Day 78
   
   7/14/01
   Gulf of Alaska
   
   Rain and cloudy skies were served for breakfast, but lunchtime brought
   a clearing and 1-2 foot seas.  The ferry stopped at the
   fishing-and-timber village of Yakutat for a while, and I roamed the
   nearby woods eating wild berries.  It's a landlocked community, without a
   connecting road to the outside world.  There seemed to be plenty of cars,
   but no place to go.  In the entire history of the town, there had only been
   one traffic accident - the policeman, driving too fast for conditions.
   One might be exempt from the laws of State, but waivers are never issued
   for the laws of Momentum.
   
   Departing Yakutat yielded uncommonly clear views of Mount St. Elias,
   and also of the second highest peak in North America, Mount Logan.
   This peak is well-known among climbers for its remoteness and difficulty of
   access, since it's a long way from any road.
   
   The ferry continued south among endless chains of rocky islands and
   mountainous coastlines; after all, this is the "ring of fire" where
   the Pacific and North American geologic plates meet, pushing up strata
   high into the sky.  Beauty ensues, as it always does.  Flat spots like
   Kansas have a sort of beauty too I suppose, but it's harder to write about in
   grandiose terms.
   
   There's both a lot to do, and at the same time a lot of spare time
   aboard the ferry.  People watch the sights for a while, go eat
   something in the cafeteria, read, chat, eat, play cards or games, eat, 
   stand at a different location to get a new viewpoint, eat....well, you 
   get the idea.  The propulsion is diesel-electric, so the engine RPM never
   changes no matter what the boat's velocity is.  Life aboard is not, however, 
   as monotonous as the engine.  A park ranger gives talks on wildlife or
   history of the area every couple of hours; I usually attended.  But
   somehow, I never got tired of just sitting on the deck, looking out over the
   waters at the rocky coast and occasional passing ships.
   
   This is no cruise ship with jazzercise programs and a tennis court.
   The more stir-crazy passengers can be seen making endless laps around
   the deck, wondering what to do next, unaccustomed to the sudden lifestyle
   change.  At night, the bar opens up, which can get as rowdy as a bar
   anywhere.  At one point the dancing inexplicably turned topless (the
   men, not the women).  Some sort of dare, I think it was.  They really cut a
   rug, or would have had it not been steel decking.

Yesterday - Today's Photos - Tomorrow