The Niecko's

The family fun continues! Last week we welcomed the Niecko / Jacoby family to Juneau via the Holland America Cruise line.  Their cruise ship departed from Seattle and headed to the great Alaskan southeast with a stop in Juneau. Although they only docked for a short 10 hours, we were able to squeeze in a lot (literally squeeeeeze) and show them the best of Juneau.  

Fortunately for them they had a personal tour guide waiting for their arrival. If you have really good eyes you will see that the very handsome tour guide is holding up "Niecko party of 6" signs....This same tour guide was able to convince the Niecko clan into taking an all day excursion with him.  As you can see below, Niecko himself stood by as a sign of approval. 

And, the matriarch of the Niecko clan, Dianne,  seemed to warm up to the tour guide immediately.  In viewing the picture, one would sense that they went together like peas and carrots.

The first stop on the adventure tour was up the Mt Roberts Tram. As always the view did not disappoint. 

Our next stop was to the Mendenhall Glacier. It is always fun to show people this natural wonder. Ian's niece, Evian, was particularly excited about all the nature and wildlife. She is quite the little scientist and author. At the tender age of 7 she has already authored and illustrated many non-fiction books.  My inner child completely related with hers and I found myself truly enjoying our time together. If I was about 26 years younger I am sure that she would be my best friend.  

Remember when I mentioned squeeze? Well, this is how we ride in style! Our little Subi did a wonderful job carrying all of its 6 adults and 2 children around. Way to go Subi Family Truckster! Part of the adventure for me was being able to 1) fit in the back and 2) survive the odd smells coming from a certain persons feet. 

Ian had a really great time reconnecting with his mini me, Niecko. There is a really special bond between them, something that no time or distance can change. And of course, no trio would be complete without the Polish Prince, Jon. 

Perhaps, though, the best surprise was coming upon a mother black bear and her two cubs. I am not sure who spotted this first, but we all gazed in wonder at this rare opportunity to see such an adorable sight.  As a side note, we did save a lady's life as well. Wearing her headphones and power walking around the bend straight unto the mother bears path, we alerted her just in time so she could turn back.   Click play to see and make sure to blow it up so you can see the bears. For those of you a little computer challenged, it is the broken square in the right corner of the youtube screen. 

I really enjoy watching wildlife behaviors. I think that there is so much we can learn from their patterns.    Be it a flock of sea birds all waiting their turn to lift off, the sea lions frolicking together in the gentle waves,  the snow geese flying in tandem and alternating leaders when they tire, or the mothers caring for their young, I see constant patterns of love, sharing, and community all over our world.   

Sometimes I think, though, that humans are completely missing the mark.  I imagine that we were once innately aware of community and fellowship,  but somehow the "we" of our lives was replaced with the "I and me"  that so often categorize our everyday decisions.  

Thankfully, though, I often see a tender moment such as the above.  It reminds me that something innate cannot be taken away, that Love still very much exists here.  Our world just needs more flames to go out and light the fires in others, one torch at a time. 

And what family vacation would be complete without food? As our time came to a close we splurged on non-vegan wheat filled pizza. And Uncle Ian and Aunt Sarah's bowels payed for it the next 2 days.

As always, I am so thankful for my family. It truly is a blessing to know that they are not starving, in the midst of a civil war, are well sheltered, healthy, and safe.  I think of all the other mothers, brothers and families of this world who cannot say the above and it does sadden my soul.  Loving them truly helps me love others and gives me courage to live a life for change.

So thank you Niecko / Jacoby family for sharing your lives with us, supporting us, and being a constant renewing foundation for us. We love you so much!

And so our adventure continues.....Mendenhall glacier is always one of the top attractions for both residents and tourists alike. Unfortunately, since the 1930's the glacier has receded almost 2.0 miles! 

Although a different experience from the time my mom came to the glacier in the winter, it is still an awesome site to behold.  And, I am glad that it is still there to behold!

 If I may climb unto my soap box for just a minute (and I assume that if you are reading this you are friends, family, or someone who may share the same views) living here in Alaska you cannot in all good conscious deny global warming. I know it is a hot political topic, but the reality is, our earth IS CHANGING.  With our population expected to reach over 9 billion by the year 2050, how can you argue that we are not impacting our world somehow? With those kinds of numbers, it is just not possible to not leave some kind of earth changing carbon and global footprint.

I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world and so yes, I am a "tree hugger",  a budding environmentalist, and people at work call me "granola"....what can I say? I want this to remain untouched and preserved.

Now I will climb back down from the soap box waving my Recycle/Consume Less / Grow and By Local flag!!!! And if I can also slip in my no drilling vote I will. Still friends?

This is a picture of Mendenhall Lake, which until the 1900's really didn't even exist.  It was formed from run off and the melting of  Mendenhall Glacier.  I actually had friends who came in on a cruise ship and went kayaking the same day that this picture was taken.  Unfortunately two of the kayaks tipped resulting in a trip to our local ER and a diagnosis of hypothermia. Thankfully both of them are ok, but treading water for 30 minutes in subzero water temperatures was not their idea of a fun excursion.

This is Nugget Falls to the right of the glacier. It is an extremely loud, powerful and I would even say boisterous waterfall.  A short 1 mile hike and you come right up to the lakes shore and falls.  Be prepared, though, you will get wet!

I believe that this floating iceberg was present when my mom and I came to Mendenhall this winter. It sure looks like one we walked up to (and possibly the one my mom tried to lick).  Often the glacier calves and so it is common to have many of these icebergs floating in the lake even during the heat of summer. Have you read that Alaska is having a heat wave? Global warming I tell ya!

As a father's day gift and early birthday gift for my mom we sent them on a day cruise to Tracy Arm Fjord and glacier.  They had already been there via plane (thanks again Dr. B!) to see it from an aerial view, but this took them much closer to the glacier's mouth. 

Living in a temperate rain forest of Alaska, glaciers are abundant. At one point I thought my parents might get "glaciered-out" but really, it that possible?  Like meeting members of the same family, each one has its own story, path, landscape and personality. I think that they fell in love like I have.

Apparently while on the cruise, this iceberg flipped over revealing a beautiful turquoise blue underside. I guess this isn't something that you get to see very often, so my parents were pretty excited.

And of course the wildlife! Little harbor seals call this area home. Since summer has come upon Alaska many seal mothers have given birth. My parents said that you could actually see blood and placenta on some of the floating ice.

As the perfect balance in the circle of life goes, the bald eagles (seen above and below) will swoop down and feed off the placental byproducts.  

Isn't this a great picture? My mom took this while on the cruise. She really does have an eye for all things creative and beautiful. 

And of course our favorite, humpback whales. There are a lot of whales in Juneau right now so I was not surprised that they saw some. I was surprised, though, that they were able to capture such great pictures!  The salmon and herring runs have started so most people have a good chance at spotting one.

This is a picture of a waterfall seen near the Tracy Arm glacier. The name is slipping my mind right now, but I think the word "hole" is in it somewhere.  You might be able to see the small dark holes in the bedrock from where it gets its name. 

Here is a picture of my mom and I heading out to Benjamin Island to see the sea lions. I didn't tell them that they were there. The surprise is so worth the wait.   Like I mentioned before, my mom and dad were such athletes on this trip. I think any 20 year old would have had trouble keeping up with them!

Here we are at the overlook. My buddies, Rebecca and Mary,  joined us on this wonderful trip. As customary, we hiked the short 30 minutes and had lunch while enjoying the wonders of nature.

 This guy, I think the leader of the pack, so reminds me of Jabba the Hut from Star Wars....

My mom really doesn't like this picture (sorry mom!) but it was the only one of the three of us. I think you look just fine, mom!

I am not sure why Ian is pretending to punch me in the stomach, but this is on our last day together.....not Ian and I, but before my parents left.  We thought we could squeeze in another short hike on the Flume near Perseverance Trail.

 This trail is fairly easy and most of it is along a boardwalk canopy above the rain forest.

While on our walk a local tourist (go figure) spotted this bear cub in the tree. It was still alive, but we didn't see mama anywhere.  For us that was a good thing, but for this little guy I am not so sure.

One of the reasons we chose The Flume Trail was so that my dad could try one last hand at panning for gold. He really enjoyed searching for this precious metal. As a matter of fact, he even found some to take home with him!  While he was panning, the rest of us were talking to a local who said that Alaska still has the largest gold reserve in the world, much still un-mined.  He likes to hike up into the mountains and pan for himself. Sometimes he even finds nuggets.

Although I know there is a lot of money to be made, I am still not sure how I feel about blowing up mountains to acquire it. For me, there is no price tag that could justify destroying or contaminating this area.

These are Alaskan Malamutes. Their owner brings them down for the tourists to pet. Being a huge dog lover, my mom definitely had to go give them kisses in addition to treats. 

My parents left after 11 days of adventure, leaving behind many new friends and memories. We had dinner with one of my colleagues, and he was so impressed with my parents that he gave my dad a Blue Artic Fox fur. It was a very tender gesture and really excited my dad.  It was fun to share Alaska with them, and even more meaningful to share them with Alaska.  

I love you mom and dad!

Sarah

It has been so much fun having my parents here. Even though in their 60's, I mean late 40's,  they still contain hearts of adventure.  The question was never how long, steep, or hard something would be, but rather if we could accomplish it all in one day.  

On Sunday we rode the Tram up Mt. Roberts and then hiked around the trails.  The views were just spectacular! In addition to all the trails at the top, there is also a bird sanctuary and theatre that tells about the Tlingit (pronounced cl-ink-it) culture.



On our way up the tram we caught this cruise ship coming into the harbor. As it is summer, many ships dock in Juneau. As a matter of fact, some days we have 5 large ships just out our window. At my dinner table I can literally wave to the passengers eating theirs.



My dad took this picture on his first day here.  At times there are actually more tourists in Juneau then residents! 



As lovers of Alaskan wildlife, we thought it would be good to know where we really fit into the evolutionary chain of competition.  Ian falls short about 2 feet from an Eagle's wingspan, and I just look to weird to even consider moving into a nest.



This beautiful eagle was unfortunately shot in its beak and blinded (it takes a very very mean person to hurt animals like this!) Subsequently, he is unable to forage for food and now calls our local bird sanctuary home.  I usually cannot stand caged animals (I hate zoos) but this guy would not survive without his flight and sight abilities, so I guess this is better than an early death.

In the native culture, especially in Southeast Alaska, the Eagle has a high position of honor. As a result, one of our local tribes is actually called the Eagle Clan. The other is called Raven. Walking around downtown you will often find totem poles and traditional native drawings featuring this magnificent bird. 

My dad spotted this bear and cubs at the top of Mt. Roberts....can you see it? This was almost the closest that we came to seeing one, until today on our hike. You will have to wait for future blogs to read about this encounter. 

A lot of our time together was spent enjoying the great outdoors. Being a temperate rain forest, Juneau usually sees a lot of rain and overcast days. However, the entire time my parents have been here it has been sunny and at least 70's. My dad likes to say that while he was here he never saw darkness, which is pretty much true. Given our long days of summer sun you often go to bed and wake up in brightness.   It has been nice to have the extra hours to squeeze in all of our hikes.

This was while we were hiking around Sandy Beach, I was trying to give Ian a better view of the waterfall. I think he appreciated the boost.



Here is Sandy Beach. This is the old pump house they used during the gold mining days. It is quite a landmark here in Juneau. They are actually going to begin restorations on this in the near future.



Always looking for something to do and NEVER losing energy, I decided to try to wear my dad out one night and go on a hilly 10 mile bike ride to a local waterfall.  However, that still didn't work.

Along the way we stopped to pan for gold.  He didn't find any that day, but eventually he did earn the title of "Alaskan Gold Miner" (more on that later). 

On Monday my friend Brian flew my parents and I over to the Juneau ice fields and Tracy Arm on his plane. This was my dads favorite thing while here in Juneau. I have to admit, it was pretty amazing flying over areas that have never seen the foot of man.

Tracy Arm is a large glacier tucked away inside a large fjord. All around the bowl of mountains and ice, waterfalls cascade down into the turquoise waters below.

This is a pictures of some of the melted ice pools on the glacier in the ice field.  It goes on for miles and miles off into the mountains.  As I looked out the window of the plane unto this vastness of beauty I was again reminded of what an amazing creator we have.  Although somehow my heart understands, my human mind could never have come up with something so beautiful.  It makes me feel so small yet so loved all at the same time.

As if one glacier wasn't enough, my parents and I biked Herbert Glacier Trail to see Stewart's Glacier....just kidding...we biked Herbert Glacier Trail to Herbert Glacier (I was just seeing if you were actually reading this or just looking at the pictures)

The 9 mile trail is great for biking.  It is about 30 miles outside of Juneau and in definite bear country. We made sure to talk, sing, or scream while we hustled a long to our final destination. 

My parents really were super troopers with all the hiking, biking, kayaking, etc. But I think after a while they really wanted to take a break. Some more than others...MOM!

But, we made it! And relax again we did!

My mom was pretty funny on this trip. Two of my all time favorite quotes were from her this day. The first was while we biking there (she got a little tired / winded) and the second was after we reached the glacier.

"I can now go to my grave a better woman having known Herbert"

"I am not talking to you anymore because I cannot breathe"

-Karen Ringenberg 2013 

 I am sure enjoying having my parents here.  They truly are wonderful people, parents, and friends.  It has been exciting showing them our town and experiencing the greatness or our Creator together.

I still have many more pictures to share but as I have learned in life, moderation is key. I will post the remainder later.  Until then, kick back, relax, and have a Happy Fathers Day!

In Joy and Love,
Sarah