OUR ALASKAN CRUISE: JUNE 2024

Part Seven: Icy Strait Point

Another new port and more new adventures. But what kind of adventures? Not as many exciting ones as we had first imagined. Or maybe we were getting tired of scooting off the ship, running around like silly tourists and then hurrying back to get on the ship before it sailed. Speaking of which, did you hear of the family of nine who were late coming back from an excursion because their bus never came to pick them up? By the time it was all said and done it cost them $9,000 to get back home. Forget catching up with their ship, they just wanted to go home. True story. The cruise line is now working with them to refund them some of the money they had to lay out.

OK, like always I’ve gotten off track. Let’s get back to this port of call. Icy Strait Point I discovered was originally built to house a salmon cannery and at one point in time was the largest salmon Packhouse in Alaska, producing a whopping 152,505 cases in one year. It is located in Alaska’s largest Native Tlingit village, the village of Hoonah. It is owned and operated by the Honnah Totem Corporation and all profits from the restaurants, tours, shops, etc. directly support the local community. Moreover, it is considered a cruise destination and so only open when a ship is in port.

This is the Green Gondola– called the Transporter – that we came to and it is free. This will take you up to the Adventure Center. Here you will find gift shops, a restaurant and rest rooms and

the second gondola called the The Sky Glider. Tickets cost $50 per person and that allows you to ride it as many times as you want in one day. In my opinion, stick to the green gondola.

This is a view from the base center looking up the mountain along the path of the Sky Glider.

This is a view from almost the top looking back down the mountain. The ride starts out fairly flat, then becomes very steep very quickly.

We rode to the top with our good friends Dan and Betty.

The Sky Glider ride is about 7 minutes in length and up at the top the view is really impressive. The whole time we were in Alaska and I never tired of looking at the mountain ranges that surrounded us. They continued to impress wherever we went.

We, however, had come to the top because we had tickets for the Forest Excursion.

This is the tram that carried us into and back out of the forest. I later learned that this tram and a couple of others like it were once used to bring tourists to the top of the mountain. However, once the Sky Rider Gondola was installed the question became: What to do with it. Well, somewhere along the way someone came up with the idea to repurpose it and use it for a so-called Forest Excursion. And so another excursion was added to the mix which became another source of revenue.

I found this sign sort of interesting in that in Florida the signs warn you about alligators. But here in Alaska it is all about the bears.

About the Forest Excursion ride,, honestly, I was not impressed. It was about an hour in length and the day was beautiful so the ride was pleasant.

After all how many trees can one really look at. After awhile they all begin to look the same.

As for wild life, this was it.

So that was it for gondola’s and excursions. But we weren’t done, not by a long shot, we had more exploring to do.

The rumor was that if one took a walk along the beach front you could possible spot a whale or two in the waters offshore. So off we went.

Sadly, this was the only whale we spotted on our walk.

But then I spotted it and my eyes lit up. It being

the Icy Strait Museum! Now this was my kind of place. What did I find inside? Here’s a glimpse.

The Alaska State Flag and how it came to be. Designed by 13 year old John Bell Benson aka Benny. He designed it while a seventh grader living in an orphanage in Seward, Alaska. For his design he won a gold watch and $1000.00 – the money he used toward tuition in diesel mechanic school after he graduated High School.

About the flag itself . . .

the field of blue is for the Alaska sky and the Forget Me Not, Alaska’s state flower

the North Star in the upper right is for the future of the State of Alaska, the most northerly in the Union

the eight gold stars form the the consolation Great Bear symbolizing strength

the flag was flown for the first time on July 9, 1927

I discovered that there are five common types of fishing trawlers used in Alaska but this was the type that was used by the fisherman of Icy Strait Point.

I learned about the fire that destroyed the village of Hoonah.

While the village went about the rebuilding process, the villagers lived in the salmon cannery.

Speaking of the Salmon Cannery,

There was also a reproduction of the Salmon cannery processing line with detailed and informative information on each step in the process.

Suffice to say, as in the past when I’ve visited museums all over this great land, I was like a kid in a candy store. The day had been salvaged. If you ever do take a cruise and find yourself in Icy Strait Point do take the time to visit the museum. You will not be disappointed.

So back to our ship we wearily trudged. It had been a full day and for us a lot more walking than we typically do. But it had been a wonderful day. The weather was picture perfect. We had discovered many new things. However, I don’t believe I have any great desire to visit Icy Strait Point again. It felt like, and indeed it was, simply built to attract tourists. However, when two ships are in port it really doesn’t have the resources to handle the huge amount of people that flood ashore.

So, back on board little did we know that the best was yet to come. Take a look

A wonderful rainbow

An unnamed glacier – it is estimated there are 27,000 glaciers in Alaska and of that number 600 are named.

And much later that night a spectacular sunset. Ah, how grand is the cruising life. I’ll probably never see the three together again. But I did this time and I’m still smiling.

Time to get some sleep as our ship slips silently through the night waters to our next destination.