Panning the Old Way

Pay dirt...that gold stuff at the top of the pan is what any miner wanted to see.  The small amount here is easily $60 worth at today's prices.

Gold panning amounted to putting about a hand-full of gravel/earth into the pan and then loading the pan with some water and swishing the water/gravel mix around while discharging light material out of the lower edge of the tilted pan until the only remaining material was the most dense material remaining in the pan...gold.

There's a lot more to panning than this brief description above but we all had the opportunty to practice the skill with a bag of dirt which we got at Gold Dredge #8 after a brief panning tutorial.  

Between Mary and me, we got about $18 worth from our 2 bags.  Everyone got something to show for his work and someone from the dredge admitted to me that "some salting" had taken place to keep the guests happy at their last chance opportunity to pay back the cost of the cruise.  Nobody actually broke even!

Gold Dredge #8

The very last stop of the land cruise was at Gold Dredge #8 which was designed and built by the Bethlehem Steel Shipbuilding Division in Pennsylvania.  This dredge is called a "bucket line" or "ladder dredge".  The dredge is built upon a barge platform and floats along and employs a vertical post anchoring system to hold it in place to enable the buckets to dig into the earth in front of the dredge up to a depth in the ground of 28 feet.  

The dredge has a total of 68 buckets of 6 cubic feet capacity each.   The machine was powered by a 150 horsepower electric motor.  Since it moved slowly it basically used a humongous extension cord to deliver electric power to the barge which was moved and extended as the dredge advanced.

The "monster gold pan" in front of the dredge is strictly an ornament to show the primitive device used initially for gold panning.

The basic concept of the dredge employed the removal of earth and its transfer to an elaborate weir system which employed running water to separate gold from the rest of the material on the basis of differences in specific gravity.   Other tricks such as the use of mercury to combine with the gold particles to form an amalgam was also a part of the dredge design intending to leave no gold particle left behind...to the extent that was imaginable.

This particular dredge operated between 1928 and 1959.  Dredges of this design were sometimes moved during winter months by sliding them over the snow covered ground with teams of bull dozers attached to the barge.

Alaskan Oil Pipeline

No trip to Alaska would be complete without seeing the oil pipeline.  This part of the pipeline in the photo passed by Fairbanks.  The pipes are not rigidly attached to the support structure and rest on slides which permit for motion from thermal expansion.  Careful design also insulates the pipeline from the vertical supports in order to avoid transmission of heat into the support columns with the undesired effect of the melting of the permafrost and the certain sinking of the support columns into the ground.  

The vertical units visible on top of the dark support posts are radiator units which are attached to heat pipes which transfer any heat in the support column to the surrounding air to further guarantee that the posts are not warmed and sink into the permafrost.  

The pipe line is a collection of 40 foot long sections of 48 inch internal diameter pipe.  The line is laid out in a zig-zag to permit linear expansion.  At start up, the thermal expansion produced a growth in line length of 4 feet per mile.  This pipeline now accounts for 20% of all US production.  It is owned to the order of 70% by BP.

Oil comes from the ground at 180 degrees F and averages about 60 to 72 degrees F inside the pipeline.  There are a total of 5 pumping stations over the entire length.

The estimated cost of construction was $900 million.  The actual cost was $8.8 billion with a total of 2000 contractors working on the job.  The cost of the pipeline was recovered by the oil revenues collected from the first 14 months of operation.

The problems confronting the pipeline construction:

1)  Mountain ranges

2)  Perma frost

3)  13 major rivers to cross

4)  3 earthquake faults to cross

 

Sled Dog University

At the Chena Indian Village stop on our riverboat Discovery tour, we got the opportunity to hear from a real sled dog breeder, trainer, and musher.

We even got to rub the fur on a couple authentic Alaskan Husky puppies.  Alaskan Huskies are the marathon sled dogs which have resulted from a wide variety of dog breeds which came to Alaska with early settlers and eventually produced the non-AKC recognized breed.

This breeder/trainer/musher keeps about 60 dogs in order to build a competitive racing sled dog team.  Sled dogs must be over 3 years old to qualify for racing since that length of time is required for proper body maturity and stamina.  Iditarod sled dog teams have a maximum starting dog team of  16 with a minimum of 12.  At least 6 dogs must be on the tow line at the finish.  In order to build a capable dog team of 16, it is easy to see why a serious musher would have 60 dogs at a time. 

The leading dogs on the team are called the "lead dogs",  followed by the "swing dogs", followed by the "team dogs", followed by the "wheel dogs", and finally the sled and musher.  See the real details here:  ultimateiditarod.com

The towline or gangline is the basis for the tandem hitch on which pairs of dogs work from either side of the line to tow the sled.  A number frequently mentioned is that a single dog can tow a 60 pound load.  Not knowing any other details such as conditions, time, etc this is only a ballpark number for the sake of conversation.  A lot of careful thinking and strategy as well as love for the dogs on the team factors into grooming a competitive dog team.    

Riverboat Discovery

The riverboat "Discovery" was our vehicle for a great trip on the Chena River in Fairbanks.Not only that...there were free donuts and coffee...real nourishment! 

From the open decks we got to see a dog sled demonstration, dog sled puppies in training and learning to "follow the leader", how to catch salmon with "fish wheels",  how to prepare smoked salmon, and view bush pilots landing both on the river as well as on a sand bar.

Along the riverboat ride we stopped at a demonstration village, the Chena Indian Village, where native Athabascan Indians demonstrated their cultural skills and explained how their ancestors lived prior to the advent of "westernization".

I found it interesting to learn that the wood mostly used for smoking salmon for feeding sled dogs is generally done with birch or spruce which are more abundant.  The wood of choice for smoked salmon for human consumption is alder. 

Diner on the Alaskan Railway

Dinner on the train on the way to Fairbanks provided both an opportunity to finally eat a relatively great meal, sit down on a comfortable seat, see some great scenery, and discuss what we had seen in addition to what was passing the windows.

Since most of our traveling group companions all had diverse interests, we would discuss what we had done earlier on our optional tours along the planned tour route.  

Not everyone shelled out $250 a person to get a 15 minute helicopter ride or a bush pilot ride.  I suspect our biggest outlay was the $125 a person to go horseback riding on the tundra which seems in retrospect to have been worth the money considering the experience and likely prospect that we my never return to that place to get a second chance at it.  Overall, we elected to see things up close and touch them rather than see them from far away.  Thus, hiking was what we usually picked on for the chance to see and hear about the vegetation and see what was on the ground.  

Alaskan Railroad

The Alaskan Railroad starts in Seward and ends in Fairbanks which was our last destination on the land cruise prior to our departure and end of the cruise and land tour.

We boarded the train at the Visitor's Center in Denali Park and spent about 3 or so hours riding through the changing landscape which was mountainous to start and relatively flat by the time we arrived at Fairbanks.

Weather in Fairbanks is amazingly mild by comparison to other places in Alaska.  The sun was actually shining there most of the time since we were considerably inland and away from the rain forested coastal areas.

Most descriptions of cruises to Alaska fail to belabor the fact that rain gear had better be a key issue when you pack your bags.  Dressing in layers of clothing was mentioned but relatively continuous  rain and overcast conditions would not make fair-weather people overly exuberant to sign up for a cruise if it were a prominent issue in the promotional literature.   

As with most vacation trips we have taken, the most truthful thing that one should keep in mind is the fact that "a place is what it is, and not what one would necessarily like it to be".  Most of the natural beauty and wildlife in Alaska results from "what is there" and not "some docile paradise which accommodates flatland tourists".

McKinley Lodge

The McKinley lodge in this picture is the group of smaller buildings seen near the base of the mountain in this picture.  This was our accommodation for several days when we visited Denali Park.  We got this view from a small trail path near the Denali Park Visitors Center and just across the tracks from the Alaskan Railway station at the visitors' center.

We had to wait for a passing train to cross the tracks and head down this trail to the overlook.

From the McKinley Lodge one could take various tours such as river rafting, aerial sightseeing, jeep tours, ATV tours, horseback rides, and other commercial forms of viewing the landscape...including just plain walking/hiking around.

The Polychrome Mountains

My favorite stop on the bus trip into Denali Park was the Polychrome overlook.  The picture here is one of the many spectacular views from this overlook stop along the dirt road which winds through the park.

Not easy to see in the photo is a large rock down along the river plane which is known as a "glacial erratic".  We were told that it stood 120 feet high above the ground.  It didn't look that big from 5 or so miles away.   Erratics are large boulders which dropped out of melting glaciers at random points along their retreat path.  They are often seen in places where one would ask "How did that thing ever get here!".  The answer would be that it didn't come from outer space but simply was left behind by a melting ice river which transported it here from some other place.

The Polychrome overlook is about 50 miles down the access road into the park.   Access to the park is carefully controlled and private vehicles are stopped at a check point beyond which only special permitted vehicles are allowed to proceed.  Our tour bus was such a vehicle.  During winter months when roads are generally impassable due to snow, the park is routinely patrolled by rangers on dog sleds who travel on the frozen rivers in the park.  Winter is travel time in Alaska.  The ground becomes an excellent hard foundation and bodies of water mostly eliminate the need for bridges and turn into the highway system until the spring thaw.  

From the bus we viewed Dall sheep, moose, caribou, bears, and a fox who seemed relatively oblivious of the people near by.  When animals were spotted, the bus would stop and provide the opportunity to take pictures.  Unless one were equipped with at least a 700 power zoom camera, the photographic results would look similar to photographs of ants on the street shot from the top of the Empire State Building.

Overall, the bus trip into the park was a trip to spectacular scenery but not especially great for large pictures of wildlife.  My pictures of any consequence of Alaskan wild life which I took are mostly those taken in refuges behind fences.  Real wildlife photographers camp out for days with monster lens and expensive cameras to get the kind of  great pictures like those seen seen in the National Geographic Magazine.

Tundra Horseride Tour

Walking on the tundra is like walking on your mattress at home.  It is spongy and one can easily sink in a foot even in places not waterlogged. 

The most enjoyable way to explore the tundra is aboard a horse who knows what he's doing.  This was our case...I had old "River" and Mary had "CJ".  I'm not sure what the CJ stood for but I suspect it was "Charlie...something".

Mary and I had no prior riding experience.  Fortunately the horses we were issued were selected based on the rider's proclaimed experience/or not.  Certain rules of the road were laid down by the horse handlers/guides and riders were expected to comply.  Walking was the rule!  Only once did my horse fall behind as a result of taking a snack break on the local shrubbery along the dirt access road.  I gave him a gentle nudge in the sides and he actually shifted into second gear long enough to catch up to the rest of the pack.  It was an interesting experience for a person whose prior experience was only with the plastic and wood variety of stallions found on amusement park merry-go-rounds.

The vast openness and endless expanses found here were other-world experiences.  Pictures can only minimally capture the concept.  Riding a horse here was like sensory overload to me.  Not only was the terrain and scenery spectacular, my anticipations and expectations of what the horse might do next was always a factor in my imagination.  Fortunately he knew what he was doing and compensated for my total lack of experience. 

Animal Sanctuary

On the bus trip from Seward, where we started our land tour, we stopped at an animal sanctuary on the way to Denali National Park.

The animals in this sanctuary were raised in captivity as orphans from highway accidents or other circumstances where the parent animals had been killed or the animals were injured and needed medical attention to survive.

The bear, infamous "Bad Boy Bernie" was an example of a bear who liked dining in trash cans better than the hard work of beating the bush for grub.  He became a guest of the animal sanctuary for his own protection as well as the safety of the local citizens.

The incidence of bears invading back yards in Anchorage is becoming a significant problem lately and mostly the result of odiferous and highly attractive feasts often found in residential garbage cans.  The bears and other critters were there first and now the invading people appear to lack the talent to manage their garbage properly in the presence of the long-established wild life.

Hubbard Glacier

The Hubbard Glacier is one of the few advancing glaciers in Alaska.  The calving face is 6 miles wide and the height of the face above the waterline is 300 feet.  The slabs of ice which break off from the face are known as "calves".  These calves form ice bergs if taller than 14 feet above the waterline.  Those smaller than ice bergs are known as "growlers" and make growling sounds as the ship hull slides by them.  Very low ship speed is a good idea when cruising in this water.  Our distance to the face of the glacier in this photo was about 5 miles.  Due to the massive proportions of objects it is difficult to realize their size from a photograph.

A major concern is that as the Hubbard Glacier advances, it may eventually block the Russel Fjord again resulting in an ice dam with rising water levels within the blocked fjord.  At one point this occurred and the water level rose to 60 feet before the ice dam opened.  In the event the fjord became blocked permanently, the water level could rise until it spills over and floods the world famous Situk River which is renowned by anglers for its massive pacific salmon runs.  The Situk is a mere 20 miles long but is a beautiful fishing paradise.

Parting Sitka

The small islands along the Marine Highway near towns were frequently individual properties with homes and boat docks.  We passed these island homes as we departed from Sitka and headed toward the Hubbard Glacier.

Sitka History

Sitka was the ancestral home of the Tlingit Indian nation centuries before the Russians arrived at the end of the 18th century.  In 1799 Alexander Baranov negotiated with the local chief to build a fort about 6 miles south of the present town.  The Russian interest in Sitka was its beauty, mild climate, and economic potential.

The Indians eventually took exception to Baranov's advances and burned his fort when he was away and on his base at Kodiak Island.

Baranov returned with a formidable force in 1804 and drove the Indians to the other side of the island.  When Russia sold Alaska to the USA for $7,200,000 in gold, the transfer was formalized at Sitka on October 18, 1867 and it was in Sitka that the American flag was raised for the first time over Alaskan soil.  From 1867 until 1912, Sitka was the capital of the territory of Alaska. 

Sitka

Sitka was our 3rd port stop.  At Sitka we took a walk through the hemlock forest and saw some amazing old growth hemlocks as well as areas devastated by wind.  Wind is the primary factor which shapes the temperate rain forests since the root systems are shallow due to glacial rock substrate and the high rainfall levels make the undergrowth too wet to promote forest fires.

Totem poles were a major icon of the native Indians in these parts.  Totem poles were not religious artifacts but were use for three basic purposes:

1)  To honor (or shame)

2)  To tell a story

3)  To memorialize

Shaming totem poles were often made very small to the extent of "hand-held" as a further implication of the dishonor and insignificance bestowed upon the recipient.

Downtown Juneau

Juneau, the capital of Alaska, has no connection to a highway system.  It is accessible to the outside world by air or water only.  Most supplies arrive by barge on the Marine Highway via the Inner Passage.   In similar fashion to other port stops, Juneau was riddled with souvenir shops aimed at "retail therapy" for the passengers of cruise ships. 

The Veendam was docked directly across from the Juneau public library which was a several story building.  Having some time to kill after our hike up the mountain and the view of Mendenhall Glacier, we decided to visit the library.  Unfortunately every elevator was out of service and the stair location was not obvious, so we headed back to the ship and will never know what we missed at the library. 

Mendenhall Glacier

A great view of the Mendenhall glacier from the trail!  At Juneau we hiked up the side of the mountain and explored some abandoned mine equipment.  Everything was grown over and returning to nature.  It was amazing to imagine how the equipment was transported to the site in consideration of its size and weight.  Mules or other draft animals and pure human toil apparently prevailed over gravity and rough terrain to lug the equipment at various stages of disassembly to the site and put it together for gold mining.

When we crossed over the top of the mountain and walked down the other side, we viewed the Mendenhall glacier and took this photo.  This glacier is now receding and forming the lake at its base.  The face width of this glacier in the picture is one mile wide.  The relative size of objects in these wide open spaces is often difficult to imagine.

As fate would have it, we saw very little wild life on this hike but were lucky enough to see a young bear in the parking lot just 5 minutes prior to boarding the bus for the return trip to downtown Juneau. 

ms Veendam Ported at Haines Dock.

A view of the ms Veendam as we headed back from the local brew house and a pint of locally brewed "Spruce Tip Ale".

Just across the street from the pub was the local history museum and down the hill was  the "Hammer Museum".  There is not a great deal to see in Haines but everything there is different and interesting in its own natural setting.

Many of the fair weather inhabitants head elsewhere for the snowy winter months and total accumulated snowfalls have hit 12 or more feet in recent years.

A Walk to the Point.

We took a walk to the "point" from downtown Haines on a forest trail and learned about the local vegetation.  Many of plants served useful medical functions and were well known by the native inhabitants.  A more recent discovery is the fermentation of new spruce tip shoots which are used to brew "spruce tip ale" which is an excellent source of vitamin C.  One can get plastered and OD on vitamin C all at the same time! 

The "point" was a defense station used by the military to deal with intruder forces sailing up the Lynn Canal toward Haines.  Further up this fjord is another small town, Skagway.  Skagway was considered to be the portal to the gold fields during the gold rush era.  Skagway is only accessible from Haines by ferry ride.

The red flowering plants in this photo are fire weed which is another source of vitamin C.  The stem can also be stripped and applied to cuts as an "Indian band-aid" and has also been used over infected wounds to prevent scabbing-over in order to permit drainage.  

Haines

Haines has the flavor of a real isolated town!  It sprang up originally as Fort Seward which was intended to maintain a US presence to avoid take-over by Canada.   The distance to the Canadian border is a mere 20 miles and initially there was a great concern by the US that no presence of people here would gradually lead to its assimilation to Canada simply by squatting.

The orderly square in the background of this photo is the ring of the officers quarters where the US military resided.  The foundation ruins of the soldiers barracks were still present but they were destroyed in a fire and not restored. 

When this picture was taken, it was close to low tide and the height of the dock above water is obvious as well as the exposed beach.  Tidal variations can range over 30 feet in some areas and the proper mooring of vessels is a big deal unless one owns a submarine.

Help!!! Bear Attack!!!

Downtown Ketchikan, as with any tourist destination, was riddled with shops and traps for visiting cruise ships.  There were frequently interesting attractions outside the shops to get ones attention and beckon the "credit card bearing invaders" in for browsing.

Creek Street

Creek Street in downtown Ketchikan is a scenic walk mostly on board walks.  Salmon were clearly visible in the quick flowing stream and a few harbor seals were also showing off for those passing by.  

I overheard some other tourists bemoaning the ill fate of some huge fish which appeared to be "belly up" in the water.  A few seconds later the beast came to life and was just a harbor seal floating on its back with its white belly pointed toward the clouds.  Surprise!!!!

In this particular picture a famous brothel, "Dolly's" was just to the right and was a favorite of miners in the early gold rush days of Ketchikan.

 

Feeding the reindeer

Keeping of reindeer as a food and milk source was a common practice of the native people.  We had the opportunity to feed some of these hungry members of the local herd.  The abundance of plant growth was an excellent source of feeding materials.

Ketchikan Nature Walk

In Ketchikan we enjoyed a hike into the local woods consisting mainly of spruce and hemlock.  According to the guide, the local forests were about 20% spruce, 70% white hemlock, and 10% red cedar, with miscellaneous scrub varieties such as red alder.  Alder was said to be the most desirable wood for smoking salmon for human consumption and making making handles for tools.

The plant vegitation was prolific. Common species found elsewhere such as skunk cabbage were generally much larger in size due to the rainfall and climate conditions.  Skunk cabbage was said to be a favorite "breath mint/snack" for bears emerging from hibernation probably due mainly to its great abundance in early spring.

Ketchikan

Ketchikan was our first port stop and is the largest town on Revillagigedo Island with a population of 14,500.  The airport is across the Tongass Narrows on Gravina Island.  This was the place where the infamous "bridge to nowhere" was proposed.  Gravina has about 50 families total.  Ferry service is the highway to and from Gravina to Ketchikan. 

Ketchikan is the salmon capital of the world and was founded as a fishing camp and later supported mining and pulp manufacturing.  The name is claimed to have come from "katch kanna" which literally translated says "spread wings of a thundering eagle".  

The climate of Ketchikan is known as temperate rain forest with average precipitation of 13.5 feet per year.  Rain, fog, and clouds are standard fare for this local.  The natural beauty and vegetation is spectacular.

Approaching Ketchikan

Approaching our first port stop at Ketchikan.  Just a few days earlier, I heard on the radio that Ted Stevens, the infamous Alaskan senator,  had stopped at Ketchikan airport and proclaimed his absolute innocence relative to his minor oversight of overlooking the fact that an oil service company had jacked up his vacation home and built a completely new floor plan to expand the layout.   

Steaming up the Inner Passage

Sights along the Inner Passage waterway were other-world experiences.  The weather and cloud conditions provided great picture variations.  The various mostly uninhabited islands westward provide a buffer from the open Pacific Ocean.  In a few places the passage was not buffered by westward islands and many passengers noted the ship's movement.  

One morning considerable crashing and clanking was noted as stacks of china cups and other unsecured dining decks materials crashed to the deck during some moderate rolls from the open water seas.

I was surprised to find that few people were topside at some of the most spectacular times of the day unless a port departure or docking was underway.  The scenery was great especially at dawn and dusk.

Vancouver, BC

Vancouver fades away as the ship heads north along the Inner Passage headed for our first destination, Ketchikan, Alaska.  Typical cruising speed ranged from 12 to 18 knots.  Maximum speed was 22 knots.

I enjoyed using my hand-held GPS receiver on the upper decks to observe ship's speed and bearing.  I found it particularly entertaining to observe a ship speed while standing in one place on the upper deck and then running forward or aft to observe my relative speed either added or subtracted from the ships speed over the water.

Alaska Cruise 2008

Our cruise began with a flight from Rochester, NY to Detroit, Detroit to Vancouver, BC, and then a bus ride from the Vancouver airport to the cruise ship docks to embark on the ms Veendam.  

The Veendam is a Holland America Lines cruise ship:

Displacement = 55,758 tons

Length = 720 feet

Beam = 101 feet

Draft = 25 feet 

Registry = Netherlands

Capacity = 1258 guests

Crew = 557

Propulsion = Twin electric drives powered by 3 diesel generators run as required to suit the cruising speed.  Various side thrusters for docking and undocking without assistance.  Gyrofin stabilizer for roll control when underway in heavy seas.

Dedicated = January 1996 by Debbie Reynolds

This particular ship was well suited in agility for cruising along the Inner Passage waterway and docking at the various small port towns of this cruise such as Ketchikan, Haines, Juneau, Sitka, and Seward.

In the photo the guests are manning the rails, topside, as the ship departs Vancouver from the Burrard Inlet at the start of the trip and is about to pass under the Lions Gate Bridge passing Stanley Park to port side.