2017-9-2 Juneau and Icy Point Strait

I enjoyed our stop at Icy Strait Point much more than I thought I would. 

Icy Strait Point is the only man-made destination in Alaska (so far) so I wasn’t expecting much but it was worth a stop. It is the brainchild of the Huna Tlinglit tribe. They have a zip line as high as the Empire State building going over a primordial forest. People said it was great.

There is a short nature trail through the forest that goes uphill behind the building and then down by the shoreline. Bill said he couldn’t make it up in his scooter. My chair has larger wheels and it goes like the wind. So, I said I would be back in fifteen minutes. When I got around to the shore part of the trail, I was afraid it was too steep to go down in my chair so I turned back.

As it happened, a man walking ahead of me on the shore side slipped and fell. He either broke or dislocated his hip. We are waiting for a helicopter to evacuate him right now. One day, you are the one on the zip line and a few short years later, you are the one being taken to the hospital for a simple fall.

The Huna Tlinglit are the ones who were driven out of Glacier Bay by the very rapid advance of a glacier in the mid-1700’s. A representative from the group came on board the ship the last time we were here and told that amazing story. In 1944, their village was destroyed in a fire. Then, they had a cannery here that went out of business in the 1950’s. So they have had their troubles but I think their new business model will be a winner for them.

The last pic is Bill cleaning the crud off my tires with a broom. He didn't want to drag it into our cabin. 

We went up to the Lido to get some ice cream about 3 pm. The captain said we were passing by Glacier Bay on the starboard side and we should keep an eye out for whales. We moved over there and Bill saw one come up for air some distance away. So, we stationed ourselves next to the window and saw a small one breach twice. We wondered if it was really a whale but then we saw the fluke. We all clapped. 

Yesterday, in Juneau, we took the tram up to the top of the ridge and took some pictures. The ship and the brochure definitely over-promised on the tram trip. Supposedly, there is an eagle nesting there but we didn’t see it. There is a natural history museum but it was inaccessible to us.