Excerpt from RGA guide: HainesAlaskaTourguide.blogspot.com

Tourism Director, Tanya Carlson – Mayor Jan Hill – Tour Operator, Adam Patterson Enjoying the new look of Haines as they wait to greet Cruise Ship guests

We did it! The first Cruise Ship Day in Haines was a big success.  Southeast Roadbuilders, who were constructing our new Bus Parking Lot and Restrooms worked their little hearts out till 2am on Cruise Ship day and completed a large majority of it.  It is pretty amazing what people can do under pressure.  It will be a great addition to Haines.  We are steadily giving this pretty little town a much needed face lift.

Don’t get me wrong, the natural Haines doesn’t need any help at being beautiful.  It is the folks who live here that need to work hard at making our man made areas worthy of residing in such an awesome place.  They say, “If you build it they will come”. So come on tourist, come try out our 2 million dollar restrooms!  I did. They are great; clean, classy and real uptown.

We even have a bench for the men to sit on while waiting for their women.

Lots of room for the buses

We just have the curb to finish. Another highlight of the day was when I got to follow the wonderfully artistic Jen Reid on a tour called “Haines Off the Beaten Path”.   This is another unique tour offered at Rainbow Glacier Adventures, the company I work for.

Jen Reid showing us how to enjoy every moment I have lived here 3 years and was glued to my seat while hearing Jen describe a side of Haines I had not seen before.  She has lived here approximately 30 years and has raised 2 children in an area of Haines that didn’t have electricity until about 10 years ago. Outhouses are common. For water people have wells, and they all use natural springs too.  Some have to kayak or canoe to their homes, or wait for the tide to go out so they can walk across Mud Bay to their dwelling.  The tight-nit community of artists live 7 miles outside of downtown Haines, but it might as well be 7,000 miles with how different their subsistence, earthy, productive, artistic life style is from my own two bedroom apartment, frozen foods and satellite life.

John Svenson came out to meet us at Extreme Dreams Art Gallery

Jen inviting us in the Extreme Dreams Art Gallery

Jen took us to the Extreme Dreams Fine Art Gallery at the edge of Chilkat State Park where we met Owner and Artist John Svenson.  John is an extraordinary artist with many pallets to choose from, like; glass, painting, beads, vessel forms and his wife Sharon creates textiles and mosaic mirrors.  Jen creates beautiful jewelry that is also on display at the gallery

Jen Reid’s artistic, beautiful jewelry

John Svenson and Jen Reid tell guests the juicy secrets of Haines

John and Jen delighted us with stories of the local artists and how they live.  They have potlucks and bon fires on a regular basis. They have a community garden and share their “catch of the day” with each other when crab potting, fishing, and netting.  They all have many talents and skills.  Jen credited that from living without televisions.  I have always wanted the inside scoop to this world so close and yet so far away from my own.  I felt my creative juices flowing just by being around them.

John Svenson’s Art Studio – an amazingly cool place to create

Artist’s are the spice of Haines…. and even a place as beautiful as Haines can be enhanced with a little spice.

The community garden at the Fairgrounds which we visited

We also visited Dave Pahl of the Hammer Museum. He is as interesting and unique as his museum This hammer saved his dog from drowning in his car when his car sunk into the Lynn Canal. You have to hear him tell the story.

Haines Alaska is full of characters that are as beautiful and unique as the landscape.  Contact Rainbow Glacier Adventures for your unique Haines experience.

Excerpt from RGA guide: HainesAlaskaTourguide.blogspot.com

Oh, oh, what a feeling! To drive…..a tour bus (sang to the tune of the old Toyota commercial). 

I passed my dreaded driving test and can now get a Commercial Drivers License.  Whoopee – I’m so stoked!  I have been studying the last two months.  This is not child’s play my friend.  The CDL is the hardest thing I have ever studied to get. This is coming from a gal who received a Correctional Officer certification – think pepper spray in the face and defense training for 3 weeks, and was Flight Attendant certified – think Jump, Jump, Jump, out and down the emergency escape slide – one month, non-paid (did it twice).

I passed just in the nick of time.  Haines will have our first Cruise Ship for the season, and it comes tomorrow (Wednesday 25th)! I wont be driving the bus yet because I still have to get a medical exam before I become a card carrying CDL driver, but I will be standing at the Cruise Ship dock greeting the happy tourists and inviting them to take one of the excellent tours we offer at Rainbow Glacier Adventures.  Sweet!

The “Gold Rush to Porcupine Creek” tour is not available yet, the first tour is scheduled for next Monday the 28th (Memorial Day here in the good ole USA). I’m getting hyped for it!

Park Ranger Preston Krues telling us about Bear Safety

I spent 4 hours on Monday in a “Guiding in Bear Country” training class.  It was fun meeting guides from the other tour companies in Haines.  I was highly entertained as we discussed what to do in different scenarios involving bears and tourists.  Most of these guides are pros and have first hand experience with people trying to get up close and personal with the bears because they forget they aren’t watching TV anymore, comical stuff.

When you are guiding in Haines Alaska the question isn’t,

“What will you do IF you see a bear?”,  it is “What will you do WHEN you see a bear?”

Haines has a nice size bear population, of both brown bears (grizzly) and black bears.  Easy bear viewing at Chilkoot River is one of the reasons I was attracted to move to Haines.  The bears get big and fat on the large “salmon runs” during the summer.  I’m a huge fan of bears. I read and watch anything and everything about bears.  Yes, I liked Grizzly Man (the movie).  And yes, I’m a fan of Timothy Treadwall, the bear enthusiast who lived with bears for 13 seasons before getting mauled and eaten by one (along with his girlfriend).  I joke about moving to Alaska to be “Grizzly Girl” some day.  Hey, if we all have to die anyways….why not have it be exciting?

Pam Randall showing us proper bear spray technic. Unfortunately Ray Staska’s (in the red) bottle was still loaded with real pepper spray, and we had wind.

Just kidding, I’ll stick with “Gold Girl” for now. You don’t have to worry about me trying to hug a bear with my tour group in tow.  I learned about bear safety, bear behavior and how to avoid confrontations with bears.  Though I will tell you, if I had to choose, I would rather be attacked by a brown bear.  Brown bears mainly attack people on the defense and will quit gnawing on you if you play dead.  Black bears, as rare as an attack is, mainly attack people as predators and plan to eat you….so fight like your life depends on it, because it does.

Just remember this, when your visiting Haines Alaska, it is safer to stay in groups….so go on a tour!

Yeah, that sounded like an advertising plug didn’t it?  Well, I’m gearing up for tomorrow to sell tours to the masses.  Shoot, tomorrow has quickly become today.

Im not a fan of pepper spray (for personal reasons**) – I think I’ll take the air-horn instead.

That is how close you need the bear to be for pepper spray to be effective.  Not very comforting eh?

** remember the Correctional Officer training I told you about.  This is how pepper spray looks on my face.

I dont want to be dealing with pepper in my face while a bear is attacking, no thank you.

I went to Skagway today. Its a different world from Haines. Funny how it is only 15 miles away but it is a different world. The difference is that there is no road along the fifteen miles. In order to drive there, it is 360 miles one way. By boat it takes 45 minutes, by plane its 12 minutes. But because you can’t drive between the two quickly, each one retains its own flavor. Think of the towns down south that are fifteen miles apart. How different really are they? With the strip malls and the freeways, going along at sixty miles an hour in your own car, when you want, where you want, its easy for everything to homogenize. But since there is no road, the distance seems much greater. And so the flavor is different.

There were four big ships in Skagway today, so there were people everywhere. One thing I noticed is that they were all crammed along the eight blocks along Broadway. I got one or two blocks off of Broadway, and it was like being in different world. Its as if Skagway has two different worlds- the world along Broadway and then the world off-Broadway. And I preferred to be off-Broadway. Its residential. Small houses with nice lawns and gardens, interspersed with a random old building…..what was it? An old warehouse? Something to do with the gold rush? The railroad? Some buildings have interpretive signs from the National Park Service, others don’t. I enjoyed my walk.

When I got hungry, I headed back towards Broadway. I know the restaurants in Haines, and there are some good ones…..Mosey’s, Fireweed, the Lighthouse, the Klondike, to name a few. But I live in Haines and many of those restaurants are open just during the summer, so I felt like something different. I saw a sign….Bombay Curry, and headed inside. That’s something different, an Indian restaurant. I love Indian food, and was pleasantly surprised. Not only by the food, I had a nice curry and they weren’t afraid to spice it up, but also by the ethnic diversity in Skagway. The couple that ran the restaurant were definitely from India. I went in to use the internet and the guy running the shop was from Bulgaria. Haines just doesn’t have an international crowd like this. And since I’m Guatemalan/Italian and have been fortunate enough to have traveled extensively, I appreciate diversity.

I first came to Skagway in 1983, and first came to Haines n 1986, so I have friends in both towns. They are different, and I like that.

Hi. This is my first blog entry ever. I’m not really a writer, more of a philosopher/educator, but I thought maybe someone might be interested in what I’m thinking about and what is going on in Haines and with Rainbow Glacier Adventures. This morning, I woke up in our house across Mud Bay. With its view of the Rainbow Glacier…hey, that’s why I call this company Rainbow Glacier Adventures. Its not that we go hiking on the Rainbow Glacier, or climb up there, its just that I enjoy looking at it and it dominates the view from our home. I woke up and started doing some yoga and in my brain comes this quote…..”take care of the old person that you are one day going to become.” I remember that I had heard a guy say that quote during his 100th birthday celebration. I don’t know why I thought of it today, it just came up. Well, after I’m done, I turn on the radio and Alaska News Nightly reports that the gentleman who said that quote had just died and that Alaskan flags would be at half mast. And then came his voice over the radio…..”take care of that old person that you will one day become.”

Excerpt from RGA guide: HainesAlaskaTourguide.blogspot.com

 

Port Chilkoot Dock Restrooms and parking lot under construction

 

Here is a quick update on what Gold Rush Alaska is up to.  The film crews are following local high schooler, Parker Schnabel, around Haines High School today.  They had all the students sign wavier agreements so they could be put on National Television (if it doesn’t get cut on the editing room floor first).  Parker Schnabel will be the Superintendent at Big Nugget Mine this summer (that is the mine next door to the Gold Rush Alaska mining operation).  Parker is the 16 yr old grandson of John Schnabel, who is retiring at age 91.  It is pretty unique for such a young man to run such a successful Gold Mine, and he is allowing Rainbow Glacier Adventures to bring tours out to his mine for some panning.  He has a big summer ahead of him.  I know he will do great!
On to Haines happenings….our new (and very controversial) $2 million dollar Cruise Ship Restrooms and Parking Lot is still under construction.  The crew is working like mad men to get it done because our first cruise ship to Haines will be here next Wednesday, May 25th.  I don’t think they are going to make it, but, they have picked up the pace so it may be done before the season is over.  hahaha just kidding….mid season at the latest.

Traveling with Drake

The tours have started for 2011 in Haines just the same.  We collect our guests from Skagway and bring them over to Haines on the Fast Ferry (a 45 minute ride passing sea lions, eagles and whales on the Lynn Canal – not too shabby).  I get to be the person for Rainbow Glacier Adventures who goes over to Skagway to pick them up.
On Tuesday I got the privilege of flying over to Skagway with Drake, in what we endearingly call “a puddle jumper”.  That is like going on a tour itself.  The views of Haines and the Lynn Canal are amazing from the air. It didn’t hurt to have some very knowledgeable guides on board who could point out the flow and pattern of the Glaciers in the area.
When we returned to Haines I went on our “Guide’s Choice” Photography Tour with Tom Ganner as the guide.

Rainbow Glacier Adventure Photographer Guide Tom Ganner at Chilkat Inlet (low tide)

That is how I get to train to become a tour guide.  I go along with all the tours till I become as knowledgeable and funny as they are.  Poor me, eh?  My “hard job” is to hang around super cool people while seeing and learning about Haines Alaska.  It will be pretty hard to become as good as Tom though.  He has a great gift for guiding people.  Maybe he learned it from all his years as a Science Teacher in middle school.  His easy going style helps the guests relax and breathe in the beauty of Haines. He has an intimate knowledge of Haines since he has lived here over 10 years.

Tom with guests admiring our -4.2 low tide in Chilkat Inlet

My shot after hearing Tom’s thoughts on composition Look at the low tide….very cool

Tom took us through Fort Seward, and then he drove us out to Chilkat Inlet, where I learned more about photography from him in ten minutes than my entire 3 years of High School Photography combined. He is an excellent photographer and teacher.  He has all the bells and whistles (tripods and lens) to lend the guests for optimal photo shooting.  Haines is a photographers paradise, it helps even an amateur photographer like me look good.  The guests kept saying how wonderful it was to get away from the busy crowds of the Cruise Ship and soak in the “real feeling” of Alaska, with all its wild wonder.

Haines Alaska from Picture Point

Next we drove to what the locals call “Picture Point”, and took the most common picture to take in Haines Alaska.  I call it the “Post Card” shot, because you can find this picture on many Haines Alaska post cards.  After that Tom took us toward Chilkoot Lake, where we had “less common” photo opportunities.  This is the coolest part about the company I work for.  The guides are all local and they know all the locals, so we get rare opportunities that are not afforded to the “Average Joe”.

Tom Ganner and Michael Stark

Tom introduced us to, Michael Stark, a local favorite. We were allowed to take photos from his property which proves to be an excellent advantage point of the Chilkoot River.  Michael is the Narrator for the Fast Ferry and a very personable guy.  I have lived here almost 3 years and have not had the opportunity to meet him before (but always wanted to).  I don’t know if the guests knew what an honor it was to be “hanging out”  with such talented people as Tom & Michael, but I did.  After we left that great spot Tom confided that Michael was the actor who played Joe Bradley on the daytime drama Guiding Light.  Aahhh…. no wonder it seemed like we were meeting a celebrity.

Australian Tourist, Debbie, enjoying the “Real Alaska” views

Tom also took us on the fish weir, which crosses over Chilkoot River, where the Salmon get counted during the summer runs.  I have never been on it before….it is always locked up, but good ole Tom took us right out in the middle.  Very cool – it is too bad the fish weren’t running, I would love that.  That is when the fish weir is covered in bears though …. probably another reason why they lock it up.

Tom pointing out a Bald Eagle on the Fish Weir at Chilkoot River

We ate lunch (included in the tour) from Chilkat Bakery on a bench overlooking the spectacular Chilkoot Lake.  It was an excellent day listening to Tom’s great stories and learning to take superb pictures!  Tom even has a bit of “Bird Whisperer” in him as he got a Stellar Jay to pose for photos.

Stellar Jay posing nicely for Tom

After accompanying Tom Ganner on the tour, I am seriously considering upgrading my camera so I can learn to get the “money shots”. You can see some of Tom’s work on
Rainbow Glacier Adventure’s Facebook Page
Check out the TOUR PICTURES Photo Album for some excellent wildlife shots; such as an eagle flying in front of a brown bear and her cub, and a brown bear and a raven.  It is easy to see why he has been contacted by National Geographic recently.  I’m gonna have to get his autograph now before he becomes known as the superstar photographer that he is.
Learn more about Tom Ganner at www.majorproduction.net
Learn more about Rainbow Glacier Adventures at www.tourhaines.com

Me on the Fish Weir – I was stoked!

Fish counting station on the Fish Weir at Chilkoot River

Fishermen & their dog on Chilkoot Lake

We were traveling in comfort on Rainbow Glacier’s tour

Local Rock Artist, Jim’s place along the Chilkoot Inlet

This is a cool stop…..Jim (the home owner) sets these rocks up in crazy formations and as cars pass the wind will sometimes knock them down.  So each day he goes out to his “Zen Garden” and places them in a new formation.  How about that?  All these years I thought they were secured together. I had not noticed that they changed daily.  Geez, I’m clueless at times.

Jim’s daughter came out to say “Hi” – Tom knows everyone.

Tom Ganner showing us how to “Zen Out” Haines Alaska style

Rock Artist Jim’s Zen Garden

Chilkoot Inlets floating house

This little house will have water all the way under it when the tide is high.  It has no plumbing, but that doesn’t stop travelers from staying there when they come to Haines looking for a cheap place to stay, with great views.

Best views of Chilkoot River Salmon runs are right here. It is private property though so come on a tour with Rainbow Glacier Adventure to hang out and watch bears this summer.

Excerpt from RGA guide: HainesAlaskaTourguide.blogspot.com

Haines Tourism Director, Tanya Carlson

The Party has started!  Haines tour season has hit the ground running. We had our first ever “Night of Tourism” this evening.  It was a full house with Tanya Carlson, Haines’ excellent Tourism Director, hosting the event.  Local restaurants catered the party with delicious finger foods to munch on and drinks available for purchase.  The venue was held at the (very cool) Bald Eagle Foundation Museum.  Live Owls and a Hawk greeted us while we snacked and mingled before entering the Natural History Room for the “Night of Tourism”.
Tanya greeted everyone and talked about Haines being a little piece of heaven on earth and how one business’s success is success for all of Haines. How we need to be united in our efforts and learn to work together for the greater good of Haines.

Karen Hess – Chilkat River Adventures Jet Boat Tours

Stan Jones – Valley of the Eagles Golf Course

John Svenson – Extreme Dreams Fine Art

Annette Smith – Fort Seward Vacation Rentals

There was an excited energy in the air because each tour company/business got to stand in front of the crowd and give a 1 minute spiel about their product….. or that excitement could have been because the “Gold Rush Alaska” crew was in the house! It was like having celebrities attend.  Of course, Haines is a great place to be a celebrity because people here are pretty private and they play it cool around big wigs, they give them their space, that is…..everyone gave them their space but me.

Fred, Chris, Jim, ?, Me, Todd, New Guy, Parker Schnabel, Jack

Dakota Fred

I was the obnoxious “Gold Rush Alaska Fan” who wouldn’t quit taking photos and video of them.  They were all very kind, maybe even a little shy at the attention, but they let me take their picture and they even signed a Gold Rush Alaska photo for me, upon request.  (See first picture on this blog)

Todd Hoffman

Todd Hoffman spoke next.  Todd introduced his Dad, Jack, and then told us how “Gold Rush” came to be.  He is the actual creator of “Gold Rush Alaska”. The idea came when they were trying to figure out a way to pay for the fuel.  He said he doesn’t always get along with Fred but he agreed with what he said about mining, “if you don’t like miners then you should quit using cars and computers”.

Todd, Joe O. – Rainbow Glacier Adventures Owner (my boss), & Jack

“Send them to Rainbow Glacier Adventures instead, we will take them out to Porcupine”, Joe Ordonez chimed in  (everyone laughed).

Money Shot – Dakota Fred & Todd Hoffman duking it out

Me & Jack Hoffman

Parker Schnabel with the Gold Rush Guys; New Guy, Jim and Chris

Todd, Joe O., Me, Jack

Buckshot & Bobby Pins Owner, Kristine Harder & Fred

Hudson Hoffman (Todds son) & I Is it me or does he seem extremely out of control excited?

Joe Ordonez with the Gold Rush Alaska Miners

Me with the Hoffmans

Dakota Fred & me (he is a sweetheart)

Todd & me (our eyes were red so I had to black them out. Now we look like vampires….Gold Rush Twilight)

Hudson goofing off with Fred’s glasses Todd & Dave Olerud chatting behind Jim chowing down

Dakota Fred with Dave Olerud – Founder of the Bald Eagle Foundation

Me & Chris

Kristine surrounded by men….whats new?

Excerpt from RGA guide: HainesAlaskaTourguide.blogspot.com

Parker Schnabel – Me – Joe Ordonez

The Borough Assembly meeting was held at Haines’ very own Sheldon Museum last Tuesday evening.  I entered the upstairs gallery to find the owner of Rainbow Glacier Adventures, Joe Ordonez, and Gold Mine owner, Parker Schnabel, signing in to speak about the new tour addition to Haines, “Gold Rush Tour to Porcupine Creek”.  Excitement was in the air as we talked about the upcoming tour season and all the gold to be discovered.  While we waited for the Mayor, City Manager, and our 6 Assembly Members to be seated I met Haines brand new Tourism Director, Tanya Carlson.

Haines Tourism Director Tayna Carlson

She is a bubbly, happy woman who is also excited with all the publicity Haines has received from the Discovery TV Show: Gold Rush Alaska.  She said the Gold Rush crew was indeed coming back for another season and will be in Haines soon.  She told me Dakota Fred and Todd Hoffman will be guest speakers at our “Night of Tourism” event on May 11th.  I will be looking forward to meeting them there.
My friend said she saw one of the guys from the Gold Rush Alaska show pull up to the bank in a brand new truck the other day.  She didn’t know which guy he was. She described him as having red hair, tall, and kinda stocky.  Which one could that be?  She told me she overheard him in the bank exclaiming astonishment over the large amount that was in his bank account.  I guess the Discovery TV show paid him more than he expected, eh?

Borough Assembly at Sheldon Museum Tues. April 26, 2011

The Borough Assembly Meeting got started with the pledge and roll call.  Our tour permit was up first, which was lucky for us, borough meetings have been known to go on for hours and hours. Joe Ordonez stood up and told everyone about the tour. We will be driving clients out Haines Highway through the Bald Eagle Preserve and on to the historic Porcupine Gold District of 1898.  We will meet the Schnabel’s at Gold Nugget Mine (who are the gold mining neighbors of the Discovery TV Show, Gold Rush Alaska).  Parker Schnabel or his grandfather, the legendary John Schnabel, will show us their gold mining operation which has been successfully discovering gold over the last 25 years.  Then the clients will get to try their hand at panning for their own Porcupine Creek gold.

Towns people at the meeting

Parker Schnabel – Gold Mine owner of Big Nugget Gold Mine (John Schnabels Grandson)