As the sun rose this morning, National Geographic Sea Lion was cruising the waters of Frederick Sound. Still cool air through out the night brought in a thick blanket of fog...covering land and sea. Slowly, Sea Lion made her way into Thomas Bay. The scenery was spellbinding and soon our ship was peppered with photographers capturing mists pouring gently through Sitka spruce trees spilling down onto the waters of a very still saltwater bay.
The smell of breakfast brought us all back inside the ship and into the dining room where fresh coffee and crepes were waiting! After the customary announcements from our expedition leader we prepared for a morning exploring a well-known hike in Thomas Bay called Cascade Creek. Zodiacs brought everyone ashore and groups were divided so everyone could enjoy one of the more spectacular hikes in the Frederick Sound area of Southeast Alaska. Starting at the beach several groups of hikers began an ascent of approximately 300 feet on a trail taking three of the groups above Cascade Falls to a bridge that crosses Cascade Creek.
Two groups remained below, enjoying morning light and mist playing on trees, shrubs, sedges, flowers and each blade of grass...listening to the roar of the spring waters of Cascade Falls in the background. All too soon, everyone began making their way down the trail, heading towards the beach where Zodiacs were waiting to ferry us back to the waiting Sea Lion.
During lunch our expedition leader made announcements about our afternoon in the fishing community of Petersburg. This small community of 3,500 people centers its life around fishing, claiming to have a very large population of millionaires, all who have made their fortunes on the bounty of the rich waters of the north Pacific Ocean. Peter Buschmann, an American of Norwegian descent, settled here in 1897. He saw the combination of a rich fishery, an excellent harbor and abundant ice from nearby LeConte Glacier, an ideal source for preserving the catch in the days before large scale refrigeration was available. Petersburg is a working community with an excellent hardware store and the ubiquitous Alaskan bookstore, found in every community!
There were many activities offered for the afternoon including a hike in a nearby bog, bike rides, a photo walk and in glorious weather, many of our group chose to go flightseeing over LeConte Glacier. Whatever the activity, everyone enjoyed a chance to explore an Alaskan working community, while the weather changed from sun to light rain, then hard rain...and finally in the later afternoon light as a rain squall began, a thick, brightly colored double rainbow shown over the entrance to this small town where so many people consider themselves very lucky to live and call home.
