Amazing Alaska!!

What an amazing trip this has been! We have learned SO much, seen SO much, experienced SO much! The weather has been so perfect! Alaska has about 288 days of rain each year – we are; afterall, in a temperate rainforest! But, we have not encountered any wet weather the entire trip! (Except for the “Alaskan snow” that Steve made last night at the dinner table!)

So far, we have visited Glacier Bay, Juneau (the capital of Alaska), Sitka, and Ketchikan. Each stop along the Southeastern shore of Alaska has each own fascinating history, charm and character.

Glacier Bay is a huge waterway. Two hundred years ago, Captain George Vancouver observed this area to be a large open bay, blocked at its Northern end by a giant wall of ice. Since then, the ice in Glacier Bay has slowly receded, uncovering a new waterway 65 miles long containing many fjords and inlets. While observing the Glacier Bay area, we witnessed the “calving” of this massive glacier and we saw some wildlife as well!

In the late 19th century, A Tlingit Chief (native American chief) led two prospectors to a creek that emptied into the Gastineau Channel. After just a few hours, Richard Harris and Joe Juneau found gold! That discovery changed the course of history! On October 4, 1880, Harris and Juneau laid claim to the area. They named the area Gold Creek. The discovery was one of the largest finds in the Klondike Gold Rush.

Juneau is nestled between Mount Juneau (3,576 ft.) and Mount Roberts (3,819 ft). These mountains give the town not only beautiful scenery, but also a natural protection against the cold winds and permafrost experienced in other areas of Alaska.

While in Juneau, Joe and I visited the Mendenhall Glacier. Mendenhall Glacier is part of the Juneau Icefield. Juneau Icefield is home to over 40 glaciers. Mendenhall Glacier is 13 miles from downtown Juneau. The Glacier is 12 miles long, 1.5 miles wide and more than 100 feet tall.


Another great adventure in Juneau was a whale watching tour. We were blessed to see over 24 whales! We got to see mother and baby whales! We saw many whales breaching, and we saw whales bubble netting. Besides seeing whales, we also saw steller seals and even an eagle! The eagle flew right over the top of the boat. It was SO close, I could even see the eagle’s eye! The tour group was invited to attend a salmon bake at Orca Point Lodge. We were served fresh salmon and all the fixins!

Another post will by up shortly!!! Can't wait to see all my Alabama friends and family!!

Alaska!!!

Greetings from Alaska!

Greetings from Alaska!  Alaska means “the great land” and boy is it ever great!

This great land is a vast, rugged, and stunningly beautiful chunk of county!

Alaska is HUGE!  It is nearly 586,000 square miles.  Alaska contains more coastline, more lakes, more streams and rivers, more National Parks, more wildlife refuge, more natural resources, more forests, more glaciers, and more wildlife that any state in the Union!  Even with all is vast landscape, its population is the smallest in America.  There are only about 650,000 people who call Alaska home.  Alaska is not a very easy place to live- long, dark, cold winters, a high cost of living, and isolation make living in Alaska a challenge!

There are six distinct areas in Alaska.  Each share common ethnic and cultural heritage, common geographic features, and common histories.  The six areas are:  the Arctic, the Western Peninsula, the Interior, the South Central, the Aleutian Islands and Southeast Alaska.

The area I am traveling in and exploring is Southeastern Alaska.  This area is also known and the “panhandle”.  It is an odd looking appendage that hangs down along the coastline south of the main body of Alaska.  This area is bordered by the Gulf of Alaska to the west and British Columbia to the east.    The Tongass National Forest is located in this area of Alaska.   This is the largest national forest in the country.  It is over 17 million acres and takes up most of Southeast Alaska. 

This amazing area is one of the most geologically active places on Earth! There are more earthquakes, more volcanoes, more glaciers, and more mountains than anyplace in North America.  We will talk about how this all came to be during our study of the “Sphere of Earth” and plate tectonics in both 5^th and 6^th grades this year! 

Alaska’s location on the globe means long daylight hours in the summertime.  Lots of daylight spurs lots of vegetation growth in the summer on land.  It also encourages lots of algae (plankton) production in the water.  This makes this area an awesome habitat for many forms of wildlife!  We will learn much about habitats when we study ecosystems and food chains during the school year. 

Joe and I are on a cruise ship named the “ms Oosterdam”.  It is part of the Holland America fleet. This ship is our “taxi” through the Tongass National Forest.   The ship is 736 feet long and 105 feet wide.  It holds nearly 2,000 guests.  The ship is like a small city on water.  There are guest rooms, restaurants, shops, movie theaters, auditoriums, swimming pools and even a basketball court on board!

Boy, are we having a great time!  The food is amazing and abundant!   The entertainment is exciting! The classes and lectures by Steve Spangler and our naturalist, John Scheerens are very interesting.  The photo options are un-ending.  Everywhere we look is picture perfect!