Deirdre

I almost forgot to write this post...a happy/sad event for us...our friend & executive director of the Shrine has had some big life changes this summer and has moved to Anchorage this past week.  We are happy for her, new baby on the way & her husband Ben & Quinn, but sad that we won't be working with her any more.  God put a big plan together to get them to Anchorage and that was amazing to see unfold...we pray that He will send a wonderful new director to the Shrine to continue the work & vision of this wonderful place.  

Someone quiet & unassuming, like Deirdre  ; D

So glad to have had this time with you & thanks for believing in us !  All the best to you !!

Day tripping

Can't believe fall is here and already a week into September!  Definitely feeling a change in the weather here, much cooler at night and have the furnace running.  We are going to be low on dry, seasoned wood to burn in the wood stove this winter so resisting the urge to light a fire yet, but it won't be long.  That said, I do like the cool weather, don't miss the muggy humidity at all! 

So one thing you may not realize about Juneau is that even though it is " on the continent" as the locals say, it is really an isolated island so to speak.  The "Road" goes about 5 miles south of the city and 40 miles north, although there is not much at all past us...and that's it.  You can only travel by boat or plane to leave Juneau...no jumping in the car for a road trip.

  So this past week, we travelled to Haines, 60 miles north, on the ferry to look at a utility tractor that might be purchased for the Shrine property.  Sixty miles, 4-1/2 hours on the water and lots of beautiful scenery.  There was a beautiful sunrise to start the day

We didn't take Sully the Nissan, just went as walk ons and Aurora went too !  She had to ride in her crate down on the car deck, but she did great...I talked to the crew guy afterwards and he said she never cried or barked--she is a trooper!  

A couple photos along the way...

This is interesting, something we just learned about the summer.  In 1918, there was a tragic ship sinking in the Lynn Canal--this is just about 7 miles north of the Shrine.  In Oct of that year there was a blizzard & gale force winds, the Princess Sophia was driven up onto Vanderbilt reef.  The reef is in the middle of the canal and is only partially visible according to the tide level.  

The ship was stuck and though several ships made it to help rescue the passengers, it was not possible to due so because of the tides, they couldn't get close enough and the weather was bad.  The captain thought the ship would lift off the reef at  high tide so he sent the rescue boats back.  The ship did lift off the reef, but the wind twisted it around and ripped open the bottom...366 souls were lost.  Although I had never heard of this before, it is said that economically, this wreck was worse than the Titanic, because of the many wealthy Alaskans that were on board, headed south for the winter.  The loss of many business leaders from this area severely hurt the economy for many years.  

Haines is a small town, charming and scenic.

 As we were headed out of town to see the tractor, I kept thinking something is different about this place, but what is it ? Trees! We have a gazillion trees around Juneau, but 90% of them are evergreens...Haines is a different microclimate, out of the rain forest area, so there are deciduous trees, like maples ...with leaves!  Didn't realize I had missed that, will be interesting to see if there is much color change here this fall but don't expect much.  But the rest of the scenery makes up for it..just different.  

A few hours in Haines, then back on the ferry for another 4-1/2 hours...a long day but nice to see some new scenery and enjoy a beautiful day!