August 28, 2009 – Travel to Whitehorse

We left Haines this morning in the sunshine, made it thru Canadian customs with no issues and headed up the pass.  And the clouds that were disappearing in Haines were hanging out in the mountains – LOL!

The mountains behind the clouds:

Coming into Haines Junction:

 

We were going to stay at the Million Dollar Falls Campground – but it was raining.  So we moved on.  As we were coming up the road, a huge grizzly ran right out in front of us.   Andy hit the brakes and I really thought we were going to hit him – oh my!!!  Sorry no pictures – LOL!!! 

We then went to Kathleen Lake Campground – still raining so we decided to just keep on going. 

We pulled in to a rest area and realized it was one of the stops we made on our way up.  So here are more then and now pictures:

April:

Now:

April:

Now:

April:

Now:

The red that you see on the mountain is the plants changing color for the fall.

  

We arrived in Whitehorse and are staying at the Pioneer RV Park for a few days.  As we were getting set up, Jan and Ken stopped by.  We met them at the Wasilla/Palmer Elks back in July and have been emailing ever since but just never crossing paths.  So it was good to see them and we made plans for dinner tomorrow.

And it was a real early night for me – just not feeling well.  I think it was a little left over from the boat trip yesterday.  (I may just quit going on boats!!)

Until tomorrow.

Stats:

Miles Traveled:  250 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Alaska: AK-7 (Haines Highway)

British Columbia:  PH-4 (Haines Highway)

Yukon: PH-3 (Haines Highway); PH-1 (Alaskan Highway)

August 27, 2009 – Juneau

We left this morning on Fjord Express – here is our boat:

The scenery was INCREDIBLE!!  Lots of mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, and the water is this color:

How about this:

The lighthouse – now defunct (and for sale – :-)):

And the wildlife – oh my!  Here are Stellar Sea Lions:

“Aren’t we just the cutest!”:

“I am the top dog, er seal, here.”

And I am going:

Going:

Gone:

 

We also saw lots of Bald Eagles:  

And this fellow who decided to check us out as we were checking him out – LOL:

We arrived in Juneau and took in the downtown area.  This town reminded us so much of Pottsville and Minersville – our hometowns.  The buildings were close to each other, many built on the side of the hills, and narrow street.

We did spent time in one of the Museums on the history of Juneau and the role it played during the gold rush days.  We had lunch at the harbor and watched the float planes take off and land – neat! 

From there we headed out to Mendenhall Glacier

 

 

Since we only had a short time there, we took a short walk around and then stopped in the Visitor Center.

And before we knew it, we were back at the boat and on our way back to Haines.  All in all it was a great trip.

Tomorrow we head out so stay tuned.

August 26, 2009 – Just a Regular Day

We moved this morning from the state park to the Elks in Haines – full hookups plus cable TV – Wow!  We spent the rest of the day doing some things around the motor home, getting some groceries, etc.  We did stop in to the Lodge – very nice people and lodge.

Tomorrow we are scheduled for a day cruise to Juneau so stay tuned.

August 25, 2009 - Skagway

Today we took the Fast Ferry to Skagway to spend the day.  Here is our boat with Haines in the background:

Coming into the port of Skagway – this is what thousands of gold rush stampeders saw over 100 years ago.

 

Another view of coming into port.  Those ships you see are the HUGH cruise ships – about 12 stories above water.

The National Park Service has a very big presence here in Skagway.  They have restored 17 buildings and are working on restoring more of them.  Many of the buildings are either museums or shops.  So we spent some time in the museums, walking the streets, seeing some of the shops, and seeing some of the Park Service movies.  Skagway became a town during the gold rush time of the late 1800’s.  It was only of the drop off points for the stampeders.  From here, they had to go over the White Pass to Dawson.   Since Dawson is in Canada, the Canadian government became concerned that many people would not be prepared for the journey.  So they required each person to carry a year’s worth of supplies.  Here is the list:

Can you imagine!!  It took several trips to carry these loads thru the passes.  Oh my!

Some of the buildings – check out the wooden sidewalks:

 

This is the Mascot Saloon that was just restored.  When they dug up the floor, they found over 19,000 artifacts buried.

More buildings:

 

How about these ladies (?):

It was an interesting day!!

August 24, 2009 – Bears, Fish Wheels, and Eagles

We started out slow today – a non travel day – Yea!!

Here is our campsite:

This really is a beautiful area.

Chilkoot Lake:

Our first stop today was the Fjord Express Office – we booked a tour to Juneau for Thursday.  Then the visitor center and then the Fast Ferry Office – we booked a Fast Ferry to Skagway tomorrow.

Next stop was Portage Cove.  Here is Haines:

Across the Cove – between those mountain in the center is the way to Skagway:

We came back and had lunch and headed out again.  As we got to the day area in the park, we were in for a treat:

  Check out the claws:

MMMMMM Good:

And my favorite photo – it just says Alaska to me:

 

When he was done, he swam out then floated down the river – this is the original float trip – LOL!

Folks, life doesn’t get any better than this!!!!   We watched this bear for quite a while.  There was a park ranger by the lake and told us that there are 15 bears in this short stretch of the river and they have collared 2 of them – this was one of them.  He also said there was a blond grizzly here but he is not seen very often.   What a treat for us!   (I have NEVER been that close to a grizzly!).

We did a short stop at the counter fence – check out the salmon.  If you look real close at the fence/water line you can see their faces.

 

And another look at the Chilkoot River:

We made a stop at the Fairgrounds to see Dalton City – the movie set for “White Fang”.  (Note to self – rent it!)

 

One of the fish wheels on the Chilkat River:

Our last stop was the Bald Eagle Museum.  Wonderful museum – a great movie on the eagles and their habitat. 

If you have been wondering about the weather here….  Well, it is the fall and we are on the coast and this is rainforest country so….  it is raining – LOL!!!

We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and watching videos.