Uncruise Adventure Day Four

 As far as adventures go, Wednesday was a pretty calm day and it was a welcome day to rest from adventure.  We had the first half of the day cruising on the boat.  The kids played games and colored and sat in the hot tub and watched movies and I don't know what else.  I read for a while, hung out with them, and visited with other passengers.  After lunch the park docked in Wrangell and we disembarked for an afternoon in this small Alaskan town.  First up was a visit to a Tlingit tribal house.  We got to meet some folks from the Tlingit tribe and they sang and danced for us and told a story as well.  We learned some things about their tribes and about the tribal house.  There were lots of totems around town as well that were interesting to see.  After the Tlingit presentation, we visited the local museum and then walked around town for a bit.

Most of us bought garnets from these girls before heading back to the ship.  There is an interesting story behind this and I probably don't have it all right but I'll try.  There is a lot of garnets in this area and a big mine on a nearby island.  It somehow got deeded to the children of Wrangell.  They told us why but I don't remember...anyway, the kids of Wrangell do the mining and then set up tables to sell their garnets to the tourists that come through their town in the summer.  They all do the mining and take turns selling and then decide together how to spend their money.  One year, they bought a couple of ATVs and all took turns with them.  I think one of these girls said they either had gone or were going to Disneyland with money made from their sales.  Of course we bought a few.  How could you not??