EAGLES

Eagles are everywhere.  Here are some on a dolphin or sea lion carcass.  It's not unusual to see a dozen or so in one place.  The locals almost think of them as a nuisance.  We are still impressed to see them soaring and swooping over the water.  

We have been blessed with good weather.  We came prepared for rain everyday, but there has been quite a few sunny days.  Most are overcast, but at least no rain.  Temperatures are about low sixties to low seventies. Actually, just about perfect.  

MORE SITKA

Sitka is rich in history, from thousands of years ago when the first peoples crossed the land bridge from Siberia, to more recently when ownership of Alaska was transferred from Russia to the US.  It also played a part in WW II.  Before making this trip, I made it a point to read ALASKA, by James Michener.  Even though it is a work of fiction, Michener was a thorough researcher, and much of the story is set in Sitka.  I enjoy seeing the places I have read about.  

Tlingkit Dancers. We really enjoyed their performance, showing us the dances passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years.  Their costumes are authentic, each one embellished with the symbol of their particular clan.  The little ones were so cute.

SITKA, AK

June 25 to 28, 2016

Petersburg to Sitka is an 13 hour ferry ride, this one at night.  We booked the last available cabin to be more comfortable and maybe get a decent night’s sleep.  Good plan.  The berths were fairly comfortable, it was nice to have a place to leave our belongings.  The bathroom was bigger than ours in the RV, with a shower that had more pressure than our house back home.   Arrival in Sitka was at 9 am, so we headed immediately to the National Forest Campground nearby.  I’m looking forward to hiking some of the trails. 

Since it was Sunday, the Visitor Center was closed.  That is usually our first stop to find out what to do and see.  We decided to just drive around, and found a gem.  The Fortress of the Bear is a rescue program that adopts orphaned bear cubs.  Alaska has no rehabilitation program for bears, they will not release them back into the wild, so orphaned cubs are usually shot.  This program adopts them, acclimates them to human contact, and tries to rehome them to zoos and wildlife parks.  Currently there are 3 black bears and 6 brown (grizzly) bears.  They aren’t really cubs anymore, but still young.  It was great watching them interact from the viewing platform.  

PETERSBURG, AK

June 21 - 22, 2016

Ferry to Petersburg

Our next ferry left port at 2:30 AM (!), requiring us to line up at 1 AM.  We tried to catnap in the evening, without success and once we boarded we were wide awake and it was daylight.  The ride was only 3 hours, so when we got settled in the campground, it was nap time.  

These people have been on the ferry all night.  They also set up tents on the deck outside.  











We hit the jackpot with this campground.  There wasn't much choice in Petersburg, and this one is barely more than a parking lot, but overlooks the water. When I checked in the lady gave us freshly baked Norwegian cookies, and later that day she brought over a dungeness crab from their crab pots, all cleaned and cooked.  Today, they took their grandkids fishing and caught 4 halibut.  We will get a piece after they are cleaned.  Wow.  Everyone here is so nice.  

I took a hike this morning along the coastline.  What a beautiful walk.  It was only about 2 miles but kind of rugged, alot of climbing over and around roots and downed trees.  Totally worth it though, the day was glorious.  

Rag Lichen

Horsetail Lichen

Cat-tail Moss

This is Blind River Rapids, the salmon are just starting to come up.  We followed a young man down to the water and within 5 minutes he had landed a nice King Salmon, about 15 pounds.  Ed offered to buy it from him, he said they had plenty in the freezer, so he gave it to us.  We grilled some for supper.  Out of this world!!
The eagles were soaring all over the place, we counted 18 at one time.  

The eagles were soaring all over the place, we counted 18 at one time.  Is this heaven?

WRANGELL, AK

June 17, 2016  Friday

CREEK STREET - KETCHIKAN

Creek Street  was the Red Light District  from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. “Where the men and fish come up the creek to spawn”.   The houses of ill repute are now shops and boutiques.

WRANGELL, AK

June 19 and 20, 2016

This small town is so friendly and quaint.  There are only about 2000 residents and only 1 cruise ship comes in at a time.  Sunday was sunny and warm, we just explored the area and sat by the harbor and watched the crab boats coming and going.  



We took a jet boat ride out to the LeConte Glacier.  We were hoping to see whales or dolphins.  There were fins that we assume were dolphins, how come they don't jump clear out of the water like they do on TV?  The ice flows provided resting places for the harbor seals and their pups, also safety. The protected cove is too full of ice bergs, which keeps the Orcas out.  We saw upwards of 150 - 200 basking in the sun.  

KETCHIKAN, AK

June 14 through June 18, 2016

Alaska at last!!

It is a 6 hour ferry ride from Prince Rupert, BC to Ketchikan, AK.  Since Prince Rupert is the starting point of the Alaska Marine Highway System, the whole ferry had to be loaded.  We were instructed to be in line at 7:30 am for a 10:30 sailing, part of which was to pass through customs.  A lot of waiting.  Then, when we finally boarded, they informed us that we were now on Alaska time – 1 hour earlier.    

Disembarking was surprisingly efficient and easy.  Not everyone on the ship got off at Ketchikan, and they had us loaded according to destination. 

 

Ketchikan is about the size of Ludington, but 32 miles long, squished between the harbor and the mountains.  We spent our 4 days exploring the area, watching eagles, cruise ships (8 into port in 2 days, spilling 2000-3000 passengers each into Ketchikan. 

A visit to Totem Bight Heritage Park was a nice enjoyable stroll ending in a replica of a Tlingkit (pronounced Klingkit) Clan house.  The totems were not for worship, but generally tell the family history of the clan.  Most here were replicas.

MISTY FJORDS NATIONAL MONUMENT

Misty Fjords National Monument is almost 4000 square miles of rugged untouched wilderness.  The only access if by plane or boat.  We chose a float plane ride – so glad we did.  It was so incredibly beautiful!  This was my first time in a small plane, it was so cool when we landed on a lake in the wilderness.  A hundred miles from nowhere, over 1000 ft of 35 degree water. 

--Small world Moment:  We like to try to mingle with the locals, so we stopped at the VFW for their Burger Night.  There we met a couple traveling like us, and he grew up in Pentwater!  His grandparents homestead was on Bass Lake!  Dave, do you remember the Browers?  The house was on the corner of Lakeshore Drive and the road to the outlet.  Marcia & Ron (from the Evergreen in Ludington) live there now.  They were on the ferry out of Ketchikan with us, so we spent the hours visiting and naming families we both knew.