June 12, 2022 Day 16: Warm Springs to Sitka 104 miles- 1522 total miles
In the middle of the night a big fishing ship came and docked where Northern Song was earlier in the day. Fishing boats have these massive lights on them and when they pulled up it woke Chris and I up. I thought it was morning. I heard them yelling when they were tying up to the dock. When we woke up in the morning it was gone.
Since Ryan and I wanted privacy while we soaked in the tubs we decided to sneak away while everyone else was having breakfast and we each got our own rooms/baths. I took and I radioed Chris when we were about done and Chris brought the girls up so everyone was able to soak. It was nice to sneak off with Ryan and get some alone time as well. When Ryan and I were walking up to the tubs there was a juvenile bald eagle trying to get a river otter. I thought for sure the otter was going to be a goner. I think it would have been cool to see nature at its finest, but I’m not sure my kids could have handled it. It was fun entertainment for most of the morning. The eagle tried a few times over several hours. It was impressive how patient that eagle was. Also impressive how slick the otter was. The eagle had it pinned down once and the otter just slithered right out. For a long time the otter didn’t seem too concerned about the eagle, but after that last encounter he ran for cover.
The weather forecast is a little iffy and we weren’t sure if we would go or wait. It doesn’t seem to be better for a few days, so if we don’t go now, then we’ll end up waiting. We decided we might as well try to head out. There are a lot of coves we can anchor in and hide out if we need to, so it doesn’t seem too risky. Chris put more gas in the boat tanks from our spare cans, so we are ready to go. We loved Warm Springs and it felt like a mini vacation on this trip, but we are also getting a little stir crazy. I would love to come back, but if we do I would hope we would get in earlier in the day, late morning/early afternoon, and then stay a full 24 hours, but only one night. But I am glad we stayed two nights this time.
The water was actually decent and we were able to see some humpbacks. We stopped in Appleton Cove for lunch and watched for wildlife, no bears. As we were leaving Appleton Cove we did see more humpbacks, I was able to get some pictures of these ones.
We made it to Sitka in time for dinner. We went to a Chinese place that was near the marina. It was really good, Chris and I were very impressed with it. After dinner we decided to do a grocery run. It was our most expensive grocery run yet, but we shouldn’t have to get much more until our stay in Juneau! I don’t think we’ll have much opportunity for groceries from now until then anyway. There were a lot of Costco items for sale, but way more pricey. Sadly they were out of eggs.
Ryan’s Thoughts: Went to the hot springs and I got an achievement in Stickman Party. We also saw a bald eagle trying to get an otter.
Lillian’s Thoughts: Today I had Oreos for breakfast! Then we went to hot springs! Then we left and had lunch! Then we docked Ha! Then we got off and had dinner! Then I got twinkies at the store! And now it’s AFV (America’s Funniest Videos)!
