We've lived in Alaska for 9.5 years. The first 4.5 years were in Wrangell, and then 5 years in Ketchikan. And in all of those years, I had never been to Petersburg until now. Everyone would tell me that Petersburg was similar to Wrangell, but with a lot more money (because of the rich fisherman) and that it was very "Norwegian". So instead of the town being covered in Alaska Native art, it's decorated in Norwegian art (flowers and scroll-like design). I asked Quent to show me Petersburg, so that's what he did.
We went without the kids. Alone. So weird and wonderful! Ha! They stayed with our most amazing neighbors. The kids loved it! And I think our neighbors did too.
We arrived in Petersburg on a very beautiful, sunny day. We rented a car, had lunch, and then drove around. We went on a hike...
Fall is on its way!
And then we went on about an hour flight over the glacier(s) and mountains. A local Petersburgian/friend, Carrie, went with us. Now something funny about this flight was that right before our flight, I had stepped in dog poop. I tried to get as much of it off my shoe as possible, but it wasn't completely successful. And then Quent (who sat in front next to the pilot--a 4-seater plane) would open the window mid-flight to snap photos. It was so windy that I could hardly breathe. So as you look at these photos, think of me not wanting to breathe when the window was closed due to the whiffs of dog poop, and then being unable to breathe when the window was open. It was a lose/lose situation for me, but at least the scenery was absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful! (or should I say "the scenery can take your breath away"?)
Southeast Alaska makes our hearts go pitter-patter.
Hello glacier!
I had no idea how these headsets worked. I had no idea how to talk with them and have everyone else hear me. I just would give a thumbs-up and nod. Smile and nod. And try to breathe. Oh, and that's Carrie sitting next to me.
Glaciers meeting together.
Devils Thumb. Let me tell you about Devils Thumb. This is Quent's dream climb. I really think the actual purpose of this flight was to see this dreamy peak so Quent could take a lot of photos to study later with his friend Shawn. So we flew around Devils Thumb over and over again. And this was the point where I could hardly breathe because Quent's camera was poking out of the plane.
The texture in the glacier snow was amazing! It was so cool to see it up close like this.
"Little" ice field up top.
The ice is really that blue!
Where glacier meets water and dumps itself. Oh, this is LeConte Glacier by the way...at least I think. Ha!
Splash!!
Seals basking in the sun on an iceberg.
And this is me combing my hair with a fork since I forgot my comb at home. Oops!
We had a wonderful time in Petersburg! The second day we were there it rained. So I got to see Petersburg in the sun and rain (it just wouldn't be Southeast Alaska without the rain). I flew home in the afternoon by myself as Quent worked the next few days in Petersburg.
