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.