View My Stats

View My Stats

Friday, May 21, 2010

Frosty Bay to Petersburgh

Next stop Frosty Bay.......which by the way was not frosty at all and nor did we see the 40 local seals that were supposed to greet us there!!??

But beautiful none the less .....


May 18th pull up anchor and head over to Anan Bay which is located on the mainland, up the Bradfield Canal, to check out the Anan Bear Observatory. It is one of the state’s best places to see bears at close range from a relatively safe vantage point. Anan Bay is an ancient Tlingit fishing sight where large pink salmon run during July and August. Attracted by fat, juicy pinks and steelhead trout, black bears and the occasional brownie come to feed in the creek. The bay is far too deep to anchor over night, so it is recommended by the Douglass book to just drop the hook, and leave a crew on board. Wendy offered to stay with the ship and send the crew, loaded with ammunition, to check out the bears!!!! Alas the crew returns and go figure.....no bears!!!

Motoring once again, we travel down Blake Channel through the narrows. As we approach the town of Wrangell, located on the grand Wrangell Island, we witness an Alaska Airlines flight taking off on the runway....







After Wayne and Wendy completed a most interesting (to the crew) chore of changing oil, we scouted out the town.

Within the harbor it’s self is “Chief Shakes Island”. Wrangell was inhabited by Tlingits and the longhouse was guarded by several totems. It was not open,, but a delightful Tlingit gentleman entertained us with stories of Tlingit history and traditions.

Petroglyph Beach lies north of town...a 20 minute walk. More than 40 petroglyphs are hidden on the beach. We walked among the rocks and were able to search out 3 of the mysterious etchings. Time and Mother Nature is slowly erasing the stone carvings. What a privilege to be able to touch these carvings.

The modern museum of Wrangell occupied a very educational and enjoyable couple of hours of our time after lunch....while Wendy madly tries to post the blog!!!! Very time consuming....!!!

Trying to identify local pelts by sight and touch demonstrated our lack of experience in this area. We were amused and educated with the whole experience.


We found the City Market to be most accommodating and they were more than happy to transport us and our groceries back down to the docks.













After such a large day of hiking, sightseeing, blogging, shopping, we must head up to the Pub for supper and do our laundry, as it will be another early depart for the crew!!!!








We departed Wrangell and headed west for Sumner Straight and St. John Harbor to stage our passage through the dreaded “Wrangell Narrows.” A storm was brewing to the south, so we entered at the opposite time suggested in the cruising guides...low water. It turned out to be a piece of cake. If you can count, you can get to Petersburg. Twenty miles, and 56 navigation buoys. Safely tied to the dock at 4:30 pm. Just in time for happy hour and the opening of the skies. We had read that rubber boots and raincoats are standard attire here.....

1 comment:

  1. HI all! Just want to say we love the facial hair Wayne and Larry ;) your adventures are wonderful to read about!

    Oh and everything is up in the garden! tell Bev I hilled the potatoes yesterday! A bit soggy around here, but all is well.
    love Jen and the gang

    ReplyDelete