Karl’s Korner

Good afternoon my friends,
Yes, we decided to take the White Pass Railroad trip up the mountains 24.5 miles to see where the gold miners who wanted to reach the Yukon had to go. It’s a rugged trip by walking, even now, with hiking trails. I can’t imagine the pain and effort it took to reach the summit and pass into Canada back in 1898. Each person who entered Canada had to pack in 2,000 pounds of provisions so there would be no famine during the gold rush. That meant each man or woman had to make 20 or more trips up and down this treacherous pass to pass muster. If he was a few pounds short, back down the mountain he went. Then came the railroad and thousands worked to make the trek less dangerous and time consuming, plus, it put many of the would be millionaires to work earning enough to pay for those 2,000 pounds of equipment.
The track is narrow guage, and runs along the edge of three or four mountains, crossing one pass over 1,000 feet deep. There are wooden trestels and newer steel ones. The grade is 206 feet per mile, quite a pull for even a modern diesel engine. You have to admire the tenacity of those who built this magnificent achievement. The highest trestle is now rated on the par with the Eiffel tower for engineering genius.
The mountains were snow covered with many waterfalls, as it is beginning to melt with the extremely warm weather we are having on this trip. It was over 75 today, possibly higher. Bright sunshine and beautiful blue skies above, no clouds.
We toured the small town of Skagway earlier and came back for a second look after the train ride, but didn’t buy anyting except a hit for me on the train.
By the way, to those in our families and our friends who are reading along on our path, you can repond down below - oops, I see some of you have! Great! We’re having a ball. Tomorrow is my big first lecture, but I am confident I’ll pull it off with no hitches.
But, just to be sure, keep those fingers crossed and say a prayer or two…LOL.
Carol is taking life easy, getting some rest from the long walks today and the longer train ride in the hot sun.
So, for today, this is about all. We are going to eat in the Lido lounge tonight to avoid the dining room, as 9-10 p.m. is just too late to eat as far as we are concerned. We’ll make the two remaining formal nights, but will explain to our table mates that we just can’t eat that late.
Take care, come back soon.
Via con Dias, my friends (and family) - thanks for the good wishes.
Karl & Carol

Good morning, my friends, welcome back.
(And a special welcome to the visitor from Hollywood - if you’d like to make a wonderful movie from one or more of my novels - we need to talk! Let’s make a deal!)
Yesterday was wonderful! We awoke to see tall mountains capped with snow all along our route for more than 50 miles up the entrance to Glacier Bay. The brown or black tops of these tall guardians of our natural resources were barren except for white powder and ice. Early in the morning, they seemed bashful, as their heads were hidden in puffy grey clouds hanging around their heads. But, as the day progressed, they became bolder and the clouds disappeared to reveal clefts and rifts filled with melting snow and painted in stripes of brown and white, as the snow picks up the top soil and brings it down to the sea. Almost as if a painter picked up the wrong brush and stroked dirty streaks into the snow.
The shoreline was rocky gravel, and guarded by thick stands of tall bright green pines. Other smaller brush and trees bravely attempted to mountain climb the cliffs and hung precariously here and there, while lines of taller and darker green firs were spaced across the sides as if they were soldiers told to “take that hill”.
Along the way there were several isolated islands, most uninhabited, but we did note two fair sized ones (3-4 acres at the most for each), connected by a walk way. There was one small house and a windmill for generating power. They must love isolation - they were miles and miles for what we call “civilization” - perhaps they are smarter than most of us. I envied them.
The glacier was magnificent and disappointing at the same time. It has receeded so much from the time five years ago when we first visited. At that time, blue and white ice covered the end and sides of the canyon at the end of the trail. Now, there is just a portion of one white/blue glacier, while most of the other is a dirty, ugly black and brown mass of ice mixed with rocks and dirt carried down from on high. Several smaller glaciers are completly gone, leaving behind gravel beaches instead of their proud ice. Global warming or something very powerful has truly changed the face of this part of Alaska.
We saw several small pieces of ice “calve” off and drop into the water, and the surface was covered with small pieces of ice, but none large enough to cause concern to our ship.
The day was spectacular! It began as a cool day with a brisk wind, but then the sun took over and gave us the best day they’ve had on this ship in many a year. By the time we reached the glacier, it was in the high 70s on the top deck and everyone was peeling off their coats and hats. It was HOT!
Dinner was fun again last night. The food so far has been good and tasty. Our waiters are also talented and attentive.
So, the trip continues and we are enjoying ourselves.
Today marks our 52nd Anniversary, and we’ll have a bottle of wine tonight to celebrate. I thank my lucky stars for having Carol as my wife. She has been my inspiration from the day we met. I just hope we can continue to sail the seas of life together for many a year to come.
So, for today, I’ll say farewell and hope you will come back to visit soon. We’re docked at Skagway and they just announced we can go ashore - so, what are we waiting for?
Via con Dias, my friends,
Karl & Carol