We are in Wrangell Alaska and have been for the last 10 days. We ordered the parts 2 days after we got here from a company on Vancouver Island and the company shipped them by UPS the next day. A day later they were in Anchorage Alaska. That was 5 days ago, and we are still waiting to get them from Anchorage to here. With any luck they will be here tomorrow. So is life while you are sailing in out of the way destinations, its just part of the game. You have two options get frustrated and let it ruin the experience or take if for what it is and make use of the time really seeing what and where you are.
With that in mind we took a jet boat tour up the Stikine River to Shakes Glacier and checked that out. The glacier face is not as tall as some of the more famous one up here but the lake at the front of the glacier is 600 feet deep. You don’t want to get too close. When this one calves the pieces burst to the surface of the lake. You would not want one to come up under the boat.
We of course, walked the town and checked out the museum and once again the public library for the Wi-Fi. (I’ve been told they keep books in these buildings too) and we did a little shopping in the stores.
We have been told that if you are in Alaska for the 4th of July you have to be in Wrangell. Coincidentally that’s where we are so we took in all the festivities the town puts on. They have events going for almost the entire week leading up to the 4th. Its quite a feat that a town of 2400 can do as much as they do and the whole town gets involved. Everything from old school egg toss and sack race competitions to a parade, pie sale (5 bucks a slice and yes it was tasty), greased pole climb, with a hundred dollar bill at the end for the successful contestant, boat races, logging show, street dance and of course fireworks.
The first couple of days the weather was cold and rainy but the last several have had bright sunshine and temperatures in the 80’s. July 4th was down right hot, good thing the beer was cold.
Parts finally arrived yesterday, we got hauled out in the afternoon, repair done and put back in the water by 6pm. We were stunned when Tyler the mechanic would not accept any payment for his services. He wanted “something good to happen to us in Wrangell”, amazing! We are off to do some exploring around here, will be back in Wrangell in a few days to pick up our son, Cam, who will spend a week with us.
Hi. Good to hear you are on your way. Good things happen to good people.