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Petersburg and the Sons of Norway

  • David
  • Jun 16, 2021
  • 1 min read

Updated: Jul 23, 2021


Petersburg under the peaks of mainland Alaska and Canada.


In 1897, Peter Buschmann built a cannery at the site below (left) which prospered and became the Norwegian-influenced town of Petersburg.




The trip from Wrangell was via the famous Wrangell Narrows, a long and narrow in some places passage with 62 navigational markers. The current meets in the middle from opposite directions, so timing is key.




The welcoming committee at the entrance buoy to Wrangell Narrows.


In Petersburg, fishing is still king and the sport fisherman were fishing for Kings.


The commercial fishing boats are kept in good repair. When we arrived, the weather was sunny and mild for the first time in weeks and many of the fisherman were on the docks with their families painting their boats.


Loaded with crab traps. (Narnia reference)

Purse seiner next to us in the marina.


Net shed (left); Low tide (below)

Dog Star nestled amongst the fishing fleet in this working harbor.




Petersburg is a sweet little town minimally affected by the cruise industry, frequented only y the smaller cruise ships. There don't seem to be any shops built specifically for that group of visitors. The Papa Bear's Pizza was excellent. Incredibly, there was a Thai food cart with a gregarious Thai woman who came to Petersburg directly from Thailand 30 years ago because she wanted to see snow-covered mountains while working as a cook on a boat. That fishing boat crew was very lucky!




We discovered the Salty Pantry, filled with fresh baked treats (croissants, scones, sticky buns, cinnamon rolls) and other breakfast delights (potato and sausage scramble, baked oatmeal). This is the best restaurant we have encountered so far!













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