Haines, Alaska & Skagway, Alaska

07/29/07 - 07/31/07

We spent three days in Haines and Skagway. We arrived by ferry on the first day, spent the second day in Skagway, and returned to Haines for the third day.

On the first day, we arrived in Haines late morning. We were met at the ferry by Mardell and Diz. Dave and Nancy had met Mardell while hitchhiking in New Zealand many years ago. While Nancy and Mardell did some hiking, Diz took Dave, Curtis, and me fishing. He showed us how Alaskans do subsistence fishing by setting up gill nets. We helped him put out a net and collect fish from it. Afterwards, we all went out to Chilkat State Park and grilled some of the fish. The food and scenery were both top-notch.

The second day was a long day. We had to get up at 2:30 AM to catch a 4:00 AM ferry to Skagway. We left our RVs behind. We arrived in Skagway about 5:30 and walked around town until a local cafe opened at 6:00 and then we had some breakfast. We then went for a ride on the White Pass & Yukon Route narrow gauge railroad. The route follows closely the White Pass Trail which was used by prospectors in the 1898 Klondike gold rush.

After the train ride, we grabbed lunch and went to the airport. We left from there for a one and a half hour flightseeing trip over Glacier Bay National Park. This was an amazing trip! We were flying just above the mountains and glaciers. All you could see was rock and ice. I almost didn't want to put the camera between me and the view., but I did manage to fire off quite a few shots. The pilot took us back to Haines.

After sleeping in late to recover from the long day yesterday, we went out to Mardell's and Diz's house and spent the day with them. We did a short hike and we were fed a couple of great meals. Mardell and Diz, thanks for the great time!!

Glacier Bay National Park
Steve Winker