On to Juneau!!!!! - Northern Ranger Adventures

And On to Juneau

This morning we all rose early ( well, Denis rose at his usual time but I got up before the coffee had a chance to cool down) so we could prepare to leave our very quiet little bay. The sun was shining and it was an absolutely glorious morning. Mr Gardner the engine started up after we wished him a good day and hoped he had a good run ( there have been a few glitches on this trip, rumour has it more than usual, maybe it’s the crew, maybe not, but I wasn’t taking any chances so I said good luck to Mr. Gardener the engine too).

Lines loosed, we headed off. Out in the strait there was fog over on the other side, but it quickly burned off. Any talk of winds and seas quickly faded, as we settled into a very comfortable ride up Lynn Canal to Juneau. It was supposed to be a long day but I think we may be tying onto a dock somewhere in Juneau a little earlier than anticipated!

And as we headed north, I spotted the cutest old fish style boat that I sort of recognized – wishing I could get closer. Denis said to me later that it was the David B, a boat that I had been hoping to see on our trip. They charter out of the San Juans but come up here for the summer and do charters from Juneau, and the end of their charter coincides with us being there to drop me off!

Unfortunately she’s way behind us, but maybe I will get lucky when we dock or get closer to the bustling megalopolis.

Meanwhile…

this is a beautiful, gorgeous ride. The mountains in the backdrop are spectacular, I can see glaciers rumbling down to the sea, picturesque lighthouses perched on points…

we turned fro Lynn Canal into Stephen’s passage, and found to our delight a humpback whale entertaining what looked like a day-adventure boat ( whale watcher?). The single youngster just was having a gay old time, leaping and breeching and broaching, and the people watching were hooting and hollering and enjoying the show. I don’t know who was having more fun, the whale or the people. We were further away, but close enough to get a nice view and some decent pictures, and the show was pretty spectacular. The whale probably played around for five minutes, it was fantastic. Then another pod of Humpbacks started coming down the channel towards us , and we thought oh boy! another show! but they did a few tail flips, there were probably at least half a dozen… then all at once, as if someone had given a signal, they dove back down. We looked and looked and didn’t see them again, so they must have sounded and gone for a long swim.

The other thing we saw was tan otter hanging around on the surface, totally unconcerned. I hadn’t seen any yet and was pleased, although they are notorious for stealing crab so they aren’t always in our good books!

We are now happily tied in Juneau, not the most beautiful view from the dock but it’s warm and sunny and who cares! After a celebratory beer, we did some chores – paying for the slip, organizing power, and getting rid of garbage. ( my job). I ran into some of the other Nordhavns, and was regaled with more tales of the fantastic fishing in the first bay ( the one we opted to miss). I still say we had to select our fishing days carefully, didn’t want to fill up the freezer too fast! besides, we had some incredible anchorages to explore!

Now we are trying to figure out where to go for dinner, within walking distance – and then I have to organize a cab and get my stuff in order! I wish I had another two days here, there is a lot to do and no time to do it in. Maybe tomorrow morning before I leave I will run into town and check out the shops. My flight isn’t until 2:10 so I do have SOME time for shopping. Maybe.

Meanwhile…

Here is a poem that Mary wrote for me, for my trip – it pretty much says it all!!!

the only thing she missed were the cinnamon buns. We bought some in Petersburgh, enough to last about four days… and we bought some in Tenekee…. also enough to last four days ( 1 1/2 buns is enough for three of us). They were superb. Photos to follow. However, the Petersburgh buns were considered the best.

Penny’s Adventure with Teka III

Petersburg had folks, food, and fellowship

With lots of crew from Nordhavn Ships

Celebrating life on land and water

Having more fun than anyone oughta.