Good-bye to Alaska ... trip nearing end

Village of Wrangell along Alaska coast line.

My friend wrote, "We saw the whale bubble-feeding. Hope he had more luck than we did!"

Sunset outside Juneau from deck of the ferry.

Successful fishing trip! Halibut ... they're like huge flounders and good eating. While visiting Alaska in the past, I preferred the halibut over salmon. State fishing regulations limit the halibut catch to one per person. They didn't have to worry about the salmon because none were biting that day.

The salmon were teeming on a bear-sighting expedition ...

... and the bears were catching them. This greedy fella has at least three or four salmon beside him on the rock.

This "American Fisherman" caught what his wife jokingly called his "world record fish," a scaulpin that they deemed "ugly fish."

Our Shenandoah Valley friends are winding down their trip to Alaska and are now on their way back to the Lower 48 on the Alaska Marine Highway. We've missed them and look forward to their return home in a couple of weeks. Here's the latest, but hopefully not the last, dispatch from Alaska:

This is our last stop on our Alaska adventure. Wrangell is on an island, population of 2,000. It's industry is fishing, crabbing and there are two canneries. It's a peaceful quiet town with local downtown shopping that closes on Sunday. Sometimes they catch the ferry to Ketchikan for more shopping.

The hotel where we are staying has been fun. Bill, the owner of the hotel and restaurant, has treated us like old friends. We said good-bye to him and his wife tonight with big hugs as well as the hotel staff who have been friendly and helpful. We do not have enough adjectives to describe the folks here as well as our fishing guide, AnAn Bear guide, and the locals. They could teach the world how to be a better place.

So Wednesday we will waddle down the boat ramp, (we have added about four inches to our girth from the great food) to board the ferry at 6AM one last time to head for Bellingham's arrival Friday 8AM. We can not say enough about the wonderful people and the beauty of Alaska. It's been a fantastic adventure but we look forward to heading home and taking off these jackets! We'll be revisiting some of our favorite places in Oregon, Wyoming -- especially Cheyenne -- and then on to Omaha to visit friends. The Shenandoah Valley will be a welcome sight and sitting in our sun room again drinking sweet tea and looking at the Blue Ridge Mountains will be even better.

Thank you Alaska, we love you!!!

Happy and safe travels....

Previous dispatches from Alaska:
- Alaska Marine Highway
- Note from Juneau
- Hello from Juneau
- Hello from Ketchikan
- Glacier photos from Alaska
- Hello from Wrangell