Pulling into the ferry terminal parking lot an hour or so before loading time, we found that many of our fellow passengers were already there, Marie and Philippe among them. Someone behind the desk had done their magic and now our friends were ticketed and ready to go. When we found them they were hard at work on a puzzle. Guess a lot of folks spend time waiting here as 3 or 4 other tables also sported puzzles, though no one was working on them. Over the course of the next hour and a half (the ferry was late) Philippe and Jim made quite a bit of progress. Occasionally being encouraged by other people waiting in the lobby and the ferry employees, too, who indicated that seldom do passengers get as close to finishing as these boys were. Marie and Susan mostly looked at the colors and wondered when they’d get to board so they could get some rest. Did we mention the ferry was due to leave at 12:30 AM?

Finally the ship arrived, folks got moving and Marie and Susan headed toward the door. JC (remember our friend from Fairbanks/Denali?) had clued us in long ago about insuring the best ferry experience. Since one can not sleep in one’s vehicle on the 40 hour ride down to Prince Rupert, B.C., the choices are to pay for a berth or sleep on the top deck in the Solarium. This was the area behind the ship’s bridge with walls of windows down each side and a roof about half way to the back of the boat, but open in the rear- so sort of outside, but with some protection from the wind. We planned on camping out up there on lounge chairs for the two nights we
would spend aboard. In order to get the primo Solarium spots we had been advised by JC to split up, one person parking the vehicle and the other getting on earlier with the “walk-ons”. Seemed like a good plan, but when the ladies left the guys were still hard at work on the puzzle, showing no indication of leaving with some 30 pieces of blue sky still laying out on the table. Hmmmm, well hopefully they’d make it. Otherwise it would be a long drive to get down to where they could pick up their women (if they wanted to even face what that might be like!

Susan and Marie secured the best looking ‘camp’ spot, out of the wind, but we would later find out was quite noisy due to the engine room right behind the bridge-who knew? They were watching from the back deck as vehicles started loading. Still no sign of Jim and Philippe as the rows of cars, trucks and a couple campers slowly made their way down the ramp onto the lowest deck. Not good. Then, just as the crew guy started waving on the row with the empty VW bus, the missing drivers appeared and made it to their respective rides just in time. Whew! It was quite a sight (and gave Susan a serious appreciation for the size of this ferry) when Thumper finally began the slow decent onto the “Taku”. Shortly after all were reunited on the top deck, Jim and Philippe admitted that they just couldn’t leave until the puzzle was finished-even though they were the very LAST people in the lobby-the desk crew was cheering them on as they raced against the departure clock. Fortunately they made it, with no time to spare, but with a true sense of satisfaction nonetheless.

Even though it was after 1:00am by the time the Taku pulled away from the dock, it was hard to settle down. The full moon was shining bright over the water and reflecting off the snow covered mountains on either side of the fjord with magical silver light. Haines was a sparkling little nook in the vast landscape growing smaller and smaller as we headed out into the night. Jim, Philippe and Susan shared sips from a flask of Pendleton (yes fans, the best whiskey ever IS available in the Great North) while Marie somehow managed to get to sleep despite the pumping engines. It was a long while we watched the passing of Alaska over the dark water. One by one the need for sleep overwhelmed the excitement and noise. Finally it was just Jim, who decided sleeping under the stars was the way to go, so he pulled his lounger out onto the open deck and snuggled into his trusty down sleeping bag.

Dawn was breaking as the Taku pulled into Juneau’s ferry terminal. The capitol of Alaska was not visible from here and in fact was about 10 miles away, so we decided to just take a walk along the road to stretch our legs for the hour we had on shore. A bald eagle, clearly bored of humans, watched us from the top of a pier. It was a crisp and clear morning with Alaska once again showing off her beauty. Here there were islands and inlets a plenty, all adorned in the rich greens of a well-watered landscape. Houses were tucked in under impressive trees, surrounded by plants that carpeted every surface that wasn’t rock. Many flowers were still in bloom, leaving us to believe that winter was still a little ways off here in the Inside Passage.

Back on the boat, the day was spent watching incredible landscape pass as we chugged along. There were sightings of porpoise and seals. Orcas, dorsal fins sticking 6 foot above the surface, fished for their lunch offshore. In the distance many times we saw pods of whales spouting and on a couple of occasions breaching, leaving us with the classic silhouette of whale-tail as they dove. The forward lounge was all glass and offered a comfortable, warm place from which to watch our progress. Though we had photos to download and stories to write, it was really impossible to do anything but watch this wonderful world go by. Susan had the pleasure of meeting a brother and sister traveling together back to the brother’s home in Ketchikan. They were both from Michigan. J Cathy had recently retired from the Coast Guard, where her last 15 years had been spent patrolling these waters. Scott had moved North after a visit to see her and never looked back. Though he admitted it was a bit hard to make a living in the fishing-town-turned-cruise-ship-mecca, he couldn’t imagine living anywhere

else. One of the things he said was that because of the isolation people get really good at entertaining themselves. Most all of the taverns in his town have live music nearly every night and there is a very active art community. As with most people we talked to, though they appreciated that the tourist dollars made it possible f or them to live in such a special place, there was still a collective sign of relief when the last ship left port for the winter. Scott and Cathy also had a remarkable knowledge of the sea life and geography of the region, which made for interesting conversation as we watched the water for signs of life.

Evening came and after a satisfying meal drawn from the coolers and giant bags of food in our ’camp’ we wandered back down to the front lounge to enjoy the view. Though we were all quite tired yesterday’s very late night, no one wanted to miss the passage through Wrangell Narrows. This section of the route wound though a very tight series of channels that brought the ship as close as 20 feet to shore. That may not sound like such a tight squeeze, but let me tell you, it’s a sight you’ll never forget when the front crewman turns the spotlight to the left and you see LAND right beside you! It was a wild, slow ride through a series of lit buoys that marked the water deep enough for the Taku. We were all praising the captain’s skill as the hours went by and we were still in narrow channels where one mistake could cause the ship to ground. Again, the moon created a glowing, mysterious feel reflecting on the water and lighting the not so distant landscape. By the time we were through there everyone was ready to fall asleep, pounding engines or no.

Dawn brought us to Ketchikan, our last stop in Alaska. There was enough time for a quick ride into town to check out the famous totem poles that adorn various street corners and parks.

Our bikes had not gotten as much use on the trip as we had hoped, but on this fine morning they were just the ticket. It was pretty exhilarating to blaze along the water-front the couple miles to the historic downtown. There was no one on the street and it almost felt like we had the place to ourselves, except for the gazillion birds that were everywhere, looking to snack on the salmon that were fighting their way up the rapids in the creek that runs through this part of town. Like many of the coastal towns in this part of Alaska, Ketchikan is literally perched on the water’s edge with little flat ground available so structures go UP and many are built on stilts. There is a kind of crazy wooden sidewalk that clings to the rocks behind a stretch of buildings in the original part of town, which was build during the gold rush. All in all, we wished that we’d had more time to go exploring here. Guess we’re just going to have to come back ;-)

Late that afternoon we arrived in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. It was our last night hanging out with Marie and Philippe as they would be staying a few days waiting for the ferry to Victoria Island while we would be heading inland to catch the Cassiar Highway South down to Vancouver and into Washington on our final leg of the journey. We decided to cook up a long awaited Cajon feast with the shrimp that had been chilling in our fridge since Haines. Several possible campgrounds were identified on our tourist maps so we headed out of town hoping to get settle before night fell. Sadly, what they don’t tell tourists is that they take down the signs for the provincial campgrounds when they close them for the winter. Darn Canadians! It was quite a few kilometers before we realized this, of course, and with night falling we decided to just bivy in what looked like a Department of Transportation parking lot a little ways off the road. Not a very special camp for our last night, but Jim made up for it by cooking us super yummy bbq shrimp Paul Prudhomme style. It was well received by all and by the time we had licked the dishes clean it was getting pretty late. And cold. Once again we were so grateful for our sweet little Thumper, which provided a wonderfully comfortable and warm place to enjoy the final evening with our friends.

Morning came along with a large truck sporting the BC Department of Transportation insignia. As the driver pulled alongside the bus we watched out the window and wondered if our luck in free roadside camping had just run out. But no, he was just curious about why the hell anyone would camp here! Philippe explained our search of the night before, which amused the driver it seemed and he wished us all luck as he drove off. After enjoying a morning espresso, the time came for us to say good-bye.

We parted ways grateful to have had the opportunity to spend time with such awesome people. We headed east along the Skeena River, which wound through series of mountains for many miles inland. Along the way we stopped at a closed park, which though unsigned, was easy enough to find. We had read that it held one of the last stands of old growth cedar in BC. These are the giants from which totem poles are traditionally carved. It was a blissful autumn walk through a forest of fallen leaves and along a crystal clear creek. The trees were amazing! You could hardly get a real look at the whole grove, thick and tall as they were. Imagining carving one of them instilled a new respect for those people who could and did. We spent a long while wandering there and grooving on the silent majesty of the place, again so grateful to be where we were, doing what we were doing.

We still had one more chance to experience the native art and history of this area by visiting ’Ksan, a reconstructed Gitxsan village. This amazing collection of traditional log buildings houses a museum along with the Kitanmax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art. To wander the grounds and contemplate the tools, cloths and items of daily life was to gain a deep appreciation of a culture that has lived here for centuries and still thrives in this lush environment. We spent a long time here, imagining a life where the gifts of nature were so abundant that families gathered and hunted all they needed together, leaving a lot of time to create amazing art. They made even the most simple of tools with such elegant and beautiful designs. How different would our world be if, like these folks, the true measured of wealth was how much one gave away…..

We camped that night on the river that had fed these families for centuries. The next morning we had an opportunity to visit a gift shop and found some wonderful treats for our own loved ones back home J. Then on we drove along the river, through tiny towns and miles of forest, noticing the dusting of snow covering the surrounding mountains. Another night spent on a dirt road camped above a roaring river. Finally we were approaching our last border crossing, but not before we got to explore the lush and fruitful Fraiser Valley just to the east of Vancouver. This temperate little haven boasts rich and productive farmland a lot of which seems to be producing organic food. There is a wonderful program, “Circle Farm Tour”, which maps out farms that welcome visitors and sell their products on site. We decided to forgo a visit to the big city and spend the day checking out the local farm scene. It was a blast! We found several honey producers (one of which sold mead ;-), a great dairy with hand made cheeses, a hazelnut orchard and a wonderful
little place whose owners were a potter and a coffee roaster. We joked that we had seen a glimpse of Amber and Judd in 20 years. Theirs was a delightful property, with an old farm house surrounded

by over flowing gardens still bright with color. The pottery shop shared space with the roaster (built in 1910 and still working beautifully!) and we found a pretty impressive collection of coffees, including a VERY yummy Cuban bean. We sipped and enjoyed a cup of that while we wandered the rest of the property. In addition to their other endeavors, they had displayed a pretty nice collection of antiques in one of the outbuildings and also around the gardens, all for sale. A rather large chicken yard housed many feathered friends, whose eggs were also for sale.

Behind the chicks were a couple large beds of vegetables and a pasture for goats beyond that. Over all quite a lot going on, so much in fact that our hostess admitted they were faced with the prospect of having to hire employees to keep on top of everything. Seems the push for local food had almost quadrupled their business this year and they could not keep up!

After a very satisfying day of exploring, we made our way to the border crossing as night was falling. Again, except for a rather lengthy wait for our turn, it was smooth sailing. No need to explain the giant log in Thumper nor the, seriously, hundred pounds of rocks (or the yummy fresh food we bought in Fraiser Valley ;-). We had headed up to Rainer State Park, finding once again a sweet little camp spot just off the road. We’d made it back to the States and though we still had another week or so of driving and visiting friends it felt as though we’d come to the end of our great Alaska adventure.

One thing we have surely come to realize on this trip, no matter where we go Our People are there… and they can usually be found at the farmers market or the brewery. In Haines the market was over, but the Fun-guy was still there in the parking lot a couple days a week. We learned a lot from him and got some really lovely dried mushrooms. We also got the coolest emergency fire starting kit ever. Just a piece of old saw blade run against a slice of magnesium glued into a small piece of wood. You could set the fuzz from your pocket on fire. It was pretty remarkable how that burst into flame with the spark. We enjoyed just hanging out and talking with him about Haines, fungi, eagles and burls. And bears. He told us about a spot on the river outside town where the bears go to feed on salmon running up the river to a lake about 5 miles past the ferry terminal. Sounded like a place we’d check out the next day before our midnight departure. Somewhere along the line we assured him the next day would be sunny, like it always was when we were preparing to leave a place. He smiled skeptically and said, “it’s been a while, but you never know around here”.

The Haines brewery was out at the fairgrounds, on what appeared to be an old Alaskan main street. Turns out it’s a set from the White Fang movie, filmed here a while back and set to be burned down until the town laid claim and turned it into a pretty sweet tourist area. Paul has been providing the good citizens of Haines with a local brew for the past 10 years. He makes a fair selection of beers and a good barley wine, too. We stayed and visited a while, enjoying the sample platter and the photos and notes sent from people all over the world who leave AK with a growler then take pictures of it from wherever they go. It’s quite a fun collection. By the time we were ready to leave it was dark and, being disinclined to drive all the way back out to the Eagle Preserve, Jim asked if we could park right there. Paul responded that he was on the Fairgrounds Board and could not say one way or the other. We took that for a good sign, pulled over by the woods at the back of the parking lot and settled in for the night.

Of course October 2 dawned as clear and fine a day as you could imagine. It was so lovely just driving back into town. Haines lies at the end of the longest & deepest fjord in North America----just at the upper tip of the Inland Passage. Again with the mountains vaulting from the sea, tipped and flowing with glaciers down to forest and wetlands filled with wildlife and back in to the sea. Like the other coastal places we’d visited it is hard to fully describe the extraordinary beauty of water meeting land in Alaska. Lunchtime found us parked by the boats, sorting out things for the ferry journey. As we were finishing up a familiar vehicle pulled alongside us by the dock.

Philippe and Marie! They had gone to Denali, seen the mountain, spent a night in the snow and decided to make a B-line from Fairbanks to Haines to see if they could make the ferry that night. There was a chance of a cancellation on an unpaid reservation. Wouldn’t it be fun camping out on the deck with our traveling friends! Of course, we’d been shut out of the ferry ourselves in Valdez so we hung out for a while catching up

before deciding to meet later out by where the bears go fishing. As we were getting ready to go, a woman came by and told us a shrimp boat was just in and selling off the dock, if we were interested. Why, of course we were. We’d been waiting for off the boat food the whole trip and here it was our last night on “Alaskan soil”. Just to sweeten the deal, turns out this was the boat Jim photographed coming in a bit earlier. Love that real-life foreshadowing! Down to the dock we went to find a couple guys cleaning shrimp. That they had done this before was clear from the casual way they were ripping heads from bodies. It would take a while

for them to get through this boatload so we arrange to return later and get 5 lbs, which we’d share with Marie & Philippe, hopefully having a little bit extra to freeze for some future meal.

Then off we went our separate ways to get those prelaunch errands done. For us that included laundry, showers and a trip by the library to post a story or two through their internet. We couldn’t resist swinging by the Fun-guy to say goodbye and he was smiling big at the cloudless sky. By the time we actually got out the Chilkoot River at the end of the bay there was orange in the sky and an incredible full moon was rising. Eagles soared over the water across a background of cedar and black spruce trees climbing the hill on the other shore. Completely stunning beauty on just another day in Alaska.

Almost the moment we pulled past the closed ranger booth Jim spotted a Mama Brown bear and two cubs crossing the road ahead, up into the woods. As they disappeared we watched the river down along our right side for signs of others. It took a few turns of the road, but there was the tell tale stopped vehicle with binoculars looking out the window. A BIG brown bear was fishing right across the river. He looked very healthy. And oh man! Nothing has ever been cooler than watching this critter wander the side of the river, occasionally swatting at a salmon and inevitably catching it between his paw and the rocks to add a few more pounds to his already autumn sized frame. So casual and oh so powerful, he was the undisputed king of this extraordinary place. His fishing spot was just where the river flowed out of Chilkoot Lake. Another striking blue-green expanse surrounded by gorgeous trees, which hugged the shore as the mountains shot up into the darkening sky.

Stars were visible as we drove back down river to our dinner spot. For several days we’d been planning a feast of local scallop to celebrate this point in the journey, so despite the vast quantity of shrimp chilling in the fridge, we once again busted out the Skaryd girls’ favorite holiday recipe. Alaskan scallops were as incredible as we’d been told and went down easy as we watched the moonlit river flow by. Since we had a couple hours before the ferry loaded we couldn’t resist cruising back up to the lake in hopes of one more bear sitting. Lucky us! The “king” was still fishing and though there was not enough light to really see him well, we could easily hear him on the other shore, snorting and splashing. Jim decided this was a prefect opportunity to take a night sky photo and got the camera and tripod set up down on a small beach near the parking area. We heard a bit more splashing and snorting, suddenly realizing that the king was swimming, rather quickly, across the lake straight for the beach where Jim was set up! In the surprise of the moment it took Jim a minute to grab the gear and something in that set off a flash of light, which caught the bear’s attention. He popped his head up, starring at his projected landing site, I suppose trying to figure out what the heck was up there. Fortunately this resulted in a change of course and he came out of the water about 50’ further down the shore. We both just stood there in amazement as he ambled off toward the campground. Who knew a bear would swim like that? We had heard a story about a bear being spotted almost a mile off the coast near Seward, but that had seemed, well, so unlikely. Now we know. And with that last exhilarating wildlife experience we set off to the ferry in hopes of finding our friends would also be passengers.

Leaving Homer was turning for home, though where that exactly would be was yet to be determined. We made it a ways up the highway heading north along the west side of the Kenai Peninsula. Our camp this night would be high on the cliffs above the water, with views of the volcanoes through the clouds across the Cook Inlet. Next morning found us driving back through Ninilchik, retracing our path all the way around the Turnagin Arm, through Anchorage and Palmer. Thanks once again to the Milepost that Janet and Karl gave us for the trip, Susan found us another sweet riverside camp with a lovely fire but you could feel the chill in the air. Winter was coming for sure. Now that we were heading to Haines to catch the ferry south it seemed almost race to beat the change. Another day of serious driving got us to Tok, where winter was already set in-all the camp grounds in town were closed and the temperature was dropping as we headed to the State Park outside town. Fortunately, they were not closed, as the roadside options were quite limited. That night the pipes froze. Hmmm, at this point Susan is thinking perhaps we have lingered just a bit too long in the North Country. Jim’s not too worried as the pipes are fine, we have plenty of propane and a wonderful place to call home no matter where we are or what the weather is like outside. We are finally getting just a taste of what is to come for the people who call Alaska their home. Tok is known as being consistently one of the coldest places in North America with temperatures pushing -80*F quite often… yeah… that’s 80 degrees BELOW zero. Jim is inclined to put his shorts away at that point.

Our last day of driving in Alaska started chilly, but clear. We turned south from Tok, which took us into Yukon Territory. It is an interesting border crossing here as you leave Alaska at one checkpoint and drive 18 miles before you reach the Canadian checkpoint. Guess if you get out of one country and aren’t allowed into the other, at least you have 18 miles of land you can call home. The Canadian Border Guard was curious about weapons onboard our rig and we assured him we didn’t have any guns at all. “Any bear spray?” he asked… “Nope” we replied. “Don’t you go on hikes?”… “sure”…”Aren’t you worried about bears?” “not really”...”Do you have anything that can be used as a weapon?”… “Well… we have a piece of wood that we can use as a club”. He passed us into Canada muttering something about not being responsible for tourists who get eaten by bears.

The snow covered mountains and pristine lakes lined with autumn colors went on for hundreds of miles. It was, again, extraordinary beauty unmarred by any sign of civilization, save long abandon (and very photogenic) log cabins and the rare gas station-general store outpost. And the old telegraph line. Curiosity got the better of us at one point so we stopped to explore the line looking for old glass insulators. No luck there, but come to find out much of the copper wire remained. Susan, being fond of copper and inclined to make things from it, managed to collect a few yards for a future craft project. Of course our minds were reeling with possibilities for all those miles of copper wire, but lacking sufficient space for ANYTHING else in Thumper or the truck we were satisfied with what we got. That night found us on a lakeside again, watching a pair of trumpeter swans gliding through the water as the colors of the sky changed and grew dark. Tomorrow we would arrive in Haines. But first we had to get back into the country.

Snow was falling that morning as we climbed the final pass that drops down to follow the river to the fjord that leads out to the ocean. The border guard we chatted with when re-entering the US for the second time on this trip was not happy about his temporary assignment to this most lovely, forested outpost. “The weather is terrible” he said. He much preferred Anchorage where he usually lived. “Less rain” Well, I suppose there is that, but a short time later, as the road pulled along side the Chilkat River into the heart of the Chilkat Bald Eagle preserve, I wondered again at his words. Perhaps he’d never come this far down the road. It was breath taking!

Almost immediately Jim spotted a trio of eagles feeding on something a short distance from the road. Not too long after that there was one in a tree and a few soaring along high above the river. We stopped at a pull off that boasted a number of sign boards educating us on the park itself (winter home to more than a thousand of these majestic birds) and the life cycle of eagles and all that is cool and amazing about them (the eagle’s eye is the same size as a human, yet they can see a field mouse from a mile away!). There was also a lot of information on the geological formation of the area as well as the flora and fauna of South Eastern Alaska. Lots of the same animals and plant life as up North, but generally bigger due to the rainfall, food sources and somewhat milder weather (this is a relative statement-it’s still Alaska!) One example provided was about Grizzlies. Up North they feed mostly on berries, grubs or whatever they can find, hibernating a bit longer and maxing out at about 500 lbs (plenty big!). Along the coast they are called Brown Bears, eat mostly salmon and some of the other stuff but can grow to 1000lbs! Having run into a couple of the northern cousins already we were hoping any encounters with bears twice that size would be from the relative safety of the truck. Brain filled with all this new information, Susan decided to take a walk on the river trail and look for more eagles, which she found and observed for a long time with the aid of binoculars (not having the gift of sight these great birds have). Such an amazing gift to watch and know these creatures survive and thrive in this challenging environment.

The road into town ran along the river, past several likely camp spots and a wonderful little grove of trees housing…two old silver trailers! Our people really are everywhere J We explored Haines, stopped at the Information center, getting the scoop on what to do while we were in town. Susan was happy to learn there is a museum with a well-known collection of Native art and artifacts.

There were also quite a few fun, little shops that we would be able to explore the next day. We went by the library to post a blog entry and marveled at the beautiful building in which it is housed. It’s a traditional log style with wonderful carvings, an amazing Totem Pole and lush landscaping. We believed that Susan’s sister, Barb, would particularly appreciate the high esteem in which the community obviously holds its library. J Satisfied there was plenty here to keep us busy until the ferry departure, so we headed back up the river to find a sweet spot to camp and hopefully a few more eagles.