Back in the Land of the Sitka Spruce

SS has friends from Arizona who transferred up to Gustavus, Alaska, to work in Glacier Bay National Park. This place was on my hit list when I first visited Alaska three years ago, but there just wasn't time then. So I was totally thrilled for the chance to go now--and, even better, to have local people to stay with! P and C and their son R were unbelievably kind and welcoming and generous to us for our five days in town.

And I was very happy to back in the land of the Sitka spruce. (This shot taken on a walk near Bartlett Cove and the park lodge.)

Native Tlingit tree carving:

P & C's backyard is the Salmon River, and there were a bunch of raspberry bushes back there that we happily harvested from...

...to make a raspberry crisp, to die for.

When our bellies were full with that, we went for a hike on Falls Creek Road and, along the way, picked blueberries until our fingers were stained purple. With those we made a pie, pancakes...sigh. Yum.

We also hiked the Bartlett River Trail--in the rain, but that's part of the Alaska experience, I guess!

And then, a big splurge compared with my efforts to keep the summer low-budget, we took the Glacier Bay park day boat "up bay" to see all of the amazing things the park has to offer. There were grizzlies (just referred to as brown bears here on the coast; it's the same species as grizzlies, but apparently the coastal inhabitants are better fed and therefore much more mellow), puffins, humpbacks, sea lions, sea otters...

...and the gorgeous Marguerite glacier.

We also swung by the Lamplugh glacier, with its distinctive cave-like feature (it's actually a river of sorts flowing under the glacier).

In between all these adventures (and pies) we feasted on halibut caught, while we were there, by C.

And P and her fellow National Park Service employee/friend L took SS and I out with them on a kayak patrol among the Beardsley Islands near Bartlett Cove, as part of their official work. And how official they looked in full uniform!

As if all of this hadn't been spectacular enough, on our last night in town, we built a fire and made s'mores in P & C's backyard, enjoying the long Alaska evening until that insistent Alaska drizzle finally forced us back inside.

Gustavus was not an easy place to leave, that much is for sure!