The Stikine River

While we were in Wrangell, we took a jet-boat tour up the Stikine River.  The Stikine is considered one of the last truly wild, major rivers in British Columbia.  It drains a rugged, largely pristine area in British Columbia before crossing into the U.S. and entering the sea near Wrangell.

The river is full of fine "glacier flour" silt and deposits huge mudflats at the mouth of the river. The river also carries many large logs which end up stuck on those mudflats.

Some of the sediment had built up low islands in the delta.  There were patches of wildflowers on some of these islands.

A building quickly deteriorating near the end of the river.

We saw several eagles during the trip.

Also waterfalls.

Usnea lichen, also known as "Old Man's Beard".  This lichen is an indicator for unpolluted air.

The lands in the U.S. surrounding the river are designated as wilderness and no buildings are allowed.  But the navigable waterways are Alaska State property and the state doesn't prohibit cabins.  So locals put cabins on floats and tow them to a spot along the river.

Our turn around point was the still mostly frozen Shakes Lake.

On to Wrangell

After several days in the Ketchikan area it was time to take the ferry to our next stop, Wrangell.

Just leaving the Ketchikan ferry dock.

It was fun to view the "camp" of the longer duration travelers that did not book cabins on the ferry.

Yet another use for duct tape is to fasten the tents to the deck.

The view from the ferry is pretty spectacular.

These two crows almost look as if they are wearing black fur capes.

This immature Bald Eagle was wanting to get some of what another eagle was eating on a branch below.

After spending the first two nights at a city operated RV park at Shoemaker Bay, we moved to a National Forest Service campsite at Nemo Point several miles south of Wrangell.  Not a bad spot for free camping!

Below the campsites was a large tree with a Bald Eagle nest.  The nest was pretty much level with the campsites and maybe 50 yards away.

The dwarf dogwood was blooming.

During a drive to the other side of Wrangell Island I shot this panorama looking to the east.

A typical mountain stream scene.

One day we visited Petroglyph Beach in Wrangell, which has a large concentration of petroglyphs made by early native people.

Nearby was a shipwrecked boat.

And a sunset to end this post.

Misty Fjords

One of the things we most wanted to do while in the Ketchikan area was to take a fly/cruise tour into Misty Fjords National Monument.  Finally on our last full day the weather improved to the point it seemed worthwhile and we were able to secure four last minute seats with of of the tour operaqtors.

Boarding the float plane for the outbound leg of our tour

Some images from the flight.

After landing in one of the fjords we transferred to a catamaran tour boat for the trip back to Ketchikan.

Here are images from the cruise portion of the tour.

As we got close to Ketchikan we saw the ferry Matanuska.

We also had a Humpback Whale breach a couple of times, but I wasn't able to catch it before the big splash.

Clover Pass Eagles

We spent most of our nights in the Ketchikan area at the Clover Pass Resort which is several miles north of the city.  There were several Bald Eagles that were staying in the immediate area.  Here is a variety of eagle images taken during our stay.