Hoonah, AK

Our first port of call was Hoonah, AK. Hoonah is a small fishing village of perhaps seven hundred people. The village historically depended on fishing and a cannery for subsistence and income. The cannery had closed some years ago, but village leaders with forethought started developing tourism. That resulted in a community owned corporation that developed a modern cruise ship dock and welcome center. From that, other tour businesses such as whale watching and a monster zip line were developed. Now Hoonah offers a very nice full day visit where everything is done exceptionally well and all of the people are very cordial. I knew a zip line was offered when we initially pre-selected and reserved our excursions, but the zip lines I had seen in the past were pretty lame. Whoa, not this one! A forty-five minute drive to the top of the mountain is followed by a ninety second ride down the zip line. It looked great, but alas, we were already booked on two excursions that left no time for the zip line because of the long journey to the top. Next time.

Off the boat early.

Didn't get 100' before our first whale. Tricky to get a good shot.

Low tide as we walk to the whale watching boat.

Historic cannery, now retail spaces. Very nicely done.

Great day for a ride on the water.

Pretty typical sea lion pose.

We were happy to come across a whale, but ignore the great white finger fish.

Local raven "Crooked Foot" met us for lunch.

He was the only panhandler we met on the trip.

After lunch stroll before the bear watching hike.

Tlingit village of Hoonah, AK. Population 773. Ship had 640 passengers.

Great hike through Sitka Spruce forest.

 

Beautiful bear habitat, but no bears today.

Except this cool artwork along the trail.

Nice form, but no skips. Must be the stones, right?

Back on board to find many folks just hung by the pool today.

Post hike libation before dressing for dinner.

It was a fantastic day!