Wrangall, Alaska - Day 1

June 3 - Another rainy day in Ketchikan. They get @200 inches a year. We have only been here a couple of days this time and I  am so tired of rain. We got the 2:30 ferry from Ketchikan to Wrangall. After the storm that came through there was some chop on the water but the passage was basically smooth for the ferry. On this trip we saw some Dolphin.  While on the ferry we met John and Karen (from the San Francisco area) who are driving a 33 foot Winnebago. They had to inch it aboard the ferry because of the large overhang they had in the back. We discussed possible camping areas but as they wanted electricity we headed off in different directions.  We spent the  night dry camping at Shoemaker Harbor 4 miles outside of town. We were tucked back into a spot by the launch ramp. Quiet night. The next morning we went to explore Wrangall. It is so different than Ketchikan. They do not get cruise ships in here so it is a much quieter town.We toured the Petroglyph Beach. These are ancient Indian symbols that are carved into rocks as  opposed to Pictographs which are painted on. These rocks are underwater at high tide so we had to plan our visit for low tide.  We also visited Chief Shakes Island. He was an important Indian Chief  ( A Klingit) back in the 1800's. We enjoyed his totem park. It was still low tide when we walked out to it.It would probably be even more impressive at high tide when it really becomes an island. Because that was near the Marina we walked the docks as  usual. We happily discovered that John and Mary (S/V Horizons) was tied up there. We had enjoyed cocktails on the boat with them in Ketchikan. We left a note as they weren't there. We then drove into the town to do some touring when we saw them walking back to the boat. We stopped and picked them up and gave them a ride back. As we were sitting in the Marina parking lot we heard a knock on the camper. John and Karen (the couple in the Winnebago) had found us so we invited them inside too. 6 of us in our 19 foot camper! So we ended up having lunch and touring the town with John and Karen and then we were invited to meet up with John and Mary ( the sailboat) for dinner. Why is it that at times our social calendar is packed?  Last night we drove 14 miles out of town and spent the night at a U.S.F.S. campground up in the hills. Another lovely wooded spot. We saw an eagle's nest in a tree below us. This morning we saw 2 eagles in it and we think they may have some chicks too. Way Cool.