August 4, 2013 Sunday
Day 28
This morning at our campsite, we talked with friends Marie and Ed from Corte Madera, CA. They gave us some tips about places they have been and we are heading off to. It is so great to exchange information with the nice people we meet; we often learn more from them than the Internet.
Took a nice drive through the Tongass National Forest, windows down, enjoying the freshness of the air. Along the way, we parked the car to listen to the silence, to soak up the quiet coolness of the forest. Being in the forest like this allows a peace to flow into us just for the sheer fact that we are a part of this solitary loveliness. There is meaning and significance to this experience that simply cannot be put into words.
Today's drive took us to Falls Creek to see the fish ladder; to
Three Lakes Loop Road where we stopped for a picnic overlooking LeConte Glacier and the icebergs floating in the water below. Almost every day before we set off, we pack our lunch with good old peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, our snack bag, and waters, so we are prepared to picnic at one of the many beautiful vista points. Works well for us.
Other highlights of our outing - glaciers, The Eastern Passage, muskeg, giant ferns, trees, waterfalls, wild flowers, bear scat, but no bears, skunk cabbage.
We hiked Hill Lake Trail, ending at Hill Lake and we were so pleased to find the forest service has a rowboat at the lake. I love to row, so we hopped in, ok, we gingerly climbed in and managed not to tip over, thank goodness. Then I rowed my sweet husband around the lake.
We drove all of Mitkof Highway, using our trusty Milepost, which is a must-have for any Alaska visitor.
On the way back we drove through some other campgrounds; it's fun for us to check them out whenever we see one. Also saw the Stikene Mud Flats at low tide and the Crystal Lake Fish Hatchery. Even saw a porcupine waddling off the road into the vegetation.
Not something you hear everyday or ever for that matter:
"Trying to get the porky quills off the road" spoken to us by a woman who had stopped her truck on the road and was clearing a dead porcupine out of the way. Just struck me as so funny the way she said it!
Wildlife Sightings
Bald Eagle
Porcupine - dead one and a live one