Texas Puzzle

All my favorite vacations involve water (even if it’s only the Storybook Land Canal Boats and the Jungle River Cruise). For the past week we’ve been exploring Alaska's inside passage aboard a 86,700 ton cruise ship. We’ve seen black bears, bald eagles, sea otters, brown gulls, mountain goats, pink jelly fish and too many humpback whales to count. We’ve watched icebergs float by – some as small as picnic coolers and others as big as shipping containers. We’ve gone swimming in the middle of Glacier Bay. Okay, we were in a very comfortable heated pool on a ship in the middle of the bay, but it definitely counts. We dined on escargot, filet mignon, lobster tail and baked Alaska. But all good things eventually come to an end. It’s time to head home, sort our photos and tackle a mountain of dirty laundry. And to start dreaming of our next adventure.

Carmen's Block

Robert Dunsmuir, a wealthy Victorian-era coal baron, began construction on Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria, B.C. in the 1880’s. It was to be a Scottish-style baronial mansion – a residence for himself, his wife and children. He died long before its completion, and his sons finished the project. When Dunsmuir’s wife passed away the estate was carved into building lots. The castle itself became a raffle prize for the lots’ buyers. The lottery winner mortgaged his prize to back a risky speculation scheme, which of course failed. So the castle ended up belonging to Bank of Montreal. The castle subsequently served as a World War I military hospital, a college, a school board office, and a conservatory of music. Today it’s a museum featuring Victorian stained glass windows and intricate woodwork. Robert Dunsmuir’s son James also commissioned a second castle in Victoria: Hatley Castle. Hatley is featured in several movies and TV shows, including the X-Men series. Maybe Craigdarroch Castle is just camera-shy.

Endless Ribbon

It rains a lot in Ketchikan. This place gets an average of 153 inches of rain every year. But all that water tends to keep away temperature extremes. The coldest it’s ever been here is one degree below zero, and the record high is 89 degrees Fahrenheit. Ketchikan has the world’s largest collection of standing totem poles. They’re all over the city, but most are in Saxman Totem Park, Totem Bight State Park, Potlatch Park, and the Totem Heritage Center. The first fish cannery opened here in 1886. By 1936 there were seven canneries in operation, producing 1.5 million cases of salmon per year. So what does the name “Ketchikan” mean? It depends on whom you ask. Most people agree it comes from a word in the Tlingit language. Some say it means “the spread wings of an eagle” and others think it refers to “the sound of thunder” or “white spots on a salmon.”

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

I find it fascinating that so many of my favorite show tunes – songs I’ve known and loved my whole life – came from Broadway musicals I’ve never even heard of, much less seen. I’m not likely to ever get the chance to see most of them, either. Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach wrote “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” for their musical Roberta in 1933. Two years later the play was adapted for the silver screen, with Irene Dunn, Fred Astaire, and western film star Randolph Scott (as in “Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott”). In 1952 they revamped the musical score and rewrote most of the script for Lovely to Look At with Red Skelton, Howard Keel and Zsa Zsa Gabor. If you’re curious you can watch Roberta on Amazon Prime Video for three bucks. If you want to see Lovely to Look At, you’ll have to spend considerably more for the DVD.

Charlotte's Web

Richard Harris and Joe Juneau were prospecting for gold in the territory of Alaska in 1880 and found nuggets "as big as beans." (I can't help wondering: mung beans or limas?) Word got out and their camp quickly became a town called – wait for it – Harrisburg. A short time later they renamed the town for a naval lieutenant commander stationed there, Charles Rockwell. In 1881, the name was changed to Juneau, the name it carries today. Juneau is the capital of Alaska, but it’s inaccessible by road. To get there from anyplace else, you need a boat, helicopter or plane. Juneau is sandwiched between 3,800-foot peaks and the ocean, creating a nasty weather phenomenon known as “Taku Winds” during the colder months. Juneau’s nearest neighbor is the Mendenhall Glacier, a 13-mile long river of ice that empties into Mendenhall Lake. Alaska’s oldest operating hotel, The Alaskan, was built in Juneau in 1913; the year Alaska became a US territory.

Nine Patch

“We must strive to obey the commandments and pay close attention to those that are hardest for us to keep. The Lord will be at our side. If we demonstrate a sincere desire and act accordingly, He will make weak things become strong. Obedience will give us the strength to overcome sin. We must understand the trial of our faith requires us to obey, often without knowing the results. I suggest a formula that will help us endure to the end:

Daily, pray and read the scriptures.

Weekly, partake of the sacrament with a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

Pay our tithing and our monthly fast offering.

Every two years renew our temple recommends.

Throughout our whole lives, serve in the work of the Lord.

May the great truths of the gospel steady our minds. May we keep our lives free of the cracks that can impede our safe journey through the sea of this life.” – Elder Claudio D. Zivic

Sheep Fold

Archeologists have reason to suspect the Seattle area has been inhabited for at least 4,000 years. George Vancouver was among the first Europeans to visit. He stopped here in May 1792 during a 4-year expedition to chart the Pacific Northwest. Seattle is the birthplace of Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee chain. You can still visit the original Starbucks in Pike’s Place Market. When it was built in 1914, 38-storey Smith Tower was the tallest building west of the Mississippi. It was eclipsed by the the 605’  Space Needle in 1962. In 1966, 11-year-old Bill Gates won dinner atop the Space Needle from his pastor by memorizing Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7 – the Sermon on the Mount. The world’s second gas station (the first is in St. Louis) was built by Standard Oil (now Chevron) at Seattle’s Pier 32. Seattle has not one but two cruise ship terminals. I do hope that doesn't cause a lot of confusion.