Day Trip to Hoonah (July 11th)

Once back to Juneau, it was really our base to head out on Thursday to the small village of Hoonah on the Chichagof Island.  A short 30 minute flight by Alaska Seaplanes, we arrived bright and early . . . and stayed late into the evening.  Check out our pilot giving us our safety briefing before takeoff!

The day was filled with a lot of local culture, and a touch of why I don't care much for the cliche Alaskan cruise as a way to "see" SE Alaska.

Prior to our departure from Wisconsin, I had lined up two activities for the day.  Our first would be a two hour cultural tour, provided by Howard & Jack Diamond of Rivers Alaska.  Howard (the dad) met us at the airport, seemingly as excited about our visit, as we were. With an early start before 8am, he suggested, we do a little more, to include venturing to one of his family's favorite spots to enjoy a campfire and perhaps drop a line to fish.  He said that bears are sometimes seen out that way, so maybe we'd be lucky.

Lucky we were!  There was a smaller brown coastal bear walking along the shoreline.  It wasn't immediately visible, but as the road took a bend, the subadult was in our line of sight.  Photographing was a bit of a challenge because we were moving and so was the bear.  But this visual is too pretty (even if it is a tad blurred), to not share!

Unfortunately, in an area known for the densest bear population in the world, this would be our only actual sighting of the entire day.  We felt fortunate for this experience that Howard provided us!

After our ride out of town to the area known as long island, we headed back into town.  Because Howard had extra time until the cruise ship guests arrived later in the morning, the time spent with him, and later his son Jack, was full of personalized experiences.

The first would be a stop in at the streetside workshop of Gordon Greenwald, the artist and master carver who had done the Huna Tribal House we had visited just the day before in Glacier Bay National Park.  Gordon and another Tlingit carver were working on a large totem, which told a special story from Tlingit heritage.

He was so very nice, explaining how stories of their culture and history are passed down from generation to generation, and that this one was a favorite legend in his clan. I couldn't help but to be in total awe hearing the story and seeing this work in progress firsthand.

After spending time with Gordon, Howard drove along the short village road that hugged closely along the shoreline.  Near the ferry terminal, we saw a large eagle diving to fish in the bay.  We couldn't see what it caught, but it was large enough, the eagle couldn't fly with it.  What we witnessed next was nothing short of amazing.  The eagle began swimming the 40 or 50 yards to the shoreline, doing what was similar to a breaststroke.  It took more than five minutes for the bird to labor to the shoreline, where it was met by its mate.  They feasted on whatever the sea's bounty provided them.  Unfortunately I didn't get photos, but David was able to capture this experience on video.

Our next stop was at Howard's home, where we would meet up with his son Jack.  A Yupik Eskimo and Native Youth Olympian, he shared stories of growing up living off the land, hunting and fishing for subsistence.  The photo of him here is with the rack from the first moose he hunted for his family.

About this photo . . . how about that view?  Their land is waterfront!  Jack said they often see whales and bears are often seen grazing through to include snatching apples and cherries from the trees in their yard.  I cannot imagine!

We spent another 30 or 45 minutes back in the van, driving out by the airport where Jack gave us a demonstration of his Olympic athletic events that also tie back to his native culture.  It was interesting how this young man could jump and kick more than six feet high, way above his head.

After our morning with the Diamonds was over, Howard drove us out to Icy Strait Point (ISP) which is a native community created by the cruise ship industry, much like the private beach properties you might experience on a Caribbean cruise.  With the Disney Wonder in port on the day of our visit, ISP was open.  It was a chilly day, with intermittent rain showers, so it appeared many folks might have simply stayed on the ship rather than experience the touristy area of shops, restaurants and a few activities.

The biggest attraction here is the mile-long zip line.  Six people zip down at speeds exceeding 65 MPH for a list price of more than $100.  The entire experience lasts under two minutes.  We took a pass largely due to the price.  (I was wondering if the cruise ship guests get a deal or if they too pay over $100 for the experience.)

We did go to the Heritage Center Native Theater to take in the noontime show.  Billed as "Discover the tales and rhythms of the Huna Tlingit people" I couldn't help but to feel this was a Disney-ification of what should have been an educational and entertaining experience.  It was more cheesy with its audience participation, than what I had hoped for.  That said, I also know that the entire ISP complex is as much about providing employment and economic benefits to the village, as it is about entertaining the cruise guests.  And fortunately for the village of Hoonah, it is located and isolated at the far end of the island, and not along the main port area in town.  So if the two can co-exist and allow Hoonah to protect its native history and culture, who am I to say ISP is a bad thing?

For us, we enjoyed touring The Cannery, a museum dedicated to the fish canning industry that can be found throughout the villages of Alaska's Inside Passage.  We also had lunch at at ISP, before catching up with our scheduled afternoon "Wilderness Tour and Brown Bear Search" utilizing our AK Tour Saver 2:1 offer.  The four hour tour was enlightening and fun, but we found NO BEARS.  We did see evidence of "bear activity" . . . a huge pile of very fresh bear scat . . . but no bears.

Perhaps the best part of the tour was that it was just us along with the guide.  The other couple who had booked no-showed, so it allowed us to ask more questions and do a little more than had we been with a throng of others.  (Another reason I don't care much for the cruise line approach to experiencing Alaska.)  I did wonder if this "Wilderness and Bear" tour saw bears on their time out.

I cannot say strongly enough to folks, if you want to check off a bunch of things you did or saw in Alaska, the cruise experience with excursions through your ship, may be your cup of tea.  For us, however, I really wanted a more personalized and intimate experience.  How we planned and scheduled our three weeks in Alaska could not have been better or more satisfying in terms of really learning about the people and culture of people native to this region of Alaska.

We asked our tour guide to drop us off in town, rather than back out at ISP.  Our plan was to find something light to eat for supper and call Howard for a ride back out to the airport for our 8:30p flight back to Juneau.

Dinner at The Office was interesting.  A Packers' Bar!  Who would have thunk it.  We enjoyed an Alaskan Pale Ale along with our chicken tenders & fries before leaving Hoonah.  Our flight "home" was uneventful, providing another flight-seeing experience, over some of the most beautiful forested mountains in Alaska.

Admittedly, this was our most expensive "day" of our vacation.  With the small plane flights, tours, meals and tips we spent just about $800.  But the experiences and personal time with locals were "priceless" as the Master Card advertising touts.

Eagle nest with a juvie on the edge of the "bowl"