Sitka

We arrived Sitka yesterday.  I wish I could post some photos but the internet connection is so poor that I am unable.  All throughout Alaska we have had very poor connections for internet and I have been surprised by this, especially when we are in a marina like now.  So it's disappointing not to be able to share some photos. I am glad I am keeping a journal the old fashioned way so I can keep track of where we are when we took photos.  We have had some amazing experiences especially after leaving Juneau.  We were able to get into Glacier Bay on short notice as it requires a reservation and they only allow 25 boats in at a time.   It keeps the anchorages very private.   We had a close encounter with a whale that came up from behind our boat when we were in the middle of a group of whales feeding.    We saw it coming and because we had turned off the engine we could not get out of the way and the next thing we knew he surfaced right off our stern, coming up and blowing through his blow hole and as our hearts stopped beating he went right under our boat as we waited for the crash.  BJ hollered, "hold on" which I do not recall but I stood there trying to take a picture..dumb, dumb.   Anyway, I am having enough adventure to last the rest of my life and will be quite content to sit in the rocking chair on a quiet porch for many of my remaining years as I relive in my mind all the things I have seen and done!!  :-)

A Huge Help

For all you campers out there, this is nothing new but several years ago another boating friend put us on to these "bunsen burners" as I call them.  What a helpful addition to the boat when we want to cook crab, soup, rice...well, just about anything that requires heat.   When we are at anchor we would have to start the generator for me to use the stove and this little burner is just the most versatile thing.  I can put it out on the aft deck to let the steam rise out there if I want and after boating season is over we even take it home to have in case the power goes out...which is known to happen all too frequently.

The second most helpful thing is having GPS softwear on our laptop.  BJ has always had a GPS and radar monitor at the helm but I have never been able to view it very well and so for this trip we got a back up installed on the computer and what a help it has been.  We both can be looking at the electronic charts and can agree or disagree about where we are.   It is incredibly reassuring for me not to have to wonder where we are or keep asking.  In waters that are all new to us it has been the best addition.  My laptop computer screen light went out about a month before we left on this journey.  I complained at the time for a computer only 3 years old but oh how grateful I am it didn't happen on this trip.  Yes, timing is everything.

Petersburg On Mitkof Island

We are in the little community of Petersburg today sitting among the fisherman again.   As you can see from the photo below not all boats have tender loving care!  The one in the photo has moss growing all over it!  Some of the boats you truly wonder how they float.  There are over 800 commercial fisherman here in a town of about 3500.  Since it's Sunday, not much is open but we did walk around to get a feel for the town and it has a rich Norwegian heritage so I feel right at home!   The founder, Peter Buschmann, built the first cannery and sawmill here in the late 1880s.   If he winds aren't too strong tomorrow we will head off again into the hinterlands and probably won't have internet again until Juneau. 

 Many of the houses and stores have this wonderful rosemaling and Norwegian flags are everywhere. 

Alaska!

Well, here we are and I don't even know where to start.  After 13 days we arrived in Ketchikan on June 1 and today we are in Wrangell.  I have just finished doing 2 hours of laundry and BJ is doing some minor boat work.  After 16 days on the boat I am starting to adjust to these waters...they are so HUGE.  If this is called the Inside Passage then don't put me on the outside.   The channels are just so vast.  We have the smaller passages also which are beautiful and we are grateful for two GPS systems so we can both agree we are in the correct area.    Very important!!  The photo below could have a good fish tale but you all know we are not fisherman so today we found a couple of young ladies selling salmon off the dock so we purchased this 10 lb. beauty and BJ fileted it and I had enough room in our freezer for the wonderful meat and also all the scraps which we can use for crab bait.   We have been using cat food for bait and have had crab twice but I think the salmon scraps will work much better.   Today was only our second full day of rain, not bad for this area...actually when it rains it usually means the seas are calmer so I don't complain!  We try to head out early in the morning from wherever we are to our next destination as it's usually calmer...are you realizing I'm a bit obscessed with that word??...the afternoons usually bring on the winds and then we (I) like to be already anchored or tied up some where.   We will be in glacier country in a few more days and I'm not too sure how I will like the little bergs floating around us...I try not to think too far ahead.    Fisherman are around us everywhere in every manner of boat.  It seems common practice to take the smallest runabout and put the largest outboard possible on it.    But, as I said the channels are large and you can't wait all day to get across especially if your livelihood depends on it.  Internet connections are sketchy...like today, sometimes we can get connections at marinas but I am not able to update regularly.   

A Lovely Birthday Day

At the top of the landing at the marina we are at today was this wonderful tree with a bald eagle perched at the top just checking out everyone.  We have seen a lot of eagles up close.   We have had much sun today and warmer temps so it's been a lovely day for the "old" man.  Tonight we are having dinner at a little restaurant and pub here at the marina to help the "boy" celebrate.    BJ has enjoyed all his emails of congratulations so it's been a good day.

One Week Closer To Alaska

We are sitting at a marina in the "town" of Ocean Falls...sounds dreamy doesn't it?  The setting is breathtaking, fjord like scenery...really gorgeous.   But it's the town that time forgot...or rather, lost its way economically.  Most of the buildings have been abandoned and it used to be a lumber mill when it was thriving.  Now there is a dam that provides electricity for some of the surrounding towns, thus the falls.   We literally blew in here around noon just as a squall was arriving.  This has been our first consistently wet day since we left home.

We got a couple crab in our crab traps last night in the anchorage we were in so we will enjoy those tonight.  Email connections are not the best up here and I have noticed it takes a long time to upload photos so they will not be in great volume on the blog.

This photo was taken in our first anchorage after crossing Queen Charlotte Strait.   It was called "Fury Cove"...the idea being that fury could be going on all around the anchorage but you would be snug as a bug.

"Hey, Barb, should we take this one home for the garden?"



"Bearly" There

We only left home for Alaska as of last Friday and already we have seen so much.  Yesterday we went 10 hours on the boat cruising from Comox, Vancouver Island to the Broughton Archipelago and to our most favorite tiny gunkhole.  Shortly after getting anchored, I said to BJ, "Is that a dog on the shore?"...then we realized, no, it was a bear..a large brown bear.  Now this is the closest I have ever come to seeing a bear, other than the zoo.  Our boat was about 20 yards from shore so it was really up close and personal.  He did not seen to be bothered by our presence, just a glance our way occasionally as he sauntered along the shore line looking for goodies hidden between the rocks.  It was quite the excitement for the day.  I don't know how often I will be able to blog as we will be anchored much of the time.  We have had good weather thus far but the true test will be heading out into the open ocean tomorrow if the forecast is good.   I'm not looking forward to that but everyone has to do it if they want to go to Alaska.  'Course, there's that debatable word "want" again...:-)  Today we saw a huge cruise ship suddenly come around a corner as we were exiting a channel and we had to wait until it went by and I thought, oh how nice if they could just tow us.