The Company of Friends



Hammer Museum, Haines

We enjoyed the company of our friend Rob, who joined us for a visit in Haines before cruising back with us to Juneau for a meeting he needed to attend.  The weather was warm and the seas were flat, calm for a nice two-day excursion.  While in Haines, we decided to visit the Hammer Museum, which proved to be quite interesting with over 1,600 hammers on display covering a wide variety of intended purposes.  

Rob and Leonard at the Hammer Museum

Man’s first tool has taken on many forms to accomplish a multitude of tasks including ice-breaking hammers, candy hammers, metal-working hammers, fencing hammers, prospector hammers, railroad hammers, auto-body hammers, and hammers for cobblers and quarrymen not to mention all sorts of mallets.  A wide selection of hammers is nicely displayed in the museum with explanations regarding their use and history.  

Metal Working Hammers

Chasing Hammers for example are used for embossing; the handles made of springy soft wood require a fast succession of light blows.  Sugar hammers were used in the 1800’s.  Before cubes, sugar came in cone-shaped loaves.  To make the loaves, sugarcane was harvested, crushed, boiled, and poured into molds.  Even when buying small chunks of sugar instead of the cone-loaf, hammers and nips were still needed to reduce the size to usable pieces.  

Check Cancelling Hammer

The museum even had a banker’s check cancelling hammer on display.  A check was struck in the middle with a hammer that slit the paper with an x-shaped design.  The Hammer Museum was founded in 2002 by Dave Pahl, who purchased a building in Haines to house his collection of hammers and tools used during his homesteading days at Mosquito Lake located 30 miles north.  After opening the Museum, individuals have made significant contributions to the collection, including archeologist Ken Ostrand and TV personality Tim Allen.  

Early Ford Cars, Fort Office in background

After visiting the Hammer Museum, we strolled the grounds at the William H. Seward Fort, described in a previous blog post, dated 6/17; the guys enjoyed discussing the architecture and maintenance challenges of these historic buildings as well as seeing the old Ford cars from the early 1900’s parked at the site.  

Pretty Spring Flowers, Haines

The following morning we headed southeast towards Juneau with an overnight stop at Bridget Cove.  Fishing boats with nets strung from orange floats littered the area as we approached the cove, we carefully maneuvered through the obstacle course into Bridget Cove and set the anchor around 2pm, leaving us time to explore by dinghy and walk the forest trails and rocky beaches.  Bridget 

Enjoying the Ride

Cove is part of Point Bridget State Park and we found the park trails to be well maintained, including sturdy wood stairs constructed over the steeper pitches.  Along one of the trails we came upon someone’s self-made hideaway – a tree house, hammock, and a “Forest Frisbee” target for games; the word “freedom” was spelled out in bottle caps above the tree-house.  As evening approached, the fishing boats headed into the cove to anchor for the night as we had anticipated.  

A Forest Hideaway

We were surprised that so many boats could fit in this small cove, but of course they didn’t need to worry about being close to rocks and shoals because they would be gone by daybreak and before low tide.  

Forest Frisbee

It was fun having so many fishing boats around us; it was like a small, friendly floating community, complete with a lovely sunset.  However, in the morning we faced the same challenge of negotiating around all the fishing nets strung through the water from over a dozen fishing boats.  Gill nets extending from the stern of fishing boats can be anywhere from 200 feet long to over a mile long.  

A Pretty Evening and Sunset

The cloudy skies and low visibility made it difficult to spot the nets with small white balls bobbing along the surface of the water despite the fact that the end of the line is marked with an orange float.  The use of binoculars helped somewhat but it can be a challenge finding a safe passage amongst a fleet of fishing boats.  

A Quiet Evening with the Fishing Fleet

At one point we had to go between two nets with an opening no more than a boat length or two wide.  As we approached the passage between the two fishing boats, they moved towards the end of their lines so we could more easily determine the passage way; they don’t want their nets destroyed anymore than we want to tangle them around our props!  We slowed our speed and safely passed through the fleet of fishing boats and continued our journey southward.  We arrived around noon in Auke Bay where we said our goodbye’s to Rob; we were sorry to see him go and even Java seemed to miss his company.

At Home in Haines



Traveling through the Yukon

After traversing the Yukon Territory, we entered Alaska once again.  The Yukon sun continued to follow us across the border and the mountains continued to reveal their white faces.  

Chilkat River

As we neared Haines, we drove through the village of Klukwan, a permanent typical Native village at the fork of the Klehini River and the Chilkat River.  The nicest buildings in town are the school and cultural center as is usually the case.  

Fish Trap along the Chilkat River

The most interesting thing we found were two modern fish traps along Highway 4 leading into Haines.  The Natives no doubt have special permission or allowance to install and use the fish traps.  The river current keeps the trap rotating, while three large wire-mesh baskets scoop up the fish.  As the basket lifts out of the water, fish fall through a chute into buckets placed on either side of the wheel.  

Fish Trap between Klukwan & Haines on the Chilkat River

The mountain backdrop made for a scenic photo shoot of the wheels.  As it wasn't the right time of year for a salmon run, we didn’t see any fish being scooped up in the baskets.  We soon entered Haines and decided to drive the five-mile Mud Bay Road out to Letnikof Cove before we returned the rental car.  The 

Haines Packing Co. at old cannery site

Mud Bay Road took us to the Haines Packing Company which processes fish at an old cannery site.  The plant uses state-of-the-art equipment to process five species of wild Alaska salmon delivered by the local fishing fleet.  Custom products include smoked salmon, caviar, fresh and frozen salmon fillets, salmon jerky, and halibut.  

A beautiful setting, Haines Packing Company in Letnikof Cove

As to be expected, the red buildings of the old cannery are set in a scenic location surrounded by mountains, beautiful!  Ok, it was time to head back into town and un-load the car, Got d’ Fever was waiting for us.  As with most communities where we spend time, Haines was beginning to feel like home and Java too was happy to be back.

Klukshu Summer Fish Camp

 

 

From Palmer we finally reached the Yukon Territory the following morning after a night’s stay in Tok.  I had marked the seasonal village of Klukshu on the map, thinking it might be an interesting stop, we weren’t disappointed!  Klukshu is a traditional fish camp of the southern Tutchone of the Athabascan people.  Several camps were in the area during earlier times but Klukshu is the only camp still in use today.  Each summer, families from Champagne and Haines Junction come to Klukshu to catch and dry salmon from the Klukshu River.  


Summer Cabins, Klukshu

From what we saw, the cabins seem to be well cared for at the site.  In the early days people traveled with tents, setting them up during the salmon run.  Long before the white man reached the interior, the Southern Tutchone were trading tanned skins and furs with coastal Tlingit’s for oil, herring eggs, shells, baskets, and woven blankets.  

Summer Cabins, Klukshu

Later the Tlingit’s brought kettles, knives, axes, and muzzle-loading guns from Russian and American trading ships.  Jack Dalton was the first white trader to establish a post in the area; he followed a traditional Tlingit trading trail into the Yukon and set up a trading post at “Dalton Post” near the Tutchone trading center.  Native men hunted caribou near Dalton Post while women and children collected berries before moving in late July to the fish camps like Klukshu.  Each fishing place had a cache or two where dried meat and fish were stored for the winter.  

Cache and Drying Rack

Today the Southern Tutchone still use the traditional methods of cutting and drying salmon.  After the salmon are caught in fish traps or gaffed along the riverbank, the fish are fastened to a string and left in the water until they are cut.  Since the flesh of the fish hardens when left in the water, they are easier to cut.  The fish are boned and sliced horizontally, leaving the skin intact.  They are then hung over drying racks, flesh side out, for a day or two.  A second horizontal cut is then made so the fish is one large flat sheet and is hung again.  The fish racks are protected from sun and rain by a pole roof covered by metal or a tarp, brush was used in earlier times.  

Drying Rack, Klukshu

A small wood fire is kept burning under the salmon for about 10 days.  Drying racks are still used at Klukshu and we would have loved to witness the process.  Unfortunately we were early in the year so the camp was devoid of people, an eerie peaceful feeling hung over the village.  When the salmon are ready to be stored, they are folded back into their original shape (skin out) and tied into bundles of 50 with heads in the same direction.  

Regional Map, note Klukshu Lake/River area

The bales are stored in raised wooden caches.  According to the reader-boards, Elders remember making several trips along the trail between Klukshu and Dezadeash (a nearby lake), carrying the heavy bales to caches at the end of the season.  Wooden fish traps are also still used at Klukshu.  

Klukshu River

The trap or box is open on the upstream end, fish enter the box and once inside, sharp sticks prevent them from swimming out; to keep the fish from jumping out, traps are placed in shallow water.  Salmon are pulled out of the traps by the tail and killed with a quick blow to the head.  It was customary for the Tutchone to let some of the salmon continue by to spawn, providing fish for future years.  

Archival Photo - Fish Traps

In the early days the traps were made of spruce saplings lashed together with willow roots.  Today they are made of wooden cribbing with chicken wire.  

Archival Photo - Cabins and Cache at Klukshu

Salmon runs used to be plentiful but have been much smaller in recent years so the Government Fisheries and First Nations Council meet each spring to determine when and how many days salmon can be caught.

The Musk Ox Farm



Musk Ox Farm, 1930's Colony Barn

We left Anchorage on June 22 and began the long drive home to our boat in Haines.  Just outside Palmer, we stopped at the Musk Ox Farm, a site I had on my Must See list.  The Musk Ox Farm is a non-profit organization located on the property of an original 1930’s Colony Farm (see 6/21 blogpost titled The Matanuska Valley Colony).  The Farm raises Musk Ox for their fine under-wool called qiviut.  The qiviut is collected by combing, done in the spring.  Native Alaskans knit the qiviut into hats, scarves, and other clothing.  The proceeds help supplement their subsistence lifestyle, a project created by John Teal.  Not only does qiviut feel soft and comfortable, it is several times warmer by weight than wool. 

A tour at the Farm included a walk around the property viewing the oxen and learning about the history of the Farm as well as about the animals themselves.  Musk Oxen are survivors of the prehistoric ice age from 600,000 years ago.  They lived in the arctic and subarctic regions throughout the world.  The Musk Ox was very much a part of the Arctic people’s subsistence and legends.  The Musk Ox provided many necessities for life such as bowls, ladles, cups, diaper liners, boot insulation, socks, moccasins, clothing, and bedding to name a few.  By 1865 the Musk Oxen had disappeared from Alaska due to extreme harsh winters, making it difficult for them to find food, and due to the fact that whaling ships hired Eskimo hunters to find oxen for meat. 

A similar problem was observed in Greenland and Canada.  Governments began protecting the Musk Ox and in 1930 the U.S. Congress purchased 34 young Musk Oxen from Greenland and transported them to the Territory of Alaska.  The oxen traveled by ship to New York, then by rail to Seattle and by boat to Seward then by train to Fairbanks – all the animals survived the four-month journey.  After five years they were transported to Nunivak Island which had been established as a wildlife refuge.  As the herd increased in size, Musk Oxen were transported to other places in Alaska.  

Baby Musk Ox

The Musk Ox Farm at Palmer was the brain child of John Teal.  In the 1960’s Alaskan villages needed cash to support their subsistence activities.  Work opportunities that didn’t require leaving home seasonally were rare.  John Teal believed that domesticating the Musk Ox and using the under wool, which he named qiviut, for material in the hand-knitting industry would provide a source of income to women and elders without them having to leave home and abandon other activities.  

Youngster Musk Ox

In 1965 Teal established the first large-scale ox farm in Fairbanks with 32 calves captured on Nunival Island and by 1975 the herd had increased to 100 oxen.  Since Teal wanted to locate the oxen near Native villages, he moved the herd to a 640 acre property on the outskirts of Unalakleet located on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea.  While the Musk Ox thrived, the location presented problems. 

The Beautiful Pastures and Barn - Musk Ox Farm, Palmer

The farm was not large enough to support the herd without supplemental feed; hay had to be imported which was expensive and time consuming; veterinary services were not available; and fences built on the permafrost tended to collapse.  After John Teal passed away in 1982, others invested in his project and moved the herd to Palmer where resources were abundant for managing the herd. 

We also learned how Musk Oxen in the wild defend themselves.  When alarmed the herd gathers in a circle, facing outward toward the threat presenting a wall of sharp horns, the calves are tightly packed behind them. 

Mothers with calves will sometimes make a false charge when they feel threatened.  During our tour, one of the visitors got too close to the fence and a mother protecting her young charged towards us and then stopped.  Oxen can run 35 miles per hour, so you don’t want to upset them!

A Pilot’s Mecca

 




Hood Lake Seaplane Base & Gravel Strip

Leonard enjoys reading pilot magazines and had read about the general aviation facility called Hood Lake Seaplane Base & Gravel Strip located next to Anchorage International Airport; it was high on his Must See list and after all, it was Father’s Day!  The Lake Hood Seaplane & Gravel Strip facility is the world’s busiest seaplane base, handling an average of 200 flights per day.  At the same facility, land based planes are busy flying in and out of the adjacent gravel strip.  After our visit at the nearby Earthquake Park, we drove out on the peninsula where we could watch planes depart from the International Airport, roaring directly overhead which is always a thrill.  From there it was a short drive next door to the Hood Lake facility.  


Moose and Calf at Hoods Lake Facility

As we drove along the fenced frontage road by the gravel strip, Leonard was intently studying the endless rows of private airplanes parked along the boundary; he didn’t even notice the moose and calf running amongst the planes.  “Look, a moose” I shouted.  What a surprise.  We had traveled hundreds of miles from Haines to Anchorage and hadn’t seen a single moose, elk, or caribou; all we saw were squirrels scampering across the road trying to create an insurance claim.  


Mother and Calf trying to find their Way Out

What a treat, moose and planes in the same place, a double Father’s Day gift.  Leonard decided that moose also like the airport, lots of planes but no hunters.  

Baby following Momma

After snapping a few pictures, we made our way through the maze of roads and taxi-ways around the air strip.  

Cars must Yield to Aircraft, note gate at right for planes

One of the most interesting aspects of the Hood Lake facility are the posted signs for motorists that say “Yield to Aircraft.”  Visitors to the airfield and pilots who must access hangers and parking areas must cross over the same roadway, creating a traffic conflict.  

Note Gate Opening on right for a plane

When a plane is crossing  the roadway, lights flash and an alarm sounds while the gates open for the plane to cross over the road, cars must stop and wait, similar to a train crossing.  Pilots open the gate from the taxi-way by using their aviation radio set to a special frequency, clicking the microphone five times opens and closes the gate.  We made our way across the taxi-ways and then came to the seaplane base where finger docks line the lake, similar to boat slips.  

Seaplane Moorage Slips, note Tower at International in background

Each seaplane moorage slip comes with a storage shed and vehicle parking space.  Picnic tables near the lake stand in stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of plane activity.  

Storage Sheds at Seaplane Moorage Slips

Float planes were taking off from the lake, land-based planes departing from the gravel strip, and commercial jets leaving from Anchorage International, all within close proximity of each other.  Soon after taking off to the north, planes enter into military airspace where fighter jets have left from Elmendorf as well as encountering traffic from the Merrill Field Municipal Airport in downtown Anchorage – Leonard was grinning from ear to ear, he was in seventh heaven.  

Land-based Planes around Lake Hood Gravel S

If you live in Alaska you either need to be a pilot, know someone who is, or at least speak the pilot lingo; I think Leonard was entertaining the idea of moving to Anchorage.  There are nearly 11,000 registered aircraft in Alaska and over 8 thousand licensed pilots.  The Lake Hood Seaplane Base started out as two smaller lakes, Lake Hood to the west and Lake Spenard to the east.  The State dredged out a canal between the two in the 1970’s creating a water lane for longer take-off runs for the seaplanes.  A control tower operated at the Seaplane & Gravel Strip in addition to the control tower at Anchorage International.  During the 1964 Earthquake, the tower at International collapsed and the Lake Hood tower took over the entire airport structure until an emergency building was set up to split the workload once again.  In 1977 a new, permanent air traffic control tower opened on Anchorage International, which now controls the entire airport facilities.  The history of Merrill Field, the municipal airport near the center of town, is also interesting.   Merrill was the first airfield in Anchorage and had the first aviation beacon in the territory of Alaska.  Established in 1930, the field is named in honor of Russell (Russ) Merrill, an early Alaskan aviation pioneer.  He disappeared in 1929 on a flight, carrying heavy machinery to Bethel Alaska located 400 miles west of Anchorage.  Approximately 46 aviation related businesses operate from Merrill Field. 

Jetliner Departing Anchorage International

Of course, Anchorage International takes the spot light for volume.  Anchorage’s location on the globe puts it within 9 and ½ hours by air to nearly 90 percent of the industrialized world and is a common refueling stop for many international flights.  Millions of passengers fly to and from Anchorage International each year, employing nearly 16,000 people.  Anchorage International ranks number 2 in the U.S. for landed weight of cargo and serves as a Fed Ex and UPS operations hub.

Anchorage, Metropolitan Alaska



Downtown Anchorage

With a population of over 300,000 people, we were impressed with the city of Anchorage as a very livable town with lots to offer.  Anchorage is a 4-time winner in the “100 Best Communities for Young People” list and I can see why – the city provides access to untold recreational opportunities and offers numerous hiking and biking trails, cultural activities, and city parks not to mention the fabulous waterfront views.  We saw chic restaurants, multi-story office buildings, the beautiful performing arts center, and two convention centers connected by a pedestrian walkway.  Anchorage was also named by Kiplinger as the most tax-friendly city in the U.S. and provides numerous job opportunities. 

The excellent Anchorage Museum is a must see; and of course Anchorage is a Mecca for pilots, Leonard’s favorite must see, but that’s another story.  Our next stop was the Anchorage Museum which has multiple floors with permanent and changing exhibits.  Most of our time was spent in the “Arctic Studies Center” and the Captain Cook & John Webber Exhibit. 

Fur and Leather Garmet

Rare and exquisite clothing and household artifacts are displayed in the Arctic Center demonstrating differences and similarities of various Native peoples:  the Yupik and Inupiaq, a branch of the Eskimo in northern and southwestern Alaska; the Abascanieyak a branch of the Athabascan of interior Alaska; the Tlingit and Haida of southeast and coastal Alaska; and the Eastern Siberian people.  

Gut Parka

Parkas, bags, and vessels made out of animal gut or Sea Lion intestines are beautiful as well as practical, and the clothing pieces made from animal fur, bark, and hide are equally fascinating.  

Gut Water Vessels

Displays are well organized with reference icons for each item so as to quickly identify their purpose, no need to hunt around for a numbered item which can be quite time consuming.  As active mariners, we made our way to the Captain Cook and John Webber Exhibit.  The more we read and the more sketches we saw, the more our mouths dropped open in disbelief  We had no idea that John Webber had made so many sketches of native peoples, places, and activities, what a treasure!  John Webber (1751-1793) was an English artist who accompanied Captain James Cook on his third voyage of discovery around the Pacific (1776-1780) aboard HMS Resolution.  

Drawing of Aluet Man, by Webber 



Man of Prince William Sound by Webber

Webber created detailed watercolor landscapes and drawings, basically acting as photographer for Cook’s expedition recording plants, animals, places, and people.  He completed a full portrait of Captain James Cook, an oil painting on canvass.  In his later years, Webber made regular tours, drawing landscapes in Britain and Europe and continued to do portraits and paint compositions based on his Pacific travels.  He died of kidney disease in 1793, leaving a considerable fortune.  

Man of Turnagain River, Prince William Sound

Webber's work can be seen in several museums throughout the world.