendenhall is another striking example of climate change with the rate accelerating in recent years. Tourists are not allowed to set foot on the glacier for fear of causing damage, but views from a distance still allow great photos. There is an exception. If you are willing to pay the steep price for a helicopter excursion, you do land on the ice and are allowed to disembark.

Skagway

 

Today we docked in Skagway which turned out to be our first port at which we compete with multiple (4) other ships.

As I mentioned in one of my first posts, this resulted in the crowding that ends up being annoying even to the point that the locals who depend on the tourist trade have begun to say “enough”.

The big attraction in Skagway is the White Pass Railway which takes tourists up into Canada and back in vintage railway cars paralleling the path used by fortune hunters in the days of the goldrush. The sights once the trees thinned out were great.

The following image is not particularly scenic, but I a including it because it shows the original trail used by some of the gold hunters to reach the interior,

Glacier Bay

We have visited Glacier Bay on a previous trip to Alaska and stayed at the Glacier Bay Lodge. Like so many of our early trips, I am certain I took photos which probably resulted in prints, but I have no idea where these keepsakes are. Go digital. The opportunity for beautiful photos is endless.

When we visit Glaciers I cannot help think of what the glaciers tell us about climate change. Any time we have had a guide or descriptive signs available when viewing glaciers the topic of receding glaciers and climate change has been part of the message. We seem more aware of the issue now, but sadly it has become politicized even though scientists overwhelmingly accept the reality.

Internet access allows me to do some research as we travel and here are some climate change findings related to Alaska. 

Over a 50-year interval—between the 1950s and early 2000s—glaciers within Alaska national parks shrank by 8%. From 1985 to 2020, glacier-covered area in Alaska decreased by 13%, indicating that the rate of glacier loss accelerated in recent decades. Talks presented while we were in the Bay pointed to areas in which glaciers no longer exist. 

Climate change is a reality in Alaska. Sea ice loss has caused the polar regions to warm over twice as much as the rest of the Earth. Alaska has experienced a 5ºF (~3ºC) increase since 1949. Some climate change topics bring up the possibility of a tipping point. For example, as the temperature rises more areas of land become exposed which means less sunlight is reflected and more heat is absorbed. As this trend continues, the rise in temperature begins to feed upon itself.

It Comes from the land down under

 With apologies to Men At work

I had decided to collect food images and post several together. I changed my mind for this topic. Things pop into my head and sometimes to purge them I have to write about what has possessed me.

I was walking through the breakfast cafeteria line and found this bottle. It created a flashback. I tried Vegemite during a visit to Australia a couple of decades ago. You spread it on toast and as I read somewhere it is an acquired taste. I keep trying. It is supposed to be good for you.

You may be familiar with the Men at Work song - Down Under. As soon as I saw the bottle the song popped into my head and now I can’t get it out. You have been warned. Try the link and it may take several days to escape the curse of the Vegemite sandwich.

He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich

And he said

…..

"I come from a land down under

Women they go and they sun there

Wrangell and Hoonah

 Our first couple of stops were at smaller locations - Wrangell and Hoonah. Our ship is not one of those large vessels with many thousands of passengers which means we can enter smaller ports. It also means we skip some of the larger potential stops I suppose to avoid the crowding that can occur.

Wrangell

I assume Wrangell will be the smallest location we visit and may not have as much developed for tourists as some of the other locations. I did include a photo of our ship as this was first time I had a chance to find a location to take a photo of its entire length.

Alaska has large tidal variation which means that docks must be able to accommodate such changes in the height that boats may require.

I was able to find some interesting creations and totems to photograph.

Hoonah

Hoonah provided a very impressive gondola experience owned by the local indigenous people.

The landscape photo opportunities here seem to be everywhere.

Here is a bonus video Cindy shot from the ship.

Writing about writing

Trying to engage in some adult education, I attended a writing lesson titled “finding your muse.” I have been searching for my muse for decades and have pretty much given up, but I thought I would give it one more try.

I had hoped an experienced writer would explain her process and I would take careful notes, but no. She handed out pads of paper and pens and did that freshman comp thing where they tell you there is a writer in everyone struggling to be set free. I did not have the urge to be set free, but I was sitting towards the front and decided I was there for the duration. 

Her two prompts “I remember when” and “something about your street” did result in my being able to put words on paper for the 10 minutes provided. 

One thing I learned was that my cursive skills have seriously deteriorated. It was hard to decipher when it was time to share with others. I bet I haven’t written a dozen sentences using a pen at one time in a decade or more. I do need my keyboard. 

Since I don’t teach writing, I have never thought about what makes a good writing prompt. I started to consider this issue. First, it seems that the prompt should allow for writing without stressing your content knowledge. The focus should be on encouraging expression rather than function as a test of what you know. Perhaps, the openness of the question even serves to determine whether you can quickly assign yourself an appropriate topic. Second, I think the prompt should emphasize the type of writing the author should strive to produce. Should what is produced be funny, conjure feelings or imagery, or share information. I decided the goal of our prompts were a request for words arranged in a proper order. Perhaps it was a kind of “see if you can put words on paper” goal.

So, what did I write about? For the recollection question, I described my first foray into research that involved feeding the chickens I cared for different diets and keeping track of the number of eggs produced. For the recollection about a familiar street, I described the experience of watching the water slowing move up our street as the Red River of the North flooded Grand Forks, ND.  Why these choices? I have no idea, but I was under time pressure, these topics popped into my consciousness, and they seemed good enough. Maybe it was my muse. 

There will be more writing sessions. The leader and her husband who teaches bridge (beginner and intermediate) are here for the duration. I think I am done with writing sessions. Maybe I should try the free bridge lessons. 

Sea Days

 When you are stopped somewhere with the options to get off the boat for one thing or another, it is called a sea day. We will have multiple consecutive sea days when we make the transition from Alaska to Japan. Today, we were just moving to Alaska. 

Unless you have some content from previous days, which I don’t, it seems you have two or three options. You write about food, the ship, or what you can see from your surroundings. The final option was my choice. 

The following images collected south of Ketchikan.

Cruise ship problems

It was weird sitting in the Minneapolis airport yesterday. There are likely many reasons people would fly from Minneapolis to Vancouver, but I started to sense that most were going for the reason as us. You pick up bits of conversation commenting on past cruises, you caught sight of tags on carryons representing cruise lines, and most seemed about our age and maybe even a little older. 

We have always enjoyed and I think benefited from the opportunity to travel and have done so since first leaving college. We traveled with our kids and feel some satisfaction in their own travel adventures. In recent years, we are now 70 plus, we have transitioned to taking a few cruises. We like smaller boats, older people, and emphasis science, history, and culture. A mixed international crowd including the staff is great.

We do have to admit that are issues with cruise ships and although we are aware of these issues will do plan to continue with an occasional trip. Some of these issues have been in the news lately and I past the time doing some additional research to generate the following list. 

1. Environmental Impact

Cruise ships are massive polluters. A single large vessel can burn more than 150 tons of fuel a day, releasing greenhouse gases and sulfur oxides equivalent to millions of cars. Waste management is another issue: despite regulations, reports have surfaced of ships dumping sewage and graywater into oceans. Some ecosystems such as the Mediterranean or the Caribbean are more fragile than others. When we went on an Havila Norwegian cruise, we were on a boat that made use of electric power until the batteries were exhausted and then switched to more traditional power. 

2. Overtourism and Local Disruption

Cruise ships can carry more than 5,000 passengers, who often disembark en masse at small ports. This issue has recently been in the news with some locations imposing quotas. Many passengers spend only a few hours ashore, contributing little to local economies beyond souvenir shops and tour operators. Residents are left with crowded streets, inflated prices, and a declining quality of life. I remember from a previous trip to Alaska by car visiting Skagway going to sleep in a small hotel in which each room had a door to the outside. We arrived in the evening and there were very few people around and it was very quiet. I walked out the door the next morning to a mob of people. A cruise ship had arrived.

3. Health and Safety Risks

Cruise ships are notorious for outbreaks of illnesses like norovirus and, more recently, COVID-19. This happened to me during our river cruise on the Rhine and we spent a couple of days quarantined in our room. The enclosed environment, shared ventilation, and high passenger density make disease spread more likely. For older adults, who may be more vulnerable to infections and mobility challenges, this is not a minor concern. Moreover, medical care onboard is limited, and in emergencies, evacuation can be complicated.

4. Labor Practices and Hidden Costs

Behind the glitzy entertainment and buffets are thousands of workers, many from developing countries, who endure long hours, low wages, and limited labor protections. While passengers enjoy luxury, crew members often work under harsh conditions. Our experience with those who work the boats have been great and they tend to be positive about the opportunity even though they are away from their homes for month before getting a month of so off. 

Sources say river cruises, smaller boats staying longer during stops, and improved propulsion systems are ways to be address some of these issues.