We're in Alaska now - finally!

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Chet18013

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 5, 2005
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Full time in RV. Home is where we are parked
We left Benson, AZ on 15APR, ultimate destination Alaska. So far along the way, we've made stops at Flagstaff,  Lake Powell, Bryce, Provo, Yellowstone (RVForum rally), Harrisburg & Salem OR, Olympic penninsula, Victoria, Ferry from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert, and finally yesterday, the Alaskan Ferry from Rupert to Ketchikan.

Yesterday's ferry ride was a joy. There was about a 10% cloud cover, but otherwise the day was sunny and the water was almost glass smooth. The boarding and subsequent exit of the ferry was as a real challenge, especially with our 45' RV. We're presently at the Clover Pass RV/Fishing Resort which is the only RV park in Ketchikan with 50A full hookups. The sites are a bit tight, but the owners here are really friendly folks.

The attached photos show the Ferry, the loading ramp and our arrival at Ketchikan.
 

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Chet, did you have to do a 3 point turn to get off the ferry? One trip we boarded from the side, pull towards the front and then had to back out to exit from the side. Crew gave very careful signals to back me out. That was with our first MH, the 36ft Imperial.
 
Hi Ken, I think it was more like a 6 point turn. The ferry was over booked and they really packed us in tight. Plus they had 6 waiting on standby. I got a GoPro dash camera movie of both the loading and unloading. One of these days I'll start editing and post them.
 
Here's a few more from our trip, so far.

One big Sitka Spruce.

a couple of Ketchikan totems.

We've seen as many as four of these cruse ships here at one time. The big cruse ships are making their stops along the way. They disgorge 3-4000+ passengers at each of three ports for 3-6 hours so they can walk along several blocks of souvenir ?junk? shops, and then move on the next port. This one is just getting ready to depart.
 

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We noted that during our Alaska trip as well. Some of the small towns thrive due to the cruise ships and their captive audiences.  It is fun watching them pull in and out though.
 
We loved Alaska. When we were in Chicken, Alaska, they had the 100 year flood. Tried going over the top but the road was washed out. Holes big enough for large rigs. The town of Chicken relies on cruise customers for some of their income. Unfortunately, the cruise buses couldn't make it to Chicken.
 
We've spent 4 nights in Wrangell at Alaskan Waters RV park. The only commerical campground in town.They have 5 full hookup 30A sites and two with power and water only. The owners are very friendly folks and also run a jet boat sightseeing tour in the area. We took their trip to the LeConte Glacier and really enjoyed it. It was a 5 hour tour where they took the boat a close to the face of the glacier as possible. Many of the ice bergs were home to harbor seals and their pups.

There are many totem poles around town. The life of a totem is 60 to 140 years before they finally rot away. They do NOT have a religious meaning, rather they are constructed to tell a story.

Here's some photos of the jet boat, the glacier, and several totems.
 

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Chet18013 said:
We have seen a large number of eagles From Rupert to Ketchikan. Here's a shot of an old crab boat and a blowup of the top of the mast.

I doubt that boat ever was a crabber.
There is no means to move pots around,and no place to store pots on deck.
Judging from the configuration and the equipment on deck it is more likely a factory longliner of some sort.
Probably processed cod or some similar bottomfish.
 
Jeff in Ferndale Wa said:
I doubt that boat ever was a crabber.

The photo doesn't show the detail, but there were a large number of the large king crab traps stacked on the deck. It very well could be that this boat is now just a floating storage for all kinds of "junk". It may have been some kind of a floating collection ship that processed the catch while off shore.

We arrived at Petersburg, at 10:00pm last night. Petersburg has the largest fleet independent fishing boats of any port in Alaska. Hope to get some fresh fish here. Photos to follow later.



 
Me too! I'm jealous! And I've been there! I wanna go back so bad I can taste it. Sounds like we were up there the same time Jeff and Anita were there. Only we were one of those who couldn't make it to Chicken due to washed out roads.
Beautiful country. Denali National Park is awesome. A helicopter ride to Mt. McKinley is breath taking (weather permitting).
You guys are going to have a blast! Keep the pics coming.
 
Sunday was a laundry and grocery shopping day. Didn't get much looking around done. The Frog RV Park where we're staying is the only one in Petersburg that has full hookups  - with 50A power no less. It's a big park with 5 sites, one of which is a seasonal. All 4 of the current renters arrived as a group from the 10:30pm ferry Saturday night. The owner and his wife (who's really in charge) were out in the rain to help the 4 of us get parked. As you can see in the first photo, the sites are a bit tight and are lined up on a gravel lot right on the water. Our Monaco kind of fills the area.

Around noon on Sunday, the owner knocked on our door  and gave us some fresh crab he had caught that morning. They were hot and right out of the boiling pot. When the tide goes out, second photo, he walks out and sets several traps on the mud flat. He leaves them there and then retreves them at the next low tide. Crabs in the front yard. Fresh hot crab along with a water front site is definitely a first for us.

I did get a shot of about 10% of the fishing boat harbor just up the road from us. There are several harbors here. More later.

The last shot is just some local color.

 

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This morning the Matanuska (the ferry we've been on 4 times so far) went by the campground so I got a good shot of it. We went to the Crystal Lake fish hatchery today. There we saw one and two year old king salmon . The two year olds will be released in the spring of 2017.

RV park owner gave us some more fresh crab today.

So far the weather has been wonderful. The last photo is typical of the sights and the weather we've had.
 

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joshj84 said:
If you dont mind me asking how much was the ferry fee's to get to ketchikan?

The cost of the ferry is based on number of people and the length of your vehicles. Since we have a 45' motor home and a Jeep Grand Cherokee we have had to pay the maximum fare plus there is an extra cost for each on and off and we will have 6. You can go to the Alaskan Ferry web site can get detailed costs for your conditions.
 
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