Return from civilization

Wow, Hawaii was awesome. Sun, heat, whales, turtles, snorkeling, spewing lava, what could be better?!? I took so many pictures I ended up buying a new memory card for my camera. (Be patient ... there are lots of really cool photos coming as soon as I have a reliable satellite uplink to transfer all of them.)

This was Robin's first trip to Hawaii and he loved it. I almost drowned snorkeling because I was laughing so hard watching Robin, in his neoprene, floatable wetsuit top and noodle floatie, kicking for all he was worth to dive down under the water for a better look at something. He also made me laugh so hard on the plane that the flight attendant thought ~I~ was the one who had too many Mai Tais (and he was the drunk one!).

Quotable quotes from Robin:

• "I know my fruit."
  (In reference to him picking out something called a pluot, which neither of us had ever seen or heard of before but he insisted he knew better than I how to pick 'em).
• "I thought we'd be the only ones here."
  (In reference to his surprise that a popular scenic spot was as crowded as I said it would be).
• "I'll be moving so I won't need any sunscreen."
  (In reference to me nagging him about putting on sunscreen before a hike, especially because he's had several spots cut out of his skin already!).
• "I can find a tree somewhere."
  (In reference to me saying he better go to the bathroom now while we still had trees around, knowing we were headed into a barren lava field with no vegetation whatsoever. He didn't take advantage of the opportunity).
• "Did we eat ice cream on the plane?"
  (In reference to me talking about the great coconut sundae we had on the plane, which he didn't remember because of all the Mai Tais on the plane and the mixed drinks in the Anchorage "Board Room").
• "It's windy so I won't need sunscreen."
  (Another reference to me nagging him about putting on sunscreen.)
• "They'll have a double-fish!"
  (McDonald's had these double-fish sandwiches everywhere we went. He really wanted one but kept putting off getting one. Finally, I said he better get one now because you never know ... well, he didn't get one and we ended up being in an area where all of the McDonald's had "discontinued" the double fish! Of course, none of the workers could figure out to just give him two.)
• "We'll be shopping so I won't need sunscreen."
  (Yet another reference to me nagging him about putting on sunscreen. Creative, isn't he?)

Aloha

Vacation time is here! We're headed to Hawaii tomorrow for a 12-day vacation where the weather is warm, being barefoot is comfortable and the sun is out. We flew over to Juneau today to make sure we weren't weathered out. Good thing, too, because a snowstorm started mid-way over.

On our flight over was one of the National Park crew on a special assignment to help evacuate Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (one of our destinations). We'll see if we actually make it to that park or not ... stay tuned for what will happen with those reservations, too.

Gridless in Gustavus

Gustavus/Glacier Bay has its own infrastructure for water, power and sewer that runs entirely off the grid. Power comes from diesel generators. Water is collected from rainfall and streams (which is a good thing because there is a natural arsenic supply contaminating the groundwater). Sewage is treated and released or burned (don't ask!). All of this is meticulousy operated and maintained by the excellent staff (Robin and crews) in the Glacier Bay maintenance and utilities departments.

Take a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to keep these systems functioning properly. Make sure to read the captions for the blow-by-blow account of each aspect of the operation.


There are also some photos of a recent patrol trip (Robin is also a boat captain) up Glacier Bay. Another very unique aspect of Glacier Bay is that is one of the only protected areas where commercial fishing is allowed for those holding special permits. We were patrolling during the short (1-week long) tanner crab season. Hey, all in a day's work!

The barge has arrived

And my vehicle was on it and in good shape. Now, it's time to unload, unpack and inspect for any damage.

My only concern is that the flamingo (see the Traveling Trophy blog entry) made it through the journey OK.

Tidal influences

The barge with my things missed its window of opportunity yesterday. Turns out it wasn't loaded in time to make it by high high tide and high tide wasn't high enough. (It sails up the Salmon River and needs all the water it can get!)

Rumor has it that it is sailing today and is actually on its way. It is due to arrive at high high tide tomorrow at 4:50 a.m.

The weather report is good with calm seas -- all excellent news for a vehicle parked on a flat piece of metal floating on Icy Strait, an oftentimes treacherous body of water.

Top 10 Things I learned during my move to Gustavus

1. Moving to Gustavus requires multiple modes of transportation: ferries, planes, barges and automobiles. (See some photos of my journey.)
2. If you get a flat tire in Juneau, don't call AAA. They'll refer you to a place in Ketchikan, 300 miles away and only reachable by boat or plane.
3. Quiet bullets are a subculture phenomenon. (In fact, Robin and Molly had a lengthy discussion about the best way to kill a porcupine with them.)
4. If you're on the fast ferry, hang on for a thrilling, roller coaster ride. Touted as a four-hour tour, this is entirely dependent on sea conditions. If you have sea swells, wind, crashing waves or all of the above (like I had), it's hard to project how long it will take. My journey actually took five hours (not bad).
5. If you shop enough (we spent much of our time driving up and down the only highway in Juneau, repeatedly stopping at every possible store), you can find some deals: bananas were 7 cents/lb at WalMart (plus 30 cents/lb to fly them to Gustavus -- still a real value!) and eggs were $5.99/5 dozen at Super Bear (it was $11.99/5 dozen at one of the places). Robin also experienced Costco for the first time.
6. The Juneau WalMart is eerily empty. This is the only WalMart in the known universe that is not jammed with carts, people, kids, RVs and the usual conglomeration of all things uniquely part of the WalMart experience. It feels like a scary movie because of the absence of people!
7. The barge into Gustavus only arrives at high tide. Estimated arrival date of my jeep, filled with all my stuff, is 4 a.m. Tuesday.
8. It is possible to fish in a survival suit if you don't have a boat.
9. The Alaska Department of Motor Vehicles height chart range starts at 2'4" and goes to 6'6". Plus, having your dog with you in the office is OK, but dogs are not allowed in the car during the road test.
10. Alaska Brewery makes several wheat-free beers ... and Robin's tried them all! (From what he recalls, his favorite is their ESB.)

Fast ferry, flat tire and fevered pitch

The fast ferry, despite a few roller-coaster type incidents (literally) was great. I saw several whales breeching (unbelievable) and several schools of porpoises (cool!) along the way. I even had cell phone coverage to call my mom!

I made it to Juneau and Robin was waiting at the ferry dock. We are staying with this couple and the husband somehow forgot to tell the wife our arrival date. Fortunately, there was still space at the inn.

After tons of shopping, shopping and more shopping (including Robin's first real Costco experience), the Jeep's tire gave out and was completely flat from all the stuff loaded in it. Actually, it wasn't the heavy load. There was a gigantic nail in the @#$#% tire.

After a ridiculous call to AAA for help (the AAA person in Florida offered up Ketchikan, hundreds of miles away and only accessible by boat or plane), we were able to locate a tire repair shop that was actually open on Sunday.

Tomorrow, we drop the Jeep off at the barge company for it's voyage to Gustavus and then Robin and I fly to my new home in Glacier Bay (provided it isn't too foggy, windy, snowy, etc., of course).