Day 1 (Friday) Flying from Sioux Falls to Minneapolis to Seattle to Juneau to Gustavus (scroll down for days 2-4)
With over a year of planning, the day we leave for Alaska is finally here. My husband, Arlen, son, Justin, and I are up at 2:00 am. A long day of flying was in store for us with hours of airport layovers. The first leg of our flight was out of Sioux Falls at 5:10 am. We flew into Minneapolis and then onto Seattle. Since it was sunny, we were able to see Mt. Ranier. The Alaskan Air flight landed first in Juneau and then into Gustavus. We arrived in Gustavus, Alaska on Friday, July 11th, late afternoon. Weather was quite foggy and damp. Luckily, we made it into Gustavus because for the next three days flights were cancelled due to weather.
After we got our luggage at the outside baggage claim, we picked up our rental van at the airport. We drove a short distance to Aimee's Guest House, where we stayed until Wednesday.
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| Flying over Mt. Rainier in Seattle |
Blue highlight is flight path from Juneau to Gustavus
Pink highlight is Glacier Bay Cruise path
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| Gustavus Welcome Sign |
Woke up to rain on Saturday, but that didn't dampen our spirits. We boarded the Baranof Wind catamaran to go up Glacier Bay. We were lucky to see lots of sea otters, puffins, sea birds, a brown bear, two mountain goats and a little baby goat, a brown bear, an eagle and some whales. Margerie Glacier was very beautiful with just a little calving.
When we got back from our Glacier Bay cruise, we went to Bartlett Cove, where Arlen, Linda, Justin and I took the hike through the rain forest. The rain forest lived up to it's name with drizzle and rain at times. At the end of the hike we encountered a moose and quickly turned around and took a different trail.
While having dinner at the Bartlett Cove Lodge, we observed humpback whales feeding, spouting and breaching.
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| Margerie Glacier |
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| Rainy day on the catamaran for the Brandt couple and son, Justin. |
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| Justin, Linda, Wayne and I enjoy the view out of our window that didn't fog over. |
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| Stellar sea lions |
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| Sea otter |
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| Mountain goat and her kid |
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| Puffins |
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| Baranof Wind catamaran |
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| Route taken by the catamaran up Glacier Bay |
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| Black Water Pond |
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| Carving in tree |
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| Justin, Linda and I hiking |
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| Arlen and Justin looking for seashells |
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| Seashells on seashore |
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| Bones of whale named "Snow" hit and killed by a cruise ship in 2001 |
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| Forest Loop Trail at Bartlett Cove |
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| Justin, Linda and I are glad we have raincoats on |
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| Lupines |
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| Shelf fungi growing on trees |
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| A moose at the end of our hike |
Day 3 (Sunday) Halibut Fishing & Church in Gustavus
My sister, Linda, drove the guys to the dock for a full day of halibut fishing. Steve, the fishing guide, had them catch their own bait fish consisting of pollock and herring. All they had to do was put their line in the water with 5 bare hooks and a little red lure on it. Arlen brought up five fish at a time. Justin thought it was lots of fun just catching the bait fish. Halibut fishing rules had changed in recent years. The guys could only keep one halibut of a size less than 44" or greater than 76". Arlen's one fish that was over 50 inches and close to 100 pounds had to be thrown back.
While the guys were fishing, my sister and I attended the chapel where she had attended in the late 1980's. An evening meal was enjoyed by all of us at a close friend of hers.
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| Eagles on shore at the dock |
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| Dock with seagulls |
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| Arlen reeling in his large halibut |
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| Arlen's large fish that couldn't be kept |
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| Bait fish that were caught |
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| Fishing guide, Steve, and all the guys before taking off in the boat, Obsession. |
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| Justin with one of his halibut. |
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| John and Wayne looking at the "catch." |
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| Linda and I pose by the Gustavus chapel |
Day 4 (Monday) Whale Watching
Humpback whales frequent the area during the Summer to feed. We went out in the Taz boat with our guide. We saw humpback whales, but no orca whales. At the end of our half-day excursion, we saw a humpback whale do a breach.
The weather was partly cloudy in Gustavus, but we heard fog was present in Juneau. We were planning on flying out of Gustavus to Juneau to catch our ferry, but were worried we would get fogged in Gustavus. So, we decided to hire fisherman, Bud, to take us by boat to Juneau instead. His boat shuttled people back and forth from Gustavus to Juneau if the weather was bad enough to cancel flights. Along the way, we saw the Point Retreat Lighthouse near Juneau.
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| No, Justin wasn't driving the Taz. |
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| Dressed for cool, but not rainy weather |
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| Water coming off the tail |
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| Blow hole and back of a hump back whale |
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| Whale breach |
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| Point Retreat Lighthouse near Juneau |
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| View outside our Driftwood motel in Juneau |
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| Linda, John and Arlen eating outside on the Hangar at the Wharf in Juneau |
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