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These are the Chronicles of Famous Surf Writer Ben Marcus and his trip into the Wilds of the Alaskan Frontier.
Latest Update:
September 25, 2000

8:02 ON STANDBY AT THE JUNEAU FERRY TERMINAL

I am first in line on standby for the 9:15 ferry to Haines. I'm hoping I'll make it, but you never know. I am half-heartedly organizing and rearranging the van, but not really getting into it, because I don't know when I'll get the call to move.

I should be trying a little harder to reorganize the van, because a certain someone is missing. Can't find him anywhere. Can't remember where I hid him last time, even. Oh well, he'll turn up.

Anyway, I feel good after a few days in the home and hearth of the Otsea family. They have a solid family unit there, which I suspect has been welded together through the closeness of long summer days and longer winter nights. Last night at around 9:30, Peter pointed out into the pitch black and said, "Imagine that at 3:30 in the afternoon, with driving rain." It was hard to imagine, but the thought of it explained the alcoholism and suicide problems that afflict Norway and Alaska and other places in the northern latitudes. People need sunlight. They go whoogy without it.

Speaking of whoogy, I slept a lot in the last few days and Peter and Margie said they were worried about me, but I was just catching up on all the bad sleep I'd been getting on the way up, in the van, in the cold. Peter gave me an old sleeping bag and wished me well. I was tempted to buy a down comforter from that store in Juneau, but I think I'll wait and find someplace a little more industrial and a little less touristy.

Went to the Alaska Bar with Peter last night and watched the Olympics, after yet another lovely dinner of salmon tacos. That capped a day of picnicking and walking the tidal flats at Eagle Beach, which is near Eagle River, which is a place where one can see a lot of bald eagles. They were all over, white heads and white tails, flying majestically and making deceptively innocent chirping noises as they flew around, looking for prey. There's plenty for a scavenging bird of prey to eat in Alaska, from salmon to other birds. Saw at least a dozen different eagles, and lots of other birds. They were all just getting along, but Peter has seen lots of instances of bald eagles swooping on ducks and scoters, and eating their livers as the birds struggled.

Eagle Beach looked a lot like Alaska: Looking across the Gastineau Channel there was a big, mysterious view into mountains of uncertain height, shrouded in cloud and snow and occasional blasts of sunlight. There were even a few glimpses of blue sky, which is a pretty epic turquoise in this part of the world. That little patch of blue sky was the only fragile thing in sight, though. Alaska is a sturdy place. There's nothing fragile about this place, and it's mysterious enough.

Peter said there was a chance of also seeing Orcas at Eagle Beach, but none came by. Orcas are up there on my list of Natural Phenomena I've Yet to See. On other trips and at other beaches I've ticked off Water Spouts (San Onofre) and Northern Lights Norway) and Angry Sharks (Sumbawa). On this trip I've seen a Black Bear and a Moose and a Glacier, more Northern Lights, Fall Color Along the Cassiar and a Dead Porcupine on the Side of the Road, but there's more to come. I'm hoping to tick off Orcas, Grizzly Bear, maybe a Tidal Bore or two and who knows what else.

Right now the only natural phenomenon I want is Getting on the Ferry on Standby. Maybe I'll see an Orca or two from the ferry. This is a daylight trip back to Haines, so I'll be seeing all the scenery I missed on the night voyage in. I'm going to sort out the van before crossing back into Canada at Haines Junction, so I don't end up seeing The Inside of a Jail Cell.

That's about it for now. Go Giants.

 

 

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September 24, 2000
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September 8, 2000
 

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