Cascade Creek, Thomas Bay/Petersburg
Entering the still waters of Thomas Bay early this morning, the Sea Lion glided by Baird Glacier and into picturesque Scenery Cove before breakfast. Happily, the sun was out again! Early risers had glimpses of red-throated loons, surf scoters, marbled murrelets, and spotted sandpipers.
This is the setting of the haunting mystery of Thomas Bay. Miners searching for gold here had hallucinations of flying devil monkeys and never wanted to come back. The incidents were written about in a small book called “The Strangest Story Ever Told” by Bob Colp.
We chose Cascade Creek as our area to hike this morning. A boardwalk led to a lovely waterfall which provided a good photo opportunity. Sun streaming through the trees and mist created quite a scene. Steep steps ascended through the mist from the falls to a bench above the river on which we proceeded to a bridge. Some hikers continued on a challenging trail above the bridge. Another group spotted a porcupine in the path! Evidence of moose was seen and there was plenty of boot-sucking mud to play in as well.
The officers of the Sea Lion deftly maneuvered the ship into the dock at Petersburg. There was ample chance to explore this quaint and friendly Norwegian-style fishing town in addition to other activities. It was a perfect day for flightseeing over the Le Conte Glacier and surroundings. The bicycles provided for the guests were also very popular today. Hikes across the channel on Kupreanof Island passed through the forest and an interesting muskeg (peat bog) and down to Petersburg Creek on a boardwalk. The vegetation community in the bog includes sphagnum mosses, many plants from the heather family and two species of carnivorous sundews. All the forest berries are ripe – blueberries, salmonberries, thimbleberries, bunchberries, and twisted stalk.
Everyone assembled back at the Sea Lion for recap and a delectable feast of fresh Dungeness crab. We voyaged northwest from Petersburg, and a beautiful sunset completed another satisfying day.
Entering the still waters of Thomas Bay early this morning, the Sea Lion glided by Baird Glacier and into picturesque Scenery Cove before breakfast. Happily, the sun was out again! Early risers had glimpses of red-throated loons, surf scoters, marbled murrelets, and spotted sandpipers.
This is the setting of the haunting mystery of Thomas Bay. Miners searching for gold here had hallucinations of flying devil monkeys and never wanted to come back. The incidents were written about in a small book called “The Strangest Story Ever Told” by Bob Colp.
We chose Cascade Creek as our area to hike this morning. A boardwalk led to a lovely waterfall which provided a good photo opportunity. Sun streaming through the trees and mist created quite a scene. Steep steps ascended through the mist from the falls to a bench above the river on which we proceeded to a bridge. Some hikers continued on a challenging trail above the bridge. Another group spotted a porcupine in the path! Evidence of moose was seen and there was plenty of boot-sucking mud to play in as well.
The officers of the Sea Lion deftly maneuvered the ship into the dock at Petersburg. There was ample chance to explore this quaint and friendly Norwegian-style fishing town in addition to other activities. It was a perfect day for flightseeing over the Le Conte Glacier and surroundings. The bicycles provided for the guests were also very popular today. Hikes across the channel on Kupreanof Island passed through the forest and an interesting muskeg (peat bog) and down to Petersburg Creek on a boardwalk. The vegetation community in the bog includes sphagnum mosses, many plants from the heather family and two species of carnivorous sundews. All the forest berries are ripe – blueberries, salmonberries, thimbleberries, bunchberries, and twisted stalk.
Everyone assembled back at the Sea Lion for recap and a delectable feast of fresh Dungeness crab. We voyaged northwest from Petersburg, and a beautiful sunset completed another satisfying day.
