Little damp and foggy!

May 12^th, Sunday Pretty socked in and damp this morning, started the day with some of those breakfast bars and hot chocolate! Located the cemetery on Jones Point [my memories of it were minimal] and looked for our brother Richard.  We know he is there, but no marker.  The lady who has the plot map is out of town so we’ll get in touch later and see if we could send a marker for it.

Went by to visit with Mary Manuel and see if she would let us visit her cabin out on Mud Bay Road.  She was ill and did not want us catching her bug.  Said go ahead and check it out, no one renting it right now.

Jan had told us one could drive on into the cannery property, as they have a store.  So off we went with mental list of what we needed to see and get pictures of.  Rain had quit for a while but ground was very soggy in places.

 

Got cabin pictures, pictures of where Driftwood Shack had been, and then checked out Haines Packing Co.

 

 

Ran into the son & co-owner who told us no, they were not open yet but explained how they are reviving the cannery.  Great to hear!

 

 

On the way back to town, we stopped at Nye’s corner and beach-combed a little.

Linda and Ruth also got some birch bark.  Jan spotted us there [as she told her Mom, “on the beach of course!”] and chatted for a few minutes.  We are meeting her and Nellie at the bead shop and then somewhere for lunch.

 

Turned out to be the Lighthouse Restaurant again, no problems with that!  Great lunch and company, and got a Mother’s Day discount on the bill as well.  Who knew?

Nancy and I went to the library to try to update our blog while Linda and Ruth followed Jan & Nellie to some greenhouses to get cucumbers.  Turned out the greenhouses were definitely growing vegetables, not just plants, and the owners very interesting.  They ran into other folks we knew!

When they got back we went to the Moose Horn Laundry to get a few loads done, followed by exploring more roads. Drove up where Busby’s used to live, checked Henderson’s and he was not home.

Did a drive by of the greenhouses, which are up on FAA road, behind the post.  Lots of houses out there.  Kept experimenting with different roads just to see where they went as most were definitely newer than us.  Found ourselves on Mt Riley with an excellent view of both sides of the peninsula, Haines, Port Chilkoot, and the airport.

Plus a very large chunk of mica and moose droppings! Many pictures and then down the hill to the Halsingland as it was close to dinner time. Oh yes, we’d asked the day before and there was no dress code, so jeans would be okay!

We shared a bottle of wine, a starter [duck confit salad], a bread [flatbread with mushrooms and three cheese fondue] followed by grilled halibut with something very tasty! Ruth had the prawn dish.  It was a truly delicious dinner, every bite.  We toasted   and thanked our Mom.

Had a message from Tommy Bieleski to call him in the morning, he’d meet us for breakfast or coffee.

 

May 11^th, Saturday  Bit slow getting moving this morning!  Somewhere we wanted to go was not open yet so suggested breakfast at the Chilkat Bakery.  Good choice because who walked in but Gene “Butch” Strong!  Really nice visit, including memories of playing on the homestead ever so long ago.

Then back to Alaska Rod’s to pick up some prints we’d had matted, and of course made a few more purchases! Really nice folks, carry a lot of consignment artwork.

Had been leaving messages around town for folks we’d heard were there and not connecting with.  Stopped in Bell’s Store and visited with Doris Lapham Bell.  Decided it was too iffy to purchase seafood and try to transport home.  Too expensive to have it shipped.  Also, we were in town too early for the regular season on crab, halibut etc!  Darn, we’ll just have to keep eating it.

Stopped by to see Cecilia David, Jeff’s mom, and so glad we did.  Caught up on family happenings and old times.

Quite damp at times today and very glad we got our flight to Glacier Point in earlier!

 

 

Did a more thorough ‘drive through’ at Port Chilkoot, pointing out places such as Soap Suds Alley where our folks first lived in Alaska.  Also where Gellotte’s Quonset hut was

located; it is long gone but there is another of the same structure not far away.

 

Dropped in at the Halsingland Hotel to take a look and make a reservation for their Sunday Mother’s Day dinner we had seen advertised.  We were given a short tour, and had a nice chat with the current owner, Jeff Butcher.  Many of the amenities that were in place when we knew it are long gone, including the artwork by Josephine Crumrine Liddell.  However, they’ve done an excellent job on restoration, which is apparently ongoing as they work through the buildings.

Lunch was at Mountain Market, and dinner at the Lighthouse Restaurant in the Harbor Bar.  Seafood at the latter, followed by a few games of pool and then back to our cabin.

 

 

 

 

May 10^th, Friday;  Today we’ll start our visits and connecting with old friends.  We have to be at the Museum for a presentation [Questions and answers] by 7:00 PM but other than that can wander at will.

We started the day by driving on up Lutak Road to the bridge over the Chilkoot River, taking pictures and watching the hooligan swimming.

 

On up to Chilkoot Lake with more pictures of course.  There was still a large section of ice on the lake, but also some fishermen who had had a good morning hooking Dolly Varden.

 

Back into Haines, and out to the House of Beads, Jan Clayton Hill’s shop.  She and Nellie Clayton Pettit were both there and we hugged and chattered for some time.  Nellie lives in Eagle River but is in Haines to visit and also participate in an archaelogical dig. They said they would come heckle us at the museum later.

Lunched at Mountain Market, where we encountered a very tall man at the entrance. Might he be the ex-basketball player?  Yes!  Mark McNamara in the flesh and he sat down to visit with us.  He is anxious to get book #2, said he so enjoyed the first one and has shared it with many.

Wandered through several shops, including the SeaWolf Gallery where talked with Tresham Gregg, and then Alaska Rod’s meeting Rhonda.  Great local art and other items in all the shops, particularly these two and we brought some home!

With all the visiting, and finding friends in common, it was soon time to show up at the Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center.

We were anticipating perhaps an hour of chatting.  Kris Reeves cautioned me that folks would be wanting to hear some good stories and I told her that the right questions would probably bring them out!  Short introduction, as folks kept coming in and the museum folk brought out more chairs, and we were ‘on the spot’.  Two and a half hours of questions, stories and laughter and we were done.  Wow!  About 50 people in attendance.

Jan and Nellie were there plus our camp hosts the Gages, Carol Waldo, George Edwards, Betty Lou Roth Wilde and Mary Manuel.  We had approached this with some trepidation and afterward realized we’d had a great time!

Of course, we’d not had dinner yet, and ‘asked Jan’ what is still open?  [Ask Jan was another common refrain as she has her finger on the pulse of the town, living there her entire life and being involved in many community events.] The Fogcutter, but it only has bar food.  Okay, does not matter, we are hungry.  This establishment was not there when we were kids, so no associated memories of any kind.

Noisy, moderately busy.  Come back from the bathroom and Jan says here is someone you know.  Jeff David, Jr.  Hugs all around, he was like our brother, especially as his

grandfather Jack David had adopted us into the Tlingit tribe long long ago.  That is why we are Ravens, following our Mom’s moiety.  Our parents were unaware of the adoption until we were introduced to extended family as his grandchildren.

The food was good, and the company and visiting excellent.  Pretty late getting in that night!

 

Yes! There are the two trees that the steps came down from, same curved root in evidence!

There is an old yurt ‘parked’ in the middle of the path at the top but the building site itself has changed very little.  Big old spruce trees, moss covered ground, some of the old path from our days is still visible along the edge where the brush has not gotten a foot hold due to lack of light.

 

 

 

[Our folks were always going to build out there, thus the name, but only got as far as a large root cellar, and that is still visible due to a large depression in the soil.  Also the area where the clothes line hung for many years.]

 

 

 

 

Turning toward the mountain, what used to be a clearing is filled with brush; alder, cottonwood and…devil’s club along the sides.

We sighted on an old dead cottonwood and a very large spruce tree because they looked right, even after all those years.  Happily, the leaves were not out yet on the devil’s club because we had to navigate through some that was up to ten foot tall.  It does not stand straight of course, is springy and stickery and will grab you.

When we got to the large spruce tree, and turned around, one could see the footprint of the old log barn in exactly the right location.  Moss covered depression, but there.  The cabin was further out in the devil’s club and although we could determine the logical position, we really could see no evidence.

This section of the homestead now belongs to some folks in Juneau. We understand that Zach Stenson’s mother is part owner but other than that we’ve no information.  [Since then, we’ve made contact with the owners!]

Finally we decided we really must get back out to the beach, have another drink of water and then head back north.  It seems likely that our old tractor is probably still back there in the brush, because no one would have moved it.  Trying to find it could have taken hours so we opted not to.  It was some distance from the cabin, and even back then there was brush between the cabin and that garden area.  We did not explore south of the creek either, not wanting to get wet in crossing!

We made few stops on the return trip, just enough to catch our breath [okay, mine] and were back to the airstrip with time to spare. We were all down to T-shirts by this time, an absolutely beautiful day.  Nancy and I sat on an old log while Linda and Ruth went off to see if they could get to Davidson Glacier.  They planned to watch their time and turn back before they had gone too far.  We rested a bit and then checked the high tide ponds; nothing too interesting but you have to look!  Turned my cell phone on for the time and Holy Cow, have bars!  We had all looked when down on the homestead, no signal there at all which was what we expected.  Called the other girls, who were totally surprised to have the phone ring, and found they were visiting with the folks who do tours of the Glacier.  Couple of young folk, getting everything ready for the season and the rest of the crew.  They were excited, they have our book!

Not having enough time for the trek to the glacier, the girls came back and not long after we heard a small plane.  Drake was back for us, and on the return trip we got to see sea lions near Pyramid Island, plus a great view of Pyramid Harbor, where Schnabel’s Mill was on Jones Point and other landmarks. The tight turns were a little un-nerving but we loved the experience!

Tired because we’d been out and about for hours of hiking we opted for dinner at the Chilkat Bakery & Restaurant.  The owner would not let us all order the same item, but insisted we each choose a different thing and share.  Hey, we can do that, we often do!

Back to our cabin on Lutak Road and soon into bed.

May 9^th, Thursday; We were up, had hot tea and fruit bars and were ready early for our flight.  We had time to drive on up the road and do a ‘drive through’ at Klukwan and still be early to the airport!  Not one interesting wildlife spotting, but familiar mountains.  Ten Mile is no longer there, buildings and all completely gone, but there is a strange (small) complex we later found out to be a hydroelectric site.  We saw the big pipe coming down the mountainside and at the time it made no sense! Where could they be pumping water to or from?

At the airport, and we are thinking, “Seriously? That little plane?” Yes, THAT one!

Drake looked at us and said “Uhhhh, okay.”  He DID know he was getting four passengers to Glacier Point, but the reality was us standing there.  Then he asked if we had bear spray.  “What?”  “No one goes down there without some kind of defense.” “Okay, but we really did not worry about it.  We lived there for many years and ran through the woods all the time.”  “But you had adults with rifles with you.”  “They did have rifles, but they were busy and not out playing with us. We’ll just be noisy like we always were!”

He was very concerned for our safety, and then concerned on how he was getting us in the plane.  Two of us are big girls, the other two more his size!  With many comments on ‘Don’t touch that!’ ‘Don’t lean back’ etc, and the use of an invisible shoe horn, Drake got us into the plane.  With one more comment about ‘I’m not charging you enough’, we were ready to take off.

Once in the air, he began asking us questions about our life on Glacier Point

and by the time we landed he was into the experience and understanding our goal.  He gave us a good sighting of Davidson Glacier as well.

 

Note that as we lined up with the airstrip I realized it was NOT as smooth or even as straight as it appeared on Google Earth.  Oh boy.

 

Once on the ground and unloaded, we asked if he could take a picture of us with his plane to show we really were on Glacier Point after a 53 year absence.  He took several, shared his down jacket with Linda who was shivering, and then left with a promise to be back around 5 PM.

We are really standing on Glacier Point.  What a GREAT DAY!

We hiked south, constantly trying to visualize where things were as compared to what is there now.  BRUSH, lots of brush.  Spruce trees of course have grown a lot in 50 plus years.  Alder and Cottonwood are very prolific and with no activity until fairly recently to keep them in check, they abound.  At times we walked the beach, for the view, the sun, the rocks, the seaweed and sometimes we followed the ATV trail.  There were a couple places we did not know the story of, and then Mark McNamara’s out in front of where the Teston homestead had been.  Across the old riverbed, a boat hulk near where our folks sometimes harbored their boats.  We didn’t know the boat! [If one could fight through the brush toward the mountain and not get disoriented, one might find the remnants of the Laughlin/Roth cabins back in the spruce.  We didn’t attempt it.]

 

On a bit further [no evidence of where our airstrip used to be, although the ATV trail is probably on that bench] is the cabin of Caroline Van Demert & Pat Ferrell.  They own the northern most part of our old homestead.

Availed ourselves of their outhouse, being careful to close it back up the way we found it.  Also there was a can of ‘bear spray’ hanging on their front door which we borrowed for the remainder of our trek as we knew we would be going back into the woods further on.

The brush is clear out to the beach, with none of the grasslands that used to be there when we were in residence.

Finally, Stelting Creek!  Cheers and hollers and high fives…and a log to sit on!

Across the creek we could see the cabin belonging to Annette & Ken Kreitzer who own the southern most part of the old homestead.  This is the piece that was originally sold to Berg around 1960.  Later the Edwards family lived there for some while.

Time for lunch and more importantly a drink of water!  Out with our collapsible cups and “Oh my, it tastes just as good as it did when we were kids.”   Some lunch [Little Smokies, cheese sticks and fruit/nut bars] and we are recharged.

Linda and I were pretty sure the tall old growth spruce we could see towering over the brush and smaller trees had to be our old building site.  We found a spot to access the ‘trail’ from the beach and followed it up around the curve.

 

Called the pilot [Drake Olsen @ Fly Drake] I’d been emailing with to check on our schedule for Saturday or Monday flight.  Asked if he had anything earlier as weather forecast was not great for the coming weekend.  He said actually earlier would be better for him also, but had to finalize some other arrangements first, call him back after 8 PM.

We drove into Haines, oohing and aahing as we saw remembered places, and missed

Driving in to Haines

ones that have changed or gone for good.  Lunched at the Bamboo Room at the Pioneer Bar because we could!  It was a major hang out of our parents and their friends ‘back in the day’.  We were never allowed to go there, of course, so had to make up for it!  A fine halibut fish and chips lunch, followed by a game of pool, and then we were on the road.

Over to the Post [Port Chilkoot] and up to the top to take Mud Bay Road.  Huh, not only are there more roads, but the intersection with Small Tract Road has been ‘reworked’ and we missed the turn to go down Cemetery Hill.  Quick recovery and we’re off.  Tagg’s corner identified, and that place must be Heberts, but where the Shack was … wow, there are houses between the road and the mud flats.

 

 

What the heck?  Parked just below where Aukerman’s place was and went down on the beach for a walk around.  The growth of trees and brush, the addition of houses and roads, made it difficult but gradually we were able to place things but only because the hills & mountains do not change.

 

There is now a road where our Shack stood.  Chilkat Trail.  Pyramid Island was a familiar sight, just more trees than it used to have.

 

 

On out past Nye’s where the Small Tract Rd joins Mud Bay and over the next hump.  Hmmm, there is where the Driftwood Shack was and now a house stands on that extra curve of road.  Mary’s cabin to the left and Linda knew that the visible building was  a newer structure.  Nothing down the hill where Abbot’s was, but a small lane and houses on the bay side.

Cannery Cove [Letnikhof Cove, Haines Packing Co.]

We went on and parked by the road closer to the cannery [Letnikof Cove] and took pictures, walked on the beach etc.  The old cannery, the view toward Alexander Island and Glacier Point were so familiar, and yet Davidson Glacier is not visible at all.

 

 

 

 

 

Continuing on, we found the road down to Portage Cove [aka Madsen’s Cove]

and took pictures of Rainbow Glacier and what used to be Uncle Martin’s place.  Road was blocked by cars and we could not tell if Rainbow Glacier Camp was still there or not but someone later told us it is.

 

Used to always be at least one boat moored in the harbor, but evidently that is also ‘history’.

Rather amazing all the houses that have been built up, many with good views but not on very stable appearing ground.

On to Mud Bay and again…where did they all come from?  We knew where Chief McCrae’s place was [it has been gone a long time], and Josephine Crumrine’s small cabin.  Guessed [correctly] at Jan Hill’s place, but the others were a mystery!

Back to Haines, constantly mind-boggled by the changes.  Decided to pick up something to take back to the cabin for dinner so stopped at Howser’s IGA and armed with soup and sandwich ingredients we headed ‘home’.  We also selected several nut and fruit bars for our proposed trip to Glacier Point, whatever day it might happen.

Gage’s had provided us with Campin’ Boxes for our stay.  There are three different ones and we tried all three; Kitchen Box, Linen Box and Outdoor Box.  Although we did not use or need all the items, they are a great addition for anyone who had not planned to ‘camp’ or flew in and did not have room for sleeping bags and pillows, cooking utensils, camp chairs etc.

While the water heated for our soup, I called Drake and he said Thursday was best, could we be at the airport by 9:30?  YES!

Note that we had cell phone reception off and on during our stay, and at the cabin might have to stand outside!  Never did connect with the WiFi out there, not sure why.

 

May 8^th, Wednesday; Another beautiful dawn and we were ready for the shuttle.  There at the ferry dock was the Malaspina.  We still lived in Haines when the Malaspina made its maiden voyage as the first big ferry for the Alaska Marine Highway System.  This is the 50 year anniversary of of the AMHS. Previous to that there had been the Chilkat and Chilkoot, you can read a bit about them in Book #3!

We were relieved to find there are carts for the baggage, and we didn’t have to trundle our big bags around all day, as this is a 4 ½ hour trip.

We enjoyed a good breakfast and then settled in seats at the very front of the passenger deck, with huge viewing windows.

 

Of course, I had left the maps I’d carefully printed in my bag which was somewhere ‘down below’ so we had to guess at our location for a while!  There was a fourth grade field trip aboard, headed to Skagway in the culmination of their study of mining in SE Alaska, and we soon were chatting a bit with their chaperones and some other folk headed north.

Before long we were past Berner’s Bay and could see something white in the channel ahead of us.  YES! It is Eldred Rock!

Amazing how far away one can see the building when the sun is shining!   We adjourned to the foredeck and began identifying familiar objects; Sullivan Island, Eldred Rock, the islands between there and Seduction Point, and of course peaks at Glacier Point.

 

One used to be able to see Davidson Glacier all through that stretch but it has receded so far that you have to be almost due East before it is visible.

 

 

Again with the ‘can’t believe we are REALLY here’ refrain!

 

As we had always traveled up the west side of the peninsula on our trips to town, the east side was unfamiliar except for Mud Bay, and there the number of visible houses were a surprise.

 

 

 

 

It was somewhere near the Katzehin delta that we saw the whales, for the second time! [For a great story about this mud flats, Book #3.]

Soon we could see Haines and Port Chilkoot,

and steamed on past to the ferry dock [old government dock to us] in Lutak Inlet.

 

Tracy Gage, our campground host, met and transported us to Salmon Run where we unloaded at the Bear Den, our assigned cabin.  A bit of visiting, signing in, and we were off!  Gage’s loaned us one of their vehicles for the duration and this was great.

 

 

To preface a bit:  our Mom had decided she would like to make a trip with us to Alaska where we ‘grew up’ and our homestead adventures happened.  However, her health declined steadily after her hip surgery and it was not to be.  When she left us in December, we decided that in her memory we would make the trip.  Thank you Mom for pushing us! Thanks to our husbands for saying ‘You better do it now before you can’t’.
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May 7^th, Tuesday [2013];   Had to get up WAY too early to catch the Alaska Air flight out of Medford to Seattle.  Linda and I would have a couple hours there before Nancy and Ruth flew in from Boise, so we opted for breakfast.  Soon we were all four boarding the plane to Juneau, Alaska and saying ‘we can’t believe we are doing this’, which turned out to be a common refrain the entire trip.

Although we were all tired there was not much snoozing on the flight to Juneau, where we landed in sunshine!  A shuttle soon deposited us at the Super 8 Motel and we made a brief visit to our room to leave bags and then figure out transport to downtown.  We could call for a taxi or catch a bus ‘over behind PetCo’.  With the whole afternoon at our disposal, we had opted to at the very least wander downtown, and if it was running take the tram up Mt. Roberts. You can’t fly in and catch the ferry north without staying overnight.

Caught the bus, $2 for the trip in to town, exact change required.  Oh heck! But we managed! It is about 8 miles south, and the driver pointed out the Tramway a few blocks further from the drop.  There we found that yes it was definitely running but with a lot of snow still at the top not all venues were open.  Throughout our trip, we found many places that had just opened May 1^st or were opening the 15^th.  There was no waiting, so off we went.  Now, some of us understand that others in the family were surprised we would take this ride.  It is not like climbing down a hill with nothing solid to hang on to and the gravel rolling under your feet.

Great ride, great view.  We wandered through Raven Eagle Gift Shop and watched the presentation and movie in the Chilkat Theater.  It was very interesting, and we found out the presenter is married to an old classmate from Haines!  Then early dinner at the Timberline Bar & Grill.  Crab!  We were on a mission to have as much seafood as possible this trip.

After the ride back down, we wandered through several Juneau shops on our way back to the bus terminal.  We had already decided to make most of our purchases in Haines, and as many from Alaskan artists as possible.  Everyone we encountered was excited about the great weather!  Another walker overheard us discussing how to get the correct bus and said ‘follow me’.  We did, and he got us on the right one back to where we’d started.  He knew some of our old acquaintances in Haines as did a couple other folk we ran into.  We were wearing our ‘Children of Glacier Point” shirts, so folks DID notice we were a ‘group’ and kept asking what we were doing!

We picked up some snack items and drinks at a convenience store near the motel and retired to our room with a request for a 5:30 AM shuttle out to the ferry dock which is at Auk Bay, and about 6 miles north.

to update everyone.  Events are in order and our rambled written up.  Now to insert pictures at the appropriate spots.  If you are following us, we also want to announce the official release of Children of Glacier Point, Book #2.  You can find out more at http://www.brainstormspublishing.com