After our two nights and one day of sailing, our next stop on our Viking cruise through Alaska was Icy Strait Point. This was the first stop that we weren’t directly at the dock and had to be ferried in by little boats. I thought we were going to be stopped at an actual town so I was a little bothered by it. But, come to find out once we were on land, Icy Strait Point is like a little amusement park. There is a gondola ride to the top of a mountain and from there, you can take in all types of adventures. From a sedate trolley ride around the area to Jeeps, UTVs, and a zipline back down the mountain.
The land was originally home to the Xunaa Káawu, or “the people of Hoonah” an “enduring Tlingit community shaped by the sea, the forest, and one another”. In the early 20th century a salmon cannery was established and it became a cornerstone of daily life. A short walk from the disembarkment point, is a recreation of the cannery with shops and food, and a beach for playing in the water when the kids get bored. The town of Hoonah is about a mile and a half away from the activities.
We got in line for the gondola and took it to the Sky Peak. We sat with a lovely couple who had spent some time living in Connecticut for work. Some of the people on the cruise acted like they never heard of Connecticut and others lived there, but were happy to have left. <bllllrrrpphhh> Good all the more for me.
The ride started out in the fog but the higher we got, the fog thinned and it was so beautiful. See for yourself –
Once at the top, we boarded the trolley for a “mountain top forest tram ride”. There was a walking path but they talked about bears so ……
It was an interesting ride observing the flora and fauna, but more the former than the latter! Along the way we saw bogs or “muskegs” as the locals call them. They might look like solid, bouncy grass, but underneath are deep pockets of water – some over six feet deep! The bogs are also prime territory for Coastal Brown Bears. The open meadows grow berries and the wet environment allows specific plants to thrive. Perfect foraging ground for bears.
What goes UP must come DOWN. We headed back down the mountain on another gondola ride. This time we had it to ourselves and so I could concentrate on taking pictures. Even though it was warm and sunny at the top, it was still cloudy below.
Once back on the ship, we grabbed our books and settled into cozy seats with cups of tea to watch the take off, and we were on our way again.
