Another sunny day in Southeast Alaska! This morning we docked in the small Alaskan frontier town of Wrangell (pop. 2,500) before heading ashore for multiple excursions. Guests who opted to stay in town had the pleasure of visiting Chief Shakes Tribal House. We got to take in the wonderful cedar aroma of the Clan House while a local Tlingit woman shared the history as well as the story of one of the house’s inner totems. Afterwards we took a delightful trip to the beach where it was time to hunt for petroglyphs. Petroglyph Beach in Wrangell has over 40 petroglyphs scattered along the shore and searching for them was a real treat. With such nice weather, some guests then opted for a hike up Mt. Dewey through a hemlock forest with our naturalist Steve. For guests who wanted further flung adventure, a jet boat tour up the Stikine River was just the ticket! Led by local guides, guests ventured up the Stikine River to Shakes Lake which was still icy. Some guests even saw a bear on the way!
We had a relaxing afternoon while we cruised Eastern Passage, making our way toward Misty Fjords National Monument. We kept an eye out for wildlife along the way and it paid off in a big way when we got to see a nearby humpback whale as well as a pod of Dall’s porpoises that circled the boat several times and rode our bow wake. We were even able to use Happywhale to ID our new humpback whale friend: HI06-0046, a Hawaiian whale who was first spotted back in 1988. Overall, it was a great day in Alaska onboard National Geographic Sea Bird!
