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Day 11: Skagway, AK to Haines, AK

Trip Log for 5 Jun 2012

  • Miles Driven: 23
  • Miles by Ferry: 19.6
  • Sunrise: 03:49 AKT / Sunset: 22:09 AKT

We had a chance to sleep in again today, though it was a bit difficult since our room had large windows near the ceiling that couldn't be covered so it was very light in there the whole night. It was nice to have a lazy morning though and we spent some time discussing how to finish up the trip. We're both feeling pretty home sick and despite my efforts to plan this trip out better, I think two weeks is just too long to be away. I'd probably shoot for 10 days next time. We decided that tomorrow we're going to push through to Tok instead of camping in Kluane National Park so that we can get back to Anchorage a day sooner and just have some downtime before leaving.

We ventured out into the cruise ship mob (there were four in port today) at about 11:00 after checking out in search of some breakfast and it seems the only place serving any way the same Stowaway Cafe. Wes got some tasty halibut eggs Benedict and I had just eggs, an English muffin with hash browns and everything was excellent once again. Following this, we walked around town a bit and looked into a few shops in search of a necklace for Wes and some native artwork for me. I like to collect bear figurines on my trip and I found a small jade grizzly bear. Wes has wanted a jade pendant in the shape of the "circle of life" and finally found one after almost giving up that he would.

Off the main drag in Skagway were some interesting landmarks like the first granite building in Alaska that was built as a women's college in 1900 that now serves as city hall and a museum as well as an old section of train for the White Pass where there also happened to be a geocache. Additionally, we stumbled upon a salmon fish hatchery building that was built by the local high school students back in the 1980s and then we drove part of the Dyea Road so that we could see the town from above. At 15:15, we lined up for the ferry which took us the short distance down the Lynn Canal, the deepest fjord in North America at over 2,000 feet, over to Haines. This ride takes about an hour as the cities are only about 20 miles apart as the crow flies; if you drive to Haines, it's about 350 miles and takes nine hours.

I'm liking Haines much, much more than Skagway. It's small and quiet, nestled in woods along a quiet cove. We're staying in the Beach Roadhouse just south of town. It started to rain as we approached Haines and has been drizzling off and on. It's a bit colder too. We had a really good dinner at the Fireweed Restaurant and Wes was able to sample a local beer made from spruce tips. We also met an older man who retired to Haines and was wearing a Longhorns hat. We let him know we're from Austin and went to UT as well (he was class of 1968) and he offered to buy me a drink as a graduation gift. I got a cookie instead. The view from our room is really comforting and I can't wait to be home in a few days.

building with a sign reading 'Sgt. Preston's Lodge'

Our lodging in Skagway

view down an alley towards building with false fronts

Some of the false-front buildings in downtown for that pioneer feel

teal-colored building with a sign reading 'Stowaway Cafe'

Stowaway Cafe

an old rust train engine in the forest

Old engine and train cars from the White Pass line

old stone chimney with a granine building behind it

Chimney from the Pullen Homestead with the granite city hall building behind it

view down a street of buildings with false fronts

Playing around with camera settings for an 'old time' feel

close in view of a purple lupine flower

Artistic shot of a lupine

ferry ship in port

Our ferry for the trip to Haines, the M/V Malaspina

cruise ships in the distance across a body of water

Hurray, leaving Skagway and the cruise ships

couple in rain jackets standing on a ferry

On the ferry, in the rain, again

statue of a giant hammer in front of a small building with a sign reading 'The Hammer Museum'

Haines is home to the world's only hammer museum.