Sunday, Aug. 14th - Arriving to Gustavus

This day was originally planned as an event-less transit day and so it was. Very few photos today...

After breakfast we departed Zimovia B&B and Barb drove us to the tiny Wrangell airport, where we checked in to our flights to Gustavus. Weather was cloudy and rainy the whole day but it didn't bother us since we spent most of it either either on planes or in terminals.

When the 'Milk Run' flight from Seattle arrived it was delightful to see the Alaska Airlines agent at the gate, personally knowing and greeting each returning Wrangell resident…"'How was your vacation"? "You changed your hair!" etc. Small town indeed!

At last we boarded the flight to Juneau via Petersburg.  There were again some weather delays but we had plenty of spare time today so didn't care too much. The flight from Wrangell to Petersburg is considered the shortest commercial flight in the world – only 12 minutes from take-off to landing! And the next one from Petersburg to Juneau is not much longer (~25min).

We landed in Juneau in thick clouds and pouring rain and waited about 2 hours until our next 20+ minute flight to Gustavus. We had our lunch which was mostly based on leftovers from our previous day in Wrangell.

We landed in Gustavus around 5PM, luckily to a much nicer weather than the one we left at Juneau! We were picked up by Rachel, the owner of Annie Mae Lodge, where we will spend the next 2 nights. On the way to the lodge Rachel provided us orientation about the tiny town (~300 year round residents) and told us a bit about its history. 

When looking for lodging in Gustavus, we gave preference to full-service lodges, since dining and transportation options in town are very limited. And we didn't want to stay in the National Park Lodge after reading some so-so reviews. There are few other full service lodges in town, but Annie Mae seemed to provide everything we needed at the most reasonable cost. We were very happy with our choice!

Our hosts and the lodge staff took very good care of us from the moment we landed until our flight back. They reserved and organized our tours and activities, drove us around, and provided full meals which were really delicious and of high quality. Our room was simple but sweet and comfortable. The entire lodge is for the use of the guests (the owners live in a separate house nearby) and the guests are welcome to the common room/lounge which has TV and a library. Our only issue is that they charge extra for a Wi-Fi connection which is not of high quality, but this was really a minor issue and didn't spoil our overall excellent impression. Also note there is no cellular reception in the lodge environment but the same is true in most of the Gustavus as well as in Bartlett Cove.

Annie Mae Lodge

 Dinner was an excellent 3-course meal. There is joint sitting in the dining room so you get the opportunity to meet with other travelers and exchange recommendations and experiences. One of the couples we met was from Wrangell AK and arrived on the same flights we did… we told them how much we loved their town, and they told us some nice stories about life there. Apparently they came for a visit years ago and fell in love with the place, decided to move there for one year, and are now already 37 years there!

The other guests at the table were an Italian couple who were already at the end of their 2 weeks Alaska trip. Like us, they were also looking for the perfect bear viewing experience, and it was interesting to hear about both their successes as well as their frustrations in this quest.

After dinner there was still plenty of light so we decided to take a walk in a nearby trail to the beach which the lodge staff recommended. The trail goes through the owners back yard, and when we passed there the owner's super-friendly dogs were very happy to see us, and immediately joined us on the trail which apparently they knew very well, practically being our guides! This was hilarious.

The trail leads to a beautiful area where the Good River flows into the Gustavus beach with the Glacier Bay mountains in the background. This is not more than 10 minutes' walk one way – highly recommended. From there back to the lodge and to the end of another day.

The Beach Trail