April 17, 1998

Bill and I just returned home from an exciting adventure. We spent 6 days on a study tour of the inside passage of Southeast Alaska, and what a trip it was. Our weather remained good the whole week, and although we never spotted any bear, we were able to catch glimpses of Dall porpoises, humpback whales, ptarmigan, one sea otter, and many bald eagles.

Our first stop was Juneau, a pleasant, small state capital fighting to keep its existence. It seems that every so often the people of Anchorage try to relocate the capital, but Juneau remains the government seat. Since 80% of its people are government workers, a move would be disasterous. Tourism makes up the rest of the economy, both in Juneau and in most of the other communities we visited via the Alaska Marine Highway.

Since it is too early in the season, our small group of visitors from the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle had none of the problems which come with the tourist season. We visited museums and preserves, native villages and glaciers with plenty of elbow room and attention.

The Mendenhall Glacier outside of Juneau was perhaps one of the highlights of the trip. First viewed from below across a lake, this mighty river of ice looked quite formidible. But a more spectacular view awaited us the next day when 14 of our party decided to fly up in helicopters to the ice fields and land above the glacier! This was by far one of the coolest things I've done. The helicopters were small and very quick. We flew right up against the mountains, over the glacier, and landed on a small patch of safe ice. We tromped around for nearly a half an hour, viewing deep-blue glacial ice up close and feeling totally overwhelmed and awed. It was just too amazing. Close on our heels was a crew of heliboarders and a movie crew ready to go up and begin filming.

We boarded the MV Matanuska and lived on the ferry (in decent staterooms) for the next 4 days, stopping briefly at several ports. In Haines, Alaska we went to an eagle center and then were feted and fed by the local high school. Our stop in Sitka allowed us enough time to see their famous Russian Orthodox church and visit the raptor center. Wrangell, the one stop not ever visited by the big tourist ships, was small but had an espresso bar! 3 of us indulged.

Ketchikan was our last land stop before Bellingham, Washington. We went to the native village of Saxman and were treated to an informative presentation on Tlingits in the stunning longhouse. Here and all during our trip we learned about the various native cultures. My guess is that most people living in the lower 48 are as naive as I was about the people of Alaska and terrifically misinformed.

Sometime in the future I want to expand my trip to include farther north and the interior of the State. Study Tours Maiden Alaska has planned just such a trip for this summer, and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone interested in seeing the real Alaska at a reasonable price and with the emphasis on learning. Bill Holman, retired from the U.S. Forest Service, is a remarkable man: amiable, flexible, and knowledgeable. He and his partner Michelle Bartlett provide their visitors with an experience unrivaled. Try it. I guarantee you'll like it.