Bumping Through the Bergs

Another nice Southeast Alaska day. After breakfast we went into town to return the movie and get a sandwich for our tour this afternoon. They are starting to decorate town for the Little Norway Festival this weekend. There’s a Viking Feast tonight at 6PM, but we’re not sure we’ll get back in time. This is an eat with your hands and no napkins dinner. As we sat in front of the Java Haus watching the goings on, we started to see people in Norwegian dress.

About 12:45 we ambled across the street to meet Capt Ron and our fellow tour-mates. We will be going across Frederick Sound (east) and then up the LeConte Bay hopefully to the glacier. This is the 1st trip up the bay this year so we don’t know how far we’ll get. Coming out of the harbor there were Stellar Sea Lions piled up on a buoy sleeping. Another one kept jumping up to get on but the Big One said - Nope no room! The mountains are majestic and crossing the sound we start to see white shapes floating in the distance. Then a “bump” we’ve found our 1st ice berg! First they are fairly small and partly melted as the boat winds around them. Soon we are exclaiming - look! Wow! Awesome… as we pass bigger ones. Now they are getting bigger and bigger. More and more clog the water and they are all shapes and sizes. The boat is bumping and scraping our way through. Sometimes we are up on a shelf of ice and you can feel the berg roll and the boat slide back into the water. We are going slowly and the shapes and colors are phenomenal - every one more beautiful than the last. Every time we think this is as far as we can go Capt Ron finds another opening - bump, scrap, stop, float, through the bergs we glide. As we maneuver around an ‘S’ curve the bergs are much bigger… and we see LeConte Glacier in front of us. It appears white and ice blue. The glacier is about 1.5 miles away and Capt Ron says that’s as close as we can get. We don‘t want the ice to close up behind us.

The glacier is on the mainland on the Horn Cliff side of Frederick Sound. The snowfield above the glacier runs through the Stikine River valley. LeConte is the southernmost active tidewater glacier in North America. The glacier tends to move forward with the spring melting, and retreat again in the fall. LeConte has retreated approximately 1.2 miles since 1991.

There are Harbor Seals laying on the bergs in the distance and they slide off into to the water before we can approach them. Then suddenly in the water among the bergs a head will pop up - playing hide and seek. We floated in front of the glacier while we had lunch on the deck, hoping it would calve. No luck today.

It took us 3 hours to pick our way through the ice! Now we have to pick our way back out. The tide is low now and it’s stranded some of the bergs on the rocky shore and on top of other bergs. The light is changing too and it causes some of the bergs to turn an amazing turquoise and ocean blue. Coming out of the bay we saw an eagle perched on top of a deep blue berg - but the boat had picked up speed on it’s way home.

We got back to the harbor about 6pm. Too tired for the feast we stopped for Chinese food at Joan Mei across from the ferry terminal. Then went back to camp, played Scrabble ( I lost - 1st tray was all vowels)..eh!

It was a great day and a fantastic tour.

Pictures: Out of the harbor, Sorry - no room, Entering LeConte Bay, Ice Bergs in the bay (3), Us and the bergs, Getting closer to the glacier (4), The berg beneath, Le Conte Glacier (2), Glacier and us, Berg and changing colors (2), Leaving Le Conte Bay.

Peel & Eat!

Today was rainy and just a hang around day. Ken did laundry and I worked on the blog entries. With no wifi I create the entries in work and then cut and past into the blog when I have service.

About noon we drove to town. There was a sign “Fresh Prawn” on a pickup truck at the South Harbor so we pulled in and parked. We followed the signs down the ramp to a boat called ‘SAGA’. He only had ‘side stripe’ shrimp left - ok - we bought a bag. Probably about 4 lbs for $20. They were medium size and we‘ll freeze some of them. Dinner will be “peel and eat”!

We kept the shrimp cold and then drove up the street and parked in the back parking lot of Viking Travel. They were nice enough to let us use their electric outlet. We could plug in our wifi and I spent the next few hours blogging while Ken caught up on mail. From our vantage point we could watch the comings and goings about town.

The rain stopped about 4PM and it started to clear. We headed back to camp. Ken made “Bloody Cesars” and we had some salsa made by a local lady, that was terrific, while we steamed the shrimp. 1 12oz bottle of Alaskan White beer, 3 cloves garlic and a bunch of shrimp. Bring to boil - add shrimp - steam 4 minutes…. We were in shrimp heaven! If we see the sign again we hope to get some bigger ones.

It was a relaxing day. We talked with the grandkids and it was Morgan’s 4th birthday. They went to Friendly‘s. Ryan wants to know if we’ve seen Polar Bears!… We hate to disappoint him, but that’s one animal we probably won’t see.

We watched another movie for tonight and hit the hay.

It was a good day.

Pictures: Fishing boats south harbor, south harbor, north harbor

Forest Road Fun

Nice morning, sunny and in the 40's. We had errands to do to get set up for the rest iof the week. Viking Travel booked our tour for Thursday and then we walked up to Coastal Cold Storage to get some fresh Halibut steaks and scallops. Hidden above town we found the grocery store and picked up vegetables for the next few days. Now we're ready to explore.

On the way past camp we dropped everything off and headed for the 3 Lakes Loop Road at Mile Post 20.6. This is another USFS Road #6235 and leads into the rugged wilderness. We traveled into the forest. Ken said he wouldn't want to get lost here because it's a really tough terrain with down trees and old growth. We passed a number of hiking trails around lakes, but weren't too comforable walking them. Most were 1/2 to 1 mile, but we saw 'bear sign' and we don't have any weapons but our walking sticks. We'd rather be safe than sorry. 3 Lakes Road winds around muskeg and over rivers and then through 3 Lakes Recreation Area made up of Sand Lake, Shelter Lake, and Hill Lake. They are fairly small.

We turned onto Road 6232 (Canyon Creek Rd) which led to the Le Conte Glacier overlook. As we reached the picnic area there was another couple there so we continued up the narrow winding gravel road. Curving up the side of the mountain we had beautiful mountain views across the Frederic Sound. The road got narrower and rougher and then headed steeply up - we turned around. As we got back to the overlook it was empty - yea! We took out our picnic bag and set up for lunch. Looking through the binoculas we could see part of the glacier and what we thought was snow along the shore in the distance. The snow was actually ice bergs floating in the sound! It was surreal and exciting to see them.

We left and drove back to camp. Ken cooked Halibut steaks on the grill and they were yummy. Later we watched a movie and went to bed.

Another great day.

Pictures: Forest Rd 6235, Canyon Creek Rd, La Conte Glacier Overlook (2), Lunch at the overlook

Exploring Petersburg

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.

Arriving in Petersburg

Off to breakfast at the Double C and then back to camp. We'll hang out and get ready to go to Petersburg this afternoon. I worked on the blog and Ken washed the coach and jeep.

Later a red pick up truck pulled up and Bob got out and introduced himself. He and his wife live down on the beach and had been trying to catch us all week. They wanted to invite us down to watch eagles from their porch. Bob was very nice and unfortunately we couldn't get together.

Capt'n Jim came by with his wife Wilma. We talked for a while and Ken offered to water the rasberry bushes before we left.

Just as we were packing up "Jim" came by with his wife Lisa in their 4 wheel drive 'Starfire' RV. This is quite the RV! It was very roomy and they have put in lots of work to make it homey. They had been out camping all weekend. We gave a tour of our coach and then we said goodbye.

We got to the ferry about 3pm and got lined up. Ken even gave a tour of the coach to the security officier. He causes quite a stir with the crews and ferry people. What a pretty ride even though it was raining. The Matanuska sailed out of the Wrangell Narrows and around Zaremto Island. We took a walk around the deck and up to the solarium. There were many tents tied down and blowing in the wind. Several young people where taping the edges with duct tape so they wouldn't blow away. There have been lots of sun holes with the rays filtering through on our 3 hr ride and a really faint rainbow. The trip went really fast as the ship passed many islands.

We hated to say goodbye to Wrangell but we have so much more to see. It made us think of a quote, by Henry Gannet of the Harriman Expedition (1899), from the Wrangel Museum -

"There is one word of advice to be given those intending to visit Alaska for pleasure, for sightseeing. If you are old, go by all means. But if you are young, wait. The scenery of Alaska is much grander than anything else of the kind in the world, and it is not well to dull one’s capacity for enjoyment by seeing the finest first.”

Getting closer to Petersburg we began to see camps and houses along the narrows as we sailed along Mitkof Island. Jagged peaked snow capped mountains appeard above the tree tops. We pulled in to the ferry terminal and unloaded. Off down the Mitkof Highway about 10 miles to The Trees RV Park. We are back in the Tongass National Forest again, but we have hookups in this park. It was about 8:30pm as we got into our site and relaxed.

It was a nice day and we just might return to Wrangell for a Telegraph Creek trip with Capt'n Jim.

Pictures: Tents in the solarium deck, Sailing through the narrows, Sunbeams over the mountains, Approaching Petersburg (2), Arriving in Petersburg