MONDAY, JUNE 10

MONDAY, JUNE 10:

     Got up at a much more reasonable hour this morning.  Was a beautiful clear sunny morning, and ate breakfast outside – the first time on this trip!

     Drove into town to pay the fee for our campground (City of Wrangell Parks & Rec).  Bill told the gal that we were definitely staying through Wed nite, but might possibly extend, so could we pay for 5 nites now, and if we extend, pay for those later?  She replied, “Oh, don’t worry about it – just pay us everything when you leave.”  What parallel universe is this??!  But that’s pretty typical of what we’ve seen here in Southeast (as they abbreviate Southeast Alaska) – a real casualness about a lot things and, here in Wrangell at least, a very, very friendly and trusting approach to people.

     Then drove over to the Visitors Center, which also houses a museum and the Forest Service.  We just wanted to ask the Forest Service a few questions, so didn’t tour anything else there today.  Again, super friendliness and helpfulness.  We wanted to take full advantage of the beautiful day to be outdoors; while it’s predicted to be like this all week, we’ve learned to Seize the Day and not always assume that tomorrow will be as nice weather-wise as today.  Especially in Southeast.

         Came back and changed into kayak clothin; drove the short distance to the marine ramp.  The water was very still and calm – hardly a ripple. Easy paddling around the bay while just enjoying the warmth of the sun against the mountain backdrop.   Saw some bald eagles flying over and heard their distinctive call.  Stayed out about 2 hours. 

 

                                             

Our RV back in the trees

 

 

 

 

 

     When we got back, Bill set to buttoning up the RV.  He saw another site that was a pull-thru, and level.  We just couldn’t see it at night when we pulled in.  Since there are no water nor sewer hook-up’s here, we’d almost certainly need to haul the RV to the dump station and fill the water tank sometime in the middle of our stay . . . so he just decided to do it now, and move to the new site, rather than have to back in again. He wanted to grab that site before someone else did.  Although I think that’s improbable – Rob & his wife and we are the only campers here! 

     This little campground is a well-kept secret . . . much like Wrangell itself.  We love being in this little town!  Because the channels surrounding the island are so narrow and shallow, the big cruise ships can’t come here.  Hence, this community has retained its quaint small fishing town character.  Only about 2,400 folks live here, and that’s just how it looks.  A small main section of town, with a few shops and stores, services the local population and the relatively few tourists.  And yet the town is not anti-tourist at all; as I’ve said before, they are so friendly and welcoming to us.  As an extravagant example, while Bill was at the dump station, Rob, his wife, and I were hanging around the site, and a total stranger came up and asked if we’d like the crab he’d caught that day.  And he came back on his motor scooter a few minutes later with some frozen halibut and Moose burger.  No kidding!   I read that tourism is gradually growing here as a solid contributor to the economy.  They seem to be understand how valuable a healthy tourism sector can be, and seem to be doing it right.

     Rob came over and helped Bill again, although not a lot of help was needed this time.  His wife’s name is also Karen, and she’s a former accountant too!    They’ve been retired for 10 years . . . he was able to retire at 46!!!! because of the sale of his business.  They’ve done a lot of travelling during that time, though haven’t been gone for more than a few weeks at a time because they have a cat at home and depend on others to take care of it.  Their latest trip was in  March down to Las Vegas and over to Death Valley.  A very nice couple!

     By now it was about 7:00.  A ferry was due to arrive about 7:45.  The ferry terminal office here apparently only opens an hour or two on both sides of ferry arrivals/departures.  After quite a bit of conversation between us regarding how we wanted to do the next couple of stops after Petersburg (do we want to take ferry straight to Sitka, or up to Juneau first and from there to Sitka?), we arrived at our plan.  It necessitated a change in our leaving here for Petersburg – we’ll leave Sunday evening now, instead of Thursday. The ferry charges a whopping $10 for a change fee – can you imagine.   Also purchased our ticket for passage to Sitka from Petersburg.  Felt good to have those decisions behind us.

     Came back for dinner.  A little too cool to eat outside.  But what a magnificent view from our kitchen window!  It’s even better than the one before.  The view from this site is just really splendid.

   Our bald eagle soared past.  The crows must have gotten scared off and left, or decided that there was no real threat – no sign of them tonight.

    After dinner, a long walk with Pappy.  And a gorgeous soft sunset, especially with the setting sun’s rays resting painting a splash of pink on a white frosted mountain peak, wrapped up our day.