Alaska Trip Day 45

A busy day in town for us.  Nothing much exciting but laundry and walking into town in the rain for wifi.  We got some cute pics at the laundromat with my phone.

Based on the weather and stuff we still need to do, we plan to stay in Juneau tomorrow night as well.

Fun riding around in the clothes basket

Lars, will you help me fold too?

Alaska Trip Day 44

6/29/11

Juneau, AK

Miles Travelled:  22

Southerly winds were forecast to build through the day, and we learned from yesterday’s nap debacle to try and avoid interrupting nap time, so we decided to get a move on as soon as the boys woke up.  Odin had a rough night last night (gas pains), so he was sound asleep and we actually woke him up at 7:30 this morning.

We pulled out into Stephens Passage to 15-20 kt winds and uncomfortable 3-4 foot seas.  We were bouncing around enough that I decided it would be unsafe to boil water for our usual breakfast of oatmeal on our Colman stove (we usually cook on a diesel stove, but since we turned it off last night it would take too long to heat up and boil water for coffee and oatmeal, so in cases like that we use a Colman camping stove but there isn’t any way to secure it or the pots on it if there is significant swell).  So I boiled water in the jet boil for coffee (yep, we have 3 ways to heat water on this boat, coffee is very important) and we had a cold breakfast. 

Soon we were in the lee of Grand Island and things got a lot calmer…we could have had oatmeal afterall.  Oh well, peanut butter on bread and fruit was just fine.

We were concerned about getting a spot at the dock in Juneau since it’s a popular place to stay.  Juneau is 8 miles in on Gastineau channel and for a boat like ours, Gastineau channel is a dead end.  If there wasn’t space for us in Juneau we were worried about having to make a 16 mile detour, 8 miles up Gastineu and 8 miles back so that we could head to another marina in Auke Bay.  As soon as we had one very weak bar of cell service before getting into Gastineau we were able to call the harbor office and though they wouldn’t reserve a slip for us, they assured us there would be space.  Whew.

We pulled in and got our slip assignment just before 11:00.  We passed Hey You on the way in and Rory helped catch our lines.  It was lunch time for us and then nap time at 11:30.  Lars slept for an hour and 15 minutes, and then Odin slept for two and half hours!  I got to catch up on the blogs I read on my phone while they slept and Tor took a snooze too.

After the boys woke up we went to visit on Hey You and enjoyed the social time.  Rory, Katy and Madison fly home tomorrow and we were glad to have a chance to meet them.  One major difference in our cruising with the boys is that we just don’t have time to socialize.  On every other trip we’ve taken, we’ve had lots of opportunities to meet other people and talk about boats or itineraries or neat anchorages.  Since the boys eat dinner around 5 pm and go to bed by about 6:30 pm, our chances for rowing around an anchorage and talking with people on other boats are gone.  After having a chance to socialize with Rory, Katy and Madison I’ve realized how much I’ve been missing it.  We’ll have to figure out to get out and meet new people during the boys’ awake times.

After visiting on Hey You we walked into town to get some dinner at a Mexican restaurant.  We love it when the wait staff at restaurants are parents themselves…they totally understand what it’s like to have kiddos at a restaurant.  Our waitress tonight was quick to bring some orange slices while we waited for food and we were grateful!

On our way back to the boat after dinner we stopped by Osprey and visited with Steve and Elsie Hulsizer who we know from Seattle and the Puget Sound Cruising Club.  It was really nice to see them!  Elsie has written 2 books, one called Voyages to Windward about cruising the West coast of Vancouver Island that we really enjoyed reading when we did our Vancouver Island circumnavigation.  Recently she published a new book about cruising in SE Alaska called Glaciers, Bears and Totems: Sailing in Search of the Real Southeast Alaska, we were able to buy it directly from the author and are really looking forward to reading it now that we have the context of actually being in SE Alaska.  They were able to give us some good advice about anchorages between here and Glacier Bay as well as in Glacier Bay itself.  We hit the socializing jackpot today and it felt really good to spend time with other people, I’m really glad we got to see Elsie and Steve.

We got the boys to bed about 45 minutes late and it was rough.  They were over tired and crying, but as soon as I helped them get to sleep all was okay.  It was a good reminder to keep things consistent…they thrive on consistency and sleep!

We plan to be in Juneau for at least 2 nights, maybe even 3.  We’ve got to do laundry (surprise, surprise!), get groceries, find wifi and deal with a sometimes faulty connection on the back of our handheld GPS.  Thank goodness we are in a city.  Steve Hulsizer got us in touch with a friend of his who lives here and it sounds like is an electronics guy.  My Dad also has a friend here who we can contact for help getting around town if needed.  We’ll be busy here.

Lars and Papa snuggles while Odin was still napping

Alaska Trip Day 43

6/28/11

Taku Harbor, AK

Miles Travelled:  23

This was thankfully not an early morning for us, we got up at the normal time and had a leisurely time with breakfast (as leisurely as 2 hungry boys will allow that is).  It was rainy and we didn’t have far to go today, so we took our time and were on our way by about 9:00.  We motored out of the cove and discovered fog, so the radar went on and watched it for ice burgs…no Titanic-ing for us!

The passage was pretty uneventful, visibility got better was we headed up Stephens Passage and soon we didn’t need the radar.  It was still rainy, but Tor said he was warm, so I didn’t feel too badly about hanging out with the boys down below.  The boys went down for their nap about 45 minutes out from Taku Harbor, but we were hoping they would keep sleeping if we tied up to the dock and just left the engine running.  Unfortunately Lars woke up after only about an hour.  Odin continued to sleep until we decided to move the boat around to the other side of the dock.  I got off the boat to help with the lines and we pushed and pulled Yare to the other side so we could get some protection from a swell that was kicking up.  Lars got mad and started crying, but I couldn’t get back on the boat until we were safely tied up on the other side of the dock, so we did it as quickly as possible but unfortunately Lars’ crying woke Odin up.  We learned our lesson…try to minimize disruptions during nap time!  Both boys could have had longer naps, but at least they got a little over an hour each.

We took advantage of being tied to a dock to go for a walk.  Taku Harbor is a park run by the City of Juneau and the dock we tied up to was brand new with lots of space for boats.  We walked by a boat out of Anacortes called Hey You which we first ran into in Fords Terror and it turns out that they had a young crew member aboard, Madison who is almost 18 months.  We talked to her Mom Katy and Dad Rory and the Captain of the Hey You Grandpa.  Madison was down for a nap, but Katy and Rory promised they would bring her by for a visit when she woke up. 

The Yare crew headed up to the beach to check out the Tiger Olsson memorial cabin (cute place for rent $10 a night) with a wood stove and a tall swing right outside.  We saw humpback whales in the bay and played on the swing and walked the path down to the beach by the ruins of a cannery. 

When we got back to the boat Tor played with the boys in the after enclosure and I took the opportunity to hide out for a little alone time up forward and read my Kindle.  It was the recharge I needed.  Later we heard a knock on the hull and got to meet Madison and chat with Katy and Rory.  They live in Twisp and we really enjoyed meeting them and seeing Madison and Lars and Odin interacting.  It’s always neat to spend time with kids who are a little older than yours are so that you can see what the next stage looks like.  Madison is walking and since she’s been on Hey You for the past couple of weeks, she learned how to climb a ladder, so we saw her climb our companion way ladder.  She was steady and very professional about it, but I will say my anxiety level went up…I’m HOPING we will be home by the time the boys figure out how to climb.  I’m not sure how we child proof that hazard.  Ugh.  I won’t think about it now.

Odin and Mama Swinging

Lars and Papa Swinging

Piling from cannery ruins, Taku Harbor

Yare at the dock in Taku Harbor

Alaska Trip Day 42

6/27/11

“Tracy Arm Cove,” Tracy Arm, AK

Miles Travelled:  54

What a glorious day.  We were sad to leave Fords Terror, but our trip up Endicott arm to see the Dawes glacier couldn’t have been any more perfect.  We had an early morning to get the low water slack out of Fords Terror, but amazingly, the boys didn’t wake up!  Odin cried out in his sleep at about 10 minutes to 5:00, so he woke us instead of our alarm which was set to go off at 5:00.  We started the engine and pulled 175’ of anchor chain, essentially right over them…in a steel boat that transmits that sound very well, and they kept sleeping.  Amazing.  It allowed both of us time to see all of the sights of Fords Terror on the way back out and marvel all over again.  I took so many pictures, but none of them do it justice.

Once out in Endicott Arm, we hung a left and dodged ice bergs and bergy bits another 10 miles or so until we were able to get within a mile or so of the face of the glacier.  During the transit the boys woke up and I got them breakfast while Tor piloted.  After breakfast they happily played by themselves so I could run up and down the companionway ladder and get my fill of looking at the glacier and all of the different shapes of bergs and bergy bits. I also took tons of pictures…at one point Tor asked me if I was taking pictures of each and every bergy bit.  I tried for sure! Tor pulled the requisite bergy bits out of the water so we can have ice in our scotch tonight.  What a treat!

When the water became choked enough with ice that we felt we couldn’t go much further, we headed back the way we came.  Amazingly we had the place completely to ourselves and only when we were headed back out to the entrance did we see a few sports fishing boats buzzing up to the glacier.  I don’t think we will be that lucky in Glacier Bay, even with the limited number of boats they let in every day.  We treasured our experience this morning at Dawes Glacier.  Helen was on our minds, as were the rest of the Dawes family.

We got a healthy push out of Endicott Arm, and most of the time had an extra knot of boat speed, so we made great time out of Endicott Arm and into Holkam bay.  We anchored in an unnamed cove at the entrance to Tracy Arm.  There we got a feeling for how many boats head up Tracy Arm.  We anchored in the cove, which is the only real anchorage in the area at about 2:30pm and were the only boat.  By the time we settled in for the night, there were 6 other boats in the cove and it looks like all but one are going to head up Tracy arm tomorrow.  We also saw a big cruise ship…the Amsterdam (one of the “big dam boats” as Dad and Lynn say) on its way out at the end of the day.  We feel so fortunate to have had our experience in Endicott be as private as it was.

Tomorrow we plan to wake up at the normal time and head a little further north to Taku Harbor.  We have made good time and at this point have a week to get to Glacier Bay.  We are in good shape, we may even call the park when we get to Juneau to see if they have space and can move our permit up.  If so, then we would have more time to get to Sitka.  We’ll see what happens.

Fords Terror?  The best!

Yep, I agree.  Fords Terror is the best.

No wind makes for beautiful mirrored surface in Fords Terror

Waterfall on way out of Fords Terror

The Fords Terror narrows at slack water

Bergy Bit

Picking our way through the bits

Glacier Ho!

Harvesting a Bergy Bit

The Dawes Glacier

Seals hauled out on an ice berg, Endicott Arm

View of Sumdum Glacier from Endicott Arm

Big Ice Berg from Tracy Arm, note the red navigation buoy in the background.  Apparently that one frequently gets knocked out of place by big ice bergs

Lars and Mama

Odin and Mama

Alaska Trip Day 41

6/26/11

Fords Terror—West Arm, Endicott Arm, AK

Miles Travelled:  ~1

We decided to check out the rest of Fords Terror today and then re-anchor in the West arm.  We plan to leave early tomorrow morning at low water slack, and since the low tide is lower than it was when we came in yesterday, there wouldn’t be enough depth for us to get over the bar we crossed to get into the East arm.  Yesterday when Tor piloted us in to the East arm, he saw less than 7 feet of water depth and our boat draws 4.5, the tide is supposed to be about 5 feet lower tomorrow morning and though we had plenty of water in the anchorage, we need to be able to cross the shallow bar at low water, so we needed to move.  The anchorage in the West arm is much deeper, so we will be just fine.  Besides that, we needed to check out the other side of paradise, and I have to say, it’s just as beautiful.

We motored to the end of the East arm to sight see and the boys were on deck with us.  I don’t have the vocabulary to describe how beautiful this place is, and the photos don’t do it justice.  Let’s just put it this way, Tor and I both agree that it is the most beautiful place we’ve ever seen.  We puttered over to the West arm and anchored on a steep shelf…it went from 30 feet to 6 feet VERY quickly, but all was okay and we are anchored securely.

It was sure nice to have a day off…particularly in such a magnificent place.  I got bread baked and Tor washed diapers.  The boys played hard and napped hard and we tried to drink in the sights as much as we could.  We had smoked black cod, fresh bread and broccoli for dinner…yum!

A 130’ cruise ship came in and also anchored in the West arm, but they were nice enough to stay far away and they didn’t impact us much at all.

Tonight we saw our first bear of the trip.  A mama and her cub were eating grass on the beach.

Tomorrow we will get up at 5:00 am so that we can get the low water slack at the entrance narrows by about 6:15.  We’re sad to leave this place, but we plan to continue up Endicott arm so we can hopefully see the Dawes Glacier!

Sightseeing in Fords Terror

Looking into the end of the East arm, Fords Terror

Looking towards the West Arm from the East Arm, Fords Terror

At anchor in the West Arm

At anchor in the West arm

Alaska Trip Day 40

6/25/11

Fords Terror--East Arm, Endicott Arm, AK

Miles Travelled:  46.5

Ever on the lookout for shallow anchorages, when looking at the guidebook, Tor fixated on the east arm of Fords Terror as a possible place to stay tonight.  I wasn’t so sure.  Fords terror is essentially uncharted, and it has a tidal rapids at the entrance that needs to be transited at slack water…the problem is that slack water isn’t predicted in any of the current books, so you have to just estimate based on some assumptions and try it, and then on top of all of that, you have to deal with the psychological implications of the name!  Boy am I glad he talked me into coming here.  We both think this may be the most beautiful place we’ve ever been.  I keep looking around me in confusion because it feels like we are in an alpine wilderness…but we are at sea level.  My brain is having a hard time with the contradiction, but I’m so happy to be here.  We are anchored in about 20 feet of water and the surroundings are simply majestic.  Behind us is a 3000’-4000’ waterfall, and ahead of us is a small grassy flat area with another glacial valley behind.  I’ve already told Tor that I want to stay here again tomorrow night, this place has made our trip.  It’s really a bummer knowing none of my photos will do this place justice.  I helped Tor navigate the entrance to Fords Terror, but then the boys needed me down below, so Tor motored up to the east arm and I finally got to see it when we were anchored.  I think that added to my mental confusion about it looking like we are in an alpine wilderness setting that happens to be at sea level.  I accused Tor of going through some locks to gain significant elevation without telling me.  I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of it over the next couple of days.

On our way up Endicott arm to Fords Terror we dodged ice burgs and burgy bits from the DAWES glacier.  Pretty cool huh, Dawes family? 

In other news, I caught Lars standing on his own twice today.  One time it was on the bed, so he’s got to be pretty strong since a bed isn’t very good footing!  Oy!

Boy oh boy do they like playing with the silverware!

One of the first ice bergs we saw...certainly not the last!

Hanging out in the companionway

Spectacular waterfall in bay outside Fords Terror

Grounded ice berg outside Fords Terror

3000-4000' waterfall in the anchorage, Fords Terror

"Beach" in our anchorage, Fords Terror

Alaska Trip Day 39

6/24/11

Hobart Bay, Entrance Island, AK

Miles Travelled:  49.5

Today was a long mileage day, but it was a great day.  While Tor cooked breakfast, I walked up to the Coffee Hüs for coffee and pastries (what a treat!) and we were on our way out of Petersburg by 8:00 am.  The weather forecast was for SW 15 kts, building to 20 kts in the afternoon, so we wanted to make sure we got to an anchorage by the time the wind piped up.  We had a couple of different anchorages picked out, one 20 miles away and another 35 miles away in case the weather picked up and things got uncomfortable.  Once we got outside of Petersburg and into Frederick Sound the wind was N 5 kts., and conditions were calm and comfortable.  We kept expecting the winds to pick up, but they never did, and with the ebb tide and influence of the Stikine river, our speed was boosted at least ½ a kt for the whole day, so we just kept going and going and going, eventually settling on Hobart Bay for the night.  After we decided on Hobart bay, we were worried that we wouldn’t get a spot at the State float in the bay since anchorage isn’t practical and the float isn’t that big, the guidebook also said to get there early…no worries.  As of writing this at 8:30 pm, we are still the only boat here!

I read in one of the guidebooks that Frederick Sound is (in their opinion and experience) the best place in SE Alaska to see whales.  I have to say that based on today, we agree!  We saw humpback whales all over the place.  They were usually pretty far away, but still super cool to see.  Then we had the treat of seeing a HUGE humpback about 100 feet from our boat!  It surfaced and was crossing from port to starboard about 200 feet ahead of us, Tor cut the engine so we wouldn’t interfere with it, and then it changed course to come along our port side about 100 ft away.  We don’t know if it was checking us out, or trying to get out of our way, but to be that close to a humpback whale was amazing!  It surfaced a few times and then turned back to its original course and did a deep dive so we saw the flukes.  Of course all the photos I got were taken just at the wrong time, but it was a truly amazing experience.  Later, much further in the distance, but still very visible, we saw two humpbacks breaching.  They both did it several times and it was a spectacular thing to see.  I’ve always wanted to see humpbacks and I got two very cool sightings today.  Thank you Frederick Sound!

Language!  I think Lars started saying “hi” a couple of days ago, and he may even have said it to a stranger in Ketchikan, but I’m sure he was saying “quack” today.  It sounds more like “gak”, but every time I said “quack, quack” when he was holding a toy duck, he said it back.  I also heard him say it when he had the duck in his hand and I hadn’t said it.  How cool is that?

Odin got his beautiful smile back today and we were so happy to welcome it back!  It turns out that I think they were both very tired.  The one nap a day transition and 2 mornings ago waking them up early to transit Wrangell Narrows seem to have taken their toll.  Both boys fell asleep when playing this morning…that has never happened!  I was playing in the after enclosure with them and Lars soon crawled between my legs and fell asleep, I was shocked!  Odin was happily playing and so I was only planning on letting Lars sleep for about 15 minutes, just to take the edge off…but then I couldn’t wake him he was so sweet, so I decided to let him sleep for half an hour.  After half an hour, I picked him up and he didn’t wake up, so I snuggled with him for a few minutes and by that time Odin was showing signs of falling asleep.  So I held Lars while he slept for another hour!  And Odin slept next to me for an hour and a half!  It was like they were infants again and could sleep anywhere.  It was truly a time that I treasured.  Later I put them down for a nap, since I knew they wouldn’t be able to make it until bedtime, and they quickly fell asleep for another hour and a half!  They also fell asleep quickly for bed at the usual time.  One of the sleep books out there says “sleep begets sleep,” and I know it’s true, but this was an amazing sleep day.

A good looking purse seiner out of Petersburg...with a great name!

Sleepy boys!

The only semi-decent picture of a humpback we got

Happy, well rested boys playing in the cockpit.  Odin is chewing on the duck that inspired Lars to say "gak" for "quack"

Odin's smile is back!

Yep, we got a spot alright

Alaska Trip Day 38

6/23/11

Petersburg, AK

Miles Travelled:  20

We woke up at 5:15 this morning in order to get into Wrangell Narrows on the last half of the flood tide.  It was unfortunate to wake the boys since they’ve recently started sleeping through more often than not and we hate to interrupt that good trend, but the tides can’t be controlled.  Odin fell back to sleep no problem, but Lars needed some help and only got about 30 minutes more sleep.  Thankfully he’s been happy today so it hasn’t seemed to impact him too much, but we don’t want to do that too often!

We made it to Petersburg by 9 am and tied up at the dock.  All four of us went for a walk around the cute little town of Petersburg.  Soon enough it was time to get the boys lunch and down for a nap.  While the boys napped, I walked about a mile to the big grocery store.  Fortunately they have a shuttle and I was able to get a ride back to the harbor.  I didn’t want to carry a 10 lb. block of ice or ½ gallon of milk all that way, especially when my legs are more used to sitting on the boat than walking lately.

When the boys woke up from their nap, we took them up to the shower and we all got nice and clean for a grand total of $3.00.  They are generous with the hot water here in Petersburg.  After showers we went and got pizza for dinner…yeah, we probably should have switched the order of those two chores, oh well.  We lucked out at the restaurant because it was totally empty and we had two little boys who were itching to get some wiggles out since they had been in carriers strapped to their parents for most of the day.  They LOVED crawling all around, and when our pizza was ready in about 20 minutes, they were starving and ate very well.

After dinner it was time to get the boys to bed, they were tired puppies.  I left Tor at the boat and came up to do laundry at the Laundromat.  Fun, fun!

We had to pull over to let this tug pass in Wrangell Narrows

It looks like I'm directly transplanted from Seattle, slightly embarrassing I will admit!

Doesn't Odin look like he's got the teenaged "I'm bored, quit taking pictures guys" expression on his face?  uh oh.

Yare in Petersburg Harbor

Check out how tall the blocking is under this boat!

Alaska Trip Day 37

6/22/11

Deception Point Cove, Woewodski Island, AK

Miles travelled:  35

This morning we woke to calm winds in Coffman Cove.  Yesterday we’d had a small craft advisory for winds over 25 kts, and before we tucked into Coffman Cove we saw a bit of that.  It was forecast to be 15 kts this morning and diminishing later in the day.  After breakfast at the dock, I walked into “town” to have a peek at Clarence Strait and all was calm, so we headed out.

It was a fairly uneventful transit, but we did see a humpback whale up close!  It was swimming about 150 feet from our boat and as we passed, we saw it come up to blow and then dive which meant we got to see the flukes!  Super cool!

The boys woke up an hour early this morning and we left them in bed in hopes that they would fall back asleep but they never did, so that hour eventually caught up to us.  I gave them and early lunch so they could get down for their nap early.  It got pretty loud down below with their screaming before lunch and then they were both nearly falling asleep in their booster seats.  They had a good 2 hour nap.

Not long after they woke up from their nap, we were approaching our anchorage near the south entrance of Wrangell Narrows.  Transiting Wrangell Narrows is dependent on the tide because the current can get up to 4-5 knots in the channel, so you have to plan your transit well.  The advice for a boat like ours to go in on the last half of a flood tide so that the currents are favorable the whole way.  When we got near Wrangell Narrows, we were on a flood tide and almost decided to just do the extra 20 miles to Petersburg, but ultimately decided to call it a night since we weren’t sure we could be in Petersburg by bed time for the boys. 

We anchored in a little cove just at the southern entrance to Wrangell Narrows, and I got to fixing dinner (beef stew and bread with rhubarb crisp for dessert (thanks Emo!)).  Boy are we glad we didn’t keep going.  We had two hungry, tired and SCREAMING boys by dinner time.  If we’d kept going, one of us would have had to be piloting the boat in a narrow channel with most of SE Alaska’s commercial traffic barreling down on us and the other would have had to be down below dealing with two very upset boys.

We put the boys to bed a little early and enjoyed a sunny evening in the cockpit and were even visited by porpoises.  We will get up early tomorrow morning to make the correct timing to get through Wrangell Narrows.  We plan to be in Petersburg tomorrow.

Odin on deck while underway

Lars on deck while underway

Odin and I took a walk to the bow.  He chewed on the bulwark and actually chipped paint!  That ended quickly.

Alaska Trip Day 36

6/21/11

Coffman Cove, Prince of Wales Island, AK

Miles Travelled:  30

Wow, I guess crossing my fingers for a good morning worked.  They boys slept all the way through the night until 6:45 this morning!  That means no 5am wake up for breastfeeding!  It was fantastic.  We all felt well rested this morning.

We got underway in the rain soon after we woke up with the destination of Thom’s Place anchorage on Zemovia, because fairly strong SE winds were forecast for the more direct Clarence Strait route.  However, once we got out into Clarence Strait, the winds were light and the swell non-existent, so we decided to change plans and head to Coffman Cove.  The next problem was that we realized at our current speed we would get there during the boys’ nap, so we needed to slow down…so we put up sails and turned the engine off!  We are a sailboat!  It was great to know that we had a relatively short day planned, so it was okay (and in this case desirable because of nap schedules) to only go 3-4 kts.  We sailed for a couple of hours, but then the wind died so we started the engine back up, but at reduced rpms to keep our speed down, oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

I made bread and Odin was pretty clingy.  I don’t know if it was the day, or if he’s starting to have separation anxiety, or what, but it was pretty difficult to do much today, because he needed to be held or sitting in my lap most of the day.  He also showed a definite preference for me.  I hope it was just the day and not the start of a new phase.  The only thing I got done down below was making the bread dough, and that was only with lots of fussing on his part and eventually some time with Papa in the cockpit.  It was a disaster of dirty dishes, toys and clothes down below by the time we pulled into Coffman Cove.

The boys took nice long naps, Lars for about 2 hours, and Odin for2 hours 20 minutes!  Yay, a great night’s sleep and great naps.  Life is so much better when little boys have good sleep!

We tied up at the dock in Coffman Cove at around 2 pm.  We figured we were in civilization so we may as well find a Laundromat and wash diapers.  According to someone in the bar there were laundry facilities at the RV park, so we loaded the boys up in carriers and walked over that way.  It’s a small settlement, but we still had to ask a couple of different times for directions.  Once we finally found it, we realized that at the steep price of $4.25, we didn’t have enough quarters for a load.  So, we walked back to the one store in town to get change.  Then we walked back to the RV park.  Then we had to wait for a washer because the one that was free had a lot of leftover fabric softener in the dispenser that we couldn’ t clean out that would have gone into our load.  Fabric softener will ruin the microfiber absorbent liners for our diapers, so we need to be really careful about avoiding it.  Finally we got the diapers washed, but not dried, and it was 4:45.  We usually dinner eat at 5:00 and the boys get hungry by then, so we hustled back to the boat to get some food prepared, bean and cheese quesadillas to the rescue!  Before we went on our laundry odyssey, I’d left bread dough to rise.  Fortunately it hadn’t taken over the cabin and I was able to pop it right in the oven.

The guide book mentioned that wifi was available at the community library, so I walked up here after the boys went to sleep and am writing from the comfort of the children’s and young adult’s section, even though the library is officially closed.  There is a combination lock on the door, and someone told me what the combination was.  This is a small town!  I’m so grateful!

Odin in the cockpit with Papa so I could finish up making bread dough

Alaska Trip Day 35

6/20/11

Meyers Chuck, AK

Miles travelled:  36

We spent last night at Dad and Lynn’s house, so this morning we finished packing up the car and got a ride back in to town to the boat.  Our farewell to Dad and Lynn wasn’t too sad since we knew we’d be back soon, so we got the engine started and the cold food stowed in the ice box and were off.  We needed to stop by the marina Greg and Nicole were staying in to drop off some things we borrowed from them.  We hope to keep running into that big red boat as we continue our travels north, but they needed to stay in Ketchikan one more day to wait for their mail and we need to keep going if we are  going to make it to Glacier Bay for our permit start date of 7/5.

Yep, we decided we are going to keep going to Glacier Bay.  After all of the rocky moments at the beginning of the trip and the serious questions we had about being able to make it as far as Glacier Bay, all four of us, and Yare, have hit our stride and we are working like a well-oiled machine and are really enjoying ourselves.  The boat doesn’t even seem so small (most of the time).  Operation Family Fun worked, and we are still on track to get as far as we hoped, amazing.  We also made plans to meet up with Mom and Ralph in Sitka and we are so excited to see them!

After stopping to see Greg and Nicole, we headed to the fuel dock while the boys had lunch.  We fueled up and left Ketchikan by 11:30.  I got the boys down for their nap by about 11:45 and they fell asleep without a fuss by noon and then slept until 2pm and woke up as well rested and happy boys!!!!  They happily played by themselves while I worked on dinner (meatloaf, mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli) and Tor motored, and then motor sailed us north towards Meyers Chuck. 

We made good time to Meyers Chuck and were tied up at the (free!) dock by 4:45.  We were able to take a short walk to view the sites…the community is pretty much just houses and cabins connected by a trail around the bay.  It’s a beautiful spot.  Then we came back to the boat and had dinner in the cockpit.  The boys fell asleep quickly and without fuss.  I think the time change adjustment has been made.  Whew!  Now we have to see how they sleep in the morning with the early sunrise…I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a good morning!

Sunset at Meyers Chuck