Out the road

a view from the road I drive

an eagle taking off from it's perch off my deck

my ferry dock!

the sun on the mountain on my drive to "town"

a photo taken from my car window

I can't believe that it is already mid-December.  My apologies for not updating this blog.   I can't use the excuse that I'm that busy, although making sure that I don't miss "The Chew" does take up a big part of my daily plan!  The weather has been appropriately "Alaskan" - rain most days, temps hovering just above 32 degrees and no snow since mid-November.  I hesitate to drive in bad weather unless I have to, since the road that I take when I go out "shopping" curves from Auke Bay and the ferry docks, past Auke Lake and Fritz Cove before ending on the "main drag".  It curves beautifully, and I am often tempted to take my eyes of the road to see the ever-changing scenery.  Glacier Highway is the only road that goes all the way from south of downtown Juneau north to the "end of the road", becoming Eagan Drive in the middle as it goes past the shopping district and airport. Our little neck of the woods (called "out the road") is actually separated from the rest of the city by the Mendenhall River, which is fed by the Mendenhall Glacier and Juneau icefields.  There is one two-lane bridge that crosses the river - it is the only way from the northern end of the road to the southern end, 40 miles in all.  Juneau is not an island. However, it's wedged between the Gastineau Channel and the Coast Mountains that completely cut it off from the rest of mainland North America.  Back in 1995, there was serious talk of building a road/ferry system that would connect with Haines or Skagway, 100 miles away by air, with both of those cities having access to the "rest of the world" via the Alaskan highway (through Canada/the Yukon).  Governor Parnell has stated that he wants to revisit the concerns made at the time (avalanches, building the highway literally in the ocean, cost) and start another dialog about the connection.  That said, I believe that it isn't the Juneauites who want the road - in fact, they prefer their isolation (my word, not theirs) to destroying the natural beauty of this part of the country.  In fact, there is probably more talk about this part of the United States (I'm talking Alaska Southeast - Skagway/Haines to Ketchikan) becoming part of Canada.   Our acquaintances (I hesitate to use the word "friend" yet, since I believe it takes more than a few weeks to use that intimate of a term) are an interesting mix - most have moved here anywhere from 10+ years to those who moved here after Bill came in May 2011.  Also, most either moved for work (and stayed even if the job did not) or moved here for a second marriage.  At this point, most of the couples that we know  have not ever had kids so they don't have the necessity of leaving Alaska to visit children/grandchildren.  There are a few couples who had children move to the "lower 48" which means saving up for travel a few times a year.  For the most part, they are surprised that we chose to (semi)retire here but agree that Juneau will "grow" on us!