I peered down at the small towns below, nestled at the base of the 6,000 foot jagged Alaskan peaks, trying to figure out which one might be Skagway. Skagway and Haines sounded so far away and magical when I first heard of them, probably in 2006 when my friend Karen talked about growing up in southeast Alaska. They were magical, like faraway lands to someone who grew up in the hottest and driest part of the United States, in Arizona. First I saw what I later learned was Haines, on the left. My short Alaska Seaplane adventure was nearing its end and I was both ecstatic to see Karen, who I hadn’t seen in just over 10 years, and sad that my little Cessna adventure was about to end. It was one of the most breathtaking sights I have seen in my life, right up next to the golden pagodas in Myanmar. Not only had I just taken a Cessna over three glaciers and rugged wilderness, but it was a crisp, sunny and clear day, and the pilot had asked me to sit in the front seat. It was a full flight, which meant that one passenger had to sit up front, where I had pedals, a full range of plane controls and electronics. I was giddy in line that morning, about to embark on my first seaplane adventure and the pilot likely knew it. My Nikon DSLR was strapped around my neck and my childish grin was hard to hide. I’ve never been very good at containing my excitement for life’s little wonders, it’s seen and felt all around. I have been surrounded by pilots and aviation enthusiasts on many occasions in my life, and although intimidated by the little Cessnas, it was time we finally met.

I climbed into the seat beside the pilot. The small leather seat was equipped with a full harness, two straps over the shoulders, one across the hips, and one between the legs. The plane had around 9 seats. There is no overhead or under seat space, everything must go in “checked” baggage. Unless it’s a puppy. The locals and their dogs use these planes as a normal form of transportation for day-to-day activities, from picking up their new puppy in Juneau, to transporting their best friend to the next city for the day, to their Instacart deliveries and doctors appointments. I saw a good many dogs and puppies at the Juneau airport that morning, awaiting their flights to towns across Alaska. Dogs are just as much part of the history and life of Alaska as moose and bear.

Such a clear day was rare, and some of the other passengers knew how lucky they were to be flying on such a day. They asked the pilot if we could fly over the glaciers (between Juneau and Skagway), and our pilot Sean was very happy to oblige. I felt the familiar wave of excitement as the propeller spun into motion. The small plane cruised across the tarmac, near the much larger Alaska Airlines planes, and popped quickly into the sky over Juneau.

I was jubilant at my chance to finally discover the famed southeast Alaska that Karen had been talking about since our time at Colorado State University. We both started our CSU journey in Equine Science, though I eventually changed my major. My visit was long overdue and I was ready to drink an Alaskan Amber, overlooking a southeast Alaskan bay. Over the years as we sent each other Alaska and Arizona goodies back and fourth, she’d had the same PO Box over the years. I, on the other hand, managed to move almost yearly over the past thirteen some years. The more I thought about it, of course it wouldn’t make sense for a mail person to deliver mail to each house’s mailbox, where it and the mail person would be exposed to snowdrifts, snow plows, and varying weather. So I always imagined her living in a sort of cabin off in the woods with no house address. When I arrived, I learned that she had a gorgeous house in town, but didn’t actually know her house address, nor was it printed on the house itself. The number was not used. And neither was anyone else’s! Directions in Skagway are based upon North, South, East and West, the water is South, and cross streets. The town is on a simple and logical grid system and a breeze to quickly navigate without gps assistance. Another thing you won’t need in town, which is good, because while the thousands of people are shuffling into town from their cruise ship (up to 5 ships a day can dock up in Skagway), the wifi and cell service is all but nonexistent.

In the community things are shared. And they probably have to, to get through their long winters, snowed into a town they may not be able to leave for days (or months) at a time! Everyone looks out for one another. As I would learn, there is no doctor in town, only nurse practitioners. People fly to Juneau to have babies, schedule their dentist, doctor, and eye exams and vet visits, and stock up at Costco. The main mode of transportation in southeast Alaska is water. Families and friends ferry back and fourth to each other between the towns via the Alaska State Ferry system (though much slower than the seaplanes), where you can camp out in bunk rooms, or tie your own tent down to the deck (tie down loops provided!) Things here are shared as in the old way, like an unofficial trade and barter system. If you are lucky enough to score a moose that year, you send some off with your friends, who may happen to bring you some of their recent sea catch. If you have loads of rhubarb in your garden this year, you send them off with some of that, too. It keeps the local community rich and full of diverse goods. Because if you can’t get it there, you have to use Instacart from Juneau and have it sent via Seaplane – which isn’t as uncommon as it may sound, and actually a viable option for overnighting a bunch of lemons from Juneau- which you may happen to need for your wedding tomorrow (yes, that may have actually happened).

I was fortunate enough to be able to stay in just the sort of place you would want to on a trip to Alaska, a beautiful rustic cabin with no television and no wifi. It was some of the best night’s sleep I’ve had! The two cabins of Skagway Bungalows are tucked up in a hillside just outside of town. I was pleasantly surprised that each one comes with a wonderful, warm, quilted bed, a bathtub, a small fridge, and a little drip coffee maker. The owner, Nan, even made sure there was a blanket to sit on the patio with coffee in the morning. The cabins come stocked with local literature too, in case you want to cozy up and read tales from the Skagway scanner, or Klondike Gold Rush history. Before bed, I couldn’t help but imagine waking up to a bear peering in at me from the large window behind my bed, but that is of course just my usual overactive imagination.

After a solid night’s rest, when it seemed like the sun never went down, we embarked on a popular favorite local hike, to Lower Lake. The lower lake hike ended up being about 6 miles round trip. And with two barking dogs and five of us (plus a can of bear spray, just in case), we weren’t terribly worried about bears. Many locals said bears just don’t venture around that area, as heavily trafficked as it was. Though while in Juneau I heard that bears regularly saunter through the streets! When you get to the Lower Lake, about 3 miles in, there is a small dock equipped with three small watercraft, a canoe and two kayaks, with bins of life jackets and paddles. Ready for you to use, assuming someone else hasn’t beat you to them.

Just as the locals have to establish a place for themselves in the community, so too do the dogs. The dogs seemed to also all know each other and have an established place, as I would notice with Karen’s dog Sue, who had a clearly established his place in the pack of the Skagway dogs. They met each other on the trails and in town, or from cars in town. There are dogs in the back of most trucks, or front seats as it were, and Skagway dog life is as happy of a life as you might imagine it would be. It is home to the Mo Mountain Mutts “puppy bus“, which was an internet / TikTok sensation last year. I had all but forgotten about that until I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the famed bus as we got back from our hike of Lower Lake, in the parking lot. It was a sight! Just as school kids would sit side by side on a bus, there were four dog heads in each row, in their seats, their happy ears flapping about as the bus rattled over the parking lot. Happy tongues out all around.

After a most beautiful and very Alaskan wedding and four days in Skagway, Alaska with Karen and Jason, it was time for my journey home. In by air and out by sea, I was on the Alaska Fjordlines trip back to Juneau for my flight back South, and our captain, Catch (or maybe it was Katch?) navigated us through the Tyea inlet while also sharing facts and stories about the area and nature. The “fast boat” functions both as a quicker option to make your Juneau flight, and as a whale and wildlife spotting tour. The Tyea inlet branches up towards Skagway from the larger Chilkoot inlet, and at its widest point, is 1 mile across and 1,800 ft deep.

There had been a humpback whale hanging out around the cruise ships that week that all the locals were talking about. I was able to spot him one day from up off the Lower Lake Hike Trail, but ended up seeing many more of them on the trip back to Juneau. While still keeping on a schedule, there is time for a quick stop to check out any wandering whale pods in the area, and the Stellar Sea Lion rookery. We were lucky enough to see both transient killer whales, and humpbacks in the distance. The killer whales were on the move. It appeared to be a mother and calf, and a bull, who was closer to us. We cruised alongside the large hunter for some time, while he stealthily navigated his way through the blue waters. These (transient) whales are always on the move, unlike their thicker and rounder resident ecotype relatives.

Our Alaska Fjordlines trip left at 8 am, arrived to Juneau at 11:40 am, shuttle service dropped me off at the airport by 12pm, and my plane left at 1pm. I had chanced the close travel times, but was glad I had. That was actually even time to spare when I arrived at the airport. The boat trip with whale sightings was the perfect way to depart from my Alaskan adventure.

I was sent home with some moose summer sausage, a parting gift that would be the final thing to fit tucked into my backpack and only got a second inspection at airport security. The inspector opened the bag to investigate, since a seemingly large chunk of “liquid” had appeared on the scanner, and I laughed. “That’s moose summer sausage”. He nodded knowingly and closed the backpack, fiddling with the many buckles and going on about how backpacks have more and more buckles these days. I assumed it was not uncommon to have copious amounts of meats shipped in and out of Juneau Alaska’s airport, and nowhere else would it be so common to declare your moose meat in your carry-on.

The rest of the photos from the trip can be found on Flickr.