I recently worked In Angoon, Alaska on Admiralty Island. Angoon is accessed by the Alaska State Marine Highway System and Alaska Seaplanes provides twice daily floatplane service. I was bringing a truck and tools so I arrived by ferry. I will talk more about Angoon in the future and provide photos.
As we left the dock at the Auke Bay ferry terminal, there was only a whisper of a breeze. The morning was spectacular, the skies a deep blue, and the sun was beginning to peek out above Douglas Island.
The trip was great. I stayed outside on the open decks and shot hundreds of photos. I saw a number of humpback whales and a pod of what looked like thousands of the Pacific White-sided Dolphin. The Dolphins raced the ferry for a number of miles.
There was one stop on the way and it is the reason for this story. At one point, the ferry turned into a long wide inlet. The water was mirror calm, the mountains reflected nearly perfectly. Soon the ferry slowed and I noticed more and more cabins along the shoreline. We were coming to Tenakee Springs.
Tenakee Springs is a small town on Chichagof Island in Southeast Alaska. The population as of the 2019 census was 137. The word Tenakee comes from the Tlingit word “tinaghu” meaning Coppery Shield Bay. There are no roads and no vehicles bigger than a four-wheeler. There’s a community bath house with a 106-degree sulfur hot mineral spring for public bathing. I’ll let the photos tell the rest.
Learn about the Hirst-Chichagof Gold Mine in Southeast Alaska.
Read about growing up in a remote Northern town in Atlin Where Everyone Knows Your Dog’s Name.