Our penultimate day in Southeast Alaska saw us on a crepuscular approach to picturesque Petersburg — famously the “town that fish built.” The spitting skies steadily subsided throughout the day as we enjoyed bike rides, muskeg walks, cultural excursions, dockside strolls, Zodiac cruises, rainforest walks, retail therapy, and good old-fashioned grubbing around the town’s flavorful offerings.
We departed Petersburg in the early evening to hit slack tide through Wrangell Narrows, navigating the slalom course of tidal flats that at times gave us only five feet of water to work with under our quivering keel. Bountiful birding was on offer as we transited. The undersea team had explored the kelp forest just outside the narrows earlier in the day, and at cocktail hour we were invited to “dive in” and see their findings: sunflower stars, juvenile cod, and assorted nudibranchs, as ambassadors to their local slice of Inner Space.
A Ray Troll fashion show ensued, with our collective purchases paying tribute to this steward of Alaskan scientific surrealism. After a dinner of Dungeness, we dove once more into a lecture on the salmon forest with yours truly. Tonight may we dream of salmon in the trees as we steam to the Misty Fjords. Onward!
