Haines, Alaska

Shortly before arriving in Haines, we again crossed the US border from Yukon Territory into Alaska with no problems and continued the beautiful journey. We decided--as we had several times previously--that this was the most gorgeous drive of the trip! It seems that every road we take becomes our new favorite, and Haines Highway was no exception. The people who told us it was a beautiful drive definitely were not exaggerating!

Our first stop was at the 33 Mile Restaurant on the outskirts of Haines, where we had been told Haines residents drive for their excellent burgers and fries. Though it was late in the afternoon, we hadn't eaten lunch yet, so we had to check to see if they really were good enough for a 33 mile drive--they were!! And so was their homemade pie! Outstanding!

At the edge of Haines we stopped at the Council Grounds Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve along the banks of the Chilkat River. We didn't spot any bald eagles, but the view and the peacefulness were a fitting introduction to Haines.

We checked into the Haines Hitch-up RV Park, which turned out to be by far the best RV Park we've found yet--even better than Hi Country in Whitehorse, and until now, none had rivaled it. Their flowers alone would have almost sold me, but grassy campsites and sparklingly clean bathrooms clinched it!

Thinking of my friend Susan when I took these flower pictures :) . . . (I have even more to show you when we get home, Susan!)

We then drove around Haines, which we decided was our favorite town of all! We went to the ferry office and purchased tickets for the ferry ride to Skagway the next day, then drove along the shore. We considered staying in Haines another day, but the weather was supposed to still be sunny the next day but cloudy the day after that, and we wanted to take the ferry in nice weather.

Chilkoot Inlet in Haines

The white spot at the base of the mountain is a cruise ship, probably on its way from Juneau to Skagway (sorry, picture's a little crooked--hazards of picture-taking out the window while traveling!)

We drove out to Chilkoot Lake Park because we heard bears had been spotted there recently. Several people there said a sow bear and her two cubs had been there an hour earlier, but we didn't see them in our drive around the park and frequent stops.

Several fishermen were fishing in the Chilkoot River, though.

Chilkoot Lake

We sat beside the lake for a while, hoping the bears would show up. Reportedly another sow with three cubs and a couple more lone bears have been seen in the area. We watched a bald eagle perched in a tree by the lake, but no sign of bears, and we gave up and left when the bugs became too pesky. Some friends we had met in Chicken (from Dayton, Ohio) and kept meeting up with along the way and who were also staying at the same campground a couple campsites away, got to the park shortly after we left and saw the bears! We should have stayed longer! They got some great pictures and video of them fishing and the mama bear teaching the youngsters how to catch fish.

While they were watching the bears we just missed, we were sitting by the side of the Chilkat Inlet watching boats go by and enjoying the sunshine and blue skies!

Cruise ship and ferry passing each other

We'll be on the ferry tomorrow on our way to Skagway!