In Which Miss Hoppington Zips Through Ketchikan

 Hulooo from Ketchikan!

We didn't stop very long in Ketchikan but long enough to have some adventures. Ketchikan is named after the creek that flows through the town. It is a Tlingit word but no one is really sure what it means. It could mean "Thundering Wings of an Eagle" which is a pretty sounding name. Or it could just mean "the river belonging to Kitschk."

The creek actually runs down what is called Creek Street. There are buildings built on either side of the creek and over the creek, on stilts because there is very little land to build on, especially on the east side of the river. It used to be a not very nice part of town but now it's all museums and art galleries and pretty shops. You can still see lots and lots of salmon in the river.

Creek Street

High up in the trees, ready to zip down!

My big adventure for the day was zip-lining!
I rode a bus and then a jeep up to the top of a mountain and then got to zip down on a series of cables. We were very high up in the trees, like 100 feet and would zip from platform to platform over a bear preserve. I really wanted to see a bear but they must have been sleeping or hunting somewhere else. Most of the people were scared, scared of being so high up but I wasn't. Ok, I was a little scared to jump off the platform but once I was zipping to the next one, I was having fun again!

Zipping off to the next adventure, hop, hop awaaaaaaaaaay!

Hedda

In Which Miss Hoppington Cruises a Fjord

Heading into the fjord.

 I sailed in a fjord today! Fjord is a word from Norway, a country on the other side of the world from where I was, and it means a long, narrow inlet of the sea between mountains. It is pronounced like fyord or fiord. We were sailing in the Tracy Arm Fjord, so called because when you look at a map, it looks like an arm! (you can see it here: http://tinyurl.com/j55wc8q) It's a fun word to say. Fjord, fjord, fjord!

At the end of the fjord was a big glacier called Sawyer Glacier. Fjords are made by glaciers like Sawyer and this fjord was very deep. The waters are a bright deep greenish blue, very pretty. Glacial silt gives the waters that color and helps protect harbor seals from orcas. The orcas use sonar to hear under the water but in the fjord, there is too much silt and it confuses them so they don't come up the fjord. When we got to the glacier, we saw lots of harbor seals relaxing on the the ice. In fact, some seals treat the glacier and the fjord like a nursery because they know it is safe to leave their pups while they go look for food.

We had lots of time to look at the glacier while the captain turned the boat around. He literally spun the boat around in place because there was so little room but did it very slowly so we could see everything and, in my case, not fall off the railing.

You can't see the glacier yet 'cause I'm standing in front of it.

It's so big! We're still about half a mile away.

See how blue!

The glacier was very blue, almost the color of glass cleaner! I was surprised at that but it was very beautiful. That color happens because there is so much ice and it's pressed together so hard that instead of the ice being white, it turns bright blue. So many pretty colors: the green water, the bright blue glacier and the dark green trees on the mountains around the fjord.

Heading back out of the fjord.

After we saw the glacier and spun around, we headed back out and on to our next adventure. There were large bits of drift ice from the glacier floating with us as we left the fjord. They look pretty small in the pictures but they were actually pretty big, especially to a little rabbit such as myself.

I think it's time for a nap and some sun on the upper deck. I am on a cruise after all!

See you next time!

Hedda

In Which Miss Hoppington Rides the Rails

The trail is still there, over a hundred years later!

All aboard, my friends!

After my fun but rather wet and cold kayak ride, I was quite happy to get on a warm train for the ride back to Skagway. We said good bye to Canada and headed down the White Pass trail via the White Pass Railway. The White Pass trail was one of two trails from Skagway to the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush. The other was Chilkoot Pass, which was much steeper and harder. Not that White Pass was really any easier. Sadly, so many horses died, some called it Dead Horse trail.

Almost 100,000 people came to Alaska to find gold and a lot of them came through Skagway. So many people came that, even though it hasn't been used for a very long time, you can still see the old White Pass trail. It follows rushing streams and slowly trickles back to Skagway. I'm very glad I didn't have to walk and could ride the train instead.

Still a little damp but getting warmer.

We saw a lot of things on our way back. There was a very old train trestle bridge that we rode past; it used to be the tallest bridge in the world. The train used to go over it but it's not safe anymore.

We also rode past creeks and trees and mountains. And a caboose you can stay in. The Park Service owns it and rents it to hikers as a cabin. We stopped near it to pick up some hikers.

The White Pass railway used to be the most northern of railways. It is also the longest narrow gauge railway in North America, longer than the Cumbres & Toltec in New Mexico or the Durango & Silverton in Colorado. Miss L. said she got to ride the Durango & Silverton when she was younger.

But even with being the longest narrow gauge, before we knew it, we were pulling back into Skagway. It was so much fun riding the train. I know there are other trains I could ride. I'll have to track them down so I can tell you about them.

Crossing back over the pass in to Alaska.

Choo choo!

Hedda

In Which Miss Hoppington Gets Very Wet

Brrr, friends!
After my early morning adventure in Skagway, I boarded a bus and drove out of the country. Yes, up the Klondike Highway until we were in... Canada! We drove to Fraser, BC, which sits about 7 miles inside Canada and is the first place that the Klondike Highway and the White Pass Railway meet.

We got off at Fraser for our next adventure, kayaking. There's a lake across the tracks from the customs house at Fraser that was made by a glacier. Remember how I said glaciers made mountains by scraping and pressing down? Well, they made lakes sometimes, too, and the water from the remaining glaciers feed the lakes which makes the water very cold. Unfortunately, I got very wet; Miss L. kept splashing me by accident but I still had so much fun. I was also very glad when we were done. We had hot cider to warm up and snacks while we waited for the White Pass Railway to take us back to Skagway. I'll have to tell you about the train ride next.

You can't see me but I'm riding in the center of the kayak!

Slowly getting warmer,

Hedda

In Which Miss Hoppington Makes Golden Memories

Hello friends!

No rough seas here!

Skagway, Gateway to the Klondike, the point at which so many journeys started. This was the furthest north I got.

Skagway is the nickname of Kanagu, a mythical woman who turned herself into stone and lives in the bay. It literally means "beautiful women" but also refers to the rough seas in the bay. We didn't have any rough seas the day we came in.

Downtown Skagway isn't very large, only about five blocks wide and twenty blocks long. We floated into town early in the morning. I watched as the dockhands tied the boat up and then slipped off the boat to explore the town a bit before venturing further into the wilds.

The downtown area has boardwalks everywhere. Some of the stores are really cheesy tourist traps but there were some hidden gems. Like the garden at the Historic Skagway Inn with Johnny-Jump-Ups and Cosmos and other wildflowers.


As the town woke up, I went back to the ship to board a bus to my next adventure, which I can't wait to tell you about...

At home amongst the Johnny-Jump-Ups

Next time!

Hedda

In Which Miss Hoppington Goes to Where the Flatfish Gather

Good morning!

Hello friends!

After the long trip to get to Alaska, I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed! (I can't help being bushy-tailed, I'm a rabbit). We landed in Juneau a few hours later.

There are lots of interesting things about Juneau. It is the state capital of Alaska. Also, there are no roads into Juneau. You can drive there but you have to drive onto a boat which then takes you to Juneau. Or you can fly in but not with your car.

Juneau is almost as big in size as the states Rhode Island and Delaware combined (imagine a city bigger than a state, much less two!) but it only as about 32,000 people in it. That's a lot of room for those people.

The eastern edge of Juneau Borough actually shares a border with British Columbia, Canada. That makes Juneau the only state capital to border another country.

Juneau has another name, too. The Tlinget people, who lived in the area since before Juneau was a city, call it Dzankik'i Heeni, which means "where the flatfish gather." Sometimes, it's translated "base of the flounder river."

Heavens, there are just so many interesting things about Juneau that I've run out of space to write about my day in Juneau. I did some really fun things. I'll tell you about them next time.

Cheers!

Hedda

Downtown Juneau, with Mt. Juneau in the background and Mt Roberts in the foreground

In Which Miss Hoppington Sails Away

Enjoying the sunshine on the boat

Ahoy Friends!

I've been on a very exciting adventure! My first really big adventure and, my goodness, was it big, the biggest. I got on a big boat and went to Alaska!

Alaska is the biggest state in the United States, even bigger than Texas. I only got to go to a very small part of it and I hope to go back; there is so very much to explore.

 Before I even got to Alaska, I had to get on a big boat in Seattle, Washington. Everyone says it rains all the time in Seattle but that isn't true. It was beautifully sunny the day I got on the boat.

Seattle... not raining today!

After getting on the boat, it took a whole day and two nights to get to Alaska. It's very far away. We went out on the ocean and the waves made the boat go up and down. It made some people not feel very good in their stomach but I felt just fine. I even spent time walking the railing outside my stateroom (that's like a hotel room). I guess I've got good sea legs!

Next time I'll tell you about the first place we stopped in Alaska!

Until then, fair winds!

Hedda