Petersburg

After a long day, we reached Petersburg! We could see there was some heavy weather coming in, and we were ready for some fresh groceries, so we headed in to the dock. We fueled up Dog Star, got settled and walked into town to see what was happening. The little food cart place we ate at 2 years ago was still there, so we ordered a burger and beers.

The marina in Petersburg is a working harbor where you will be docked next to long line trawlers, gill netters, crab boats, and tenders, with a few pleasure boats sprinkled in amongst them. The people who fish for a living work hard. There are 4 fish processing plants in this small town, who get the fish, clean them and fillet them, and get them out to market in short order. After talking to a guy who owns a tender, we learned that the people who fish work for the plant, and the plant contracts with tender boats to go around and pick up the fish from the fishing boats and bring them back to the plant. That way, the fishing boats can stay out in the areas they are fishing--and keep fishing.

This is the fish tender owned by the fisherman we chatted with.

The marina was busy with crab boats getting loaded up and heading our because commercial crab (Dungeness) season opened in a few days. There were also many fishermen out catching herring just outside the harbor to use as bait for fishing halibut and salmon.

The dock where we moored.

Another crab boat headed out. We have seen before how the people who fish or crab will sort of stake out the territory where they plan to work, often a few days before the actual opening--so they are ready to go on the date at the exact time.

This boat is loading up crab pots.

The harbor master told us about a nice walk through the muskeg not too far from the marina. It was a beautiful day and we were thrilled to get out and stretch our legs.

Wild lupine.

Part of the walk had a boardwalk over the bog.

The view once we got to the other side of the muskeg.

Looking out across Frederick Sound after leaving Petersburg.

Some beautiful big anemones on the dock.

Lots of little herring fish everywhere!

Looking north from Petersburg out Wrangell Narrows. The mountains are part of the mainland.

Sons of Norway Hall. in the 19th century, Norwegian Peter Buschman settled here, building docks, a cannery and sawmill. The town was previously a Tlingit summer fish camp, and there is carbon dating of indigenous peoples living here dating back 10,000 years!

A net shed, I think. See the purple Iris, too?

Oriental poppies in the rain.