Sally Saw...: Skagway

Saturday, July 2, 2016

Alaska Adventure Part Four - Alaska Marine Highway

This part of our journey in Alaska took us on the Alaska Marine Highway, aka a ferry ride! We caught the M/V Columbia, AMH's largest ferry, out of Skagway to Haines for a one-hour ferry ride. Short ride but the wait to load was much longer. It took three-plus hours for them to unload the vessel upon arriving in Skagway and then load all of the waiting vehicles, mostly RVs. For those familiar with the Washington State ferry system, or other ferries where you drive on and off from the bow and stern, this ferry required us to load from the side. We drove down a ramp onto a concrete dock and then on to another ramp up into the vehicle area where we were squeezed into line on the car deck. That wasn't too bad. Uh-huh. Eek!

Waiting for the Ferry

Loading Dock for the M/V Columbia

Leaving Skagway

Heading to Haines

Cruise Ship Leaving Skagway

We ate dinner in the snack bar area of the boat since we figured it would be after 8 p.m. before we would arrive at our next destination. We had cold sandwiches, chips and a piece of pie. Yup, main course and dessert along with a beverage. If the ride would have been longer, we would have opted to eat in the main dining room, complete with real plates and silverware. And tablecloths to boot!

Upon reaching Haines, the real experience of the ferry ride began. We would have to back up out of the lane we were parked in to get off of the boat! Yikes! Luckily the ferry workers know their stuff. There were about 5 lanes in our area and we were in lane 4 facing the stern. One by one, they emptied the five lanes behind us until it was our turn. Then the worker guided us backwards, telling George which way to turn the steering wheel and when to turn it hard to get the trailer to pivot. We were almost up against the outside wall of the boat with the back of the trailer. Then we were able to pull forward and out the side door of the ferry onto the ramp. Freedom!! It felt good to be out of there because I found the process very nerve wracking and I wasn't even the one driving. Good job, George!

We spent the night at Haines Hitch-up RV park. Very nicely kept, fairly wide grassy sites, and FREE hot showers. Oooh, that felt so good. I liked the town of Haines. It wasn't so tourist-y as Skagway and they had a much nicer grocery store.

The next morning we departed for Haines Junction back in the Yukon. The Haines highway is extremely scenic, especially once you cross back into Canada and are high up in the mountains. We saw one bear and I glimpsed my first cow moose in the trees up near Haines Junction. Mom and George say it doesn't count because they didn't see it. Well, I did so I'm counting it.

Haines Highway View from the Back Seat

Glacier

See-More on the Haines Highway

Panoramic View

Blurry Bear Pic Proof

We stayed at Pine Lake campground, a Yukon government park. Wow! That was camping. No hookups, but a huge wooded site with the biggest picnic table I have seen. It must have a been a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood with a fresh coat of green enamel paint. We were entertained by the squirrels chasing each other around the trees in our site. Trip sure enjoyed it. Yukon parks provide free firewood so we had a nice little campfire that night. It was a perfect ending to the day.

Our Giant Picnic Table

Nice Campfire

Squirrel Entertainment

More Entertainment

Another good thing of note is the revamped cat carrying area. We bought a piece of cut-to-size lumber in Skagway, and I covered it with non-skid shelf liner. It is working out great! The carriers are more stable and I think the kitties are happier.

Revised Cat Carrier Platform

Friday, July 1, 2016

Alaska Adventure Part Three - Finally, Alaska!

Alaska Adventure Part Three - On To Skagway

We hit our first real gravel road surface in a construction zone as we pulled out of the campground in Watson Lake. Not sure if it was a good thing, but the water truck had gone up the road just in front of us. No dust, but mud to deal with. Poor See-More. It has had its first initiation of road grime on from the Alcan.

Road Construction on the Alcan Highway

See-More's New Livery

We stopped for coffee and sweet rolls at a cafe at Rancheria (ran-chur-REE-a) that George had visited on a previous trip. New owners and no sweet rolls either. So we had little fruit bread loaves in place of them. Meh, just okay.

It was a short drive day (less than 150 miles) to Teslin, YT where we stopped for the night. More tight sites and limited wi-fi at the cafe building. The mosquitos were out in force so I opted to not feed the blood-thirsty little buggers just to have internet.

Leaving Teslin for Skagway, Alaska the next morning, I saw one bear then farther up the road, another two on the way to Carcross, YT.

What's that up ahead?

Why, it's a black bear!

Finally, we made it to Alaska on June 24th! Crossing into the U.S. was a breeze. From Customs, it was a 13% road grade winding down into Skagway.

Cool cloud formation

We're here!!

Waterfalls along the road

Hello, Skagway!

We stayed at an older RV park near the edge of town in Skagway. No wi-fi, unless you want to pony up $$$, but we had cell service and a few TV channels. Skagway is a real tourist trap because of the cruise ships that come into the port daily during the cruise ship season. Tons of jewelry stores on the main drag.

Cruise ships in port

Saturday we went to Dyea (Die-eeee) and saw our first brown, aka grizzly, bear. We had driven out on the tidal flats and there he was, off in the distance, safely away from us.

One of the bays on the way to Dyea

Mr. Grizzly

Tidal Flats at Dyea

Wild Iris at Dyea

The highlight of our visit to Skagway was riding the narrow-gauge White Pass and Yukon railroad. It was built to make it easier for men get to get to the goldfields in the Klondike during the Gold Rush of 1898. Started in May 1898, it took two years, two months, and two days to complete the 110 miles of railroad. By then, the gold rush was over. Today it gives visitors a glimpse back in time to the turn of the 20th century.