MUSIC
Welcome to Southeast Alaska.
My name is Gordon McAllister, and I'll be your host for this adventure.
I've traveled all over the world, but I'm particularly looking forward to sharing this
time with you, because this is my home.
We'll be traveling from Ketchikan up to Sitka, over to Juneau, onto Haynes, Skagway, with
a spectacular finale in Glacier Bay.
We'll take things just as they come, by means available to any visitor to Southeast Alaska.
If you've been here, this is a photo album of memories that will last a lifetime.
If you haven't, this is your invitation.
Let's learn a little bit more about Ketchikan, the first stop here in Southeast Alaska.
And in learning about Ketchikan, one of the things you need to know is something about
the weather, because here we have 162 inches of rain in an average year.
That's a little less than a half inch a day.
That tremendous amount of waterfall or rain makes for a lot of water, and not only do
we live in the water here in Ketchikan, we live on the water, as you can see in our famous
Creek Street.
You can also see behind me the residence of one of the more notorious members of Creek
Street, Dolly Arthur.
Dolly Arthur bought this house in 1919 and lived here inside the house until 1973.
She had a real fondness for birds and dogs, and you'll see things like the picture and
the bird stand.
All the ladies on the line here were trying to furnish their houses with whatever was
the latest, whether it was a new appliance or a new wardrobe, and the merchants took
advantage of them right and left.
They may not look like it right now, but these are the mighty king salmon, considered to
be one of the greatest sport fish in the world.
Their numbers were greatly reduced in the first half of the century, but they're making
a tremendous comeback here in southeast Alaska because of places like Deer Mountain Hatchery
here in Ketchikan.
This is all part of a scientific process that produces not only key data, but a bountiful
harvest of salmon.
Unaided, about 10% of the king salmon's 5,500 eggs survive to maturity, but the hatchery
here has a 90% success rate.
This is where there are a variety of scientific experiments going on and also where they harvest
the eggs, protect them, and allow them to return to sea at tremendously increased numbers.
This year alone, they'll release almost half a million of these fish.
That's one of the reasons why Ketchikan is the salmon capital of the world.
There are just about as many ways to rig herring as there are salmon fishermen who fish for
salmon.
For king salmon, they say the average time per salmon is about eight to nine hours to
pick up a king.
They consider this to be the best way.
Oh, mishies.
That's it, come on, go for it.
Make a move!
Ah, yes.
A small and ugly rock cod.
The herring is bigger than he is.
Sport fishing here in Ketchikan provides great food for our table
and even when we get skunked, like today.
It also provides relaxation and fun,
although as Randy might add, not quite as much.
It can also provide something else.
Even though most of the time you can fish all day
and only see a few other boats,
a couple of times a year it can look like a freeway during rush hour.
What's all the fuss?
Just $10,000 for bringing in the largest fish.
And as we say, it can make for quite a bit of excitement around the docks.
Yeah, we got a last minute leader here, folks.
That's worth $10,000, I'll tell you right now.
Yeah, get that.
Wait a minute.
Oh, no.
49.9.
Ain't big enough?
He ain't big enough?
He's worth third place.
Not too long.
He's like a week.
Give you much of a bite?
No, he didn't jump.
It's 47 and 3.25, make it 48.
That's bigger than bluegills we catch back in Ohio.
It's kind of tough to accept that this 48-inch beauty is not the first place winner.
But like I said, we'll take things just as they come.
And our friend from Ohio?
He's not only ending up with a fish that he can brag about the rest of his life,
his fourth place catch is worth a $2,000 trip.
Not bad for having such a good time.
The best fishermen in southeast Alaska don't use boats.
In fact, they don't even use bait or poles.
They rely on their superb reflexes.
Music
Notice the concentration of this blackie,
the quick, precise movements, and the casual response to success.
Let's take another look at that with a slow motion instant replay.
These blacks share the country with brown bears.
More than just color, it's a distinctive hump between the shoulders of the brown bear
and the larger size that distinguishes him from his smaller cousin.
Well, most often it's larger size.
Here's a little brownie trying to follow in his parents' footsteps.
He's saying, where are those fish?
Dad made it look so easy.
Rats.
Now what do I do with it?
Salmon fishing also provided a food base for the original peoples of southeast Alaska,
the Tlingits, Haida, and Tsimshian.
Their traditional clan houses can be seen in places like Totem Bight.
But probably the most visible tribute to their presence is the totem carvings.
Downtown at the Totem Heritage Center, special efforts are being made to preserve the poles.
What we see in places like Totem Bight are modern examples of this ancient art.
The center was built in 1976 to house and preserve 33 poles and fragments of poles,
which were all retrieved within a 40-mile radius of Ketchikan.
The Indians had no written language, so this is how they taught their children through stories and legends.
This pole is telling us a legend about a Haida mythological strongman named Stone Ribs.
Before leaving Ketchikan, we have one of the highlights of our entire trip,
flying through Misty Fjord's National Monument.
This Alaska-sized national monument was dedicated in 1978.
It encompasses nearly 2.2 million acres and is just about 30 miles east of Ketchikan.
You'll never forget the Misty experience.
Forests, mountains, sheer granite cliffs, touching down on a remote lake in the middle of the Alaska wilderness,
and then returning to Ketchikan as we move on because we've only just begun.
At one time, it rivaled San Francisco for fashion and style.
It was called the Paris of the Pacific. We're at Sitka.
The country, the wildlife, I love the wildlife and the sea life.
The ocean just has become embedded in my soul, I guess.
There are a lot of good musicians out there, and they really treasure the opportunity to play music the way that they want to.
And this is the sort of place where they can do that.
All you have to do is look around you on a day like today, and you'll know why it's so easy to stay here.
It's one of the oldest towns in Alaska. We've always liked it. Just came here and liked it.
And there are so many opportunities to do things here, to be a part of a community that we really enjoy.
The Russian influence here can be seen even today, as can the Tlingit history,
which continues on because it's more than just buildings and art.
It's people where history really lives.
Since prehistory, my clan has been here. I have been here a lifetime.
My parents before me, my grandparents before them, all my ancestors have been here since the Ice Age.
My great-grandfather was Ketchikan. Our ancestor, he was the only word I even had.
When the Russians came to invade our people here. And that's quite a great history about this place here.
The legends of our people is something that we almost lost.
And there was one man who used to tell me the stories about our people.
And in time, I have been sort of collecting these stories for myself and for the benefit of my apprentices.
I've been here to learn about your American heritage, your American Indian heritage,
through whatever significant thing is remembered.
So it was appropriate then that the arts and crafts component of the interpretive program be done by the people whose culture it represents.
Tools that most of us carvers and I included are using today are patterned after the primitive tools.
This block was made traditionally in the past as a hand-holding block where the silver is placed on there.
Now this hole where they ran a rawhide throng knotted at this end and then laced it through this donut hole.
Because in the past they did not have this type of cement that the jewelers use today.
So they had a rawhide throng to hold their work in position.
This is the type of tool that they used in which they cut.
And this is the manner that they held the tool very stationary and very slowly cut in the depth that they want.
I have more enjoyment out of it than anything in the world.
Today it's a wide interest up and down the coast and it's something that is pleasing to the people in this part of the world.
I never found anything else that I ever liked as much as this. I sort of love this art.
If I was to compose a song, I think I'd say I'd compose a song of inner well-feeling about my work.
The institution started in 1878 as a school for Tlingit boys, quickly thereafter they added grade schools for young girls and founded by Presbyterian missionaries.
The college has special sensitivities to the native people of Alaska, both Eskimo, Tlingit, Athabaskans.
But also has turned into really a multicultural climate of campus with about approximately half of our students coming from the lower 48 and half of our students coming from Alaska.
We're one of the few places that has an alumni that have an elementary degree through a collegiate degree.
And likewise we're the only place that has a set of their alumni. When they come back we kill them because we have a hatchery on campus.
The music itself says it. You hear that music and you just can't help but feel the energy behind it.
And of course it's a lot of work in the summertime, but I think everyone in our group really enjoys meeting the tourists, the visitors who come to Sitka.
And then of course there are the fringe benefits, all the fun things that we get to do.
When the Russians came here and chose this as their capital, they named this place New Archangel.
And so now we are officially New Archangel dancers.
We hired our first professional choreographer and he looked at our group and he shook his head and he said, well, you've got the right idea.
He immediately said that it could not be an all-women's group, it just wasn't going to work.
And we told him we really didn't have any choice. And he said, well, in that case then you're going to learn to do it right.
And he just about killed us.
We started with four shows the first summer and now we're doing on the average of 12 shows a week over a four to five month period from May to September.
So obviously it needed to grow. And we take in between four and six new members per year.
And they train throughout the winter, learn the dances in the repertoire and are usually ready to dance by about the end of the eighth and ninth month of training.
We are all Sipkins, we are all Alaskans, not a single one of us is Russian.
And yet we all feel that we have what it takes to do the Russian dance, to get the feel of it.
We have over 50,000 probably come through St. Michael's during the summertime.
The icons that we have inside the cathedral are a collection that you cannot see just any place in the free world.
There are people here, you know, as I said, the friendliness of it has made the town more close and the people have more pride in the town here.
The only remaining original Russian building in Sitka is the Bishop's House here on Lincoln Street, built in 1842 by the Russian America Company for the first Orthodox Bishop.
This solid log structure was made in a shiplap style by Norwegian shipbuilders.
Hemp was used as insulation in the cracks and there's an elaborate firebox heating system that provided warmth for the home.
While preparations for restoration were going on, the National Park Service discovered that the original pages of the Bishop's diary had been used to smooth over some of the cracks before hanging wall coverings.
If you look closely, you'll notice on this page that has been turned sideways a date of 1840.
The restored chapel is once again used for special ceremonies.
Across town, the replica of a Russian blockhouse stands guard in an old cemetery.
The headstones here date back to the mid-1800s.
Here in the heart of downtown Sitka stands Castle Hill.
It's a vital part of the history here and, for me, it also commemorates the world's best bargain.
Now, folks from Louisiana or those living on Manhattan may disagree, but in 1867, Russia decided to sell off its loser because, unlike the Hudson Bay Company, the Russian Alaska Company was not able to turn a profit.
So, for $7.2 million, this property was sold off to the United States.
It was immediately hailed as a disaster, a terrible move.
But one mine in Juneau over the course of its life would produce ten times that amount in gold, silver, and copper.
This site of Castle Hill also commemorates where that investment came to maturity.
In 1959, a 49-star flag was raised for the first time in the United States right here on Castle Hill.
It's an inspiring thing, and the fact is people get inspiration from that.
People see that these are really fine human beings who live and function in the community, that are really up there making music with all their hearts, and it really turns them on.
About 90% of them are local. These are fishermen and loggers and so forth, and they're just people who somehow respond to real nice music.
It's beautiful stuff. It's a classy event, this festival. These are really terrific people, and we're playing the best music we know.
There's a very active audience here. It's not every little town where you will get 500 people coming out for a concert night after night after night.
We all love it. I've never really had a musician who came here and didn't want to come back again and again and again, even though we don't pay them.
In 1906, the capital of Alaska was moved from Sitka to Juneau, a thriving gold mining community.
Years later, though sometimes challenged by Alaskans further north, it continues to provide a home for the state capital, most state agencies, and of course, our governor.
Our governor is not the only one to live in style here. Holland America Lines provides regal accommodations and care.
This ship, for example, was built in France at a cost of $160 million. Pretty impressive, even by Alaskan standards.
Over 20 different cruise ships stop here in Juneau each summer, most on a weekly basis, and for many of the passengers, rain or shine, they leave one ship to take a cruise of a different kind.
In the spring, when the snow on the Mendenhall Glacier begins to melt, water levels on the river make for some great rafting.
It's a favorite of young and old alike. The Mendenhall Glacier River Run mixes incredible beauty with a roaring good time.
The Mendenhall Glacier is one of the most beautiful rivers in the world.
The Mendenhall Glacier is one of the most beautiful rivers in the world.
Along the way during this four-hour, three-mile adventure, the guide stops for some goodies and a celebration.
There's, of course, the ever-present smoked salmon, some unique reindeer sausage, cheese, and a concoction called Mendenhall Madness.
After the party, it's once again on our way.
You know how rich Alaska is in natural resources, but we also consider ourselves wealthy when it comes to people, their energy, their ability, and their talent.
We have with us a state treasure, remunos.
Many Alaskan artists are, it seems to be overwhelmed by the landscape and focus on it. You've focused on people. Why that choice?
I'm also overwhelmed with the landscape. However, I like people, I like to draw people, and what I'm interested in doing is recording the history of Alaska as it is today, you see.
And you don't do that by drawing mountains, you do that by drawing people do specific things.
Would you be so kind as to give us some of the background on some of these pieces?
Yes, I'd be glad to. Now, this one, for instance, is a subsistence fish camp on Lake Iliamna where I was last summer for about ten days.
And these people were permitted to catch 4,000 fish during the season for their extended family and also for their dog teams.
And here you see the mother is cleaning the fish and the oil drums are used to throw the scraps in.
Ever-present seagulls, of course, and a bunch of fish hanging up.
This is St. Nicholas Church in Juneau. I paint all over the state, but I also paint, do quite a few paintings here in Juneau.
It's a little Russian Orthodox church. There's a service going on. Russian Orthodox priest, everyone's paying a lot of attention, except the little kid, of course, who's looking the other way.
Hovering overhead is St. Nicholas himself, and he's blessing the whole congregation.
Where'd the inspiration for that come? It's a little uncharacteristic.
It's strictly out of my head. The church is the real thing, but having St. Nicholas overhead is just, I'm doing it for the fun of it.
Your work seems to focus on people and yet with a sense of joy and exuberance and vitality. What does that say about who Re Munoz is?
Well, it says that Re Munoz really loves Alaska. It's crazy about it. It's crazy about the lifestyle, especially out in the villages.
Not necessarily the government work lifestyle, but out in the villages and the type of things that they're still doing there that you rarely see elsewhere.
And I think I use bright colors, not because the colors are really so bright. I mean, they're very often quite drab when you go to these places.
But because I feel so good about the subject that I'm painting that I just automatically use more cheerful colors.
When people come to your gallery, what are they looking for to get the feel of Alaska?
Well, I think you just said it. They're looking to get the feel of Alaska. And they can get it in many ways, landscape paintings, seascape paintings.
But people also, I like people and other people also like people. And I think that's one reason that my artwork is, you know, well liked by many people.
My work changes, you know, as I go along. And I really don't follow things the way they really are.
For instance, this church, you know, it really doesn't look like this with all these different colors and everything and different planes of color.
But I do it to make it more interesting.
Are you trying to interpret a feel or just present a visual interest?
I guess I'm trying to interpret a feel. And the feel kind of here is springtime in Juneau, you know.
And I see how I've done this kind of, these two are straight and this one kind of goes cattywampus. It doesn't matter at all.
Well, I appreciate you letting us focus our attention on you.
Well, good. Thanks a lot, Gordon. I've certainly enjoyed it myself.
That's great. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
The art of Southeast Alaska, it's a tremendous part of the experience here.
It's part of the experience that you can take home with you.
Something you can do at galleries all throughout Southeast. And when you're there, you'll see the work of Rimuno's.
There's so much to see here in Southeast Alaska. You can raft down a river with a guide or walk down the sidewalk on your own.
And many people do just that, starting here at Marine Park in downtown Juneau.
In moments, you're on your way for a fascinating trip through the unique history of this area.
A history that's preserved in and around modern government buildings and just plain everyday businesses.
When most people think of Alaska gold mining, it conjures up visions of lone prospectors panning through creek sand a handful at a time.
But here in Juneau, gold mining was an effort carried on by industrial giants.
Just after the turn of the century, the treadmill mines were crushing 5,000 tons of ore in a single day to harvest gold.
Shortly after, the Alaska Gasino mine was churning up 12,000 tons in a single day until it ran out of profitable ore in 1922.
The third of the big three, Alaska Juneau, operated until it was closed by the war in 1944 and produced over $80 million.
The three together garnered $158 million in gold.
Not too bad when you consider that at the time it was selling for between $20 and $35 an ounce.
Some of that gold found its way into other parts of Juneau's illustrious past, like the Red Dog Saloon here or the famous Alaska Hotel.
Both of which still offer their original services and a generous slice of history.
Back out on the street, you can get a slice of other things, including some of the souvenirs that can be a remembrance of your walk through history.
A history that is still very accessible here in southeast Alaska.
So, if you're inclined, you can mosey on over to the Governor's Mansion and then stop by Joseph Juneau's grave,
the man who helped start all of this just a little more than 100 years ago.
And here in Juneau, you can go up and take a look at the Grand Mendenhall Glacier, or you can go up and take a walk on the Mendenhall Glacier.
You do that by the means of helicopter, and as always in Alaska, half the excitement is getting there.
The Grand Mendenhall Glacier.
Walking on a river of moving ice is almost impossible to describe, so just sit back and enjoy.
Some of these fissures are several hundred feet deep and are caused by the ice literally flowing down the mountainside.
The Mendenhall Glacier is moving at a rate of about 100 feet per year. Not fast, but pretty good for a million tons of ice.
Fantastic. It's wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I don't know whether your explanation for the beauty and grandeur of southeast Alaska is geological or theological,
but for myself, I find time and time again, it's not only my senses that are touched, but my soul as well by all that I see here.
There are countless opportunities for that kind of encounter. One of them is here in Juneau at the Shrine of St. Therese, the patron saint of Alaska.
There's something renewing and refreshing and unique about this place.
There's something renewing and refreshing and unique about southeast Alaska, as we're constantly surrounded by water in all its many forms.
We're touched by its variety, scope, and by its magnificence.
The water that is everywhere is a source of pleasure for all and for many a way of life.
Carefully regulated commercial fishing is a major industry throughout southeast Alaska. These king salmon, weighing up to 50 pounds, can have an over-the-counter retail value of up to $200 a piece.
The processors in canneries like Silver Lining find timing and attention very important. Each fish gets personal care, scrubbing, brushing. Some get a quick trip to the freezer, while for others it's the smoke room, and for a few, it's right onto the dinner table.
When we say fresh, we mean fresh fish.
Many visitors here get their taste of salmon right here in a canyon west of Juneau at the Gold Creek Salmon Bake. Fresh salmon with brown sugar glaze barbecued over alder logs, served with salads, breads, and baked beans, it's an irresistible combination.
And with a fun-loving flair, it's truly a part of the Alaska experience.
The Alaska State Museum provides a delightful stop with more information about this area and a fascinating display of a very special part of the Southeast Alaska adventure.
Benjamin Franklin had lobbied for the turkey, but in 1782, the Congress chose the bald eagle as our national symbol. Living here in Southeast Alaska, I've seen them thousands of times, but there's still excitement with each new sighting.
While bald eagles struggle for survival down in the lower 48, there are fewer than a thousand pairs.
Here in Southeast Alaska and throughout all Alaska, there are over 30,000 pairs of eagles.
Their competition is for a good lunch, and as any competitor knows, one's loss is another's gain.
While the eagle is the master of the air in Alaska, whales are the supreme wonder of the water.
There are actually 33 different species that can be found in Alaska waters, although most visitors only see two in Southeast.
One is the smaller killer whale, the orca. Although small for a whale, they're the big meat eaters, dining on salmon, seals, and even occasional porpoise.
Their dorsal fin is a distinctive part of our native art.
The orca is territorial and stays in a limited area, while the other whale is a great traveler moving from pole to equator and back each year.
The humpback is as long as a five-story building is high.
Their distinctive blow is a very quick and powerful exhale of over 2,000 quarts of air as they surface to breathe.
Many consider them the most athletic and playful of whales, and while continued scientific research is carried on to study their behavior,
we in Southeast have always understood why they hurtle their massive bodies up and out of the water and into the air.
It's because they want to.
There are all sorts of ways to participate in the excitement of Southeast Alaska.
I've done a lot of traveling myself, and whenever I get a chance, I take a sightseeing tour as the best way to get inside a community from the point of view of the people who live there.
Let's do that right now with Haynes, the best-kept secret in Southeast Alaska.
Good morning, everybody. I'd like to welcome you to Haynes and introduce myself. My name is James Young, and I'll be your driver and guide here.
This is Port Seward. I'll be explaining a little bit about the port here.
It was originally constructed in 1903.
The fort was in operation by the United States Army from 1904 until World War II broke out.
The fort was later sold in 1947 to a group of five veterans who purchased the entire fort from the United States government for the enormous sum of $105,000.
The building to our right was the former headquarters office, now the home of Carl Heinemiller.
He was one of the original investors of the fort.
He was very instrumental in developing the Alaskan Indian Arts Complex and basically reintroducing and getting people interested again in the Tlingit culture.
The dances that you see will be a costume as though they were a hundred years ago, from noxens to headguards.
Some of these young people can dress up with something worth about $35,000, and they wear some of the very famous chukka blankets.
The majority of them wear storytelling blankets, and as such, that's what you'll see.
The program sort of expanded from making artwork for the dance group and carvings for the tribal house to somebody wanted a totem pole for something.
And it sort of grew out of that to where we've done, I think, 1,500 lineal feet of large totems in the last 25 years.
And we've got poles in South America and more than a dozen in Japan and three or four in Europe and pretty much spread all over North America after that.
The most desirable thing is to talk to the artists producing the piece, whether the people are shopping or not, that's what they want to do.
And these are one-of-a-kind poles. We'll probably make another set of these. So we try to keep it as close to what our ancestors would be doing right now.
About 11 o'clock yesterday morning, the halibut fishing season ended, and so most of the boats are making their way back into Haynes now.
When the fishing boats get back in, the area will be full and you'll be able to look at some of the halibut.
Across the street from us here is the Haynes Presbyterian Church.
The Indians asked for a missionary. Now, I don't know whether they knew what they were getting, but I know that they knew that they would have a school.
I like to think that we have kept the same attitude that those missionaries had.
The museum was my father's dream when he was a little boy, and he bought his first item that he said was going to be in a museum when he was eight years old.
And it wasn't until after my parents died and my sister and I were going to give the collection to the community that I began to take courses in how to do this kind of thing.
Ahead of us here, we're pulling into the Haynes Visitors Information Center, a place where you can stop in at your leisure and get more information on the area around Haynes and what Haynes has to offer.
The river rafting that goes on in Haynes is kind of special because it's unique. It's the only place in Alaska that you can raft through an eagle preserve.
The river that's here, the Chilkat River, is a very large one, fed by the glaciers up at the pass, and the people float down placidly on the rafts, and often the distance are the eagles and the trees.
It's a very well-liked trip by everybody that does it because it's not too tough and it's very beautiful and it produces, you know, you see the eagles and it's very consistent in having what you come here for.
The Chilkat and the Serku rivers right here out of Haynes are short trips, but very spectacular.
With the population of Alaska being fairly small, it's quite often that you run into people that are fairly famous in Alaska's history. For example, last night I ran into former Lieutenant Governor Red Voucher. He thinks Haynes is a pretty nice place.
Haynes happens to be one of my favorite places. Some of my buddies from the legislature said, well, Red, see you later. We're going to Hilo. I says, I'll see you later. I'm going to Haynes. Now they're laying out there eating hot dogs and roasting and we're baking salmon here in their own backyard, and it's just no place in the United States like it.
From the grandeur and beauty of Haynes, we're going up to the gold rush excitement of Skagway. To give you a little feel for what the Alaska Marine Highway means to us here in Southeast, we could drive to Skagway from here. It'd be 360 miles by road. Or we could take the Lynn Canal by boat for only 12 miles for a great Skagway welcome.
You sense it from the moment that you arrive in Skagway. It's true throughout all of Southeast Alaska. When you're traveling, you're traveling through history. But nowhere is that more true than here in the gold rush town of Skagway. You're traveling through time.
This is downtown Broadway. This over here is the A.B. Hall with the driftboard on it. There used to be a bank over here on the corner. Some guy came in with a stick of dynamite to hold it up.
A customer came in. He got so flustered that he shot his gun that was in his other hand. It blew the stick of dynamite up and blew the whole building up. The bank tellers escaped out the back and didn't get hurt, but all the dust, the gold dust on the counters got blown for six blocks in every direction.
They went and scraped up all the dirt and took it down to the creek and canned out what gold they could get and they ended up coming up with more gold than what they had in the first place.
Rugged individualism and a prospecting spirit is still alive and well here in Southeast Alaska. Only this time, it's not just gold, but a way of life that people are after. Like Jan Rentmore here, who owns the Red Onion Saloon. She left a government job in Juneau for the frontier life of Skagway.
In 1977, I floated the Yukon River in a canoe from Whitehorse to Dawson. When I first saw Dawson, I absolutely fell in love with the history of it and the atmosphere of it. A year later, I heard that the Red Onion was for sale in Skagway.
I've enjoyed the process of remodeling the building and trying to restore it. I've tried to keep as many things exactly as they were or would have been in 1898. The thing I like about Skagway is that the history is here, but it's not Walt Disney.
It's not like Disneyland, it's real. The history is recent enough that you can just pretty much get a feel for it. The folks who come off the boats in the morning, I go down and greet the cruise ships with a lot of other people from Skagway and I shake hands with everybody and I invite them up to the red light district.
It's just cascades of giggles. They think it's really fun and sort of titillating. Most of the folks who come off the ships aren't big drinkers, but they come in and they look around and they buy a garter or a t-shirt. They just want the experience of an old-time saloon and maybe there would be some gamblers around or dance hall girls. They find it very intriguing, I think, and not at all offensive.
The first visionary into this area was Captain Moore, who foresaw the need for a base to move supplies further north. His story, and I suppose the story of the days of 98, is really a tale of two cities. One just a memory now, the other here for us to see today.
Skagway was a town that was run for a short time by Soapy Smith, but that's a story all its own and we'll let the people of the days of 98 tell that one.
Now you know Skagway is a perfect town for me, and it's only a matter of time before I take over this town completely. You mark my words, darling, the opportunity is going to come and I am going to smash it up. And when that happens, the folks around here will come to me and they'll want me running things. I'll have their respect and their trust.
Your road to respectability is like a girl selling her body to get into a convent.
What's this all about?
I love her and we're going to get married.
Herman, you drink too much. In a few years all your money will be spent and where do I get off?
Well, honey, that's the way you feel. I'll give you a share right now.
Take them up to your ass. How much?
You wait and see.
One, two, three.
One, two, three.
One, two, three.
From the yesterday of Skagway, we're going to take the Thunder Bay Explore into the timelessness of Glacier Bay.
As a preserve of natural beauty and wildlife, it's unique in all the world.
When naturalist John Muir first came into the area, he said, I'm awestruck. It simply cannot be described in words.
You won't try. Enjoy the beauty, the amazing wildlife of our southeast Alaska finale, Glacier Bay.
You won't try. Enjoy the beautiful wildlife of our southeast Alaska finale, Glacier Bay.
Music
Music
Music
I always enjoy sharing southeast Alaska because no one is ever disappointed.
Thanks for giving me that opportunity and as we said at the beginning, if you've been here, this is a photo album of memories that will last a lifetime.
And if you haven't, this is your invitation.
Music
Music
Music
Music