Down the Mitkof Highway to town for breakfast. Entering Petersburg you drive under the American and Norwegian flags which are strung across Nordic Drive(main street). We drove up the street and found the only restaurant serving breakfast - which was closed, but there are lots of coffee huts. We parked in front of Coastal Coldstorage Seafood Deli and went inside. They have flash frozen local fish and the price for Halibut was great! There were 2 big steaks for $7. Across from us was a 51.2 lb King Salmon displayed on ice caught by a local fisherman. You see these things in pictures, but up close they are really big!
Petersburg lies on the northern end of Mitkof Island and is known as "Alaska's Little Norway". Many of the store fronts are decorated with Rosemaled (Norwegian form). Walking down Nordic Drive we stopped in Viking Travel to meet Nancy. She is the lady who helped us book our Ferry schedule. It was really nice to put a face with someone you've been e-mailing for 5 months. From there we wandered down Sing Lee Alley. Formerly known as Indian Street, this was the center of early Petersburg. Many of the buildings were built in the early 1900's. At the end of the alley lies the Sons of Norway Hall, built in 1912, it was declared a Historic Site in 1979. The building is built on pilings over Hammer Slough. The white and red building has traditional Rosemailing on the exterior. There is an old Viking Ship on the deck which is a social gathering place.
Off to explore the back country today. Frederic Drive starts in town and curves its way aong the Frederic Sound. 1st stop was Outlook Park where we met a nice couple from Scotland. They had just arrived from Africa and Australia - and we think we travel! Outlook Park provides a really nice view of the Frederic Sound and the spectacular Coastal Mountain Range.
Continuing along the road we saw several deer and then the road turned to gravel and became Forest Service #6204. It's so quiet and we stopped on the bridge over Cabin Creek just to listen and of course look for fish. The road passes muskeg, then forest, then views and it never gets boring. We turned onto Road 6235 and saw 2 Porcupine which waddled across the road in front of us. They are funny to watch and you'd be surprised how quick they are. Before we could get the camera out they were gone. The next turn took us onto Road 4000, otherwise known as Froot Loop Rd, appropriate for us.... This loop brought us back to Mitkof Highway.
It's a really pretty day so we turned south on the highway to drive "to the end" The road takes us along the coast of Mitkof Island and there are plenty of points of interest. Blind River Rapids Recreation Area was our 1st stop and a pleasant surprise. A boardwalk took us 1/2 mile around the muskeg and down to the edge of Blind Slough. We made sure to make lots of noise as we walked along. The water is really low and didn't look like the fishing was good yet. It was really beautiful.
Back in the car we drove to Man -Made Hole Lake. Another nice boardwalk path led around the lake. We took the walking sticks and started out. We got to the lake and crossed the brook when I grabbed Ken - "WHOA"... something black in the bushes just off to our right! We stopped and continued to make noise, then we saw "it" move away from us through the bushes. From the back it looked like a dog and was hairier than a bear -- we think it was a wolf. We backed up keeping our eyes on the path and once over the bridge turned and went back to the car. Knowing something was in the area we didn't want to take a chance, so we left.
Down the road we checked out several campgrounds. Ohmer Creek Campground is a nice forest service camp with no fee. The spaces are great and its right on the creek. However, there isn't much water. We thought about staying here our last day and if there had been more water we probably would have. Continuing we passed the south Ferry Terminal used for the inter island ferry when it runs. Next we checked out the Ernie Haugen Recreation Area which had great picnic areas and a fantastic view of Wrangell across the Sumner Strait. We could get 2 bars on our cell phones here, probably picking up from Wrangell Island. This recreation area is a beautiful place to camp and we're sure it is probably packed with local Alaskans in the summer.
The road turns to a fair gravel surface as we pass several beaches and the Banana Point boat launch. At mile 32 we reach the "end of the road". We can look across the strait to the mouth of the Stikine River where we were a few days ago.
Retracing our steps we approached Banana Point, a mink was roaming up the middle of the road. Finally he saw us and ran into the grass. We followed the Mitkof Hwy back to town and had 'dinner' at Tinas Kitchen on Nordic Drive. Tina's is a little 'hole-in-the-wall' place. I had a Halibut Cheek Burger and Ken had Terriaki chicken. Halibut Cheeks are the sweetest part of the fish, and a delicacy. They are fantastic! We sat in the patio area right off the side walk. This is definitely a local place and lots of folks were getting dinners to go.
Back at camp we played Scrabble - I lost - and then we went to bed. Petersburg is a a nice little town and Mitkof Island is beautiful.
Pictures: Outlook Park, Viking Ship at Sons of Norway Hall, Muskeg Meadows on Rd 6204, Pond along Rd 6204, View across Sumner Strait, View of Wrangell from Ernie Haugen Rec Area.
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