July 25, 2013 Thursday
Day 18

Today we took several drives around Revillagigedo Island where Ketchikan is located. We also drove through the Tongass National Forest, even on some old Forest Service gravel roads, deep into the wilderness. It is wonderful having my own personal forest ranger to drive these roads that I would never dream of attempting on my own. Michael is really at home here and he loves being back in the forests as well as back in Alaska where he worked on both the Tongass and the Chugach National Forests.

We went out to Ward Lake where there are a few shelters built in 1937 by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC). In one shelter, someone had left a fire going in the fireplace. It was lovely warming ourselves up there for a bit.

Some other highlights:
Drove around the eastern tip of the island to Herring Cove to see if we could spot some bears; no bears today, but we were treated to some pretty spectacular waterfalls, mountain and ocean views as well as several bald eagles soaring above.
To finish our explorations for the day we took an old Forest Service gravel road out to Lake Harriet Hunt, 9 miles deep into the forest.
It is truly humbling to experience the wonders of nature - the trees, wild flowers, mountains, meadows, lakes, waterfalls, streams, wildlife and vast, vast expanses of land all symbolizing freedom, as if nothing is holding it back. Makes us both so proud to be Americans.

Came back to camp, had beers by the waterfront, then cooked dinner in the camper, called it a night.

Wildlife Sightings
Bald Eagles