Meyers Chuck and then to Wrangell

Diane and Roger were as anxious as we were to head further north, so we departed Ketchikan on Thursday, June 19th, and headed for a short hop to Meyer's Chuck. This is a small village of about 30 people, mostly with strong fishing interests. Christy and I had met two residents, Dan and Carol, about 2 months ago in Friday Harbor. They are friends of Lee and Diane Simpson, and their story is one of adventure. They both retired, but loved fishing. They have little need for income, but fell in love with the village of Meyers Chuck. They purchased the old school house and the entire community pitched in to help restore the building for a home, and what a home it is. They even pulled (by wench and hard labor) a part of the old house to another part and rent it out. This does not look like a school house, but a luxury retirement home overlooking an incredible bay....


The welcoming sign at the harbor..


The small trail to the school house..


Diane, Christy, and Roger exploring the community..


Roger and Diane were stricken by the moment, but it affects us all, from time to time..


This is the view from Dan and Carol's little abode. The ceiling in the sunroom is clear glass, they have swings everywhere, and all cedar construction...the separate part, called the school house, is also beautiful...

The evening looked like this in Meyer's Chuck. The harbor has several shallow areas, but all are well marked on the charts..

We stayed overnight, and left early on Friday for Wrangell. What a town, named after an Alaskan governor, it exists for fishing and logging. They have not nurtured the tourist industry, but the people are extraordinarily friendly to strangers. Below is a picture of Wrangell as we approached Everywhere we go, I feel like we are making like-long friends. Everyone is helpful with any and everything that needs discussing, fixing, or rehashing...



The first people we met at the dock were Shannon and Steve from Whidbey Island. They are traveling with the cutest two dogs. Shannon gave Chris a piece of coral, but Chris wanted the dogs more...

I forgot to mention the Dalls Porpoises that accompanied us for about 30 minutes. I took several videos that I can't upload, and they are truly incredible, playing around the bow-wave of our boat...





After arriving, we called the Breakaway Adventure guy, Eric Yancy, about his "Jet-boat" tour. Chris and I have rarely taken the opportunities to do a "tour", but this couldn't be turned down, and what a trip. Eric's boat enables you to see vast areas of sights in a relatively short time period. The local knowledge is invaluable. He has lived here all his life, and knows the flora, fauna and fowl...

Our first stop was on a small island in the Stikine River (pronounced ste-keen). These are fresh wolf tracks...


And these are Moose tracks..


Wildflowers blooming..


Chris with Eric on the boat....it cruises at 35 kts, so getting up the Stikine River to the Canadian border was easy..



We cruised into a glacier inlet called the Shakes Glacier. About 2 miles in, we ran into the ice-floes.

Along the way, the scenery was terrific, with waterfalls draining the melting ice fields and lakes, as well as the glaciers...



This one splits several times into multiple falls....




There were many places along the river where it narrows, but that makes the high speed boat ride more exciting also..


The floes are thick as you get closer to the glacier. Eric says that you can't get to the glacier until about August, but you can "bust" through in the boat. We saw a bear beside this area..


Here is a berg that has broken away...notice the turquoise color at the bottom..


The avalanches accumulate near the tip of the glacier, and slowly melt during the summer...


Roger and I walked on one of the bergs on the way in..

On the way back to the boat, the view was this....But soon became this
one of the most amazing sunsets I have ever seen. We turned around to see a rainbow.





Rainbow in the other direction: I have never seen one wrap more than 180 degrees, but I guess at a northerly latitude of 56 degrees, one has more view of the curve...spectacular!





Eagles nest along the Stikine River...they are built relatively flat, without the deep traditional center common to most birds. They use heavy sticks and branches, and have been weighed in at over 2,000 pounds. They will be used for 3 to 4 years before abandoning them, and occasionally will become re-occupied later...