Juneau to Haines

Ugh! What a terrible day. The rain continued all night and into the morning. We arrived at the ferry terminal at about 5:30 to find that the ferry was running “15 minutes” late. We were to leave at 7:15, but it was after 8:00 before they even started loading. Then we sat, and sat, and sat. Finally the captain explained that they were doing some routine maintenance on the engines (which had been installed 100 hours ago) and we would be leaving at 11:00! Then we sat, and sat, and sat. 11:00 came and went. Then the captain announced that we would be leaving at 2:00. We finally did leave at 1:15 and made to Haines a little after 5:00.

The good news is that the weather improved, we saw some whales, and I did our weeks wash on the ship while we were waiting. Also saw one interesting interchange in the harbor as we sat: A seal was diving over and over and finally came up with a fish flipping in his mouth. Immediately, two bald eagles swooped in and tried to take the fish from him. The seal dove and the eagles left. Bullies!

Tonight we are at Chikat State Park.

Chilkat State Park Review: 32 RV-acceptable primitive sites (no electric or sewer; hand pump), but most are not particularly level. About 6 miles from town, last mile on a decent, but steep, gravel road. No views of the bay from the park, but there is an observation deck about ¼ mile further down the road. Buggy.

-- Janet (text) and David (photos)