Icy Straight Point

Finally, land ho! We arrived at Icy Straight Point sometime early morning while everyone was snuggled up in their beds. In case you’re thinking of moving to Icy Straight Point, think about how places are named before packing up and heading out. It’s cold here, and I guess it gets windy as well. Beautiful snowcapped mountains surrounding this little hamlet of about 2-300 people. Most of which are seasonal workers who made their way here seeking fortune in the tourist industry. Good luck with that!

The Mother Ship

Welcome Center

We arrived at the Visitor’s Center little early and decided to check the place out. Icy Straight Point at one time was a bustling fish cannery. Today, it’s a fish cannery museum.  Several buildings with canning equipment make up the museum and of course, several gift shops accompany the museums. Not sure if the cans of salmon are left over from when the cannery was operational or new but either way, we passed. We did see that there was a free, yes free, gondola up the hill so off to the wild country! And for free!

Wasn’t long before we realized that this free gondola ride only lasted 5 minutes and went nowhere. However, it did connect to another gondola that went to the top of the mountain, only $50.00 per person and you get views of a lifetime! Sorry, spent my allowance on the Jeep tour so gonna pass on the gondola ride. But for those with extra disposable income, there are two ways down from the mountain. Ride the gondola, which is included in the $50.00 charge, or drop a few more bucks and ride the zip-car down the hill. This exhilarating 4-minute ride is similar to zip-lining only you sit on a bar hanging from the zipline and relax. 4-minutes of pure adrenaline and it only costs $150.00 per person. That’s $1.60 per second. Enjoy. We decided to hike back going through the temperate rain forest. Lots of moss!

Skunk cabbage – a favorite of bears. Helps clear out their system after hibernating.

We signed up for a Jeep tour here that will take us into the wild Alaskan back-country. But since we’re very early in the season, the only animals we are likely to see are the tour guide and his crew. “Billy” as the tag says on his shirt, looks to be in his late 40’s, possibly early 50’s and lives on the beach in Mexico during the winter. He travels to Alaska during the summer to get away from the tacos and hot weather. Mosquitoes didn’t play into the conversation but I’m sure he doesn’t enjoy them.

We sign our lives away on the waiver form and head out for the Jeeps. Each Jeep seats four people but we luck out, there’s just me and Mom-bear in our Jeep. I knew that cabbage dinner would come into play this morning!

The trip is on old logging roads that were used to haul out every stick of lumber as far as you can see. Clear cutting was the norm up here and there isn’t a single indigenous tree left. They did replant after raping the area but these are fast growing pines that just can’t replace the original hardwoods that once stood here. Still, the mountains and ocean create a beautiful vista for our Jeepsters.

The real reason I don’t smile – it closes my eyes!

Hittin the rough country, yeah!

The drive is about 2.5hrs and goes through, what Billy claims to be, beautiful alder groves that create a “tunnel” over the road in the summer. Not today, just bare limbs. We are the first tour of the season so can’t expect much.

The alder forest

Got a few good pictures of the bay just before Collette had a flashback about Charlie being in the trees. Time to get back to the Visitor’s Center. We thanked Billy, gave him a few bucks for the commentary and made our way back to the mother ship. Fun trip. If you find yourself in Icy Straight Point, do the Jeep tour and look for Billy. If you can’t find him at the Visitor’s Center, he lives in a converted storage container on the edge of town with the other seasonal workers. Just drop by and he’ll take care of you.

Bald Eagle

The bay with our cruise ship

Closeup of bay with cruise ship

Off to Juneau tomorrow and a little better weather. Should be in the low 50’s and partially cloudy for our whale watching experience. As they say in Alaska, see ya later.