Dunfey Alaska Journey

On the morning after our arrival in Ketchikan. we drove inland on gravel roads to Lake Harriet Hunt. We did get lost taking a wrong turn on gravel road intersection. Local hunters straightened us out.  We paddled this “wilderness” mountain lake and found an “adventure” tour location with a rainforest trail.

In the late afternoon, we picked up our daughter Kimberly at the airport. Kim lives in San Fransisco Area. She joins us for 3 weeks on inside passage. Each night, while at Last Chance campground, we gathered wood and lit a campfire. Our neighbors in campground were primarily Alaskans who came out to enjoy the unusually warm and sunny weather. They get 150 inches of rain a year here! Next to us was a family with about 30 people. We met the grandmother. They had 4 tents and many family visitors. It was nice to see so many children enjoying the woods.

The next day, we visited Totem Bight, which was a nicely set up rendering of a Tribal Clan winter “home”. We also took a half day Allen Marine tour trip to the Misty Fjords National Monument.

We boarded a ferry for Wrangell on June 7th. It was a larger ferry – the Columbia. We like the Taku better. It seems that large doesn’t necessarily give you better viewing or seating arrangements. This ferry originated in Bellingham and had campers on board. It was interesting to see how these people tied down their tents on the ferry. We had read about it but seeing is believing!

When we arrived in Wrangell, I was troubled when I realized I need to back up my camper half the ferry deck in a straight line with about a foot to spare on either side. Then, I had to back around a corner. A deck hand told me ‘Don’t worry, I’ll tell you exactly what to do.” I did and we made it! I wish he was around to guide me every time I needed to back up.

We had to arrive at ferry dock in Prince Rupert at 7:15 am for our 10:15 am departure. We needed to have car and camper length measured, go through customs and load vehicles. Watching the process of loading vehicles was interesting as some were going to Ketchikan and others were going further. They also had to balance the weight on the car deck.

The voyage was scenic and uneventful. The crew were very courteous. The food service was surprisingly good.

When we arrived in Ketchikan at 3:30 PM, we found a fairly large city. It is the 4th largest city in Alaska.

We are camped in Tongas National Forrest in Last Chance Campground about 7 miles from the city. Our site is alongside a running brook with a lot of privacy in the woods. Outhouse and old fashion water pump are down the road. This is what we call rustic campering.

Cell phone works to our surprise. We have to get closer to city to pick up internet broadband signal.

At the airport parking lot, there are two ferries that take passengers and workers across the narrow passage between the mainland city and the island where the airport is located. This is where the “bridge to no where” was planned to be built. This bridge make a lot of sense. Although no one lives on the airport island, building the bridge was part of their economic strategy for the future. The media circus and political outcries about this “pork” project were quite off the mark.