Travel Maven Blog ...... David Molyneaux posts from TheTravelMavens.com

Cruising Alaska, a delightful day in Petersburg

Where else can you watch log rolling, a herring toss and Fools on Spools?

 

Fools and Spools remain upright in Petersburg’s July 4 parade (photo by Fran Golden, TheTravelMavens.com)

Petersburg, Alaska

Fancy free summer travel can be so much fun when you meander as a stranger into one of America’s lively small towns — especially when you encounter a festival or other special event.

In many small towns, holidays and civic celebrations are special, with parades, family gatherings, local entertainment, and contests attracting much of the populous. This was certainly the case with a spirited log rolling competition on the very chilly waters of Petersburg, Alaska.

Starting to plan for next summer's vacation? Most small towns of America are not on the beaten tourist track. In Alaska, big ships get you to some communities in the Inside Passage of Southeast Alaska. Small ships and the ferries of the state-run Alaska Marine Highway can get you to even more.

How no-frills will you go to cruise to Alaska’s smaller port towns?

Pitch a tent and roll out your sleeping bag or book a bunkbed on Alaska's Marine Highway

Alaska ferry Matanuska on the Inside Passage between Petersburg and Skagway (Photo by David G. Molyneaux, TheTravelMavens.com)

WRANGELL, ALASKA 

How do you pitch a tent on an Alaska ferry? You pack Gorilla or Duck tape. Without stakes to pound, very sticky tape is necessary to secure your tent to the deck floor while the ferry churns toward the next port.

Which, no doubt, elicits other questions: Why would you sleep outside in a tent when you could curl up in a comfy chair indoors or book a cabin with bunkbeds? And why would you travel on a ferry in Alaska, anyway?

The answers, in no particular order, are preference, privacy, convenience, and/or necessity.

Where the Alaska ferries go, highways seldom are a choice for transportation, especially in popular Southeast Alaska.