Fresh off harried navigation of the ice in Tracy Arm, it seemed appropriate to let someone else drive for a while. Passing south through Petersburg, we ended up at Wrangell, where we chartered a Jet- boat to take us up the Stikine River. The Stikine is one of the fastest-flowing rivers in the world, and extends for 130 miles north of Wrangell, Alaska well into Canada.

On our trip, we visited a number of beaches, got to view (and even stand on) the Wilderness Glacier, Molly picked a wildflower bouquet, and Brian explored tracks on the beaches. We turned around when we reached the Alaska/Canada border on the Stikine. It’s odd that as you go from US into Canada, and then continue northeast, you get back to Canada! The governments of the US and Canda cooperate to shave a line directly down the mountain near the river, and across the river and up a mountain on the other side. In one of the attached pictures you can see the mountain and the shaved line that marks the border.

On the way back, our driver executed what are called “Hamilton Turns”, which are so-named because Mr. Hamilton (who created Hamilton Jet drives) found that Jet-boats can do a Rockford-style 360-degree turn very quickly when the jet drives are thrown into reverse at full speed and the helm is put hard over. Our kids loved them -- again! again!. I was kind of tired of them by the 3rd turn -- spinning around in a full circle in a boat isn’t something I look forward to more than once.

Photo Gallery