Bear with me...

 I know that I've been home for almost a week now but I still haven't quite gotten back into the routine of blogging every day.  I fully intend to do so, so bear with me.

Bear is an interesting word. It, of course, refers to the animal, which, as we learned on our trip, comes in brown, black, grizzly, polar and Kodiak.  There are probably others but these are the ones I remember. 

But the same word, bear, can mean to carry something as in "Don't let that bear bear you away."  It can also be a request for understanding as in "Bear with me while I try to find someone to help rescue you from the bear."

Then of course there is the homophone bare.  You can bare your soul or bare yourself by taking your clothes off.  Neither of these activites will help you much if you're confronted by a bear. 

We got lots of advice about dealing with bears during our recent time in Alaska.  The number one rule was don't carry food with you when you go wandering into a woods where there might be bears.  Another good bit of information was that bears don't really hibernate.  They do sleep in their caves for most of the winter months but they are not really hibernating.  If you poke a sleeping bear it will awake suddenly, will be able to move quickly, and will not be happy with you.  Best just to avoid caves that look dark and comfy.  In the spring, mama bears will not let you play with their cute little cubs, so bear that in mind as you go hiking. 

The closest we got to bears was in a natural history museum.  My wonder spouse said this was close enough. 

We were warned that bears can climb trees so trees are not a good escape route.  Bears are omnivorous and eat lots of berries, and salmon when they can get it. However people meat is also acceptable. The best advice we heard was to go walking with someone who runs slower than you do.  I always figured that our guides were sizing us up.  

Latch vs Luck

 One of our tours while in Alaska included a visit to "Potlatch Park."  This park actually had little to do with food, except for the name, but was actually a collection of very fine totem poles.

We did learn the difference between a potluck and potlatch dinner from our cheerful short red-headed guide for this tour, who didn't look at all indigenous but was quite knowledgeable about totem poles.  He was one of many college students from all over the states who had come to Alaska for a summer job.  He not only guided the tour but also drove the bus from our ship to the park.  He admitted that being able to drive a bus helped him get the job.

This all took place in and around Ketchikan, one of the southern most cities in Alaska. In the culture of that area a potluck supper (you may know it as a carry-in dinner) is one where everyone brings something to contribute to the meal while a potlatch is a huge (possibly many day) feast hosted by one person or family for all their friends and neighbors.  As I said, it can go on for days.  There is no expectation of being repaid for this but the giver of the feast can hope for a return feast someday.

Totem poles are not to honor the dead, instead they tell stories of the clan and identify the family.  This one is clearly from the Eagle family.  We were told quite a long legend about the beautiful black haired woman faithfully waiting for her husband to return. 

The blue color in the eyes of this one comes from copper powder.

This is a view of the art work on the end of one of their community houses.  The structure inside with a center pit with benches around the four sides reminded me of kivas I have seen in the south western states.

The expected life of a totem pole is about 50 years.  When they fall down they are left where they fall to be reabsorbed into the natural growth around them.

We're Home!

 My wonder spouse and I have returned home from our month of wandering, and after a few days to unwind, unpack and do laundry, life is beginning to feel "back to normal."  We celebrated Father's Day by having an early supper at our favorite very casual, nearby Mexican restaurant.  Burritos and pineapple water - sooo good.  

On our way back home we noticed that everyone had their garbage bins and recycling bins out by the curb. Ah, yes, Monday is garbage pickup day.  As I gathered trash from the upstairs wastebaskets (my part of the chore) I reflected that a person can get really spoiled on a three week cruise.  Where do those wet towels and filled waste baskets disappear to?

But, now that we are back, and I can blog on my computer, I should be able to include pictures. 

A totem pole in a down down park in Spokane.  More about totems in my next blog.

The rapids that rush through downtown Spokane, a really beautiful city.

A view of the wide open spaces from my west coast brother's little ranch. Is it any wonder that I love it there?

Almost home

 On Monday we disembarked (don't you love long words)? We got off our ship, made it to the Vancouver airport and, to our delight, were able to get an earlier flight to our next destination - Seattle. We were very, very pleased that we could go through customs while still in the Vancouver airport. Big signs saying WELCOME TO THE USA guided us easily and quickly through the process. So quickly in fact that we were then able to get the earlier flight to Seattle, discover after landing that the plane we had just gotten off would be boarding in a half hour to fly to Spokane, our ultimate destination. We had expected to arrive in Spokane by 11:30pm, instead arrived at 7pm to be greeted at the airport by my west coast brother and sister-in-law. And this brings me to the almost home title of this blog. My spouse and I won't actually be home til early Saturday morning, but right now I am at the one place in the world where I feel most at home except for my own home. The unique and very comfortable house and rolling rural vistas in all directions make this an excellent place to be, but it's the family love that makes it feel like home.

On dry land...

 So here we are at the end of our lovely cruise, on dry land again. We have followed all the steps, which, by the way, has involved lots and lots of steps. We have identified our luggage which is now on the way to the Vancouver airport and, in an hour, we will board a bus to follow it there. From there we will fly to Seattle then on to Spokane. 

When we flew to Tokyo at the beginning of this odyssey it was a 13 hour flight from Chicago. Now we are in Vancouver, much closer to our goal, playing the waiting game. And speaking of games this city is decorated with soccer balls. Evidently there will be some big games here later this week.

Meanwhile we are in a comfy hotel dining room waiting for our bus. Passing the time eating cookies and drinking coffee. We must keep our strength up. 

The last night

 Well, here we are. My Wonder Spouse and I are relaxing on our balcony of our state room watching the gently rippling water as the sun sets. It has been a lovely long cruise. I've experienced two big accomplishments. 

The first is stuffing everything I own into my big suitcase and my carry on with a little overflow into my spouse's carry on. He's very understanding.

Second, I think I really saw a whale, and about time. This is my last chance. I saw the long dark shape and the dorsal fin. Of course no picture, there's never time for that. But I feel confident about what I saw and I am content. 

Next stop Vancouver, then Spokane. No more cruising til next time. 

Bears, glaciers and zip lines

 Well no bear sightings yet but we have been warned repeatedly not to carry food with us as we hike. Yesterday was not a problem because our excursion was by catamaran. We sailed through lots of ice chunks to get close to Hubbard glacier. So blue and beautiful. We even drank a Margarita made with glacier ice. The hot chocolate we were given when we got back to our ship was much better. When we get home I will be able to post pictures with my blogs so will play photo catch up then. 

Today we actually ended up doing quite a bit of hiking. We rode a gondola to the top of a mountain, then hiked a long way to the zip line site. So much fun but then another mile plus hike from the zip line touch down to the shore to get a tender back to the ship. The zip line ride was fun but a little chilly compared to our zip ride in the Caribbean. But really fun. I will do it again the next chance I have. 

If you haven't tried it you really should. The zip lining that is, not the glacier Margherita. I should mention we are at Hoonah and Icy Strait Point today.