July in Alaska: a Pleasant Reunion

By Henry Srebrnik, [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian

I once heard a speaker refer to “remote” Alaska. That it certainly is – it’s five times zones west of Prince Edward Island.

Earlier this month, we travelled to Juneau, the capital, to attend the 50th year reunion of my wife Pat’s high school.

Alaska belonged to tsarist Russia until sold to the United States in 1867, and remnants of that past are visible in onion-domed Russian Orthodox churches and aboriginal Alaskans with Russian surnames.

The St, Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, built in the 19th century, contains icons brought from Russia, and sits on a steep hill overlooking the downtown. It was built by Tlingit natives who were Orthodox.

One of the saints of the church is St. Peter the Aleut, a native Alaskan.

Today, indigenous Alaskans comprise some 15 per cent of the state’s 740,000 people. Most others are people whose families came from the “lower 48.”

Alaska became the 49th American state – and, at 1,717,856 square kilometres,  by far the largest -- in 1959.

Juneau is in the Alaska panhandle, located on the Inland Passage of the Pacific Ocean and surrounded by mountain ranges.

Founded in 1880 as a gold mining town -- you can take tours of the old mines -- the mountains loom over the city making for dramatic and spectacular views.

The city of 32,000 people, above the 58th parallel, sits at the base of Mount Roberts and can only be reached by boat or airplane.

The absence of a road network is due to the extremely rugged terrain surrounding the city. This makes Juneau in effect an island in terms of transportation, in spite of the city being located on the mainland.

A good starting point for learning about the city is the Juneau-Douglas City Museum, which also offers walking tours of Juneau's historic buildings.

Juneau has become a major destination for cruise ships. In summer, as many as five huge boats dock in the cruise ship harbour, and the  city is overrun with tourists.

The downtown begins to resemble a virtual theme park; indeed, most shops sell souvenirs and trinkets.

A tramway, opened in 1996, carries visitors 550 metres up Mount Roberts, elevation 1,164 metres, through the rain forest to an alpine area.

There are hiking trails, wildflowers and views of Gastineau Channel separating the mainland from Douglas Island.

The Mendenhall Glacier, some 22 kilometres long, is located in Mendenhall Valley, about 19 kilometres from downtown Juneau, and is also a tourist destination.

The glacier has recently come to the forefront of the international debate on global warming, because it is retreating and shrinking. A lake has now formed at its base from the melting ice.

On the fourth of July, America’s Independence Day, we watched Juneau’s annual parade, on a day when the temperature actually reached 28C. Not bad for a place this far north.

There were parades, races, music, sand sculpting, food vendors, and barbeques. We went to the one at Douglas United Methodist Church on Douglas Island. It was indeed a very spirited event.