Two Weeks in Three Styles

Other Features

My childhood memory was about to be tested. When living in Anchorage in the summer of 1959, I had played on a log that was to become a flag pole. The limbless and debarked tree lay in the playground for weeks. The stump end was chest high to me then.

My parents and I moved to Spenard (now a part of Anchorage) before the pole was moved. I had remembered the pole as being taken to Juneau.

So as son as we got off the ship in Juneau, I began my search for the childhood flag pole. First we tried the State Capital.  It was drizzling rain, hence the North Face Jacket Diann was wearing while posing in front of the State Capital Building. "Goretex" became part of our trip from Juneau through College Fiord.

The young lady at the information desk had no idea. However, we did get to look at samples of State sponsored artwork in the lobby of the building.

"Two Alaska Otters" by Judd Mullady were on display, having been sculpted in 1990-1992. "Harvest of the Land" by Joan Bugbee Jackson was on display. Permanent to the lobby was the upper wall border of trees, whales, igloos, picks, and shovels which were brass medallions on a navy blue background.

From the capital building we were sent to the State Library. The librarian sent us to the Archives.

No one knew of a flagpole being sent from Anchorage to Juneau. After over two hours of walking and talking, we gave up and checked out the more typical tourist sites.

First on our list was the Greek Orthodox Church. Octagonal in shape, the little church still has services performed there.

With tired feet and thirsty pallet, we found the landmark Alaska Hotel. It is one of the oldest operating hotels in the state and has a quiet bar during early afternoon.

The wall cabinets of the bar are original and have stained glass to either side of the arched openings which define the shelves holding various bottles of liquor. One cold beer- and we were walking again.

One of Diann’s favorite street findings was the tiny "Mail Boxes Etc." building on the main street near the cruise ship docks. The cedar planked structure was approximately eight feet wide and six feet deep.

Not that we drank beer to the point of intoxication, but we did checkout the famous Red Dog Saloon, too. The swinging doors opened to a sawdust floored room with an incredible amount of artifacts hanging on the walls and from the ceiling. Orange life rings from passing ships hang on the wall. Stuffed animals abound and a 300 pound Halibut hangs from the rafters.

A bowler hatted honky tonk piano player (who had been on break earlier at the Alaska Hotel bar) sang riotous songs.

He really had the crowd involved. So much so that he had every one on cue to embarrass an occasional incoming patron.

As an unsuspecting patron pushed through the swinging doors, the piano player would abruptly stop playing. As the person naturally looked around to see why the music had stopped the piano player would say in a condescending tone, "its about time you got here. We’ve been waiting for you."

With that the crowd would clap and roar a welcome. A couple of folks turned and left, which sent the crowd into a roar of laughter and another round of beer orders. The bar is truly a taste of Alaska.

Out from the Red Dog Saloon you can walk the docks of Juneau and see from the pilings, the tidal range. Float planes and boats vi for spaces.

Bronze statues and colorful banners decorate the boardwalk area.

On the way back to the ship, Diann and I used our last hour and a half to take the tram up Mt. Roberts. The trip is not cheap but affords a view of the bay and causes the ships to appear quite small.

The trails have carvings cut into the trunks of an number of living trees. Aside from buying a couple of unique gifts, Diann most enjoyed walking the upper trail and being able to sit in snow- the last week of June. Her biggest photographed smile is while she sat with her hand resting on one of the piles.

At 7:50PM a full sprinkle of rain pattered onto the water as I looked out from our balcony. By 7:55 the sky was blue with a big cloud hanging over Douglas Bridge. Only an occasional burst of drops fell as the Chahunta tug stood by for our departure.

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