The only thing "instant" in Juneau is oatmeal...

I wanted to touch on a few interesting observations about life in Juneau - especially since working now for four weeks.  I grew up in a small (REALLY small) town and then moved to a somewhat larger "metropolis".  After time, even that felt small - comfortable with travel, aware of where stores were, meeting people you knew at the grocery store (pre-Peapod!), that kind of thing.  Plus, you tried to consolidate trips out to maximize your time and gas costs.  In Greenfield, I knew many people who would not drive the few minutes from the east side to the west side to access programs or services - if it wasn't in their "back yard", they didn't go.  I, on the other hand, never minded driving up to Bayshore (north side of Milwaukee) to go shopping, or going west to Waukesha for restaurants or even south to Racine to Hobby Lobby (man, I miss Hobby Lobby!).  I find a similar "Greenfield" personality here in Juneau.  Stores and services are consolidated to physical areas (due to the mountains and ocean limiting land mass!) and once you reach our place "out the road", there are no grocers, gas stations, atm's or anything but beautiful, natural scenery.  Good for Sunday drives, but not so good when it is 8 pm. and you are out of half and half for your morning coffee.  Plus, there are only two main shopping/service areas in Juneau.  One is in the "valley" (where the Mendenhall River - melt-off from the glacier - runs to the ocean) and the other is downtown.  From the south end of the road to the north end of the road is 45 miles, and we live at mile marker 17.  That means, we are 17 miles from the very southern end of the road, and 28 miles to the northern end.  The valley is about mile marker 11, and downtown would be mile marker 3.   Bill and I work downtown, and we hit three stop lights on the way from our place and takes about 15 minutes with traffic (11 of we hit all the lights!).  However, many people who are true "Juneau-ites" that live in the Valley don't go downtown.  Too far, they say.  Sound familiar, Greenfield?

They other interesting thing, one I only understand now that I'm work with scheduling appointments most of the day, is that those of you who live in the lower 48 probably take getting to and fro for granted.  For example, I had someone call to set up an eye exam and mention that they would need an appointment on a very specific day since that is the day they are coming in by ferry (if the weather holds).  Those Southeast Alaskans that live in the small communities are dependent on the ferrys (or flights, if airfare is reasonable) to plan their lives.  Think about if you had to schedule a doctors appointment three or four months in advance to fit your travel schedule.  A $100 eye exam will end up costing $300-$400 with transportation costs (most bring their cars on the ferry) and hotel stays.  When in the "big city", people will shop at Walmart, the Home Depot and Costco as well as stopping at the hardware store to order light bulbs in bulk, wood and supplies for home repairs and 100 pound bags of charcoal for their grills.  They arrange for shipping home on the ferry (what they can't fit in their cars) and spend the rest of the few days in town eating out, visiting with family or friends or simply sight-seeing.  Here, you don't get your glasses in "one hour" - the prescription will be sent with the frames you've selected to labs in Anchorage or Seattle, and they will be returned in two or three weeks.  Better have some duct tape around in case you sit on your only pair of glasses!

Stop and think about what "instant" things you do that aren't possible in other areas of the country or world.   One-hour photos, drive-thru everything (other than the dozens of coffee shops, there is only one "drive-thru" here in Juneau, at the one-and-only McDonalds) and same-day appointments are not available here in Juneau (or other small towns, I suppose).  That makes life here a bit more scheduled (imperative to plan ahead!) but less hectic.  Taking time to "smell the roses" is what it is all about!

Our high seas adventure

View as we sail out of Auke Bay harbor

 We were invited to take a boat trip this past Sunday with Tim & Kathy.  They have lived on their 39' boat for the past year, harbored in Auke Bay, but they have actually lived on a boat somewhere in the world for over 25 years.  Kathy told me the story of their first boat and how sad she was to sell it since it had memories of raising their daughter in places like Panama, where they were frequently going through the locks of Panama Canal.  She told me that they installed her "jumper" from an eye hook in the ceiling of the boat, and that she made friends with others in the harbor in Puerto Rico. 

View of our condo area from the back of the boat

Now, with their daughter grown, they live on their boat in Juneau, where they both work independently in home repair and painting.  They are flying out of Juneau to Oregon for a month to check in with family and some property they own near Eugene.  With that, Tim wanted to take the boat out to "rev" the engine.   He didn't want the boat to sit too low in the water due to the high sea levels this time of the winter, but did need to use up his fuel.  In the harbor where they live, there was a boat that sunk this past week when the owners failed to clear the accumulated snow and ice.  The mast is

the sunken boat just visible in the corner of the dock

pretty much all you can see of this vessel.  The only reason it is not totally under water (the water in the harbor is anywhere between 50 and 100 feet deep) is that the boat is still tied to the dock!  We set off on our "great adventure" about 1:00 p.m. on a very snowy day - you can see from the photos that the snow was very heavy on the dock.

Frozen deck railings

Bill tried to glean as much information he could from Captain Tim as we motored out of the harbor and into the high seas of the Inside Passage.  Kathy asked if I was prone to seasickness - if I was, it was too late! As we sailed north out of the harbor and around Lena Point, the sea became extremely rough.  Bill equated it to "Deadliest Catch"!  We bobbed and weaved, up one wave and down the trough on the other side.  You could hear the engine as it fought to keep straight through the bouncing.  At one point, Kathy and Bill went out on the back deck to clear the floor drains of the accumulated ice so the water

Captain Tim and First Mate Bill

wouldn't wash into the cabin.  The rails of the deck were frozen, and the wipers were kept busy trying to clear the windows so the captain could see!  We didn't see much due to the cloudy/foggy weather, when suddenly Captain Tim brought the boat "about" so we could watch about a dozen harbor seals frolicking in the open water - they were huge!  They were about the only things able to withstand the

Kathy waving goodbye as we leave the boat

cold semi-frozen water.  Soon we turned and made our way back to our watery home in Auke Bay.  We helped with the mooring lines, then waved to Kathy as she settled in for the night with only the snow and some hearty seagulls for company (besides Tim, that is!).  As we walked on the 8" of fresh

Boats in Auke Bay harbor

snow down the dock, we passed a large boat for sale (only $375,000!).  We looked at each other - and for a moment thought about what it would be like on the open seas, sailing around the world not caring where we docked for the night.  Nope, we thought.  We love the ocean, but we prefer terra firma in beautiful Juneau, Alaska!

It it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium

I don't think many of you remember that movie - something more current would be "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" - but that it was it felt like as I attempted to return to Juneau after a wonderful week in Louisville visiting the grandkids.  I was aware of the weather in Seattle, which is the hub for all flights going to Alaska.  It is rare that you would travel through any other airport either to or from my adopted home state.  My original flight home was through O'Hare on Thursday morning, flying to Seattle later in the day and then directly to Juneau that night, arriving home by 9:00 p.m. Alaska time.  Here is what really happened:  Flew from Louisville on an early morning fight to Chicago - no complaints!  In Chicago, I had to walk most of the airport to reach the gate for my 11:30 a.m. flight to Seattle.  Josh and I had been watching the mid-week weather on the Pacific coast, but thought that everything would be ok by Thursday.  Not so much.  Our full flight of 75+ passengers were told that our flight was "delayed" - airport speak for cancelled.  Indeed, 20 minutes after our scheduled flight time, it was announced that there would be no flights into Seattle that day, and to go to customer (no)service for re-booking flight arrangements.  I called a friend who checked on flights to Juneau out of Minneapolis or another airport, but we didn't find anything that would work.  I thought about staying in Chicago for the night, but decided to see what the airline had for me.  After waiting 1 hour 18 minutes in line, the only option I had was to fly to San Francisco Thursday night, layover there for an early Friday morning flight to Seattle, and from there a "milk run" to Juneau.  The milk run is flying into Ketchikan (or Petersburg or sometimes both), flying to Sitka, flying to Juneau with the flight ending in Anchorage.  Each of the first flight segments are about 25 minutes in the air, with another 45 minutes from Juneau to Anchorage (for those going that far).   For those who don't like taking off/landing, this itinerary isn't for you.  Other than Juneau, the airport runways are suspect at best - short, over water and between mountain ridges.  In fact, the Sitka airport runway is on a paved causeway that juts out over the ocean.  Deceased tuberculosis patients from the nearby Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital were buried on airport grounds and had to be relocated during construction. That section of the airport is still unofficially called The Mausoleum.  Safety hazards include boulders from the causeway washing onto the runway during storms, high winds because of its exposed location, and large flocks of birds that live very close to the airport.  Airfarewatchdog.com lists this runway as one of the ten most thrilling landing experiences in the world.  All was well as I heard my 4:30 a.m. wake-up call on Friday morning in San Francisco, getting me to the airport for a 7:05 a.m. flight arriving at 9:00 a.m. in Seattle, and an 11:05 a.m. milk run from Seattle to Juneau.  On board at 6:45 a.m., the flight out of SF was delayed for ONE HOUR 18 MINUTES because the plane was too heavy (per code) to land in Seattle.  When we finally left SF, it meant that we would land in Seattle at 10:30 a.m., and I might not make by Juneau flight.  Landed, ran through the airport, in time to see that my Juneau flight was cancelled due to high Taku winds over southeast Alaska.  There was serious concern that no flights would be flying there that day!  I was re-booked on a late afternoon flight, and we did board on time, watched the de-icing of the plane, and finally take-off.  Quick but bouncy flight to Ketchikan, a dicey landing in Sitka, and I heard the steward say that they may bypass Juneau due to the high winds and fly directly to Anchorage.  NO!!!  I was never so happy as when I heard the pilot say they were going to "try" to land in Juneau (when would they decide that it wasn't going to work??) and against all odds, we did.   Since I had to spend so much time in airplanes, I have a few "observations":

• The creepy guy you see at the gate will always sit next to you
• the airline magazine in the seat-back pocket will always have the crossword puzzle completed
• if you sit at the window, you will have to decide if drinking something is worth having to ask two people to move for you at some point in the flight
• why is it that only men are sitting in first class?
• the items in the SkyMall catalog look very tempting when you are in the air

Anyway, I'm happy to be home.

It's snow beautiful!

Rainy day on the walking path

WOW!  It has been snowing a LOT in Alaska!  You've seen the news stories about Cordova, where the National Guard had to be ferried in (roads were closed due to snow and avalanches) to help with removal of more than 15 feet of snow in the last three weeks.  In fact, a news story today mentioned that Cordova is OUT OF SNOW SHOVELS!  What??  Do they break?  I can't imagine that anyone would steal any since I'm sure everyone has to have at least one!  The National Guard has brought in snow melting machines since there isn't anywhere left to pile up the snow.  Some stories mentioned that people were trapped in their houses, with snow piled up at the doors.  Avalanche danger is high and, with only one road in and out of Cordova, a closed road means no supplies or emergency vehicles. 

In Nome, the big story is cold.  The temperature has not risen above 30 degrees below zero for 10 days.  And, it has not been above 0 degrees since December 23rd. 

Sunny view of "my" mountain

Valdez (of oil spill fame) has had 272" of snow since October.  The record yearly measured snowfall in that small town is 560", recorded in the winter of 1989-90.  At this point, they are on a path to eclipse that record.  This is why we don't live in Cordova, Nome or Valdez.   As you may recall, Juneau is a temperate rain forest, with temperatures very rarely going below 0 degrees (last time was in 1998).  Average snowfall for Juneau is 98.4", and rainfall amounts to 56.6" per year.  In contrast, Milwaukee averages 52.4" of snow and 34.8" of rain. Rainy

View "out the road" on a cloudy day

days have clouds lying among the mountain peaks, puddles in the parking lots and people walking around WITHOUT UMBRELLAS.  That's right - Juneau-ites just suck it up, put on their Xtratuffs and keep on keeping on. So the next time you complain about no snow, think of Valdez or Cordova.  And, if the cold gets to you, consider living in Nome.  Otherwise, figure that there is always someone worse off than you are - at least, weather-wise!

Happy Hour

Arne enjoying "happy hour' at our condo

Jill, Phil, Mary, NeNe in the storage unit backroom 

 I may have talked about many "happy hours" spent in the back room of a storage unit just up from our house. The units are very large; in fact, Arne is completing the renovation of a fishing boat in his unit.  We spend almost every Friday night in the back of Tim and Kathy's unit, as many as 15 of us crammed into the unheated back area, sitting on camp chairs, overturned buckets, tool lockers and even some really nice folding chairs that still have tags on them (good luck getting one of those!).

Tim yelling "freeze" with ice cube weapon!

Everyone brings beer or whatever they would like to drink (rum and cola is very popular in Juneau).  What you can't see in these pictures is a full-sized refrigerator with a tap in the door.  That's right - you don't even have to open the door to get yourself a cup of beer!  Which is a good thing - since everyone has to "shift" to get the door open!  Once there, you don't want to leave first or you will get the "everybody loves a pooper that's why we invited you" song.  Note:  Arne (married to Eleanore) loves to wait until the first person leaves then makes a quick get-away, noting that he has never had the song sang for him!   Another note:  the bathroom is a porta-potty located around the back of the unit - women use the porta-potty, men do not....  This last weekend was Jill's ( married to Ken) birthday, and we had pizza and cake. 

Jill's birthday (Phil is behind her, next to
Tom, NeNe and Mary)

Normally, we maybe will have some microwave popcorn, but no one usually eats anything and everyone is gone by about 8:30 p.m. (we meet around 5 p.m.).  Laughter is frequent, jokes are numerous (and better left inside the storage locker) and politics are only discussed with tongue firmly in cheek!  Bill met these people early in his time alone in Juneau last summer through Jeff (married to Cindy), while doing some maintenance work at the University of Alaska - Southeast.  Many of those here have known each other for quite some time (years) while some like us are new to Juneau. 

Sharon, Ken and Bill at Happy Hour

All are welcome, and if any of you come to Juneau to visit, it might be a fun stop!   We don't just meet under cover of a storage unit, however.  Mary (Tim's sister, dating John) has had everyone over to her house twice (once just before Thanksgiving and this past weekend on New Year's Eve), Arne and Eleanore had everyone over for a pre-Christmas dinner and Bill and I had everyone over to our house during the holidays, also.  Tim (married to Kathy) have lived on a boat for 25 years, so that is why they open their unit to all every Friday (and some Mondays through Thursdays as well!). 
We also had a get-together in December to celebrate the winter solstice - the shortest day of the year. 

Sharon, Cindy, NeNe, Ken and Tim at Solstice

However, these well-seasoned Alaskans drank to the fact that Spring is on the way!  We met at the Auke Lake Recreation Area, just up from our place, on a cold, windy evening in December, using one of the large picnic shelters as our meeting area.  We started a huge fire,

John, Tim and Bill by the fire

had even huger hotdogs (is that even a word?) and plenty of beer and other libations.  It was beautiful, though photos weren't possible because it was pitch black.  Mike (married to Phyllis) told us that if you come to this shelter in the summer, late in the evening when the sun never sets, you can hear the whales singing in Auke Bay.  As I sit here in the snow and dark, I'll  close my eyes and hold that thought, thanking God for new friends, and inviting all of my dear friends from far away to visit to hear the whales sing!

Christmas in Juneau

picnic shelter on shore of Auke Bay

This Christmas was certainly not like any other - in the past, if we didn't spend Christmas Day at "home", we traveled to Detroit, Dallas or Louisville to spend the holiday with whatever family was available.  There was always some child to share the day with, but not this year.  While I certainly regret not being able to spend the day with family, we did skype/talk to everyone, and enjoyed a quiet morning.  On Christmas Eve day, we went to a local production of  "A Christmas Carol", which was amazingly good!  The theater was quite small, but a 2 p.m. Christmas Eve performance was sold out.  The production followed the popular movie, but was given the "Readers Digest" treatment (trimming where needed, but not affecting the story).  The actors, including the children, were very well-rehearsed and the show was completely entertaining.  Scrooge himself was so similar to George C. Scott that we had to look twice - which we did, because we were in the third row!  After the play, we returned home until church, and later that evening, we visited for a brief time with some people we had met who so graciously invited us to their house.  After some wine and a slice of homemade banana cream pie (chocolate cream for Bill), we went home and watched the Midnight Mass from Rome.  Christmas Eve was rainy, but Christmas Day dawned cloudy and dry so we decided to walk off that aforesaid pie.

view across to unnamed islands

We are lucky to live in the area surrounding the Auke Lake Recreation Area, which includes many picnic shelters, some with massive fireplaces and a paved trail that winds around the towering Sitka Spruce right along the ocean.  We walked to a place called Point Louisa, which is a spit of land in Favorite Channel.  I'm using the correct words for places since I hear them all the time but have no idea where or what they are, so I'm learning with you!  The weather, up to that point, was calm with just a break in the clouds.  As we walked to the (literal) end of Point Louisa, the wind on one side was very strong and biting, with white-capped waves.  On the other side of the Point, things were calm, with little wind and no need for caps or mittens as we walked.  I was wearing my

looking across Favorite Channel

Packer sweatshirt in anticipation of the game (which for us started at 4:15 p.m. - a great time to watch a football game!) and some others who were "out and about" mentioned it (some thought it was Oregon colors!).  We shared the scenery with photographers, dog-walkers and some others with children who we think were meeting for a Christmas Day family outing.  As we walked, we heard an Alaskan drummer (similar to American Indian drums) beating the drum and chanting.  The sound rose over the water and made for a very reflective moment  - secular Christmas is fun and we did miss the annual reading of gift tags (some of you know what I'm referring to!) and seeing Jonah and Alana open their gifts, and the making of dozens (and dozens) of cookies.  And we certainly look forward to the next time that we are all together (thank goodness for skype!) in person.  However, we were reminded that Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus' birth - and God gave us here in Juneau a wonderfully scenic way to remember.

panoramic view towards Indian Point

Tide is in!

our deck is 3rd from the right, on the second floor

Our condo is awesome - we live on "stilts" over the tidal basin, part of Auke Bay.  Twice a day the tide comes in and, if high enough, goes under our stilts so it looks like we live IN the ocean!  There are two high tides and two low tides per day, and the time always changes.  When the tide is "out", or low, the tidal basin is hard and people have walked their dogs in the basin. 

View at high tide - 10:36 a.m. on 12/22

The tide numbers don't indicate the depth of the water, but how high over sea level the water will go, but the water is probably 10-12 feet deep at high tide.  The water will go well under our deck and against the barrier in the parking lot.  We are expecting high tides on December 24 and 25, as indicated in the photo (19.6 ft at 12:15 p.m. on Christmas Eve). 

the tide book opened to December

Today, the high tide is 18.6 feet and is already covering the tree trunk that I use under my deck as a benchmark.  If the water covers the trunk, I know that it is as high as I've seen it.  In late October, just before we arrived, the high tide was 20.6 feet.  With a bit of wind like we have today, I can assume that the water was pushed somewhat into the parking lot.  It has not been that high since then. During high tides, the water is full of activity.  We have harlequin ducks, ravens, seagulls, the eagles, and, today, harbor seals are swimming around.  I hear in the summer, it is even busier, and more beautiful.  The photo of our condo (above) was taken in the summer and you can see the beautiful green foliage.  While there have been whales in Auke Bay, the bay that drains into our tidal basin, they don't get this far.   The book is a free publication of the yearly tide tables, meant for fishing and hiking.

I love my "leg lamp" lights!

There are many warnings on the hiking trails to pay attention to tides because when they come in, they come in fast (from low tide to high is about 4-6 hours) and you may be stranded, with no way back except to swim (not recommended!). 

When I open my patio door, I can hear the birds, listen to the waves and feel like I am in paradise - only colder and darker!