Tenakee Springs and the Fourth of July

7/2/2024 - 7/4/2024 We left Glacier Bay and headed back to Hoonah to wait out a small craft advisory. Hoonah is a good place for this as it is very sheltered and the dock has good water and power. Annette and I knocked out a few loads of laundry and we walked to the Icy Strait Lodge for pizza that night.

7/3/2024 We moved on to Tenakee Springs, a small community of about 100 people on Chichagof Island. This is a mix of vacation homes and permanent residences. It looks like heaven for kids and dogs.

The town features a bath house with a 106 degree sulfur hot mineral spring for public bathing. Several large historic structures including Snyder Mercantile, The Shamrock Building and the newly restored St Francis Chapel, a Community Center, a Fire Hall, Ferry and Seaplane dock, a newly upgraded boat harbor and a great school facility can all be found in this wonderful little village. (Ref: https://tenakeespringsak.com)

Happy Fourth of July from Tenakee Springs

Bow riding Dall’s porpoises escorted us into Tenakee

Back to overcast and rainy as we entered Tenakee

7/3/2024 We took a stroll down the dirt road that runs the length of Tenakee. There are no roads coming into Tenakee and it looks like everyone here uses ATV quad vehicles as we use cars.

The main (only) road in Tenakee Springs

Brad tried using a timer to take our photo in front of the Tenakee sign. He didn’t quite make it in time in this one.

This one worked!

Tenakee Springs garden in full bloom

I am sure there is a story behind the flamingo collection

Seaplanes regularly come to Tenakee, as does our friend the Le Conte ferry

Snyder Mercantile has been here since the Alaskan gold rush

The public bath house features the 106 degree hot spring. This is a strictly “no swim suit” bath house with hours blocked for men and women. This hot spring has a strong sulfur odor so we didn’t use it.

There is a changing room at the entrance to the bath house

The bath is large enough for a few people

The Tenakee Volunteer Fire Station housed the only full-sized vehicle we saw

A sign said this is the “Public toilet”, it is attached to the Fire Station. We hope it is a joke.

Phil, Brad, and Marya at the far end of town from the marina

On the left we have a Nettie, on the right we have a nettle. Don’t confuse the two!

Looking back at the marina in Tenakee Springs, St. Florian at the left end, Kinship on the other side of the dock

7/4/2024 Happy Fourth of July. We decided to stick around for a second night in order to experience the celebration in Tenakee. The schedule of events includes a parade at 11 am, then a potluck lunch and bbq at noon. The sun came out and it was a beautiful day.

Every good Fourth of July parade should start with a fire engine

The floats included lots of red, white, and blue along with lots of kids and dogs

Even the dogs were decorated

It wasn’t a marching band, but it was good bluegrass music

There was a lot of enthusiasm on display

These cookies were adorable and yummy

We tried to explain to expat Phil that the Fourth of July is about hotdogs, not hamburgers

Annette can’t pass up a good swing

After the parade and celebrating, Phil and Annette decided to go fishing. We heard there were halibut nearby.

This fish did not pose well for Annette

Phil had to work to get the fish to the surface. Notice how bent the rod is.

Phil estimates that the fish was about 43 inches long, and about 37 pounds

But where is the fish now? Why don’t we have a picture of Phil posing with his halibut? Why are we not eating fresh halibut for dinner? You will have to ask Phil, or ask Annette. This was a big fish and they both had concerns about how to get it into the boat. Phil wasn’t sure of the size regulations and had no cell service to check regulations (not to mention he had his hands full). I’m not sure I would be excited about a fish this big flopping around in my dinghy with me, so I will cut them some slack and report that they decided to release this prize.

Tenakee was a fun stop that gave us a very interesting look at a small Alaska community.

Tenakee Springs shoreline

Happy Fourth of July to all

Route from North Sandy Cove, Glacier Bay to Hoonah to Tenakee Springs