Sunday, September 14, 2014

Ferry from Juneau to Sitka, Petersburg, Ketchikan, POW, and Prince Rupert, BC

Other than the oftentimes "weird hours" that the ferries leave and arrive, they are a comfortable way to travel. But they are not cruise ships! I do suggest getting a cabin for overnight runs. We only got one once but it was well worth it to get some real sleep. Sleeping in a chair is for the young! Our next ride, to Sitka, on the fast-ferry, Fairweather was the smoothest and fastest! The only drawback was it only had a minimal snack bar and no hot food service.
We tightly  maneuvered through an archipelago of small islands. The timing had to be exact because of the huge fluctuations in tides. We were in some very shallow channels! We arrived in Sitka which was the island I most wanted to visit, and it did not disapoint! It was the first Russian capitol of AK and still has a huge Russian cultural influence. It's a beautiful island but rains constantly! We stayed off grid for 4 days at a USFS c.g. We saw many historical buildings, museums and especially enjoyed the Russian Orthodox Cathedral. We found a microbrewery and even 4 surfers when the waves kicked up! Sitka is a small island but I could have easily stayed much longer. I hope to return. It did have the worst road in AK, under construction,  of course. From Sitka we sailed to Petersburg which is a laid back, heavily Norwegian fishing port. Fishing boats of all types and several active
canneries are the main industry. It is a very natural island with very few things for tourists to see or do. The c.g. we stayed at was an excellent choice where we had water and electric and a reasonably priced laundry and showers. We took several off road drives and on one saw a sow black bear with her triplet cubs! While we enjoyed our visit, Petersburg is not a must see for SE. We did find AK wild scallops there and brought them home in the freezer. The best we have ever had! From Petersburg our next ferry brought us to Ketchikan.  I was last there in 2002 and goodness has it grown!  Ketchikan is a very popular cruise port and most days has between 4-7 huge ships docked there or tendered out! So this small town adds up to 25,000 extra visitors for the day! Huge tour buses are everywhere as are many shops downtown. We stayed our first and last night at camp Wal Mart and the other days at an AK State park. (No hook ups) They only have 3 campgrounds there and it was us and one other camper in a beautiful rainforest! We left Carolee and Dan for 3 days and took the Inter Island ferry (think tiny) to Prince of Wales island.  It is remote, beautiful,  unspoiled,  untouched, very few people or tourists.  We stayed at 2 different Forest Service c.g.'s. Prince of Wales has a huge logging road system and several good highways. Unfortunately,  the highway to the north end of the 3rd largest island in America was completely closed, being rebuilt. We spent one full day of frustrating detours so cut our visit short by a couple of days. We did so enjoy the fish ladders, forests, glacial vistas and especially the Haida people we met. They are the smallest native tribe in AK. Like on the other islands, they are very proud of their totems and heritage. We were able to visit with several of the elders at the Carving Shack where they carve and restore totems and make paddles and box drums. All were beautiful and so interesting!  We also got to meet and visit with Cody, a young Haida native. What an interesting young man who was happy to share his island life, work and culture with us. POW is a place we hope to return to. After our visit, we returned to Ketchikan and wound down our 4 month journey with the Days.  They boarded the ferry to Bellingham, WA and we took our last one to Prince Rupert, BC where from there we drove to WA and points east. To say it was a trip of a lifetime is true. We experienced so many wonderful people, places, wonders of nature, beauty and just pure peacefulness.  Alaska is truly our last frontier.  GO! Don't put it off! It is like no other place on earth! As my sweet Mother said, it was her "heaven on earth."
Thank you for coming along with us on this journey. I am happy to answer any questions you might have on traveling to Alaska.
I do plan on continuing my blog, as our adventure continues!

2 comments:

  1. What am I going to do in the mornings? I've enjoyed reading the Alaska adventures and you write about them so well that I almost feel like I've been riding along with you. Thanks for taking the time to share.

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  2. Enjoyed your blog. Allowed us to review the 61 day tour we did with Adventure Caravan last year. Exactly the same, but different :-)

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