Ideal Cove/Petersburg
Early morning found the National Geographic Sea Bird anchoring at Ideal Cove on Mitkof Island for a walk in the Tongass National Rainforest. Shades of green were all around us as we entered the very wet forest. Alaska’s “liquid sunshine” was a steady drizzle; however, the canopy of the trees protected us from most of the raindrops. Devil’s club leaves outstretched their leaves to soak up all the rain they could. The plants seemed to let out a collective ‘ahhh’ since it had been several days with no rain. This is typical Alaska weather! We wound our way up a single plank boardwalk to a bridge overlooking a lake and beaver dam. On the way we saw a bright fluorescent orange fungus growing on the root ball of an overturned Sitka spruce tree… chicken of the woods!
After lunch, the National Geographic Sea Bird docked at Petersburg for an afternoon of activities in a genuine fishing town. A photography walk led by Kim Heacox walked the docks and town looking for photo opportunities. Another dock walk, led by Carlos Navarro, focused on the variety of fishing vessels and boats moored in the Petersburg marina and the marine creatures found around and under the docks. Other activities offered were bike riding, an interpretative bog walk, and walking through town.
For re-cap this evening, Becky Knight, a local fisherwoman came onboard and shared about her family working in the fishing industry here in Alaska. Our evening continued with a scrumptious all you can eat crab feast! And after dinner Andy Szabo from Alaska Whale Foundation gave a talk about his research with humpback whales and bubble net feeding.
