A Saturday story

Today was a sunny day in Juneau - I'm sitting here this morning watching eagles, herons, and hummingbirds outside my window waiting for the 80+ temperature that is predicted.  The sky is perfectly blue and the snow still on the mountains is reflecting the sun.  On the way home each night we see lots of fishing boats.  They are anchored in the harbor in small groups and I hope they are catching something - I haven't found a good source of freshly-caught fish yet, but I'm still looking!  There is a ban on King Salmon fishing in parts of Alaska.  The State Dept of Fish & Game say that dwindling salmon numbers are due to fewer fish reaching spawning grounds and that over-fishing is to blame.  Fishermen in the small coastal towns say that salmon is the main-stay of their diet and if they can't catch enough to last through the winter, they will have to rely on government hand-outs for help.  Sport fishing in Alaska is a huge industry and some say the ban is only to save bigger King's for the pay-to-play fisherman.  However, without that income, whole communities will have to relocate so it is a conundrum for sure. Since it was sunny today, we spent the morning on Douglas Island (a separate distinct part of the City and Borough of Juneau) taking in Gold Rush Days, a tribute to the mining and logging history of this part of the state.  Today was the mining competitions include spike driving (five long spikes that had to be driven into a beam using the flat head of an ax - three straight down and two in the overhead beam), jack leg drilling (using a water-cooled drill to drive a long rod into a solid wall of concrete; each competitor has to drill two holes) and hand mucking (shoveling gravel into a small wheeled cart until full and then pushing the cart on a track to the finish line).  After one miner did the hand mucking, he jumped into the log-rolling water pit - it was that hot!  The venue was Sandy Beach - albeit without lifeguard chairs, inflatables and beer coolers, this beach still had it's share of families cooling off in the cold water.  Gold Rush Days is advertised as a "family" event so there wasn't any beer tent, but there was plenty of BBQ (pulled pork and beef brisket) and other food and I thought it was cool to see the families (mostly young men/women with babies or toddlers), so proud of their "miner". While we watched the competition, we saw the mountains, a float plane (there are LOTS of them in Juneau) and a cruise ship sail up the Channel to it's dock downtown.  I love Juneau!

A "local" story

Summer has arrived, and with the warmer (highs in the 60's) weather and late night sun comes the cruise ships.  My office at Alaska Vision looks out over the Gastineau Channel which is also home to the cruise shop docks.  At times, five ships can be docked at once, with the largest holding over 1900 passengers.

Juneau will see 1 million passengers this season

They float silently up the channel, nestling against the dock while their passengers crowd the rails for their first look at Juneau.  What they see is a city that is snug against the mountain, with houses fighting gravity as they climb up the hillside.  The downtown area is crowded with tourist shops selling t-shirts, moose droppings (really), postcards and other memorabilia and a handful of bars and restaurants.  Float planes land and take off from the

A float plane leaving Hangar on the Wharf

Hangar on the Wharf, which is a nice place to have a fine Alaskan Amber and a sandwich or a pricey meal of locally caught halibut.  There is Marine Park which is where most of the local celebrations are held including the recent 'Celebration' which is a tribute to Alaskan natives.  Just this week, there was a large crowd at Auke Recreational Area (by our house) to greet the arrival of  ceremonial oar boats complete with tribal dignitaries in native dress.  They held a parade downtown on Thursday afternoon and this weekend saw  Alaskan food, music and crafts at Centennial Hall.  Along with the three ships in port today, downtown must have been busy - we didn't go.  We have become true Juneau-ites, using our precious weekends for errands, chores and some much-deserved down time.  This morning we went to the recycling center (no pick up in our neighborhood), then to a local farmer's market (which was more market than farmer), to the local auto/marine dealer where we

A view of Mendenhall Glacier today when I was at the grocery store

looked for some planters for our deck and lastly to the Alaska Brewery for a souvenir, but mostly for the free 6oz "tasters" that can be had for free.  You get up to six per visit - Bill had two, I had one.  We didn't buy the souvenir.  Last night, I spent two hours at church with fellow crafters working on my scrapbook.  The others did a counted cross-stitch, some lap quilting and some card stamping.  Tomorrow is church, then Bill has planned to go shooting with a friend and I will plan some meals that will be easy to heat up during the week. 

View of the Chugach Mountain range behind my house

That is because two nights a week I attend an "aqua zumba" class at the local high school pool and Bill has started going with me and doing some lap swim.  We sit in the sauna for five minutes or so afterwards.  The point of this story?  Twice now, while shopping and again today at the Brewery, we were asked questions because they assumed we were "locals'.  The shop clerk even stated "I can ask you guys the question because you are locals".  Both times we were in decidedly tourist areas, surrounded by actual tourists.  That said, I drive around almost everyday with my head swiveling from window to window, drinking in the gorgeous sights, especially now that it is brighter out most days.  The mountains are awe-inspiring, the harbors are full of boats of all shapes and sizes, the eagles are flying around readying their nests for the arrival of their young (any day now!) and the friendly people of Juneau are now our friends. 

The reflection on Auke Lake (on my drive to work)

Enjoy your hometown, whether new or old, taking joy in the everyday sites and looking for new ones to make you smile!