Sincerely, Denise

REFLECTIONS ON OUR TIME IN ALASKA

Monday, July 20^th 

How does one say goodbye to Alaska? I miss it already. Yes, it rained a lot, but that is also far down the list in the visual memories created. I miss the impossible scale of the scenery, the towering snowcapped peaks, the glacier bowls with all shades of green trees and foliage, the cascading waterfalls trailing down the granite walls, the thrill of Bear sightings, the plethora of Humpbacks thriving in the cold waters giving us great pleasure, the daily sightings and antics of the Eagles and Ravens, and most of all the people – the people we met along the way who live in these remote places and their stories, and also learning about and experiencing first hand the native culture. I felt it as soon as we left Ketchikan and arrived in Prince Rupert. A shift. It’s not a bad feeling by any means, I am full of gratitude for what we experienced, albeit with sweaters, beanies, puffies, leggings, and wool socks as the daily attire, and many days topped off with raingear! The weather has shifted too. It’s warm even when windy, it’s just warm – even at night. We’ve had probably 10 days of sunshine in a row, and even experienced a heat wave in Ketchikan of back to back 80 degree days ~ quite a change from the cold winds up farther north. Today I retired the heating pad to the closet, it’s been living next to the bed and heating up the sheets for me before my shivering body climbs in each night. I changed out the flannel sheets for cotton sheets. The diesel heaters haven’t been on for days…..it’s summer, it really is here for us finally! Thank you ALASKA, until we meet again.

Morning in Grenville Channel