Wednesday June 5th, 2024
We awoke to an unexpected—unpredicted—very windy morning. The prediction was for 6 knot winds with 8 knot gusts. The actual was closer to 20 knot gusts that are still howling today at 7:00 p.m. We were very happy to be where we are, safe a a dock in Juneau.
I spent the morning at the local Laundromat. Outstanding, large machines, most working and a great place to wash and dry our clothes before we continue our journey north. While I waited I started my new book, The Oceans and the Stars by Mark Helprin. A sea story, war story and love story. I’m about 100 pages into it and its is great—and not just because I’m on a boat. Highly recommended. I did finish the book by the Icelandic writer Jon Stefansson “Your Absence is Darkness.” It was a beautifully written, brooding book about life in Iceland, through generations, narrated by an unnamed person. I liked it but I didn’t love it. I’m going to have to consult my friend Jim Gore to understand both why I didn’t love it, and/or what I didn’t get. But back to the laundromat. When I entered I was the only person there. When I left there were at least a dozen. I clearly got the early shift. (Marlene was back at the boat sewing).
We were treated to our first day with Jackie and Mike, local Juneau residents of 35 years. Jackie is an acquaintance of Marlene’s from a Quilt retreat they both attended in Bellingham. They were delightful hosts taking us to Home Depo to pick up a new galley faucet. Long story short, it didn’t work, but so go boat projects. We still have hot water in the galley just not a great flow. We then went to Costco to pick up a few needed items: popcorn, meatballs, general produce and we hoped a roaster chicken but that was not to be. This is a small Costco without the facilities for doing the chickens. We also believe shipping the chickens to Alaska is probably too costly. The product is a lost leader to begin with.
The really cool thing about this Costco is that is was not packed. We are used to mobbed parking lots and trolley rage up and down the aisles. Here there was none of that. It was peaceful, abundant, hassle free aisles and most important, the “tasty treat” stations were NOT mobbed. WOW, this just might be my favorite Costco.
Mike and Jackie then took us on a bit of a scenic tour of Juneau. A very interesting stop was near the High School where we took a short walk down the trail to the river. This is where the flooding last fall from the nearby glacier overtook several homes on the river. A close friend of theirs lost their 1.5 million dollar house down the river due to the flooding. If you look back at footage of this event, you will see the house break apart on the rivers edge.
You can see from the downed trees how violent the surge was. This is a picture of the Mendenhall River. Apparently what happened is that the Mendenhall Glacier melted from the bottom and caused a Jokulhlaup, a type of glacial outburst flood. The community living on the river have since tried to create a bulkhead against future floods. Only time will tell.
The great event of the evening happened on our walk around 5 pm. We saw numerous families dressed in traditional wear heading to Centennial Hall. We joined in the line, bought our tickets and then experienced a celebration of every tribe throughout Alaska parading in their festive wear on stage. It was truly amazing.
The amazing reality is that this event is NOT a “show” put on for the tourists and cruise ship folks. This event, actually called “Celebration”,occurs every two years here in Juneau and it is an official gathering of native people. You can see the joy in their eyes as they see old friends and family. The festival continues for the next three days and we are very much looking forward to attending some of the other events. (Juneau is growing on me).
