July 1, 2023
This is our last day in Wrangell. We are off to Petersburg tomorrow where we will spend the 4th of July. Today we walked to Petroglyph beach on the edge of town. Petroglyph beach in Wrangell has the highest concentration of petroglyphs in Southeast Alaska. There is a nice boardwalk overlooking the beach, the Stikine River and Zimovia Straits.
Finding the remains of the petroglyphs is a bit of a treasure hunt. There are supposedly around 40 left but the seas of time have washed away most of the carving. If you look real hard you can find a few; we found three. This one below is the best of the bunch.
Back at the Reliance dock we met a couple from Anacortes, Gary and Carol Curtis in their boat “Odyssey.” They have been to Alaska 10 times and they were a wealth of knowledge. In particular they turned us on to a new app called BuoyWeather.com. Unlike Predict Wind or Windy, this app will give you a 16 day Marine Forecast detailing the wind and gusts and direction along with wave height and period if available in the area. It’s best used on a laptop or iPad where the graphic detail is better viewed.
They also turned us on to the National Weather Service “Dial a weather buoy” for all of Alaska. You can look up the buoy, dial the number and it will report the current weather. Very handy. Especially for Alaska Nubies like us.
The challenge for tomorrow will being going through Wrangell Narrows on our way to Petersburg. Timing the narrow is critical, mid way up the channel there is a convergence of the incoming and outgoing tide that you have to go through at slack (in the north section the ebb runs from south to north; and in the lower section the ebb runsfrom north to south). Additionally, there are large vessels going to and fro and you must pull over and give way. Gary and Carol assured us it isn’t that bad. I’ll tell you if they were right tomorrow.
Final word, another bear sighting.
Per Lyn’s request here are a couple of pictures of the Alaskan fabric Marlene purchased.
You will have fun in Petersburg on the 4th.
best wishes for the Narrows. with new windshield wipers it should be a breeze!?
Best wishes
Bob and Anna
Some really lovely fabrics there. I’ll look forward to seeing them in a quilt!!
Marlene, when you get to Petersburg, look for my cousin Jeri Auty. She and John, her husband are on board Katessa after 3 years in dry dock up there. They plan to stay there until the 6th, last I heard. Sure am enjoying vicariously your adventures. And your lovely fabrics! Stay safe, we leave the 5th for the Gulf islands.
Love the bear photos and absolutely love the fabric. Looking forward to an Alaska themed quilt.