Wrangell (8.12.15 - 8.14.15)

As of this posting we are in Ketchican. Will post about our stay here when we can. In the meantime, we want to get the Wrangell information out before we leave internet country. Today we move from a commercial camp, with showers, electricity and internet, to a deep woods setting – with no resources. We're moving from a parking lot, to the woods with elbow room a picnic table and a campfire area … what feels more like real camping … a great improvement.

Wrangell

Wrangell, a sleepy little community of 2400 people, is the third oldest community in Alaska and the only one to have been ruled by four nations: indigenous Tlingit, Russia, England, and the United States. The Tlingit are the northernmost of the northwest coast people who lived traditionally by fishing and hunting marine mammals. Their society is a highly structured matrilineal clan system.

The Tlingit language was nearly lost since early missionaries and government officials prohibited the language to be spoken. Their children were educated in English. The number of fluent speakers dwindled to less than 500 people. Today, there is an active language revitalization program in place.  The language has 24 sounds not heard in English, and 18 sounds not heard in any other language. It has no linguistic relationship to any other language.

Wrangell is on an island, so it was our second of four ferry legs we'll take heading south. It was a mostly an evening/night sailing, and we arrived at 2:45 in the morning. We drove the camper into town, parked in front of a church, pulled the blinds down, and went back to sleep.

  Just like every other town, we toured the museum and visitor center and learned about other things to see and do.

Everyone we met suggested we down to Petroglyph Beach. So, off we went. The instructions were to go to the beach at low tide (6:30 p.m.) and walk to the right. It was a beautiful evening.

Absolutely amazing. There are about 40 Petroglyphs, just out there on the beach, unmarked and unprotected, only to be found by wandering around and rock hopping at low tide. We found about 10 of them. It was very exciting each time we found another. Petroglyphs can be found on every continent except Antartica, and there are common themes in many of the carved symbols.

 These Petroglyph are known to be from more than one native occupations. These Petroglyphs are not dated – that process has been complicated by their wearing down due to the tides. It is known that there were local settlements 10,000 years ago, and again 5,000 and 3000 years ago.

It is not clear why they are there. They could be territorial markers, fishing markets, markers of major events or celebrations, or just art for arts sake.

There are discussions and negotiations between the local Tlingits and archaeologists on the best way to preserve what is there, and to find more. We couldn't believe that they were just 'out there' for anyone to touch, walk on, whatever. They are slowly eroding away from tidal forces.

We walked through town to access a hike up to the top of the hill directly behind the town.  The walk that had been prepared with steps (468 one way – Kris counted) to manage the slippery and steep incline.   The trail was loaded with mushrooms.

 

   Up through the rain forest, we landed at the top with a great view of Wrangell.

 This area was explored by John Muir - an environmentalist who advocated for the preservation of wilderness, and founder of the Sierra club. Muir's three night camping trip with President Teddy Roosevelt in 1903 could be considered the most important camping trip in conservation history.  Muir is called the father of the National Park System.

Other pictures of Wrangell, houses and boats.

Bears

Kris took another bear viewing tour, while Tom played golf. Only black bears were seen, although black and brown bears often fish together at the same location. She had a great trip – will be posted separately.

Tom's golf was quite the reality check. Course was built on a Muskeg (a soggy bog) with artificial turf greens and tee boxes. Ravens have been known to steal away ones golf ball!

Musings and observations

1899 travel wisdom from the Harriman Expedition: “There is one word of advice to be given those intending to visit Alaska. If you are old, go by all means. But if you are young, wait. The scenery of Alaska is much grander than anything else of the kind in the world, and it is not well to dull one's capacity for enjoyment by seeing the finest first”.

TV – Back in the 'real world', we watch or have TV on ... a lot. Often each of us in separate rooms watching or doing different things. On this trip, we have not watched TV (or movies brought along) since May 6. We have been so busy, and have enjoyed playing games (scrabble and gin rummy) in the evening. Doesn't seem like we've missed much.

Phones – When we have phone service, we get 'pings' when there is a new incoming e-mail, text message, or 'sports' emergency alert (we are living on Tom's phone). When we don't have phone service, there is no pinging. We can tell when we are back into phone service, because the phone goes ballistic with pings, piled up from being off the grid for awhile. Advice – we did learn along the way that some people carry two phones – one with AT&T service and one with Verizon. Between the two, a traveler may have phone service and viable data link about 50% of the time.

 

Weather (temperate rain forest) – South Eastern Alaska weather is about as variable as it comes. It doesn't seem to be like the 'front passing through' rhythm that we have at home, where there are several days in a row with similar weather. The southeast of Alaska seems even more variable than the central part of the state. A day can be sunny, rainy, windy, calm, cool, warm, and humid, all at different times, sometimes changing within an hour. We did hear one forecast for 'dismal' weather. Had never hear that term used, but it was a perfect descriptor ! One downside on this weather is that bath towels never dry.

NPR Radio – We have stayed in many small towns where there is only one radio station. That one station is invariably affiliated with national public radio. It's been wonderful to hear NPR and BBC news broadcasts, morning edition, fresh aire, all things considered etc. These small town stations combine the NPR programming with locally hosted interviews and programs. Some of the local hosts are community volunteers. We stopped by and spoke with staff at two radio stations. We never knew how important the NPR affiliation is to a small town radio. Tom: “NPR radio is our friend.”

Books – We are both reading, real hard copy books. We started with a small collection of books to read, and along the way, have traded completed ones for others in campground 'free to good home' book sections, where many other readers trade out books along the way. There are books for trafe everywhere … camps, ferry stations, and food stores. We occasionally purchase a book about local interest topics, such as homesteading. We bought one book, called 'Grizzly Tales', directly from the author (signed), who had self-published it. The book, an improbable story, was loaded with every possible stereotypical Alaskan character. Kris started reading it, then Tom jumped in when he was between books. We 'chased 'each other through the volume, and had 'book club for two' at the end of the read. That was fun.

Food Prices – Food up here is more expensive, by a lot. Over time, we've become numb to it. But every once in a while we get smacked with a reminder. Cost of food in Homer was 50% greater than equivalent purchase in Portland. Other towns have been similarly higher.

Museums – We have been to every museum in every town. Stop groaning !!. It's different than you think. These are small town museums, with modest collections. What is interesting, is that they describe the people and history from their small town's perspective, which is locally specific. Most of them take less than an hour to tour. The signage is typically concise and easily read. While there has been some regional repetition, that has translated to our developing a better understanding of the history and cultures of Alaska.

Showers and Laundry - Our RV has a full bath with a shower stall. We take 'quick' (navy style) showers when we are in state and national campgrounds, where there is typically no sewer hook-ups or easy access to additional water. In those situations, we need to conserve water, and conserve the space in the waste water holding tanks. When we are in a commercial campground, we usually use their showers to get access to longer showers, allowing for shampoos. If it is a more expensive campground, the showers are usually free. Otherwise, we pay for the shower, usually $2-4, for between 4-8 minutes of running water time.

We have done laundry at commercial campgrounds where we camped, or at commercial laundromats in town . We run about 2 loads every week. We have paid as much as $10 per load and hoard quarters for this purpose. The laundromats often have other camper folks so this can be an opportunity to meet people and trade travel stories. Sometimes, pay showers are available at the laundromats. Those showers are less desirable than the cleaner ones at commercial camps.

Night-night Wrangell

 

 Next Post - Bears