A Few of Alaska’s Special Places

Fords Terror, S.E. of Mile 900

Named for a sailor whose small craft was swept into the inlet’s narrow entrance, this lonely bay whose entrance is only accessible at slack water (the top of the bottom of the tide) is seldom visited. But for those who do, the reward is worth it. Vertical walls, striped with waterfalls rise almost a thousand feet up from the water. The hand of man is nowhere to be seen; even radio waves don’t make it in there.
The vessel is the Catalyst, one of several small vessels that take travelers in and out of remote coves and smaller towns. On one memorable trip into Fords Terror, the Catalyst grounded out when it swung into shallow water at anchor. Concerned that she may lean over too much for comfort, the crew took the 6 passengers ashore, put down sleeping bags and built a big fire.
The boat survived without damage.

Inian Islands, Mile 1025

Noticeably wilder and rougher than places located on the protected inner waters, here the force of the winter seas has scraped the rocky shore clean of trees or vegetation, for fifty feet above sea level.
Big ships pass through here without a second glance, bound for Seward, Whittier, or Hubbard Glacier. But the sheltered harbor between the islands is a popular one for salmon fishing boats in July and August.
Small ships - typically with 75 passengers or less - often anchor there when the seas are relatively calm, and send passengers by Zodiac inflatables to explore the storm wracked western side. We launched in such an inflatable from the Wilderness Explorer in May, 2019 to visit the big sea lion rookery. The big 2000 lb. bulls didn’t exactly welcome us..

Rosie’s Blue Moon Cafe

Sadly, you can’t go to Rosie’s In Tenakee Hot Springs - SW of Mile 975 - any longer. After running the cafe almost 50 years, Rosie Floreska moved into Juneau to live with her family, and the community’s classic bar and eatery was demolished.
But, rising from the old timbers was the New Moon Cafe and Laundry plus greenhouse, utilizing the 106˚ geothermal water that warms the communal hot springs just next door!
Before she left, Rosie had plenty of tales to share with visitors about Tenakee’s glory days when loggers, fishermen cannery workers mixed it up. Maybe a little too much: “Why they alla time wanna fight?” said Rosie, remembering too much broken furniture after things got a little out of hand!