Vancouver BC through Washington

Our ferry landed in Bellingham WA, which is a pretty little town with a Trader Joe's to stock up! We spent 3 nights in Vancouver, a beautiful, but busy city. We "camped" just across the bridge from Stanley Park. A crowded noisy spot, but very convenient. Biked and walked in the park, there is a great bike path along the sea wall which borders the park. Ate some great Chinese dim sum and visited the fine arts museum. Public transportation is very easy to use in the city. We were glad to get out of the city and to a quiet spot on Whidbey Island. Part of the San Juan Islands with bridge access. Several beautiful state parks and small quaint towns on the island, made it a perfect place to relax. The best oysters I have ever eaten are grown in Penn Cove outside of Oak Harbor, we had to have them twice! Yummy! A short ferry ride brought us to Port Townsend, a beautiful old historic town on the water. They get only 17 inches of rain a year, something about the Mt's, protects them from the high rainfall most of WA is famous for. But, it is commonly misty and foggy. Odd to see beautiful flower gardens and big forests, but dry grass at the same time. Spent a few nights on the coast of WA, Long Beach, the longest beach in the world with a great bike path along the sand dunes. We lucked out to visit during the state kite festival, a big event with many people who attend every year. We camped in a very funky RV park from the 50's. The owners are British and most of the visitors are artist eccentric types. They have several 50's trailers for rent in various degrees of disrepair. We are now 8 miles outside of Astoria Oregon at Fort Stevens State Park. This is a very historical area, an old fort, now one of the biggest state parks in the country. Bike paths, beaches, lakes, and forest make it a great place to stay. It is located at the mouth of the Columbia river, a treacherous commerce area, with huge ships carrying goods in and out. It originates in British Columbia and goes as far as Idaho in the US. There is a very nice Maritime Museum in Astoria where we learned of many ship wrecks and rescues. Also of the treacherous job of bar pilots and river pilots. The river is so dangerous that highly trained ship pilots have to drive the ships into the river (bar pilots), and then another (river pilot) takes over to drive the ships through the narrow passageway beyond Astoria. It is dangerous and very specialized work. The town of Astoria was the first town settled west of the Mississippi river. I love the old historic homes and businesses built on a hill. Like a small San Francisco. Book stores, coffee shops, museums and a pretty waterfront make for a great place to walk. An unexpected sight was hundreds of sea lions barking and lying about the warfs, sometimes blocking the walkway to private boats. See our video! WE also kayaked on a small lake within the state park, peaceful, great birding spot. We look forward to more of the Oregon coast as we head out tomorrow to the next state park. After several days of rain and clouds we have a beautiful sunny day today!

Alaska Marine Highway

We spent many hours in Sitka's lovely library with gorgeous views of the harbor. The ferry afforded us more great views of Sitka from the water. We "camped" on the ferry, with our tent on the upper deck with other folks making quite a "tent city". This was a great way to see and enjoy the inside passage. The first night we stopped at Petersburg at 2 am and then Wrangle at 5 am. Needless to say we saw little of both. Arrived in Ketchikan around 11 am and spent the day there walking around. We were not impressed with the downtown, mostly shops, cruise ships, and port commerce. We were able to watch the float planes take off and land from the ferry. Thought Dan would enjoy the photo. We did hear that the area is lovely if you have time and transportation to get out of town.
Many of our shipmates had been camping in small islands they got to on small ferries from the major ports. Many nice young families with kids. The kids had a ball on the ferry. Dylan and Genna would have loved this trip.
The large overnight ferries are very comfortable, with solarium, dinning room, snack bar, and a video room playing movies every few hours. A USFS naturalist was on board to present talks on many subjects such as , orcas, bears, nautical navigation, ect. In the quiet passages we saw many whales, humpbacks and orcas. I would estimate 40-50, at one point they seemed to surround the ferry. We had the best view of everything by tenting on the deck. Others on the same deck had lounge chairs under heaters, they seemed quite comfortable. That would be perfect if it rained, but we got lucky, with 3 days of clear weather, with great views of the stars at night. I cannot stress what a great trip this was and would recommend doing any portion you can in Canada or Alaska. Easy ferry access in Bellingham WA, with the Amtrak right outside the ferry terminal to travel to Seattle. The cost is resonable if you do not take a car on board. We are off to Vancover and then the San Juan Island area.

Sitka

This is such a nice little town. It is a mixture of some tourism and a real town with fishing and wildlife as its focus. Population is about 8900 year round residents. Lots of history as this was the Russian capital and then the first US capital of Alaska. There are a few buildings to tour of the Russian era. We saw the Russian Orthodox church which is smack dab in the middle of the main street and the Bishop house with original antiques and artifacts.

We have hiked in the rain forest hoping to view momma brown bear and her 2-6 month old cubs without success, fished for pink salmon that are jumping in the sea water near the mouth of a river, and picked blue berries, all within a few hundred yards of our camp site. We have the constant chattering of bald eagles and ravens in our ears. We have now had 3 consecutive days without rain, and today I cleaned the mold and mildew off the inside of the trailer!

There are many conservation efforts going on here. There is a center for orphaned brown bear cubs and another for injured birds of prey, mostly bald eagles. Many Tlingit Indians remain in this area. One named Tommy Joseph proudly showed us the totem pole he had just completed. It will be placed near the grave of a well respected Japanese wildlife photographer who was killed by a bear while sleeping in his tent in Russia several years ago. It took 3 months to complete, but he said it usually takes 6 months or so to complete one.

I would definitely say that Sitka is a favorite of ours!

Juneau

A 4 hour ferry ride from Haines brought us to Juneau. Juneau has a population of about 31,000 and is the capital of Alaska. It has a more touristy, city feel. Many cruise ships parked at the docks and many activities and shopping. We camped out of town, in a wooded forest service campground near Mendanhol Glacier. The only drawback was the constant sound of helicopters taking tourists to see the glacier. And of course rain followed us.

We visited the glacier and visitor center also, with the photos you see. In the 90's the glacier receded an average of 30 ft a year. The past couple of years it has been closer to 300 ft a year. The reason glaciers are blue is a lack of oxygen as they compact.

A highlight of Juneau was the Alaska State Museum. They had one of the best displays of Native culture and artifacts that we have seen. Also, the 2 raven photos are from a exhibit of art works by Evon Zerbetz from Ketchikan depicting the antics of ravens from real life stories. Very cute. Very enjoyable.