Prince Rupert to Banff

The ferry from Wrangell to Prince Rupert was our longest ferry ride.  The crew was not as skilled at parking nor as accommodating as our earlier trips.  Breland had to move the RV for them at Ketchikan between midnight and 3 a.m. because a tractor trailer had been parked in the wrong spot and several vehicles (including my car) had to be moved out to make room for it to disembark.  They also did not let us go down to walk Clark between Ketchikan and our noon docking in Prince Rupert.  The other ferries were worth it, this one not so much.

We stopped in Prince Rupert to catch up on laundry and groceries.  Prince Rupert seemed to be a very nice town but we wanted to push on.  Our next stop was Glacier View campground near Smithers.  The area was beautiful with glaciers, falls and a beautiful trail toward a fossil area.

Mount Robson campground, a very beautiful provincial campground., was our next stop.  We spent three nights there.  Our campsite was high, level, and larger than most large suburban lots.  The campground was filled with rental Class Cs.   There were many foreign tourists in this area.  We visited falls and rivers in the area.  One of the falls was the farthest inland in British Columbia that salmon traveled.  It is amazing to think of them traveling 800 miles in from the ocean to return to the stream where they were born.   On our hike up after visiting a very beautiful falls and salmon stream a man ran past us totally nude except for a pair of flipflops.  Breland was not amused.

A night in Jasper and two nights in Banff ended our time in Canada.  Today we cross a border for the seventh time this trip.  We will stop in Great Falls, Montana to get our hardworking generator serviced.  It is sleeting in Banff today with snow on the higher moutains.  It is the first hint of winter.  Yesterday tourists were in town wearing tank tops and shorts.  By Saturday they will be able to wear  those clothes again but fall color is everywhere and winter is not far.

Wrangell from the Ferry

Entrance to Mount Robson

Mount Robson from Visitors' Center

Breland Photographing Falls

Hoodoos Before Sunrise

On Bow Parkway near Baff

Wrangell 9.8.2013

The ferry ride from Sitka to Wrangell lasted 16 hours.  We boarded in the afternoon and traveled until early the next morning.  Breland and I sat on the deck for hours, fascinated with how close we passed to the shore on each side.  We passed black bears, including one with cubs, whales and seals along the way.  We were close enough to see the salmon leaping as they neared the streams and the gulls and eagles feasting.  The  boat threaded though small islands and past waterfalls and rocky beaches.  The Malaspina was not as luxurious as the Columbia.  The cafeteria served nice meals, with choices of baked chicken, poached salmon, and roast beef as well as halibut fish and chips, hamburgers and other sandwiches and soups.  No white tablecloths this time, just comfortable tables and views of the passing shoreline.

Our berths were comfortable and we both slept well, barely waking when the boat reached Petersburg.  Our alarms were set for 5 am and someone knocked on the door at 5:15am to let us know we were within half an hour of Wrangell.  We drove off the ferry and headed straight to the Wrangell city campground.  It has 30 amp power but no water or sewer.  We will dump next door at one of the city’s five harbors before we leave.

The city owned RV park is on the water and surrounded with trees.  There are only a few spaces able to hold large motor homes .  We were the only occupants there for three of our five nights there.

Wrangell does have a lot to offer.  There are over 150 miles of smooth, well tended  forest road through the mountains.   Twenty miles of this road follow high above the shoreline and give incredible views. We picked lots of wild blueberries along the roadway.   There are miles of trails to view lakes, waterfalls and overlooks.  Petroglyph Beach contains massive rocks covered with petroglyphs that are between 1000 and 6000 years old.  The Wrangell museum is a small masterpiece, telling the history of the area with photos, stories, and artifacts.

I expected Wrangell, Sitka and Haines to be very similar.  They are very different.  Haines has the feel of a friendly small town from the 1950’s with essential services but a peaceful, laid-back atmosphere.  Sitka was much busier with an emphasis on commerce, driven by the number of cruise ships that stop there each week.   Wrangell has the same types of services you find in Haines, but it has a rawer, edgier feel.  Logging was a big industry here at one time and you can see many clear-cut areas of mountainside still.  Fishing seems to drive the economy now.
Today we will board another ferry for an 18 hour trip to Prince Rupert, Canada.  It will be our last day in Alaska, the end of two wonderful months here.

Petroglyph, one of many.

Searching for Petroglyphs

Playing Make-Believe

Marine Highway to Sitka

We drove onto the ferry for the ride to Juneau and Sitka.  I was worried about Bre driving the motorhome onto the ferry but he handled it easily with the help of the deck crew.  They directed him to back into a spot and guided him in.  The ferry was very enjoyable, much like our Alaskan cruise many years ago.  The Columbia is the newest of the Alaska ferries and is very roomy.  Our stateroom was comfortable with a really big shower and four berths.  The restaurant with its white tablecloths and views of the passing mountains and boats was excellent.  Many of its entrees are fresh Alaskan seafood.  I had halibut with small red potatoes and Breland had an awesome seafood paella.  There is also a snack bar for more informal dining.
People venture on the ferry so many different ways. There are no roads to Juneau or Sitka or many of the other ferry stops and the ferry serves as a road for Southeast Alaska.   Many walk aboard or ride bicycles or motorcycles.  There were lots of cars and trucks, including tractor trailers and lots of RVs.  Some people chose to stay in staterooms while others staked out a recliner or a chair for their journey.  Many slept on the solar deck, some on the deck chairs and some even pitched a tent.  I hear it is wise to bring a lot of duct tape to tape the tent to the deck. A person who walks on and brings their own snacks can make the journey from Haines to Sitka for less than $60.  Bringing a car and motorhome on can raise that cost considerably!  We were only on this ferry for 18 hours. Some people were traveling all of the way to Bellingham, Washington, three days away.  I was amazed at the narrow inlets we traveled, able to  see the shore easily from both sides of the ferry at times. A mother bear and her cub fished from the water's edge and eagles lined the trees.
We stayed in Starrigavin, a National Forest campground in Sitka.  I kept waiting for Hansel and Gretel or Little Red Riding Hood to come walking down the road.  The Sitka spruce trees in this woods are enormous  and there are creeks running through the campground.  We planned to stay there only a few days (at $7 a night)  but our stay was so enjoyable that we stayed there for 6 of our 7 nights, only moving the last night to have access to power and water to wash clothes before the next ferry trip.
There are many hking trails in Sitka.  One crosses the campground and follows a boardwalk over an estuary to a river that was filled with salmon, more than I have ever seen at one time.  We kept looking for bears and always carried our bear spray on hikes but never saw one.  I can only think that the bears must frequent some of the many other active salmon streams on the island.
We re-visited some of the places that we saw on our cruise ship stop here in the '90s. The Totem Pole forest was just as intriguing as before and the Russian Orthodox church and artwork just as compelling. It is amazing how quiet this town is when the cruise ships leave. We board a ferry again on Tuesday for a 16 hour ride to Wrangell.  I hope it is as comfortable and enjoyable as the last

Spawning Salmon

.

Tents on Ferry Deck

The RV headed into the ferry