Tuesday, July 20
Cruising Glacier Bay

I have now been on the boat for 2 marvelous weeks.

Having decided that no one, upon awakening in the morning, is jumping out of bed ready to bake we decide to bake while cruising to our next anchorage cove. We are retracing our route so know we can enjoy the scenery again but will not miss new sights. An apple pie, gluten free muffins and sourdough blueberry muffins are our baked treats selected. Prior to my introduction to boating I would never have thought it possible to accomplish baking while underway. Andrea and Rozlynne take on the duties of Captain and Navigator while Becky and I go to the galley.
Becky decides that we will enjoy Brie in Brioche on the boat as an appetizer. Completing the days menu decisions we select Orzo Risotto with Chicken Thighs and chocolate brownie pudding for dessert for our evening meal.
Back in Skagway we decided to rent a car and found out that the rental company was named Sourdough. We remember the significance of sourdough during the Kondike Gold Rush and Andrea remembers it vividly as a part of her childhood growing up on Douglas Island, part of Juneau, Alaska. Becky bought a sourdough starter packet and cookbook “Simply Sourdough: The Alaska Way” in Skagway. The treasured starters were passed from person to person and sometimes even from one generation to the next. The sourdough provided the primary method of leavening bread. Sourdough works when its yeast gives off carbon dioxide, creating tiny bubbles in the dough causing it to rise. The yeast feeds on the sugar in the dough and converts it to lactic acid, the source of the sour flavor. The cookbook is filled with tempting recipes, among them Sourdough pancakes, sourdough blintzes, sourdough scones, sourdough focaccia bread, sourdough carrot cake just to name a few of the recipes that had us salivating. We are only limited by the number of eggs and the butter we have onboard. A challenge I am sure we can overcome with our creativity!
The apple pie baking in the galley kitchen begins to fill the boat with its mouth watering aroma. Lunch of apple pie is sounding real good!!!
Becky makes a trip to the Reading Room taking along the “San Juan Classic Cookbook“. She returns to the galley adding Gingered Carrot Salad. Noted on the recipe is “the ginger adds a surprising flavor to this tasty year round salad”. Becky says “I just did not want anything to spoil!” Oh, how I wish she needed to spend more time in the Reading Room! On another visit, Becky emerges from below (remember we are on a boat) and announces the multigrain garlic bread form the other evening are now going to become croutons. We envision these on top of French Onion soup for a future meal.
We stop to enjoy the scenery of Skag Cove. A quiet small cove but deep waters, the depth finder says 210 feet. I am reminded of a description in a travel book that said Glacier Bay scenery is so hopelessly beyond description. I have long ago run out of superlatives, a thesaurus would come in handy. The air has a cold crisp smell! The pines along the shore as well as the towering granite cliffs above are reflected in the beautiful green waters below.
Back to the last recipe of the day, blueberry muffins using the sourdough starter for the first time. I would love to be able to use the wild blueberries that can be found along the trails in Barrett Cove but we will have to use the frozen blueberries in our freezer.

Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
1 cup sourdough starter
½ cup vegetable oil
¾ cup water
1 egg
½ cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (see note)
In a large bowl, stir together starter, oil, water, egg and brown sugar. Sift in flour, salt and baking soda: stir until combined - do not over mix. Gently fold in blueberries. Spoon batter into greased or paper-lined muffin tins, filling cups 22/3 full. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Makes about 12 large.
Note: If using froze berries, do not thaw before folding in

We finish in the kitchen just as we come to Marble Island and the spectacle of the Stellar Sea Lions before us. Their deep gutteral sounds could be heard as we watched them plop in the water, climb out again, and go to sleep on the rock. We spot a humpback whale spouting and can hear his sounds as if in a duet with the Stellar Sea Lions.
Continuing on we approach Sturgis Island and Puffin Island getting closer to our anchorage spot for the evening at North Sandy Cove. We are looking forward to taking the dinghy down again to explore this new area. Andrea and I sit on the upper fly bridge in awe of the vast wilderness around us, thinking that we will probably never again be in such a large unspoiled natural environment. We silently observe around us.
We come to our evening anchorage in North Sandy Cove. One other boat is already anchored, the Tiger Lily. As we come around the bend into this quiet moorage spot we see an area between the two islands that open up to frame more of the wonderful scenery of Glacial Bay. It is so quiet we feel like we have to whisper. We will enjoy the dinner we have planned. Yummy!!