June 7, 2015, Wrangell- We woke to rainwater, where my left-hand neighbour’s cot had been, with the spill headed down towards my area, and past it.  None of my belongings were near the wall, so all was still well on my end.  Poor neighbour, and her husband, survived the night, and vowed to be more circumspect about where they lodged, between Wrangell and Juneau.

We were in Canadian waters until 6:30 AM, or so, but being on Alaska Daylight Time already, we all had been up for at least an hour, when we crossed into the realm of the Last Frontier.  Rain was still coming down, hard, as we pulled into Ketchikan, for the two hours that it would take to unload some vehicles and take on others.  There were many relieved dogs and cats that had survived the two-day crossing, lodged on the car deck, and visited by their people four times a day, for fifteen minutes each.

This was our first view of Ketchikan, as the trusty vessel edged into harbor.

The low-hanging clouds did not obscure our temporary “rest-stop”.

Nor did the rain, hitting the window, keep anyone from getting off and stretching a bit.

I spent about an hour and ten minutes in the lobby of Best Western Plus, Landing Hotel, catching up on what had gone on in my wider world, during our time at sea.

Back on the ship, for the final leg of the day- to Wrangell, a kind man pointed out this misty splendour.  While I was sitting in the observation deck, reading, another passenger came up, distraught, and asked whether I had seen a red i-pad.  Shortly afterward, some teens who were headed back to Wrangell came around, apparently engaged in a makeshift scavenger hunt.   Thirty minutes later, the kids found the i-pad, where the woman’s husband had left it- on a snack bar table.  Their whole activity was oriented around finding this device.

The fog lifted a bit, heading northward, and toward mid-day.

Soon enough, there was Wrangell!

This windsock shows the captain and his navigator the direction of the wind.

I was met at the dock by my main correspondent in Wrangell, who brought me to the home in which I am staying here.  My host is a high-powered Renaissance man, whose ideas and activities may well result in significant progress in areas from salmon conservation and wild stock replenishment to the fostering of intertribal unity across the State of Alaska.  Here is a view of Wrangell’s harbor, from his home.

                             Southeast Alaska’s evergreen forests, like many elsewhere, suffer greatly, if there is scant rainfall.

                                            This is the Wrangell City Dock.  Even on a Sunday, there is much activity.

We made a visit up to Nemo Point, about five miles south of town, and spotted Alaska’s real state  bird, the ptarmigan.  I got this feeling that the bird was escorting us towards the fog-laden Point.

          That other “state bird”, the mosquito, was nowhere to be found, on this still stormy day.