Colorful buoys were scattered along the fringe of shoreline at Ideal Cove. These buoys marked a series of crab pots with the target species being Dungeness crab. Hopeful fishermen would soon be pulling the pots and checking them for what would eventually become our evening meal. Creatures of the sea would come later; first, we had a temperate rain forest to investigate.
Skunk cabbage leaves longer than your leg, devils club canopies opened like umbrellas in a rainstorm, delicate fruits dangling from salmon berry bushes, a meticulously slow banana slug. These were all discoveries from our first walk in the forest. Some of us walked up to a lake that has an industrious beaver in residence. Yellow pond lilies shown brilliant yellow with a tannin stained backdrop of water. The Alaska state insect, dragonflies, flitted about the open muskeg area and delicately perched upon the curved stalks of sedges.
The Stikine River is just south of this landing and copious amounts of fine sediments are deposited by the river. This gave the substrate on our beach a unique glue-like quality. If you stood still for a few moments, you were in danger of walking out of your boots as they became fixed in the carnivorous mud, it was hungry for boots.
Sunshine remained our dominant theme as we wandered the docks and town of Petersburg for the afternoon. From the depths of our luggage, tank tops and shorts were extracted and donned, copious amounts of sunscreen were applied. A variety of activities acquainted us with the various fisheries, the marine invertebrates living under the floating docks, photographing this picturesque village and meeting the denizens of the muskeg environment. With our fleet of bicycles, you could also let the wind play with your hair and ride along the scenic coastline.
Activities can build an appetite, and to satiate ours we gathered for a feast from the sea. We consumed ample amounts of fresh Dungeness crab that was caught this morning, brought to our ship this afternoon, and steamed fresh for us this evening. To properly end such a sunny summer day you should eat watermelon on a green fresh-cut lawn. Our maritime substitute? Enjoying fresh berry cobbler topped with ice cream outside on deck while watching humpback whales lunge feeding at sunset. Delights from the sea once again.
