Blog written by RGA guide Holly Jo Parnell.  Opinions may not be that of Rainbow Glacier Adventures.

It was a boisterous reunion as the Rainbow Glacier Adventures family gathered in the “bus” for the first meeting of 2012. Many of my fellow guides had grand adventures this winter. Above you see Deborah Marshall, she went sailing 1200 nautical miles in the Pacific Ocean before being marooned on a nearly deserted coral atoll. She was rescued by a supply schooner and later became part of the crew on a cargo ship through the Cook Islands. What a wild winter for a wild woman.

Jen Reid spent 3 months in Baja Mexico.

As we were introduced to the two new employees, Lindsey Moore & Shannon Green, we each spoke about how special it is to work for such a unique tour company as Rainbow Glacier Adventures. Joe’s tour guides are an eclectic group of artistic characters that call Haines, Alaska home year round. That also makes us a bit eccentric. We are the type of people that give Haines its colorful personality.

Robert Chadwell & new RGA guide, Lindsey Moore, enjoyed the beaches of Maui, Hawaii this winter.

Robert pointed out our tours are normally 2-6 people tops. The intimate setting creates unique and lasting impressions on our guests. It is like hanging out with a few choice friends while seeing the “Real” Alaska.

Judy likes that we customize our tours to our guest’s desire. People get to do what they want in Haines when touring with Rainbow Glacier Adventures.

Tom & Carol Ganner missed the first meeting due to a 3 week rafting trip down the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon. Poor babies.

Bruce Blake had foreign travels in India but said his real highlight was singing in a gospel choir in the ghetto of San Francisco.

Nelle Jurgeleit-Green also travel far away…to Italy.  Yes, I’m envious.

Ron Horn captured Blue Whales in Loreto Mexico.

Our most “mature” guide, Bob Adkins, found himself in Las Vegas for the first time ever…that is the same destination my husband and I visited as well. Bob was not as impressed as we were with Vegas.

He summed up his Vegas experience with one image that will haunt him for a long time:
Picture a long row of slot machines in a dark, smoky room with a lady sitting down at the far end. She had a mini skirt on that looked more like a belt, with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth…she could not have been a day under 80. As she numbly pulled at the slot machine arm over and over again Bob thought,
“When your face has more wrinkles than your skirt, it is time to quit wearing them”. Bob stated it was his first and LAST time in Vegas.

I loved Vegas…go figure.

RGA Owners, Joe & Edie, had a different kind of adventure this winter. They had their 2nd daughter after eight years, cute little Sapphire. Stella is a happy big sister now.

All of us have the bragging right of surviving a Southeast Alaskan record-breaking winter. Thirty feet of snow (that is 360.7 inches folks) in Haines, Alaska is something to be proud (scared) of for sure. Judy captured it nicely with this shot.

Joe emphasized the fact our company stands for eco-tourism, having minimal impact on the environment and how we are positive community members by taking tours to establishments in Haines like;
Dave & Carol Pahl’s Hammer Museum,

John & Sharon Svenson’s Extreme Dreams Art Studio,

Paul Wheeler & Jeanne Kitayama’s Haines Brewing Company,

Dejon Delights Smoked Salmon emporium,

Schnabel’s Big Nugget Mine.

We support our local businesses and people.
Deborah said it was wonderful that we are a mature, middle-aged group of locals instead of college students from Colorado up for the summer. Everyone piped up in disagreement at being called “middle aged”. Doesn’t she know 50 is the new 30? Besides, a few of us haven’t reached that yet…but we knew what she was getting at. We are the real deal in authentic “Alaskan Lifers”.

People in the lower 48 do not understand why people would CHOOSE to live in a location that does not get cell service, electricity from the city, or even water in some cases. Outhouses are not a thing of the past here in Haines, Alaska. Embrace that and you might be ready to move here too, or just come visit.

The Rainbow Glacier Adventures Family is ready for a wonderful summer!

Rainbow Glacier Adventures had our first tour on Friday, April 6th.  A few of us RGA Guides got to go along to help Joe Ordonez while he treated a group of 24 French Canadian high school students from Montreal to a highly entertaining two day tour.  He is a very knowledgeable guide.  I guess that is why he owns Rainbow Glacier Adventures Tour Company, which has the bragging rights of having solely Haines, Alaska locals as guides.  Joe O. is an animated man and tells Haines history with an adventurous spirit. (more…)

Excerpts from RGA Tour Guide, Holly Jo Parnell at HainesAlaskaTourguide.blogspotcom

Rainbow Glacier Adventures has exclusive access to give tours to one of the most famous gold mines in America right now.  Yep, The Schnabel’s Big Nugget Mine at Porcupine Creek in Haines Alaska!

Excerpts from RGA Tour Guide, Holly Jo Parnell at HainesAlaskaTourguide.blogspotcom

With gold sky rocketing over $1700 an ounce recently, our Gold Rush to Porcupine Creek Tour is starting to be more than mere entertainment to our tour guests. Even small gold nuggets are worth something. Young and old, People want gold!

John Schnabel telling young prospectors; Mike, Farris, Errol and Matt how to pan for gold.

I have become a pretty good gold panner since I get to show tour groups how to pan for gold almost every time we visit Big Nugget Mine at Porcupine Creek. In fact, I became a little over-confident about my gold panning technic and lost my gold in the water trough on one of my tours. My happy tour guide persona quickly vanished and was replaced by a gold fever lunatic who just lost their fortune. (more…)

Excerpt from RGA guide: HainesAlaskaTourguide.blogspot.com

Field of the Dandelion weeds at the Ghost Town of Porcupine City. My Dad on one of my tours.

I cant believe we are already into July.  Summer flies when your having fun in Haines Alaska and Tour Guiding seals the deal!  I’m having a ball taking people to the Schnabel’s Big Nugget Mine where we pan for gold and find nice nuggets.  This is a great tour for the young and the young at heart!

Elizabeth from California takes a snap of her cousin, local cutie, 4 yr old Hayden with his gold nugget he panned all by himself

We have seen black bears on Porcupine Road… (more…)

Excerpt from RGA guide: HainesAlaskaTourguide.blogspot.com

Spectacular Views of the Dalton Trail

The first “Gold Rush to Porcupine Tour” started on Memorial day weekend with 10 people on board to the gold road to Porcupine.  We drove up the scenic Haines Highway through the Bald Eagle Preserve.  Joe Ordonez and CJ Jones gave excellent commentary of the area and the rich history of Dalton’s Trail.  We crossed over the Klehini River and into the Porcupine Gold District of 1898.

Dandelions in bloom – they may be weeds but they are sure pretty

We visited 16 yr old Parker Schnabel at his Big Nugget Mine where (more…)

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, (more…)

Excerpt from RGA guide: HainesAlaskaTourguide.blogspot.com

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.