Petersburg, Alaska

Hi Everyone,

Yes, we arrived in Petersburg on Tuesday (Sept. 8) by ferry from Juneau. Again, the weather was a bit rainy during the 4 ferry hour trip. But, as with most of Alaska, the scenery was magnificent -- glaciers, snow capped mountains, lush greenery. We even saw hump back whales breaching the water.
We passed a finger off of the main waterway called "Tracy Arm." We were told that it is a spot of absolute beauty and that people take day trips to see it. Here is what we saw at its entrance.

Petersburg is a fishing city of 3,000 people. One of our fellow travelers on the ferry told us that Petersburg has the highest per capita income in the US. Fishing is definitely big business here.

Petersburg is actually located on an island called Mitkof Island. It is only 23 miles long and 6.5 miles wide at the longest and widest points, and covers 211 square miles. There are three RV parks here, and we checked them all out before settling in on the Trees RV Park. When I say "settling in," that is what we have been doing since we arrived because it has rained heavily each day so far. Even if we wanted to explore this island, we were told that the road only goes 10 miles further. It's actually a good time to catch up on other things we need to do. Jerry has been working on his book and I'm doing some hand knitting.


While we were still in Juneau, Jerry passed a black bear while out on his run. He ran back to the RV to get his cameras (something all the instructions say not to do) to try to get a picture of the bear. We'll post the video later with all the other animals we've seen on this trip.

Tomorrow we leave early to catch the 8:30 a.m. ferry to Ketchikan. It will be an all day trip, 8-9 hours. Chanti (our dog) stays in the RV and handles it quite well. We are told that we will get to go to the RV at some point to take her for a walk.

Right now, we do not have any cell or TV coverage. But, we were able to hear President Obama's speech to the joint session of Congress on the radio yesterday.

Until next time, stay safe and healthy.

Jerry and Mary