THE ALASKAN ADVENTURE Day 73 July 27, 2009 Juneau, AK Panning for Gold

Well, we are back. Today was the day we were going to make our fortune. Although I don’t know what we would do with a fortune as we are pretty fortunate just to be here.

However, that didn’t stop us from trying. So we headed down to Mt Roberts Tram where we were picked up by the small tour bus and our driver and guide. This authentic prospector and guide is from Idaho for the summer earning money for school. He had to grow his beard to get the job and he can hardly wait until summer is over just so he can shave.

The drive up to the mine included a narrative about the early mining days in Juneau. In 1880 a local inhabitant, Chief Kowee, revealed to prospectors Joe Juneau and Richard Harris the presence of gold in what is now named Gold Creek in Silver Bow Basin. The city of Juneau was founded there that year.

The strike sparked the Juneau gold rush which resulted in the development of many placer and lode mines including the largest gold mines in the world at that time. The Treadwell complex of lode mines on Douglas Island and the AJ lode mine, in Juneau itself. The Treadwell mine was built down and most of it was underwater. It flooded and all operations ceased in 1922. As the Treadwell mines declined and closed, the AJ mine rose in prominence. After years of losses and labor problems, the mine became profitable in the mid 1920's. It employed 600 workers and was setting production records. Through the decade, it was the main economic engine of Juneau.

In the 1930's, with 1000 workers, it was an important factor in softening the impact upon Juneau of the Great Depression.

Economic pressures of WWll lead to the closure of the AJ in 1944, all the miners were drafted. This was the end of the dominance of mining in the Juneau economy.

We arrived at Gold Rush Creek and were given a lesson on how to pan for gold. We were given pans that already had dirt in them and "a panning we did go". Everyone found gold in the first pan. Those of us who then dug for another pan had little or no success. Hmmmmm just maybe those first pans were doctored just a little. Yah Think.

There were prospectors, families and other residents who came up to the creek and panned for gold on a regular basis. I talked to a fellow who came up there all the time. His name was Prospector Pete and he was 71 years old. He was using a Canadian gold pan and was able to push through alot of dirt. He did okay.

We had a lot of fun and I enjoyed the time. It was a good thing we did have fun as our total return from both of us came to a whopping total of about $ 0.40. Yes, forty cents and a deed to a portion ( 1 Square inch ) of the gold mine. We will have it framed the minute we get back to Dallas.

Once we had finished panning we headed back down the mountain to the Tram Parking Lot. We walked around town for awhile and headed home for any early dinner and then called it a night.

No fortune, just good memories.

THE ALASKAN ADVENTURE Day 72 July 26, 2009 Juneau, AK Glacial Gardens

We planned to get an early start today and we actually got away at the crack of noon. Gotta learn to stay off the computer in the morning.

Our first stop was the Glacier Gardens. It is a combination botanical gardens and natural temperate rain forest all in one. The owners of the business restored land that was damaged in a mud slide to carve out a botanical gardens and combined it with a tour through a part of the Tongass National Forest. The forest is untouched except for a road and a viewing platform. They take you through the forest on golf carts with a local guide doing a narration.

Shots taken from the viewing platform at the top of Thunder Mountain.

The Glacier Gardens claim to fame is the Tree Towers. This is where they stick a tree into the soft wet ground upside down with the roots exposed. They only use trees that have died and fallen. They then cover the roots with a fish net, a layer of moss, a layer of dirt and then flowers are planted. It really is quite unique.

Most of South East Alaska is in a temperate rain forest as they get an average annual rainfall of 100 inches and have had up to 200 inches of rain in one year. Juneau is in the Tongass National Forest and at 17 million acres is the largest national forest in the US.

The forest is home to about 75,000 people who are dependent on the land for their livelihoods. Several Alaska Native tribes live throughout Southeast Alaska, such as the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. 31 communities are located within the forest; the largest is Juneau, the state capital, with a population of 31,000. The forest is named for the Tongass group of the Tlingit people, who inhabited the southernmost areas of the Alaska panhandle near what is now Ketchikan.

After leaving Glacier Gardens we headed to the Ferry Dock to make sure our tickets were in order for the next portion of our trip. It was on the way to the end of the road which is where we heading next. Why, because it was there.

It was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon when we did not have much energy. We stopped and took some pictures and just let the afternoon slip away.

We did reach a milestone during our afternoon drive. The odometer for the trip hit 10,000 miles. Our final number, based on the planned itinery should be around 16,000 miles by the time we get back to Dallas.

We also discovered one of Alaska’s favorite hobbies. These people are very sneaky and not seen very often. I think it might be an after the bar closes hobby. The hobby is:

IF IT’S A SIGN - SHOOT IT

This one is the best.

This hobby is not just enjoyed here but all through Alaska. The majority of road signs have bullet holes in them. Some with just a single bullet hole and some you have a hard time reading because it has been so shot up. Not quite sure where the enjoyment comes from.

We finished the drive and headed back to the camper for a late supper and called it a night.

Tomorrow we are going to pan for gold. If this is the last blog it will because we found gold and struck it rich.

THE ALASKAN ADVENTURE Day 71 July 25, 2009 Juneau, AK Mt. Roberts Tram

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood. We arose to the sun shining, the birds singing, the glacier cracking and we had to do chores. The laundry needed doing and a few other things so we got to them as quickly as we could, had breakfast and headed downtown.

We wanted to take advantage of the sunshine and take the Tram up Mt. Roberts.

We spent a little time at the top hiking the loop trail, watching a film on the Tlinkit Native People, had a bite to eat and took some fabulous shots of Juneau and surrounding water.

Curved Trees: Made as snow sliding down the mountain bends saplings

Shot of Kathy's goats. You can't see them but they are there.

Tlinkit totem carvings into tree

One goal of Kathy’s was accomplished during our hike on the mountain. We saw mountain goats all though it was hard to tell as they were quite a distance away. After seeing everything we wanted to on the top of the mountain we got back on the tram and headed down.

We took a drive back to the Sheep Creek Hatchery so see if anything had changed as the tide was in. However when we got there it looked the same as yesterday with the fish struggling to get up stream. The tide must not have an effect as far inland as we were. I had never see a tide come in and learned that it came in on waves and these waves are called tide lines. You could actually see these lines from quite a distance.

We left Sheep Creek and headed over to Douglas Island which you can get to by crossing a short bridge. We went over simply to have a look around and to drive to the end of the road. Douglas Island is part of Juneau and approximately 10% of Juneau’s 31,000 residents live there.

While on the island we were able to get a nice shot of Mendenhall Glacier and a real nice picture of the sunset.

Upon leaving the island we headed back up to the glacier to see if we could catch any of the late night calving. Again no luck, it was pretty quiet when we were there. We watched for awhile, kind of like watching paint dry, and then walked over to see if any bears were out. Kathy spotted one and we watched it for awhile before heading home and calling it a night.

THE ALASKAN ADVENTURE Day 70 July 24, 2009 Juneau, AK Mendenhall Glacier

We awoke Friday morning to what sounded like someone firing a gun very close to us. Upon further study we realized it was the ice moving and cracking on the glacier which is only 4 miles down the road from where we are staying. It is unbelievable how loud it is.

We decided to quickly pack up and head up the glacier to see not only the glacier but the black bears that inhabit the area. They are hanging around Steep Creek as the salmon have started the run and there are spawning pools right near the glacier.

The only problem with early in the morning is the tour bus brigade and there were only two ships in town. We watched for bears for awhile and Kathy actually got a picture of one.

In talking with a couple of tour guides who were up there on their day off ( go figure ) they told us to come back later in the day and the crowds would have thinned considerably. Upon hearing that we decided to go for breakfast and tour the downtown area.

We had a nice breakfast at Donna’s ( where the locals eat ) and headed downtown but didn’t stop. We kept going until we came to the end of the road which is about 10 miles south of town. It was a nice drive and we stopped at the Sheep Creek Hatchery and watched the salmon coming in. There were thousands of them fighting to get up one stream. We were surprised that there were no bears as it would be easy pickings.

We came back into town and did a little shopping and had a look at Juneau but didn’t do much else. We looked into taking the tram that goes up Mt. Roberts but it was so overcast you couldn’t see anywhere close to the top. It might be nicer tomorrow and if so we will head back here.

It was while we were trying to leave downtown that we finally found a bear that Kathy could outrun.

After losing the bear we headed back up to Mendenhall Glacier but not before stopping at Starbuck’s. Kathy is becoming addicted. Oh,all right, so am I. Upon arriving we sat and watched the glacier for awhile hoping to see it calf. No luck, but we did get a bunch of pictures. When we had enough pictures we headed inside the information centre to have a look around. There was a short film on the glacier so we sat and watched it before we left.

By now the crowds had thinned quite a bit so we headed back over to the walking area to see if the bears were around and if we could close enough to take a few pictures. A mother bear and her two cubs were in the area sleeping. The cubs had been sent up a tree and the mother was sleeping on the ground. Shortly after we arrived they awoke and went back to feeding. We watched for quite awhile and took a lot of pictures.

After while the bears moved on and so did we. We headed back to the camper for an early supper of BBQ’d Salmon. It was pretty good, even if I say so myself. As we were eating supper the glacier starting shaking and baking again and we could here it quite clearly. It seems to be the most active very early in the morning and early evening. We talked about and decided to make a late evening trip before we leave Juneau.

It was a good day.