Alaska, Day Two

When I pulled out my Aran sweater from my suitcase and slipped it on (it was a very cool morning in Juneau), I found a tiny bit of paper in one of the pockets. I have no memory of where it came from.

How appropriate!

We wandered down the hill from our Airbnb to downtown Juneau passing the State Capital building and this sweet garden (note the native art on the bench).

After being fortified with coffee and a scone, we caught a local bus and crossed the Channel to Douglas Island.  Our goal was to hike in to the Treadwell Mines area, a relic of ruins of the mining era in Juneau.  It was about two and a half miles of mostly forest paths.

The forest reminded me of my childhood home in Oregon where my brother and I would scramble over the fences and play in the woods by our home. Fir trees. Ferns. Moss.

Treadwell Mines was a thriving enterprise and community during the late Nineteenth Century and early Twentieth Century (1881-1922) and employed more than 2,000 workers.

Today all that is left are a few old buildings and rusted pieces of equipment and piles of cement.

And the pilings from the pier which I think are quite picturesque.

A catastrophic accident basically stopped the production. An area near the ocean inlet caved in. No workers were killed but many mules and horses died. And the tunnel ddisappeared.

This is the site of the cave in. It looks like a cove.

We were told there is a waterfall near by and hiked up the steep hill to look for it.  We succeeded in climbing up and finding where we could see it. Paris Creek Falls.  Unfortunately,  all the vegetation and a chain link blocked the view. Oh well. We could hear it and sorta see it. 

Then we climbed back down and took another trail back to the beginning.  Honestly, there was so much beauty everywhere that we hardly noticed all the gray and occasional rain drops.

Something I did not expect to see in Alaska was ALL THE FLOWERS.  Everywhere.  Some are wild flowers; some are plants in gardens.

After riding the bus back to downtown, we grabbed some dinner, climbed the very steep hill back to our Airbnb and called it a day.

Alaska Day one

 We arrived in Juneau  about 11pm Alaska time which was 3am our body time.  The layover in Seattle was longer than expected because our flight was delayed.   During the waiting time in the airport, we chatted with a lady who was returning to Juneau with her three boys.  That was a wonderful distraction which led to a longer interaction later on another day. (More on that later)

We made it to our Airbnb and slept a few hours.  Then our real Alaska adventure began.

Our first day was spent mostly getting to know downtown Juneau.  Coffee shop for breakfast was the first stop.  The Rookery.  Eleanor gave it a five star rating.

We wandered around a bit before all the cruise ship passengers disembarked. It was a foggy grey day.

Our first activity was a visit to the history museum.  The advantage of visiting there first is that we learned much of the history of the area which helped us to orient ourselves to the city and region.

The native peoples have a strong history here and are proud of their heritage.

Alaska became the forty-ninth state in 1959!

After our visit to the museum, we did more exploring.  Other than the shore of the Gastineau Channel which leads out into the Pacific Ocean and the downtown area, Juneau is built in to the sides of the mountains surrounding it.  Nothing is level.  We definitely got our exercise workout.

We climbed the hill back to our rooms and dropped into bed. There was lots planned for Day Two...

ALASKA!

 Hello from Alaska! Yes, Willow and The Professor are on another adventure.  This Fave Fives (Go to www.susannesspace.blogspot.com to join us in listing our weekly blessings) is dedicated to "getting here" as we arrived very late last night, in the dark, so there are no photos yet. Come back for more later.  (Sorry for the messed up insert up there as I am writing on my tablet and still working out the kinks)

1. I am thankful I married a man who is adventurous and also a planner.  He did all the hard work and research and bookings to make this happen. 

2. I am thankful he is well enough to travel.  If you have been reading Willow's Cottage blog for more than a year, you will know that The Professor had a mild stroke last year in May, just two weeks before we were scheduled to do this same trip.  And look at him now! Off on the adventure we had to cancel fifteen months ago.

3.  I am thankful we didn't miss our flight from Seattle to Juneau.  It was close as we were late arriving there and then we had to be bussed in from our 'remote' deboarding location. After running through the airport to reach our gate, we found out our flight was delayed. Whew!

4.  I am thankful for my neighbors who pick up our newspaper in the mornings and toss it on our porch so our 'kids' can bring them inside to await our return home.

5.  I am thankful for our 'kids' who will care for our home and garden while we are away.  Our daughter-in-law graciously offered to drive us out to the airport yesterday.  We know our home and garden are in safe hands.

And in case you are wondering, yes, Eleanor is with us!

Trying the Hodgepodge

I decided to try writing the Hodgepodge.  I've not really done it much before.  But you gotta try something new sometimes :)    Thanks to Joyce for hosting...

 

1. What's something on your August calendar you're looking forward to? Or dreading if that's easier to answer. 

       

I'm leaving on a jet plane tomorrow!

2. August 5th is National Oyster Day...do you partake? How do you feel about pearls? 

I do like pearls.  My husband bought me a pair of pearl earrings in Sri Lanka when he visited there.

Oysters?  Big NO!  Due to allergies...

3. Tell us about a time when you felt like 'the world was your oyster'. 

During my college years, I traveled to represent the college where I attended.  I sang in a trio and also in the small ensemble (The Reflections).  I thought it was the best way to do two things I love-- singing and traveling.

4. Trip Advisor lists seven islands in the US that require no passport (for US citizens). If you're answering today from outside the US you'll still need to produce yours. An-y-way, have you been to any of the seven? Let's pretend you get an all expense paid trip to one this month...which one do you choose and why? 

Catalina Island California~Martha's Vineyard Massachusetts~Mackinac Island Michigan~Key West Florida~South Padre Island Texas~or Kauai Hawaii

I would choose Kauai Hawaii because I have been to Hawaii six times and never been out of the Honolulu airport!  That's what happens when you fly to and from East Asia via Los Angeles...

My second choice would have been Catalina Island California.  I've been there.  But my focus would have been the before and after times when I could also visit family and friends in Southern California.

5. Sylvia Plath is credited with the following- 

"August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time."

Agree or disagree? In other words, how do you feel about this month? 

Truly, I'm not a fan of August where I live.  I'm just tired of the July heat and humidity that has cooked and boiled me all summer.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

As I sit here typing, I am being entertained by the hummingbirds that are flying in near my window to drink their nectar.  The hummingbirds are one of the joys of  summer.

Candy Canes in August?

 It may seem strange to be knitting red and white striped blankets in hot August.  Why candy cane Christmas colors??

Well, there's a reason.  Actually, there are two reasons.  First, my daughter had bought a bunch of red and white yarn to make a blanket for a friend's daughter who plays softball.  Her team colors are red, white and black.  But the shades of white (ivory?) and red (garnet) weren't quite right for it.  So she passed on the unwanted skeins to me.

My first thought was Christmas!  So, I decided to make some crib blankets for the local pregnancy center.  They give away booties and blankets to expectant moms.  Maybe someone is expecting a December baby and they will want a Christmas themed blanket.

So, onto the needles it went.  I'm almost finished now.  Five rows of red and four of white.  Merry Christmas!

The Very Last Day of July Faves

I'm a bit late posting my Friday Fave Fives because I've been busy celebrating my daughter's birthday (see Fave #5).  But I'm here now to share five blessings from this past week.  I've been doing this for several years and it is important to me to stop and reflect on how blessed I am.

So here are my Faves from this last week and very last day of July 2026.

1.  What's more fun than a fairy trail in the local county park?  PAL and her parents joined us for a ramble at the park and we decided to visit the fairy trail.

Which one is your favorite?

3.  Tall Boy is getting everything in order to begin his freshmen year of university.  It's the local campus of the state university, and it's walking distance from our homes.  One evening, The Professor and I walked over to the uni and strolled around the campus to get a better feel for it.  We have walked past the campus weekly for six years and haven't really wandered around it.   So we did.  One of the interesting bits about the campus is all the statues placed everywhere.

Yes, those are statues, not human fishermen.

4.  Younger Grandson passed his driver's test this week!  So proud of him and his diligence and careful driving.  He's been dreaming of this day for years!

5.  It's Nurse Daughter's birthday today!  Happy Birthday to our youngest!!  We celebrated doing what she loves best.  Walking her dogs and having coffee.  No photos from today.  But here are a couple of her as a two year old, playing outside in our remote Indonesian village.

Some things never change...

And a bonus photo.  Cuz you can't have too many barn pictures.