“I never thought there could be so many shades of green!” This was overheard during our morning walk in Southeast Alaska’s lush temperate rain forest. Ideal Cove has a boardwalk trail maintained by the Forest Service, and we split into several small groups and explored it, looking at countless forms of green life. Skunk cabbage was abundant and big, and mosses were nearly everywhere. Not far from the trail, a river tumbled over rocks, and under fallen logs. Below the level of our knees there were wildflowers, and high above, branches draped in thick mosses and lichens that resembled hair. Most everything was some shade of green, with the exception of a bit of gray-brown on some tree trunks.
We spent the afternoon at the fishing town of Petersburg. It was founded by a Norwegian man, and retains a strong Norwegian character today. We walked the docks and saw fishing boats preparing for the upcoming salmon season. Flightseers got spectacular looks at Le Conte Glacier from floatplanes that took off from a saltwater runway. We went to a muskeg, where conditions are so challenging for growth that most plants are small and slow growing.
At dinner we feasted on local Dungeness crab. As we enjoyed dessert in the lounge, killer whales were sighted from the bridge! The ship immediately turned back, and we abandoned dessert and quickly donned jackets and went on deck. Six killer whales swam ahead of the ship, and we watched in happy wonder.
