Prince of Wales Island. AK

 Prince of Wales Island July 2nd to July 7^th        

  

Only July 2^nd    we returned to the ferry dock in Ketchikan two hours ahead of boarding to get our tickets, get in line, and wait for boarding ferry to Prince of Wales Island. This Island, as well as nearby islands, were first settled by the Tlingit people. From the literature, we learned that they were the most wide-ranging of the Southeast Alaskan tribes and were “adept at trade with inland Natives and with Haidas and Tsimshian.” It is thought that the Haidas established settlements on Prince of Wales sometime in the 1700s. They came from Haida Gwaii, previously known as Queen Charlotte Island of BC’s northern coast. Archaeologists have found artifacts that they believe date back to as much as 10,300 years ago. There are petroglyphs on several coastal rocks but they do not divulge the location to the public to protect them from vandalism.  There are Totem Pole parks, fishing villages, and native Alaskan cultures thriving on this island and we hoped to visit some of the Totem Pole parks such as the one in Klawock, pronounced (kloo-wah).

Totem Pole in Klawock

While we were waiting in the ferry line, Tim struck up a conversation with two couples already in line and began talking fishing. It seems that one of the couples, Bill and Lee, has been going to the Island for years to fish. They had a pickup camper and were towing a boat. The other couple, Frank and Linda, had been there before and knew Bill and Lee. They had a pickup with their tenting supplies. Each couple had also brought a large freezer to take home their catch! During our 3 hour ferry ride, we spoke to them some more and got the lay of the land on the Island. They were headed to Coffman Cove on the northeast shore and suggested we follow them there to Oceanview RV Park.

Meanwhile, the ferry ride through this section of the Inner Passage was a little rough but the scenery was worth getting our sea legs back. No whales on this passage, but the islands, the fishing boats, shoreline villages and lighthouse views made for perfect backdrops for the cruise ship passing by.

I was told upon exiting my car on the car deck that I would have to be the first one off the ship so they could clear the way for the walk on passengers. Fifteen minutes before landing in Hollis, I had to go down and get ready to drive off. As we came nearer the dock, they opened the door and I was looking out directly at the pilings as we swept past them. I’m glad they had the wheels blocked so I wouldn’t go rolling off! Then came the dropping of the ramp for exiting. Sitting there I swore it was going to land on the hood of the car.

All my worries were for naught, they landed, I drove off and met Tim a little ways up the road to hook up the car to the RV.

Originally, we were going to get off the ferry in Hollis, park the RV in the closest campground and then tour the island in the car. We weren’t sure of road conditions on the island and didn’t want to get into rough gravel roads with the RV. As it turns out, Prince of Wales Island has some of the best road conditions in Alaska and they are improving them every year. So, we decided to do the 80 miles to Coffman Cove. And we are very glad we did!

We arrived at the campground and were thankful that at 9:50pm we still had daylight get situated and help Frank and Linda unload and get their tent set up. The campground is right on the water and the little town is a ten minute walk.

The first day, Tim and I walked to town while the others were busy setting up for their longer stay here. (Bill and Lee stay a month while Frank and Linda will be there 2 weeks.) There is one store, a health clinic (new last year), a post office, an elementary school, a city hall, a library that doubles as a “take and bake” pizza parlor, a take- out restaurant, a bar, a lodge and a large marina with many fishing boats. We met some folks who told us the population in winter is 100 and swells to 200 during the summer with a few folks drifting in and out (like us). We were impressed with the maintenance of the buildings and some new construction with what looks to be in floor heating going in. The locals told us that the winter isn’t too bad..16 being their lowest temperatures and only 4 -6 inches of snow at a time, but a lot of the residents are only here in the summer.  The weather now is in the 50s with winds off the water making it pretty chilly. I brought out my wool crew hat and gloves and warmer jacket!

View from Campsite

Bill and Lee seem to know just about everyone in town and have fished with them all for many years. When we strolled down the docks again in the afternoon, we watched three teenagers filleting huge silvers (salmon) so skillfully. Lee explained that the young lady had been doing it since she was 9 years old!

On the second day, July 4^th, Tim was invited to go fishing with all of the others in Bill’s boat while I stayed back in the warmth of the RV.  The weather turned nasty on them and it took an hour an a half to get back from their 20 minute jaunt out to Whale Pass. Thanks to the good job that Captain Bill did it wasn't any longer.

Coming In from Fishing

Most of of the town folk were in the parade, so it left very few people on the sideline.  We enjoyed our stay here, but decided we needed to see the rest of the island as well, so we hooked up the car and headed back to the Harris River campground in Hollis. This campground was completely empty when we arrived and only 2 more groups of tent campers came in the next 3 nights.

In the next two days, we toured through Hollis, Craig, Klawock and Thorne Bay. Craig is the largest of these with a population of over 1000, Klawok has about 850, Thorne Bay has 495 and Hollis has 163. The two main industries on the island are fishing and logging. In the past, mining was also done in Hollis. All of the towns have docks, schools, and libraries,and some have float plane capability, medical services, and grocery stores. Island living here is quiet and relaxing..except for the 4th of July and its fireworks that is. 

Lots of Deer along the road

Klawock

Craig

Thorne Bay

Tim Fishing

Klawock Library

View from Island Road

There are not many visiting RVers on the island. In fact, we were the only RV on the ferry both to and from Prince of Wales.  Exploring the out of the way places is what we came up here to do, so I guess we're on the right track!  

Tim in RV boarding Ferry

Patch of Blue on Grey Day

Our ferry ride back to Ketchikan was uneventful and once again we stayed at Walmart awaiting a ferry tomorrow night to take us to Wrangell.