Daily Didactic
The morning started way too early in our way too comfortable hostel room in what we have now learned locals refer to simply as "Rupert". We loaded up the bus and tried to find a cup of fancy coffee for Brian at 5:00 am. Didn't work. We got in the short line at the Alaska Marine Highway terminal and proceeded to clean house and gather what our friend in Petersburg had told us were ferry necessities. Our day was to be spent in the covered rear upper deck of the Taku, under the wonderful solarium. The solarium is a covered area with yellow glass, heat lamps, and lawn chairs that fold flat for sleeping. With a pad and a sleeping bag you can spend the day "outside" in any weather with one of the best views in the Southeast, if you don't mind watching the scenery go by in reverse. We don't at all.

We parked the bus in the car deck and found the solarium almost empty. The weather verged on rain, so we set up our chairs just inside the solarium and settled in for the day. After sailing we made up for the ridiculously early morning with a great nap, waking up a few hours later and just before docking in Ketchikan for a few hours. The weather was nasty so we didn't go ashore. The rest of the afternoon was a great mix of napping, reading, eating, and more napping. We pulled into Wrangell around 9:00 in the evening, and the weather still encouraged us to stay in our bags under the heat lamps.

Around 1:30 in the morning we pulled into Petersburg, fetched the bus from the car deck, and made our way to our friend JoAnn's house downtown. After a quick bit of catching up we hit some of the most comfortable hay we've hit all summer.

An early morning at the Pioneer Hostel		Our very cozy and comfortable green room
Brian re-lashing the load to the roof for the ferry		Our ride for the day
Let's Go!		Driving down the ramp into the Taku
Just follow the signs		Our spot under the yellow glass of the solarium
A room with a view for the day		Looking forward
Saying goodbye to BC		The foggy view after a few hours of napping, somewhere just short of Ketchikan
Theresa, artisting		Ketchikan car ferries, apparently still in business with no bridge to nowhere
A quiet afternoon on deck		A quite afternoon in the dining hall
About the only shot we have off the bow		It absolutely is
Theresa loves the railings		Atmospheric perspective
Wrangell at dusk		Cleverness with fluorescent lights in the forward observation deck
Docking in Wrangell		Elvis looking over the karaoke machine
Nothing but joy		Give hope for humanity
Petersburg, at 1:30 in the morning

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