Our very dirty truck and rig!
8-10-10: Our first full day in Haines, Alaska. After a trip to the grocery store (very expensive -- everything has to be brought here by barge -- we ventured up to the Kroschel Wildlife Center where we got to see up close and personal many animals that live in the wilds of Alaska. Many of them are rescue animals and cannot be released back into the wild. My favorite was the lynx -- I'm a cat lover! And yes, we have our kitty with us in the rig. She loves it when she does not have to be riding in the truck.
We also saw a mama grizzly bear and two cubs. The mother was fishing in the river and taking it up to her cubs on the bank. Too dark to get photos - ):
8-11-10: The weather today is great. This area is a very beautiful place when the sun is out. Walked around Haines, a very quaint town. A cruise ship pulled in this morning so there was more foot traffic than usual. Most cruise ships seem to go to Skagway. We visited the American Bald Eagle Foundation where they did a presentation with two owls, a barn owl and a great horned owl. There were many exhibits of local wildlife, from various kinds of fish to moose. The resident bald eagle wasn't having a good day so he was not brought out for the show.
We had dinner at a local pizza place with beers before at a brewery nearby. Bernie and Pat are moving on tomorrow to Whitehorse; they only wanted to stay here for three days. I think they are having Wal-Mart withdrawal! We are staying until the 16th because we want to do some hiking, geocaching and play a round of golf. The weather is supposed to be great for the next five days so I hope we can do all of our planned activities.
8-12-10: We played golf today at Valley of the Eagles Golf Links just north Haines. A nine-hole course but one of the most beautiful courses we have ever played! There was a 19-foot tide earlier in the day and a couple of holes were flooded for a while. We played later in the day and the water had receded. The weather was clear and around 68 degrees. I am beyond golf withdrawal and was very happy to be on a course again. This golf course was right next to the Chilcat River. At high tides, water will come onto the golf course but the locals just pick their time to play golf. I can't believe my golf game would revolve around high tides but sometimes the water level gets in the way of a couple of holes on this course.
Waiting in line for brewskies!
Small boat harbor, Haines, Alaska.
8-13-2010: Ran into people who we have seen in Seward and Valdez, Alaska. They are from New Zealand and have been here three times. They purchased a small motorhome and store it in the U.S. at various places and then come here in the summer and travel. They have been to many places in the US and plan to see more as long as their health holds up. She is a professional photographer and he runs a charter fishing boat on a lake in New Zealand. Sure would love to go visit them (I think we will!)
We drove out to Chilcat State Park which was very beautiful but not for big rigs and very remote. There were bear signs all over the place.
Viewing deck at Chilcat State Park. The park host gets to live in this cabin and has the above view!
We loved this license plate decoration -- some of the local flavor in this town!
Speaking of local flavor, this woman was a real character. She had many things to say about Sara Palin, none of them good, which seems to be how most Alaskans feel about their former governor. She is truly not liked in every area we have been!
We went on a hike up Mt. Rapinski. I really wanted to make it to the top to take pictures but it was practically straight up with lots of switchbacks. We made it up two miles and decided to call it quits. I think I could have made it but had to be reminded we had to go the same distance on the way back!! So, here are some pics of the trail.
Today, 8/15 (Sunday) was a catch-up day with laundry and chores -- they never go away even when you are on the road in your rolling condo. Tomorrow we head back to Whitehorse and then down the Cassiar highway, which is sort of closed off and on now because of a forest fire. I do hope it opens back up so we don't have to drive the Alcan again -- would like to see a different part of British Columbia, which was our original intent. I'll try to keep up with the blog but Wi-Fi is kind of iffy in Canada. When we are in the states, I have an air card through Verizon and it works great.
Wonderful building, lousy food!
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