Hangin’ in Haines

It was cloudy and kind of chilly here today in Haines, AK, but at least it didn’t rain too much. I snapped a few pictures from right in front of our motorhome first thing this morning (including the panoramic one, above). The sites are very close together, but the view of the ocean, etc. makes up for the lack of space.

A little later in the morning, we got on our bikes and pedaled four miles along the coast road to the ferry. It was a pretty good workout as there were a few steep hills and we had a head-wind coming back. I had reserved our ferry back in June, and all we had to do today was get the physical tickets issued. Should have been simple but it took the fellow half an hour to get a glitch sorted out. So, it’s a good thing we did it today when we had lots of time, rather than waiting until we arrived to board Friday morning.

We saw several bald eagles along the way, but weren’t able to get any good pictures. I took some other nice ones, though. The red seaweed makes an interesting colour-contrast.

This is the last hill leading down to town. The white buildings in the picture belong to Fort Seward, the first American permanent army post in Alaska. It was built in 1902, at least partially in response to the ongoing border dispute between the U.S. and Canada. Canada claimed this little strip of coastline between the ocean and B.C. (the inside passage) but an international tribunal found in favour of the U.S. and southeast Alaska remains part of the U.S. The Fort was decommissioned in 1947 and today it is home to a number of hotels, restaurants and art galleries.

We had a real treat today when Sharon and Don Del Rosario dropped by for a visit. I have been following Sharon’s blog (http://shadonrv.blogspot.com/) since before we left home as they headed to Alaska in May, a month before we did. Sharon has been a wealth of information and we have been exchanging information as we go. We’ve been close and probably passed each other on the highway once or twice, and today we got to meet in person! We had a really nice visit in our motorhome and they are picking us up tomorrow evening to go check out the bears at Chilkoot Lake. Apparently there are several feeding there.

Mid-afternoon, when I was biking with the dogs, I noticed the clouds had lifted and I was able to see the mountains and glaciers which surround Haines.

The other thing that caught my eye when I was out taking pictures of the mountains was the crows. Noisy things woke us up this morning! Here are several gathered on a piece of driftwood on the beach in front of the motorhome.

Late in the afternoon, we pedaled over to Fort Seward to have a look at the historic properties and shops. You can really get a feel for what a grand location it was. Most of the buildings, today, are either private residences or small businesses. These houses are in Soapsuds Alley, where the NCO’s lived. Their wives would do laundry for the officers, throwing the water out on the street to drain down to the harbour, thus the name.

Behind Fran in this picture, is the parade grounds and the homes of the officers.

The larger building in this picture was the hospital for the Fort. It is used to house Alaskan artists today.

We had an early supper at an excellent restaurant called ‘Fireweed’. It is obviously a local favourite with lots of people standing around waiting for tables by 6:00 p.m. I had trouble making a choice as so many dishes looked appealing but decided on a flatiron steak salad. It was very good. Fran really enjoyed his pizza, too.

A couple we had met last night at the crab feast joined us, due to the shortage of tables. They used to be the camp hosts at the park we are staying at but now live in a house just up the hill. We had a good visit with them and after supper, Ruth took us for a drive. We went up Mount Riley which is across the cove and from there had a great view of the town, the cruise ship, etc. She gave us a nice tour of the area.

Haines Junction, Yukon Territory to Haines, Alaska

Haines, Alaska is on the ocean, at the top of Lynn Canal (which is actually a huge fjord). It’s only 15 miles by ocean from Skagway (which is also on Lynn Canal), but it's 359 miles by land.

Haines Junction is in the Yukon Territory, on the Alaska Highway. It was a construction site when the highway was built and is now the headquarters for Kluane National Park. It is a 233 km drive down the Haines Highway to get to Haines, Alaska.

We had hoped for some scenic views on the drive but it rained all the way and the clouds were so low that sometimes they were lower than the highway! It’s too bad we weren’t able to see more as it is supposed to be really scenic with the high peaks of the Kluane National Park along the west side of the highway and other mountains on the east.

We did enjoy all the dark pink fireweed in the ditches and the impressive rivers.

The rivers are flowing fast and look really full (that makes sense since they start with melting glaciers).

We went through the Chilkat mountain pass, a piece of British Columbia and ended with a fairly steep, long decline to the Chilkat River which drains into Lynn Canal. We saw a few people fishing and a couple of fish wheels on the Chilkat River, but it seems the salmon aren’t running yet here. Fish wheels rotate slowly, with the current, and scoop up any fish that swim into it. These ones are catching fish to be tagged and released but the natives are still allowed to use them for fishing.

We drove past the 48,000 acre Bald Eagle Preserve but didn’t stop due to the rain. I did see one sitting on a dead tree branch. They sure are huge birds! In the fall, about 3,000 bald eagles come to the preserve along the Chilkat River.

The Haines Highway is really good except for a 21 km section which is under repair in B.C. The pavement has been stripped and gravel/oil laid down.

The Oceanview RV Park in Haines, our home for the next three nights, is small and there is barely enough room for us to back in. However, the view is fabulous and the owner/manager is really nice. She organized a crab feast/potluck supper for tonight that we were happy to get in on.

We look out on the ocean and have seen a bald eagle fly by. Apparently whales and other sealife are seen from time to time as well. There are a few cruise ships here each week but it isn’t anywhere near as ‘touristy’ as some Alaskan towns we’ve been to. There was one cruise ship here today. We could see it out our front window:

As I write this blog, we are watching cruise ships sail down Lynn Canal. They must be coming from Skagway. It is fairly dark so the lights of the ships look really pretty. We are noticing the days getting shorter as we travel south and the calendar advances. Soon we won’t have to double-cover the windows in order to sleep!

It rained most of the day but after setting up, we went for a short bike ride uptown (it is uphill, unfortunately) to pick up a few things from the grocery store and get oriented.

Supper was great! We each got a big crab and the potluck selection was a good complement. The crabs were delicious (fresh off the boat this afternoon).

I made a pecan pie last night which disappeared in a hurry. I never got a piece, but Fran made sure he did. This is Joyce, the owner/manager, showing us how to eat crab! LOL

The forecast is for more rain for the next few days – I sure hope not as it isn’t much fun sight-seeing by bike in the rain.

Haines Junction, Yukon

It started raining in the night and was coming down pretty steady when we got on the road this morning, but it had pretty well stopped by the time we crossed the border into Canada.

It gradually cleared and we were able to see some of the beautiful scenery this portion of the road is famous for.

The highway from Beaver Creek, YT (at the border) as far as Destruction Bay, YT (about 200 km), was really bad. However, it was nowhere near as bad as the Top of the World Highway. Yes, it was really rough, and in some sections, 50 km/hr was too fast, but at least we weren’t in danger of sliding or tipping off the road!

There were washboard sections:

And lots of frost heaves and dips.

There is a huge highway improvement project underway (The Shakwak Project), which has been realigning and improving the 500 kilometers between Haines Junction and the Alaska Border. In fact, improvements to the road have been worked on continuously since the Alaska Highway was first punched through the wilderness in 10 short months in 1942. However, the section that we found so bad today, has been stumping the pioneer and modern day engineers alike. This section of the highway is laid on soil that is of glacial origin. The black road surface causes the permafrost to melt and the ice-rich soil underneath to liquefy. The liquid soil has little strength so it settles. Then, when it refreezes in the winter, it expands and heaves. They are experimenting with some different techniques to make it more stable, like these strange things along the roadway:

After the weather cleared up in the afternoon we were treated to some beautiful views of the Snow-covered Kluane Mountain Range, River and Lake. Mount Logan, Canada’s highest peak at 19,545 feet is in Kluane National Park (although you can’t see it from the highway).

We stopped for lunch at the Kluane River Overlook. It drains Kluane Lake into the Yukon River.

The wildflowers along the road were beautiful. These were at the Kluane River Overlook:

Later we drove along the shore of Kluane Lake. It is huge (400 square kilometers) and a beautiful blue colour when the sun shines on it. It reminds me of the colour of the glacier ice.

We stopped at the south end of the lake to take some pictures and let the cairns go wading. I love this picture of Gino!

This is Sheep Mountain and it has a large Dall Sheep population which can be viewed from the Visitor Information Centre.

We got to Haines Junction at about 4:00 p.m. after covering a little more than 300 kms in 6 hours of driving. We stopped at the Kluane National Park Visitor Information Centre and watched a film on the park. The park is almost 22,000 sq. km. and has very limited public access. It was created to protect the unique North Coast Mountains natural regions. It is dominated by mountains and ice. The Kluane Iceflield is one of the largest non-polar icefields in the world. Mount Logan rises out of this ice. The only way to see much of the park is flightseeing which is a little out of our price range. We have to be content with seeing it from the highway.

We may get some nice views tomorrow as we drive along the edge of the park on our way to the coastal city of Haines, Alaska. Yes, we’re only spending one day in Canada then right back into Alaska again for a few more weeks.

Back on the Alaska Highway

We drove on up to join the Alaska Highway at Tok, with just a quick lunch stop at the historic Mentosta Lodge. It is out in the middle of nowhere, but it did have internet access so I could post yesterday’s blog.

The weather was drizzly and grey with one final cloudburst just as we stopped for fuel at Tok ($4.189/gal).

After Tok, we had mixed sun and clouds and it was possible to get a few decent pictures of the scenery. This is a ‘scenic byway’, but it needs to be clear to get good views of the Wrangell Mountains and the Alaska Range.

There isn’t much civilization along this whole stretch of the highway and the scenery consists of mainly scraggly black spruce over permafrost, scattered lakes, rivers and rocks.

This pretty spot is Midway Lake.

Tok River (pictured) starts at Tok Glacier then flows into the Tanana which flows into the Yukon which flows into the Bering Sea.

The road was pretty rough in spots so it took us about six hours to drive 343 km. We hear that the next stretch of road (starting at the Canadian border) is REALLY bad so will tackle that first thing in the morning when we are fresh.

We are spending the night at ‘Border City’ which really isn’t even a town, it’s just a couple of RV parks on the U.S. side of the border between Alaska and the Yukon Territory.

There is a big grassy area in front of our RV and since there wasn’t anyone else around when we pulled in, we got to play ball with Gino and Reba. Such fun for them! We haven’t let them off-leash, other than on the beach at Homer, all trip.

It is about 200 miles to Haines Junction, YT which is our goal for tomorrow night.

Leaving Valdez

We weren’t in any hurry to get on the road this morning, so it was almost noon before we pulled out of the Bear Paw RV Park in Valdez. I kind of hated to leave as we really liked it here in Valdez and the park was comfortable and well-located. Oh well, it was time to get back on the road again.

We don’t have to be anywhere particular until next Friday (July 29) when we start the inside passage ferry portion of our Alaska trip. So, we’ve got almost one week to get to Haines.

After lunch at the Fu Kung Chinese restaurant and picking up some groceries at the Safeway, we started back up the Richardson highway into the interior of Alaska. The scenery of the Keystone Canyon and Thompson Pass was even nicer than on our trip into Valdez since it was mostly sunny today.

This is a picture of the Keystone Canyon. Horsetail Falls is visible on the left. (Just ignore the dead bug smear on the windshield.)

This picture is the view from the top looking down into the valley.

These show the rugged summit of Thompson Pass.

We stopped at a couple places we missed on the way down. First, we stopped at a Trans-Alaska Pipeline access point where we got right up close to the pipeline. They have put up some signboards there which explain some of the features. E.g. It is high up so wildlife can pass underneath undisturbed. There are cooling wands built into the supports to make sure the warmth created by the pipeline is dissipated and the permafrost doesn’t melt. It zig-zags to allow for movement, expansion, etc. without fracturing the pipeline. It is almost 800 miles long and more than half of it is above ground. They did have to blast through the rock in Thompson Pass so they could bury it to avoid the heavy snowfall and avalanches potentially damaging the pipeline. And, if they ever quit using it, everything has to be removed and the ground restored!

Our other stop of note was at the 13.2 million acre Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (America’s largest National Park). We looked at the exhibits and watched a film at the visitor centre but the park itself is really not accessible to ordinary mortals. It has nine of the thirteen highest mountain peaks in North America and one of its icefields is as big as Rhode Island. The entire park is the same size as Connecticut! Gorgeous looking place and it’s great they are preserving this piece of wilderness. I cooked supper there then we started driving north again.

We didn’t go much further and stopped for the night at the Dry Creek State Recreation Area just north of Glenallen. It’s a nice, treed, campsite and would be great to have a fire, but there is no firewood here. Guess you’re supposed to bring your own.

There are only a few travelers (like us) in this campground. The salmon are running in the Kenai Peninsula so that must be where all the Alaskans are. We heard on the news that there are so people trying to fish there that fistfights are breaking out in campgrounds and on the rivers. They call it ‘combat fishing’! I’m glad we’re not there now. They have had some serious accidents on the Seward Highway, even closed it for a while on Thursday (three people were killed). This is the same highway we took to and from Homer a week or so ago.

For the next few days, my internet access will be a little hit and miss. E.g. here the cellphone signal isn’t strong enough to use my Verizon air card. And, once we’re in Canada (likely by the end of today), I won’t be able to use it at all. But I’ll get the blog caught up when I can.

Stan Stephens Glacier & Wildlife Cruise

We had a beautiful day for our seven-hour cruise in Prince William Sound – sunny and calm. It still got pretty chilly up next to the Columbia Glacier, though (as you can tell by all the coats we are wearing).

Our boat hadn’t even left the Port of Valdez, when we saw lots of cute Sea Otters. They look like a bunch of driftwood or something!

On the way to the Columbia Glacier, we sailed past an old gold mine. It was a large operation in the 1930’s, but the dock and most of the buildings were washed away following the 1964 earthquake.

There were many lovely waterfalls coming down from the smaller glaciers up in the mountains. This is a fjord, so the mountain slopes pretty much continue underwater. It is over 1,500 feet deep in most places!

The Columbia Glacier is massive, although it is actively retreating into the Chugach Mountains. It is the second largest tidewater glacier in the U.S., although most of it is below water. Massive amounts of ice are calving every day, we saw one ‘splash’, and there are icebergs floating miles away in addition to right in front of the glacier.

The blue ice is the prettiest. This is the densest ice, so only the blue part of the colour spectrum shows through.

Some ice has interesting ‘stripes’ caused by the gravel and dirt that is caught up in the ice.

There were lots of Stellar Sea Lions hanging around the ice-strewn water and on the ice chunks. Brrrrr!

We were able to get much closer to the glacier than usual since the terminal moraine which holds icebergs in a sort of bay in front of the glacier was fairly ice-free. We were able to sail over the moraine ridge (about 60 ft of water) and navigate carefully through the growlers, bergy bits and icebergs to get within half a mile of the glacier.

We spent quite a bit of time in this area right in front of the glacier then slowly and carefully sailed back out of the inner glacial bay. We got some great pictures of glacial ice.

The crew fished up a couple pieces of ice to put in lemonade – see how clear it is!

Before heading back to Valdez, the captain took us past Point Bull Head which is ‘the’ place to hang out if you’re a Stellar Sea Lion (reminded me of Waikiki Beach in Hawaii). There were hundreds of them up on the shore rocks and frolicking in the water. We got lots of pictures and I got a videoclip of a group horsing around right beside the boat.

There were some puffins in this area, too.

We also saw a couple of Dall Porpoises accompanying a fishing boat. They are hard to see, but believe me, they are there!

We also saw half a dozen humpback whales on the way home. We had to have lots of patience to wait for the whales to resurface after each time they dived. The crew didn’t mind waiting to make sure we got to see the whales and we got back to the dock about one hour later than expected.

The captain pointed out Bigh Reef, the location where the Exxon Valdez ran aground, and recapped that sad story. It was just after passing through the Narrows:

There are lots of commercial fishing vessels in the Valdez small boat harbour. The Coast Guard has a very visible presence, too, with both small and large ships. Note the machine gun on the small coast guard boat!

The dogs were fine, but happy to see us. We felt bad leaving them so long, but they’ve already forgiven and forgotten!