August 1, 2013 Thursday Day 25 Today we took an hour long boat ride on Alaska Vista Tours to Anan Wildlife Observatory. Anan means sit down place. It is a place in the Tongass National Forest where the salmon are so plentiful in Anan Creek that opposing groups of Tlingit Natives would sit down here and settle disputes over hunting and fishing rights. Black and brown bears also call a truce here as they catch pink salmon heading towards the salmon spawning groun...

July 31, 2013 Wednesday Day 24 Had a quiet restful day today. Picked wild thimble berries around our campsite for our breakfast this morning. Delicious, sort of like a raspberry, very sweet. The weather in Southeast Alaska has been record breaking, several days in a row, sunny, low 70s, no humidity. We expected mostly rain, but we have been pleasantly surprised and thankful for the blue skies. Went into the tiny little town to check out their shops, then went...

July 30, 2013 Tuesday Day 23 Just saw the gas station in town, wow $4.75 gallon! Glad we don't need gas. Today's Tour: Stikine River Trip - a cruise (on a jet boat) up the Stikine River into the roadless Stikine Wilderness. The Stikine (pronounced stik heen) is the largest and longest free flowing river wilderness in North America. Big "doings" in town today - a helicopter actually landed on the dock (the towns people were shocked!) Apparently some billionai...

July 29, 2013 Monday Day 22 What unusually beautiful weather we have been blessed with so far in southeast Alaska. This morning, we decided to relax and cook bacon and eggs outside at our campsite, Alaska Waters. Our site consists of 7 slots, across the street from the harbor, with small peeks of the harbor through the trees. There is a full hook-up and the wifi is incredible, surprisingly. We are the only ones here, so that's nice. It could be tight and crowde...

July 28, 2013 Sunday Day 21 Back on the ferry, checked in at 8:00am, departed for Wrangell at 10:00am on the MV Columbia. The Solarium, an open area on the back of the vessel was a happening place - all kinds of tents and sleeping bags set up in the designated areas and people were hanging out enjoying the warm sunshine and soft sea breeze. We sat there for awhile, then we had some soup in the cafeteria plus some sandwiches we had brought (good old p b and j ...