Stewart City Tour

 August 29, 2015

It has rained and rained and rained while we have been in Stewart. As luck would have it though, we had a break in the rain during the time we were scheduled to go on this city tour. But, of course, I had put in my order for better weather for the tour and as throughout the caravan, for all tours and outside events, the rain held off!!

 Above: you stack your wood neatly and under cover if you are heating with it. It will take a lot of it, so it has to be neat!

Left:  This is the Stewart Museum and govt offices, including a court room for those minor offences that don't require moving off to a bigger town.

The Historical Plaque for the Museum building

 Mining was a big deal in this area, back in the day. So, there are a lot of old abandoned mines with miles of tunnels just waiting for someone to step in and get lost. Very dangerous, not only can you get lost in one, but they are no longer stable, the slightest twinge in the earth's core could cause the whole thing to come crashing down.

 Up here in the millions of square miles of wilderness, the Coast Guard is to go to guy for emergency medical care and rescues. In case you are not aware of the Coast Guards role in Alaska, check out the TV show on the Weather Channel called Coast Guard Alaska.

 People in green jackets (mostly) converge on the town of Stewart.

 In Stewart, when there is a really high tide, the water flows into town, so unless your house sits on stilts, you are likely to be flooded. Also required are sump pumps, they are suppose to pump the water out of the basements. It was interesting to go into the hardware store in town and look through the items required specifically for this region.

 Stewart is surrounded by mountains, topped with glaciers that are melting. Therefore, everywhere you look there are waterfalls

Want to spend summers in Stewart? Evidently there is a major shortage of contractors and getting anything done, from minor repairs to major renovations. If you want a new house built, you better plan of 3-4 years of construction. You have to get a contractor, and then you have to have plans (there isn't an architecture in Stewart), then after you get that part done, ALL of the materials have to be shipped, trucked or air lifted into town. Then there is the limited amount of  time outside work can be done.

 Even a handyman worth his salt could make a lot of money during the summer season up here.

This is a relatively new house, took approximately 5 years to build from start to finish. Living here must take lots of patience!!

 This old church had it's first service in 1910

 The gardens and tennis court of the big house

 This is a real fixer upper

But, this is worse. Apparently, some guy from Arkansas bought this, came up a couple of seasons to work on it, but hasn't been seen this year, so no one knows if he is coming back.

 This whole house was raised and the basement added

 We arrive in downtown Stewart

 A rolling pup tent???

 An early snow mobile???

 The hotel 'Ripley Creek Inn' finds these old buildings, refurbishes them and then rents them out as rooms of the hotel. This one was the brothel.

 Registration office

 These are core samples left over from the mining operations. Core samples were taken of the rock to determine if whatever ore they were looking for was evident. Most of the mines around Stewart were copper mines.

 I saved this little critter from being squashed. Wonder what kind of butterfly he will make.

This old hotel is being haggled over in probate court. Not for sale yet, but it maybe. According to our guide, Shirley, it was beautiful inside during it's heyday. She says that if it goes on the market, she may buy it and put a condo on this back corner.

 The Historical Marker on the hotel

Love the weeping willow, maybe I'll plant one in Little Rock.