Day 4 of return trip
Sept 2
Tuesday
Awoke to
full sun around 8AM. Slept pretty
soundly and totally missed the middle of the night Juneau docking. We are entering the passages around Sitka and
we can see Mt Verstovia in the background. We have not been able to see Mt. Edgecombe the
volcano on any visits. A cruise ship is
just docking next to another one. There
is no room near downtown to dock. So
that means the downtown is flush with tourists.
Been there done that twice. We
could take a bus into town for $10.00 each but decide we only have 2 hours
including the ride to and from and not much newer to see so stay on ferry and
eat an early lunch. Out on the deck in
the sun waiting to sail. The wind has
really picked up. Even though Sitka is
protected by small islands the open ocean is still impactful. The wind is too great and we take our chairs
on the side deck outside our room. No
one goes there as they don’t have chairs for seating. We see three small black porpoises chasing
fish. We pass through narrow passages
with close up views of the beaches.
There is a lot of spruce kill on the low mountain sides from spruce
beetle infestation and landslides on steep sides where tree roots have
died. It is very scenic and enjoyed
until the sun shines on us and it is intense.
So, we just move our chairs into a covered area with Chuck napping and
Pat doing crossword puzzles. We go to
earliest dinner giving the fancy restaurant one more chance. We are seated at a table with full view of
the water at the rear of the ferry. But
the sun coming through is so intense and hot we have a quick enjoyable meal and
leave. This time service is quicker but
we notice some people are still having trouble getting waited on. We get our chairs and sit on our ‘private’
deck. The sun is starting to set and we
have great views on our side of the ferry it is warm and the sun is not on
us. The water has only small ripples it
is so calm, easier to see any whales or other activity. We do see two whales
spouting in the distance although one we could see if briefly out of the water
with its tail. The ferry is only doing
about 15 miles per hour, cutting through the still water like butter. The sky turns turquoise with light pink
strands. The water turns gold in the
sunlight. Eventually we get fuchsia pink
strands on the turquoise that turn brighter and then into lavender. The sunset is bright orange and then
eventually as it sets on the horizon, we get bright red like it’s on fire. We see the Coastal Mountains coming into
view. We are entering the Wrangell-St
Elias ranges with growing elevations and glaciers. Canadian Mt Logan only second to Denali, US
Mt Elias is third. The moon is about 2/3
and hangs like a white ball and seems so close.
As it darkens the moon turns that same golden yellow color. It is dark and as we get closer to the big
glaciers and sun is disappearing the air is getting cold. Back in our room preparing for sleep. The four berth cabin with its table and four
chairs allows us the comfort of accessing computers and room enough to move
around. We will dock at St Petersburg
and Wrangell in the middle of the night; we will miss the narrows that is
enjoyable. Waking up in Ketchikan. Good night.
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