Kirk Franklin couldn't have said it better, as we walked along the shoreline in the depth of the tropical forest at 98% humidity it was "negro spiritual hot". Sweat was being ingested instead of exiting our bodies. Yodeling like a banshee due to the large "berry filled scant" along our route every few hundred meters, Hal voice was course within 6 mile when we finally reached the ocean. Having arrived the evening prior under ominous clouds we decided to hike what we could under the midnight sun. Local trails around town were strewn with bears, eagles, salmon running upstream, and a few sailors spewing their local dialect of @#$%^.
This photo was taken in the winter as they don't get that much snow directly in town and what the summer doesn't cover is the extensive oil fields and plantations that don't dot the scenery, they are the scenery. The beauty is abound in the vast lush hills that surround this town yet the odor is one of if it doesn't move - kill it. Numerous fishing, and big game hunting outfitters line the sidewalk, the gentle spiritual sense of Haines, is not here.
The Maxine and Jesse Whitney Museum was fabulous, but that too took its tool on the indigenous people that lived in these areas. She came here with her husband in the late 40's and quickly fell in love with the artifacts that the locals were making, and began a large enterprise selling them in the lower 48. The museum has a vast collection of their clothing, tools, living conditions, and animals they hunted, using all parts of it, unlike the white man that almost ran numerous breeds into extinction with the opening of the Alaskan Highway. The nighttime talks at our campsite by locals Natives have been very informative.
Nightly podcasts are keeping us abreast as to the plight of the "immigrants' in the United States, those coming in from Poland, Czech Republics, Philippines, are all stating that even after 2 generations many are not welcome or considered American by many white males. Jobs exist for immigrants but many white men don't want any other nation to take them. High unemployment and 11 million illegal immigrants are causing havoc on their system, yet they are tax paying citizens, so why not have them legitimized?
Here in Valdez, money flows like water yet not much thought according to the locals has been placed into creating a creative space for their kids, a safe place. We saw a myriad of kids high, drunk, and dabbling stupidity, covering all demographics and people. The outdoors doesn't seem to entertain them unless they are on a boat, on a plane, or heli skiing, all expensive and doesn't give them a sense of connection to the land. The only people on any trail we saw were foreigners from Europe or Canadian!
Unable to track down any relatives, we are going to head to the wharf for some fish, as I have been fascinated by the catch, cleaning, and filleting of Sockeye. We've tasted some local fair and it is excellent, if only we'd brought a fishing line. Jonathan Livingston had it made, these birds wait patiently for the remnants to be discarded and then feast.
Godspeed to all as we head to Glennallen tomorrow.
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