Our last explorations of the voyage found us at a favorite Southeast Alaska landing – the trailhead to Lake Eva on Baranof Island. With a morning full of hikes, kayaking, and stand-up paddleboarding, we explored shore, lagoon, and forest, discovering eagles chorusing, salmon leaping, and the beauty and nuance of the temperate rainforest.
It has indeed been a pleasure traveling this week with Arylene Clark Wilson, a visually impaired guest, who has opened our minds to alternative ways of experiencing the wonders of Southeast Alaska without using the sense of sight. By all going quiet at times on the bow and on the trail, we gained new appreciation for the power of birdsong, whale blows, breach splashes, and waterfalls crashing. By feeling the texture of tree bark, mosses and leaves, and in tasting berries, and by focusing on the scents of the rainforest and ocean, we deepened our sensory appreciation for Southeast Alaska.
In tribute to our trip, here are the lyrics to a song I wrote and performed this last evening at recap, accompanied by colleagues Chelsea Wahman, Steward, and David Spiegal.
A is for Alaska (by Steven Zeff)
A is for Alaska, hope you had a great time
B is for Banana Slug, riding on its slime
And for the Bears that can be anywhere
C is for the Calving of ice
While D is for Deer, and not getting on your Device
E can only be for Eagle
F is for Fireweed, Forest, and Fjord
And Fish and Filming and Feeling Floored
G is for Glacier
And worrying about its erasure
H is for Humpback, breaching ad infinitum
And for Harbor Seal, if you can sight ‘em
Their heads somewhat bob-able,
and Hummingbirds improbable
I is for Isostatic rebound
As ecstatic as that sounds
But really it’s for Icebergs
Where they abound
J is, you know, for Juneau
And, I wager, for Jaeger
And it’s for Jellyfish smacks
K is for Killer Whale, thriller, no fail
Finning and blowing and slapping their tail
Hoping to see some attacks
But we wish they wouldn’t show up so late
L is for Lichen, the naturalists are likin’
Symbiosis, not a simple process
It’s a fungus with an algae date
M is for Minke, Muskeg, and Muir
And a Mink to see by the shore
N is for Nudibranch
underwater slug, who’d a think’d
O is for an Ocean of Otters
In spite of all our pelt-seeking slaughters
P is for puffin
Hope you didn’t see nothin’
Q is for Quintessential scenery
White ice, blue ocean, forest greenery
R is for Raven
And for the Rain we weren’t bravin’
S is for Sea lions Steller
and for the Salmon they’re slammin’
Jays Steller and little Squirrel fellers
T is for Tlingits, and Touristy Trinkets
Terns on their bipolar rides
And Tongass and Totems, and watching out for the Tides
U is for U-shaped Valley
And for V, which we also can tally
W is for Water filled with Whales
Watching them in the Wilderness
They thrill us, and chill us, and fill us, instill us, and overspill us with joyfulness
W is also for World War II Tales
X is what you can call your husband or wife
If you keep up this naturalist kind of life
Y is philosophical baggage
And for Yellow skunk cabbage
And something else that should go in this song
Z is for Zodiacs and Zones intertidal
Hope you might have liked our recital
See y’all next year please come along…
A is for Alaska
