Day 4 cont.

We spent a few hours in Wragnell visiting the Museum and looking around the small town which  had the feeling of a past era.  The buildings were mostly single level timber.  Fishing and maritime activities are obviously the life blood.  When we were all back on the boat two local women came on board and showed us various artifacts used by the natives as well as talking about the natural plants that are still used for medicine.  It was most interesting.   It was a beautiful evening with very little cloud and we actually had a a pale sunset.    We started cruising away after dark and continued moving all night.

 

The moon is back to front!!

Sunset at Wrangell.  A rare sight according to the crew.

DAY 5

Today started about 1.00am when the captain rang a bell and announced that the Northern Lights could be faintly seen on the upper deck.  Many of us went up and watched this for a while.  I have seen a couple of good photos but mine certainly aren’t worth thinking about.

We  anchored in ‘Yes Bay’ early this morning and the early morning light was beautiful with reflections all around the shore line and clear skies again.  After breakfast Ian and I went free kayaking  for a couple of hours.  It is just so peaceful and we let the kayak float around not paddling some of the time.   This afternoon we went out in the skiff and went further into the Bay.  The late afternoon light was great.  We  watched a sea lion blowing, almost like a small whale.   There were lots of bald head eagles flying around us.  These are huge birds but so graceful when they fly.  

 

Early Morning at Yes Bay.  I love the way the puff of clouds settle in the valleys between the mountains.

 

 

 

Kayaks out ready for the day. 

DAY 6

We moved during the night and woke to the anchor being dropped early this morning in Misty Fjords National Monument Wilderness.  This is a 2.3 million acre wilderness area and the only way in is by water or by foot – a lot of walking.  During the morning we went off in the skiff again further into Walker Cove.  The granite mountains are absolutely huge – one of the passengers keeps calling them ‘mile high’ rocks and he is probably right.   I felt really minute,  almost like a grain of sand on the beach as we cruised around.   It was a brilliant sunny morning however the mist hovered low around the bottom of the mountains at the water’s edge and it was so beautiful.   After lunch we moved on to Punchbowl Cove which is more open than we have been in however the mountains are just as immense around us.

Tonight was the captains dinner, as for more than half the passengers the cruise finishes for them in Ketchican where dock early in the morning.  After dinner one of the guides had put together a slide show of photos that had been taken throughout the week which was a lot of fun to relive the week with those we have shared the experience with. 

 Another magic morning in Misty Fjord