Journeys of the Heart

Tanzania - 2009 (cont)

The Maasai tribe inhabits the highlands of Tanzania near the Ngorongoro Crater.   They are semi-nomadic herders of cattle and goats and live as they have lived for centuries.  We were able to visit one of their villages. 
The tribe's traditional dress is robing made of red cloth but they have expanded to purple and blues.  Felician told us that the color red allowed the Maasai to tell whether or not a figure in the distance was a tribal member.  They are known as fearless warriors, and when they settled in the highlands of Tanzania where there is good grass for their herds of cattle, they ran all of the other tribes out of the area including Felician's Iraqw tribe.  Although Felician insisted that there were no hard feelings between his tribe and the Maasai, he definitely remembered that tribal history!

The Maasai live in circular huts made of acacia wood (which provides the frames for the homes), and a mixture of grasses, mud and cow dung.  The huts are small. In the center of the hut is a small fire which gives heat to the home and is used for cooking.  Two small, slender slits in the walls on opposite sides of the hut are the only "windows" in the homes. They are approximately 4 inches tall and 1 inch wide  and can be used not only to allow smoke to be released into the open but to check on animals wandering through the village at night. The families sleep on cow hide laid atop the dirt floor with boys/men on one side and girls/women on the other.
 
The Maasai are polygamist and men can have up to 3 wives.  Each wife has her own hut and when the husband visits a hut for the night, he stakes his spear in front of the hut near the entrance to give notice that he is there.  Males are known as fearless warriors, and Felician said that even animals know that the color "red" from their clothing indicates danger.  While we were camping on the rim of the crater, a Maasai warrior was hired to keep the cape buffaloes out of the camp at night. (We were camped near a buffalo trail that led to a watering hole).  We loved his shoes!

 The rite of passage to adulthood for males is to be circumcised between the ages of 9 and 12 without the benefit of anesthesia.  Every three years, the ears of men are pierced  with thorns and those young males without pierced ears were in schools (as required by the government) at the time of the community piercing. 

Males carry clubs to protect themselves and others from wild animals.  When they become "elders" of the tribe, the women decorate the clubs with beautiful bead work.  The men are responsible for herding the cattle which is a source of food (the Maasai cut a cow's neck every morning and drink a mixture of its blood and milk) and a measure of a man's wealth.  The Maasai believe they are the true owners of all cattle (much to the chagrin of other tribes, I am sure), and at night, they enclose their cattle and sheep in the fencing surrounding their community.

Woman do all of the cooking, the building of the huts, the bead work, and making of crafts for sale.  They wear large beaded necklaces which they are able to bounce to the rhythm of chanting when they dance.  The girls and women also have pierced ears.

During our visit, the Maasai chose some of our group to join them in dancing.  Their dancing to me appears to be jumping while chanting.  One of the older women appeared to be the "leader" among the women. She was a gracious hostess and seemed to be a woman of contentment and kindness.  She picked Cindy and Kay to dance with her.
She also gave Kay and Cindy a necklace to wear while dancing.  Before leaving the village, Kay gave her one of her own rings, which was made of shiny silver.  The woman was noticeably moved by the unexpected gift, clasped Kay's hands palm to palm as if in prayer, and enclosed them in hers.  Although neither Kay nor she could converse in spoken words, each shared the language of the heart and understood each other completely.

The men also dance in a circle and while chanting, jump straight up.  They would have no trouble getting rebounds in the NBA.  Jerry was chosen to dance with them.
They are handsome men.

Those young men who had gone to school could speak a little English, and they welcomed us as guests into their huts.  The young man who was with my group had gone to school until he was in the 7th grade when students must begin paying for their own education.  Although he had a sponsor for a year or so, his sponsorship had ended and his father insisted he return to the village.  He had obeyed because his father told him to come home.  It was that simple.  He would not have disobeyed his father although there was an obvious longing in his voice to return to school.   This is a picture of the young guide with his mother who was Kay's new found friend and leader of the women.  His ears were not pierced indicating that he was in school when the community piercing occurred.

In the picture with me, I am holding a beaded club that was made by his mother.  The colors are those of the Tanzania flag.

At the end of our visit, we visited the village school where the children appeared to be younger than 6 or 7. 

They were learning English and were able to sing the ABC song that I sang as a child as well as show us some words that they knew in English.  Lynne had brought some stickers from the States and had given them to the teacher who had handed them out.  You can see the handiwork with the stickers in the picture. Their teacher hardly said a word while we were there. 

The visit to the Maasai village was an incredible experience and I think often of the community and its people.  I wonder what the future holds for them and all of Africa with its boundless resources, its boundless poverty, and its boundless social problems.  I also think of all of the gifts I have been given by merely an accident of birth into the family I have, my birth into a society that values education, and my birth into a country that offers freedoms and prosperity.  I came away from Africa this time like I did when I was in South Africa: with a renewed determination to be a better steward of the gifts given to me and to remember . . . to remember. . . .

My Dad's 91st Birthday

Yesterday was my dad's 91st Birthday!!!!  I wish that I had just a bit of his wisdom, knowledge, generous nature, and compassionate heart!
(He also taught me to play golf!!!!!  What else can a daughter hope for?)

Tanzania - 2009

   Come now and look upon the works of the LORD, *
    what awesome things he has done on earth.  - Psalm 46 (BCP)

 

In January, 2009 - I went to Tanzania on a photo safari and flew to Arusha which lies near the base of Mount Kilimanjaro.  Arusha is a city of 600,000 people and has one paved road.  Lying some 300 miles south of the equator, Arusha has only two seasons: 1) the dry season when the days are hot and the air is filled with dust; and 2) the wet season which brings days and days of rain which turn the dirt roads into rivers of mud.

We were in Arusha during the dry season and people crowded the streets.  The women were dressed in bright colored clothes and both men and women carried merchandise on their heads.  

 

I was part of a  mobile tent safari with 9 other folks from the U.S. 

 

Kay from Oklahoma City

 

AUDREY FROM CHICAGO

John and Dixie from Tulsa

   

Emily from Tennessee

Cindy from Oklahoma City

Sue and Lynne from California

and Jerry from Tennessee

(Emily's dad)

Our tour guide was Felician.   Felician was born  into the Iraqw tribe and was a herder with his father and brother until he was 6 years old when the government told his father he must send one of his sons to school.  Because his father deemed him lazier than his brother, Felician was sent to school.  The first day, Felician appeared in his traditional tribal dress with chains around his neck and ankles.  The teacher explained that he could no longer wear his tribal dress, could no longer speak his tribal language, and must learn Swahili.  Swahili is the common language of Tanzania and the government has focused lately on engendering a sense of nationalism throughout the 126 tribes that make up the country.  It has worked so far, and Tanzania has a history of peaceful relations among its many tribes.  When he was a young boy, Felician's father thought he cried too much.  To teach him not to cry,  Felician's father took a razor, cut both of his cheeks and put charcoal in each slice.  Any tears falling down Felician's cheeks and into the cuts burned.  Felician said that he learned to really consider whether anything was worth crying over or not.  Scars are still evident on his face.

Felician did well in school and became a naturalist.  He was employed by the Tanzanian government as a conservationist and later was hired by Abercrombie and Kent as a tour guide.  His brother is still a herder in his village today.

Our mobile tented safari was deemed to be "luxurious" and it was by camping standards - but not by any Hilton hotel standards.  The tents were tents  - but had some great features not found in the normal campgrounds. 

The back of the tent shows the make-shift plumbing features.  The far left fixture serviced the toilet and had a mini-septic type system.  Over the toilet in the tent was the chain that one pulled to flush the toilet.  The green bucket in the middle held water for the shower and the green bucket to the right held the water for the sink.

Water for the shower and for the sink was heated in a large garbage-looking type can over a wood fire.   Each tent had an "assistant" who would heat the water and carry it in green buckets from the can to the tent, climb the ladder and pour it into the canvas bag on the back of the tent. 

Julius was the "tent assistant" for the tent shared by Kay and me.  Every morning he awakened us with coffee and scones.  He was a truly a gentle-man.

Our safari was an 11 day adventure.  We spent 4 nights in Lodges in Tanzania and the rest were in the tents.  The lodge nights were spaced every 3 to 4 days which allowed us to re-charge batteries and take good showers.  Though we had lights and lamps in the tents, there were no electric outlets.  So much for hairdryers.  I wore a hat most of the time while on safari.  We camped at 3 of Tanzania's National Parks: 1) the Tarangire Park which is filled with wildlife and the baobab trees; 2) on the rim of the Ngororono Crater; and 3) the Serengeti National Park.

Our camp in the Tarangire Park was along a creek bed that led to a watering hole for elephants and other wildlife.  It was exciting on the first evening when we watched a family of elephants walk past our camp.   At night we  could hear them snorting along with other animals, including lions.

The Tarangire was also filled with  baobab trees which I first heard of in high  school when my French teacher had us read the LITTLE PRINCE by Saint-Exupery.   Baobab trees  have incredibly huge trunks that appear to be made of several tree trunks glued together.  In the story of THE LITTLE PRINCE, the tree are said to be as "big as castles" so that a whole herd of elephants could not eat a singe one.  After seeing these magnificent trees, I agree. The trees are hollow inside and bushmen have used them for shelter as well as warthogs and other animals.   The trees spend many months of the year without leaves.  As a result, their branches appear more as roots during the barren months.  Legend has it that the devil pulled the tree out of the ground then stuffed it back into the earth upside down - with its roots showing above the ground and its foliage underground.

The first day of a wildlife drive was astounding.  We saw incredible lions, jackals, elephants, giraffes and many more.  The animals viewed our tour trucks as presenting no danger to them. As a result, we were able to get incredibly close to them.  Here are pictures of some of those incredible beings.

This lioness was on the banks of a river where elephants were drinking, and she was forced to find other space when the pachyderms ran her off.

She ended up in the shade of a bush - watching the elephants on the bluff across the river.  Here's a better
picture.  Elephants are matriarchal and very family orientated.  It's very difficult to get a good picture of a young elephant who is always in the middle of the family members.

Elephants normally sleep standing up although the  younger ones will lay down to nap.

While watching the lion and elephant, Felician saw a male lion resting in the shade under a bush.  The lion was lying between the river and large groups of elephants walking toward the river to drink.  Felician said we needed to wait and see what happened.  After about 30 minutes,  a young elephant took off after the lion who lost no time getting out of the neighborhood. Felician explained that although the lion is deemed to be the "king of beasts" - the king is really the elephant.  The elephant just doesn't know it.

(I had thought only people suffered from not knowing who they are; just think of how many people have no clue how truly wonderful they really, really are!)   The lion  jaunted up the hill towards our trucks - and we had to yield the right of way.

But we were able to get good photos of him.

Although he had every reason to be dejected,he

kept his head up.

He eventually found a cool place to get out of the sun.

Animals are like humans.  Some are good parents and some are most neglectful.  Elephants are very family-centered and protect their young by putting them in the middle of the herd as they graze and travel.  Giraffes, on the other hand, are most neglectful. 

One afternoon, we saw a newborn giraffe with the umbilical cord still attached.

There were
 adult giraffes grazing at a distance from her but none that were close.  Felician said that giraffes have their young, drop them and then go eat.  They do this tho' they have carried their babies for a gestation period of 450 days. When the mothers are finished eating, they'll come back to where their babies were left. But sometimes, the babies aren't there. The baby giraffe we saw seemed to get frightened and took off - running quite a distance until she stopped and looked at us - a far distance from the adult giraffes.  Felician said that a predator like a leopard probably had her in his sights, and she would have no defense since she was a newborn, alone, and knew nothing about protecting herself.  I still think about this baby giraffe.

This wonderful bird is a plover and always brought a smile to my face when she was perched close to the road.  Felician would say before starting a wildlife drive, "Let's see what Mother Nature has for us to see today."  When a plover showed up, I was tickled to death! 

This sign is at the entrance to the Lake Manyara park reserve.  It's a good reminder of the gifts that Mother Nature gives to each of us.   Here are some we were given.

This little one was "followin' in his momma's footsteps" - literally.

This little zebra was busy watching us watch him.  Baby zebras have brownish stripes unlike the black ones of the adults.  Zebras have very weak backs, cannot be ridden and cannot be used as pack animals. 

The monkey on the right is a young vervet monkey.  They are the typical stereotypical monkey - playful, curious, and seemingly innocent. 

Baboons, on the other hand, are aggressive and ill-tempered. (see one with her baby to the left).  If baboons are fed by humans, they become more aggressive.  In South Africa, a person will get a hefty fine if caught feeding a baboon.  As for the baboon being fed, authorities will destroy it.   Baboons carry their young on their backs and  sometimes under their belly.  They have incredibly large teeth and were definitely not my favorites!

  This is a wildebeest or "emu."  Along with zebras and gazelles, they are  part of the great migration which travels from north to south and back again across the Seregeti in search of water and green grasses.  They are also the ones that National Geographic show getting eaten by the croc as they try to cross a river.  I love their beards.

This is a cape buffalo which are known to be tempermental and kill humans more than any other animals.  They are one of the "Big 5."  The others are the lion, leopard, rhino, and elephant.

This is a jackal which is similar to our fox. 

And this is the infamous hyena.  Hyenas love to sit around in pools of mud, and I'm not sure what color their coats really are.  They are real "crunchers" and will eat the bones of animals killed by other predators.

Speaking of mud holes, warthogs also love them and have daily mud baths.  These creatures run with their tails straight up and have faces that only a mother could love.

At the other end of the spectrum is the beautiful crested crane which is also the national bird of Uganda.  We never saw them fly - and I can't imagine them wallowing in mud.

We watched a lioness stalking zebras from afar one afternoon.  Although the zebras were barely visible, she could see them and was watching and stalking.

Lionesses do all of the hunting for their pride.  The male lions rest. . .and rest. . .and rest. And sometimes, they just can't stay awake, no matter how hard they try.

And sometimes, they can't help but yawn - - - wide - - -

But - they are beautiful creations.

Lionesses, on the other hand,  sleep on the ground, on their backs ( like one of my dogs)   - and occasionally in sausage trees - and sometimes in tall grass with their babies.

Trees also serve as lookouts for some lionesses.  We were lucky to see 2 in a tree.

Leopards are elusive creatures and are not even counted in the wildlife census that is attempted every few years because they are so difficult to find.  Felician told us to look for 4 legs hanging from trees.  I had no idea what he meant. In the tree to the right, there's a leopard asleep.  This was the first of two leopards we were able to find.  

By the time we had ooh'd and aah'd over and over, she woke up to see what was going on.

But she never budged from the tree.

The next day, we ran into another leopard who was lying on a tree limb and was closer to the road.  I was able to get a better picture.

She was something else!

And could have cared less about us watching her.

Cheetahs are similar to leopards but they have a black stripe on their face which makes it easy to distinguish them.  Cheetahs are also picky eaters.  Whereas leopards will kill their prey, haul it up a tree to keep it safe from other animals, and then return to eat later, cheetahs will kill only when hungry and eat it fresh.  They save nothing for the "rainy day" fund.  We saw 2 groups of cheetahs.

These two cheetahs were busy playing and grooming each other for much of the time that we sat and watched them.  There were three of them in the group and always one seemed to be a lookout.  They eat every two or three days.

While in the Serengeti, we were able to see a part of the great migration of wildebeests, zebras and gazelles on their annual pilgrimage in search of green grass and water.  It was totally amazing.  I think everyone felt like I did; i.e., that we were witnesses to one of the most incredible manifestations of the Divine Intelligence in this life.  Approximately 1.5 million wildebeests migrate each year and around 500,000 zebras. The zebras see well during the day and can give the alarm for predators.  The wildebeests hear well at night and can also watch out for everyone.  The wildebeests and zebras need each other to survive.  That's a lesson we humans could learn from these beings also.

(more to come)

The Butterfly and Mother

There is a Celtic legend that the earth knew no yellow butterflies until Easter morning when the the first one flew out of the tomb at the Resurrection.  I love this legend and at some point in my life, I shared it with my mother.

My mother died on April 12, 2006.  She was 86 years old, and the last years of her life had been challenging due to Parkinson's disease and a stroke that disabled her in 1999.  Yet through all of this, she had an incredible spirit and met all of the adversities with wonderful courage and faith.

When she comes to visit me now in my dreams, she is not elderly nor crippled.  Rather, she is my young, vibrant mother of the age she was in this picture of her and my father. 

This picture was taken many years ago when my parents were dressed up for the Cherokee Strip rodeo held every September in Ponca City, Oklahoma.

Although her death freed her from the sufferings of human existence, I continue to miss my mother because she was so important to me.  Yet I also believe she continues to watch over me.  In June following her death in April, I was with some friends hiking in the Teton Mountains in Wyoming.  I was not in any shape for mountain hiking!  At some point, I stopped with one of my friends to rest and found a good rock to perch myself on.  I hadn't been there for long before a yellow butterfly flew up and landed on my right hand that was resting on my thigh.  I sat quietly as it walked across the back of my hand - as if inspecting it or looking for some lost treasure.  It finally stopped and was still, seemingly content to rest with me.  It remained on the back of my hand for 4 to 5 minutes and didn't fly off until the other hikers caught up with us along the trail.  My friend remarked how odd it was to see a butterfly stay as long as it did on my hand, and I told her of the legend from Ireland.  I also thought of my mom.

In October of the same year, I was speeding along I-40 in the back of a convertible when I looked down and saw a yellow butterfly resting on my thigh.  I don't know how long it had been resting there, don't know how it could have flown into the car that was going so fast, and still don't know how it could have found itself on my lap.  But it was there and stayed there for almost half an hour. 

I certainly don't know what awaits us after this life.  But I do believe that in a mysterious way, love is the bridge between this life and what awaits each one of us after we pass from this existence.  And I have come to believe that at times, messages of love can break into this existence - carried on the wings of yellow butterflies. 

African wildlife

Part of our tour to Africa included spending time on a game preserve near Johannesburg called Pilansberg.  It was an amazing experience to be so close to these animals whose names I first heard when I was a child and mother read books with me at bedtime.  An incredible experience!

                           

The elephant came out of the brush towards our truck.  He was ready to find a mate and was not in the mood for a bunch of tourists gawking out of the open-air truck, flashing their cameras.  These elephants have never been hunted and are relatively safe if visitors follow a few simple rules . . . : no loud talking, no leaving one's seat, no breathing hard/loud, etc.  The rhino pictured is a black rhino.  Black rhinos are aggressive and don't play well with others.  This rhino had lost an ear in an apparent altercation.

                         

This monkey was watching us during one of our rest stops.  He was intent on collecting any tidbits of food that might be left after our snacks of jerky and soda.

The giraffes were marvellous . . . and just as I had always imagined.

It was autumn in April in that hemisphere.

This big boy came so close to our truck that I was able to get a picture of his eye.  He was so close, some of us could have reached out and touched him. . . . My heart was in my throat . . . But it was the experience of a lifetime!

   

Zambia & the Simonga village

Tonight is the evening of Super Tuesday in the U.S. and the polls just closed as I sit here and write.  My mind has wandered back to my trip to Africa in April of this year.  Along the tourist path, I visited a small village in Zambia called the Simonga Village and while American voters are casting their ballots this day, I wonder if their ballots will have any impact on that village.  Hillary Clinton was maligned for saying once that it "takes a village to raise a child" - and now when I hear that statement, I can't help but think of the Simonga village of Zambia.  It will take much, much more for the children of this village to even survive.

Zambia which is part of the old Rhodesia has a population of 10.2 million people who have an average life expectancy of 37 years.  Sixteen (16%) percent of their children die before the age of five (5).  Less than half have access to safe water.  (43 %)  In the Simonga village, there is no plumbing nor electricity.  The huts are thatched roofs, mud walls, and dirt floors.  Most of the people sleep on pallets on the dirt floors.  The people burn elephant dung and peppers in a circle around the village at night to keep the elephants out.

  The head lady of Simonga is "Inonge," a dark skinned woman whose face radiates wisdom and gentleness.  She smiles easily and makes all decision concerning the village.   Inonge had six children, all of whom have died.  She is raising her grandchildren.  Malaria and AIDS have decimated the population.                                                                           The governments of South Africa ignored the AIDS epidemic for years, alleging that AIDS was an invention of Afrikkaners to discourage sex and a ploy by pharmaceutical companies to use Africans as guinea pigs to test its drugs.  The result, according to the Dallas Morning News of 5/22/07 is that 30 million Africans have died of AIDS since 1982 leaving 12 million orphans.  There are no public assistance programs to care for these homeless children.  In Africa, it does take a village to raise a child. . . .

RED EARTH 2007

Red Earth is a celebration of Native American culture that is held in early June in Oklahoma City. The Grand Entry is a parade displaying the grandeur of native life manifested in the faces of age and youth, the energy and beauty of dance, and the rhythmic beat of drums.   

As I watched the Grand Entry this year, I was struck by the faces of native Americans that whirled and danced past my camera lens.  The face of the human being has always fascinated me because etched within its lines and hollows are written the lessons of the years.  Although each face tells the story of an individual, in some ineffable fashion, each face is also part of a greater story that has endured throughout centuries.  Science tells us that each one of us carry within us the genetic markers of our parents, our grandparents, our great-grandparents, our aunts and uncles, etc.  Though grandparents may have died years ago, the shadows of their faces are seen within our eyes, our speech, and perhaps, our glances.   During the Grand Entry of Red Earth, the faces of ancestors unseen were there in the faces of their heirs and issue.  A story of strength and courage, wisdom and compassion, endurance and tenderness continued to be told.

 

Red Earth is a festival of dance and joy.  It is a celebration.

 

It is a festival for  the young and for the old.

It is family.

Down the Cassiar to Stewart, BC

The Cassiar Highway (Hwy 37) lies appoximately 14 miles west of Watson Lake and extends south over 400 miles until it intersects the Yellowhead Highway (Hwy 16).  While the Alaskan Highway has been in wonderful condition for the last 3 summers that I've been there, the Cassiar is a bit rougher and long stretches of chug holes and rough riding are not uncommon. The never-ending problem is the fact that the pavement is repeatedly washed away by the winter snows and spring rains. The first summer we drove the Cassiar, we ran into a group of RV's that had just reached the end of their trip up the Cassiar, and the leader of the pack was not quiet with his determination that he would NEVER drive a house on wheels over the Cassiar again.  Yet, compared to the Dempster Highway, the Cassiar is a breeze, and each year, it improves. 

There are beautiful sights to see along the Cassiar.  But the most interesting are the bears that one can't miss along this highway.  We hadn't been driving for long this summer before we spotted a mother and her three cubs along the side of the road.  We stopped, and when she was assured that we would cause her no harm, she started across the highway - and as many mothers know when facing a crisis - there's always one who seems to take his own time, oblivious to his surroundings.                                    

Approximately 393 miles down the Cassiar Highway lies Stewart, British Columbia.  Stewart lies off the Cassiar highway approximately 42 miles through a narrow mountain pass.  Outside the small community is "Bear Glacier" which served as the background for the movie, INSOMNIA, starring Robin Williams and Al Pacino.  Both stars had yachts that anchored in the Stewart harbor after sailing up the Portland Canal, and Robin Williams entertained the townfolk in a bar with his comedy one evening.  Needless to say, the town are great fans of his.

A short drive from Stewart lies Hyder, Alaska, which is a virtual ghost town that lies on Fish Creek.  At the end of July, the salmon begin running up the Creek, and bears appear along its banks to fish.  Hyder has built a walkway over the Creek and tourists can walk up and down and wait for the bears to appear for meals.

The fish are plentiful and the bears seem to care less about the excited audience watching their every move.

During the 2005 summer, a mother bear and her cub came along the creek while I happened to be there.  The mother had no problems wading into the creek and catching 3 salmon.  Her young cub, on the other hand, resembled a bull in a china shop - racing up and down the creek with the salmon fleeing in front, beside, and behind him to safety.  In spite of the "oohs" and "aahs" from the audience - and the obvious home court advantage - the cub was left empty handed.

  His mother never shared her fish, and after 40 minutes or so of trying to catch a bit to eat, the cub ambled off with his mother into the bush.  One got the impression that the mother was a bit disgusted.

Other bears ambled along the creek.  One afternoon, an old grizzly came along, fished for a time, and then found a tree to rub his back on. 

After a good rub, he seemed ready for a nap and quietly disappeared into the bush.  Other bears soon took his place.
Bears love the berries on the bushes around the creek - especially the black bears.

Another wonderful part of the Stewart/Hyder area is the Salmon Glacier that lies past Fish Creek and up to the top of a mountain.  The first year we visited the area, I needed to put the car in 4 wheel drive to make it a bit easier to get up the winding, narrow road.  But in the last year or so, the town has put a lot of money into the improvements - and reportedly, the drive is better.  In 2005, the day was cloudy but the glacier was still magnificent.              

The Cassiar Highway is a great experience and one of the most exciting places to travel in the North.
                            

Haines, Alaska

On September 5, we traveled to Haines, Alaska, passing through Haines Junction and turning south on the Haines Highway which passes through the St. Elias mountain range, one of the most gorgeous roads of the north.   

Last summer, Kay and I drove through the valley accompanied by a rain shower.  The rainbows were ever present.

We also were lucky to run into a grizzly that was feasting on roots beside the highway.  Notice the large lump between his shoulders - That is the easy way to tell the difference between a black and brown (grizzly) bear.

The fall drive this summer through the St. Elias range was just as wonderful.

Haines is a MUST stop on a trip North.  It has resisted the temptation to allow the cruise ship companies to take over its harbor and transform this small community into just another tourist attraction.  As a result, very few cruise ships stop at its harbor and its economy struggles.  But the community is a genuine experience of Alaska and is beautiful!

Kay and I have been to Haines for three summers, and I doubt that we would go to Alaska without stopping there.  For two summers, we stayed at the Captain's Choice Motel where we could look out on the Lynn Canal and watch the fishing boats, ferries,and cruise ships pass by.  (The cruise ship companies have taken over Skagway and ships must pass by the Haines harbor to reach this small town which lies further up the Lynn Canal).  Haines has much to offer.  It's best known for its Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve which lies north of Haines and where over 3,000 bald eagles gather in mid-October to feed on the late salmon runs.  Although we've never been there in October, we've seen a lot of bald eagles each summer we've visited.  Haines also has a center for Alaska Indian artists where one can see totem poles being carved and view other works by native artisans.

  Haines has great places to eat.   The Chilkat bakery has a small restaurant which serves wonderful lunches.   A restaurant above the small boat harbor has wonderful fish and chips as well as buttermilk pie "to die for."

But by far, the most fun is a ride to the Chilkoot Lake which is approximately 10 miles outside Haines.

  One evening as Kay and I drove to the lake, we spotted a seal swimming along the inlet near the shoreline.  We stopped the car and began walking along the water's edge where it spotted us trying to spot him.  He swam closer to us and would occasionally break the surface of the placid water to inspect us further.  He provided us our own National Geographic show for about half an hour.

This lake lies on a stream where salmon run and fisherman of all types, including black bears, can be seen along its banks.  The bears begin showing up in July.  A fish barrier lies across the stream and an "official counter" works long hours, documenting the number of salmon who run. (If I die and come back to this life, I would like to be a government employee like this one - just sitting all day and evening - listening to my favorite radio station - and counting fish as they swim through an opening!  And to think it's a job with pay!)   This summer a mother bear stood on the bottom ledge of the barrier and swept up the salmon easily with one hand as they searched for a way around the barrier to go further up stream.  The official counter has a rifle that he occasionally grabs when the bears look interested in climbing on the top of the barrier where he is posted.

Haines and Skagway are the only two cities in Southeast Alaska which can be reached by land.  The remainder must be reached by air or ferry. 

Whitehorse

Whitehorse is the largest city in the Yukon with a population of over 22,000 people.  (Watson Lake with a population of less than 2,000 is the second largest community.  Actually, there are more moose in the Yukon than humans - a fact that is told jokingly by locals but is the truth!  Unfortunately, the closest we came to a moose this trip was in the entrance of our hotel.)     Whitehorse has nice hotels and the people are incredibly friendly (including the Royal Canadian Police, as Elizabeth can attest to).  A woman who has lived in the North for many years theorized that the friendliness of these northerners was due to the fact that they welcomed seeing new faces in the spring and summer after living through the long winters of isolation. 

Kay and I have stayed in Whitehorse for the last 3 summers.  It sits on the banks of the Yukon River, and last summer, we took a boat trip on it through MIles Canyon which lies south of the city.  One of the first things that is noticed about the Yukon is the swift currents that boats must manage - currents that must have been an incredible challenge for early gold rush explorers to the region.  In spite of its magnificence, the Yukon has not been utilized to draw tourists from the south - a situation that one local told us would probably be corrected if the "Americans were in charge" of its development.

In Canada, natives are referred to as "First Nation" peoples, and their influence, especially in the arts, is evident.  A large mural decorates the side of a large building in the center of town.  Unfortunately, many of these people also suffer from addiction, lack of education, and poverty which precludes them from self-sufficiency.  As we traveled through western Canada, we saw many families existing on government subsidies, especially in isolated areas such as Tuk and Telegraph Creek in British Columbia.

We stayed for a couple of days in Whitehorse to rest before starting south towards home.  On September 5, we left Whitehorse and drove to Haines, Alaska.