Sep 22, 2012 - Saying goodbye to Haines

We spent our last day in Haines today. We went fishing this morning and I'm happy to say I managed to land a small Coho salmon - enough for a terrific dinner. We had two other REALLY big ones on the line but failed to land them. Great fish stories that we're happy to tell but never, EVER put in writing! Anyway it was a beautiful morning and lot's of fun. Later we went out to the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve and saw hundreds of Bald Eagles. We understand in November there are THOUSANDS of eagles here. Can't even imagine that, I was...

Sep 21, 2012 - Haines, AK

We left Homer on Tuesday - not getting to go fishing because another bad storm blew in. In fact, Aunt Sharon's flight was cancelled for the second time so we ended up taking her to Anchorage so she could catch a flight home! It was time to move on though we were sorry to leave Homer. What a great town with the most gorgeous surroundings. A place we will visit again for sure! For the last several days we are seeing communities we've been in on the news because of flooding and other weather problems. Anchorage, Seward, Talkeetna, Willow,...

Aug 15, 2012 - Haines history

Wednesday -- Haines does not get two sunny clear days in a row very often. On such a sunny day it was really tempting to hike up Mt. Ripinsky, rated by Lonely Planet as the #2 of 40 things to do. The strenuous 7mi. Mt. Ripinsky trail gains 3400ft. to the highest point above Haines, but takes 3-5 hours. Instead we thought it was more important to organize ourselves for the upcoming ferry-hopping portion of the trip. This meant doing laundry, stocking up on food and cleaning out the car. I also had time to finish a few journal entries so...

Aug 14, 2012 - Haines - Seduction Point hike

Tuesday -- It was Windows Patch Tuesday today. After the patches were installed we chose to hike the Seduction Point Trail in hopes of spotting some sea life. The 14mi out-and-back trail winds in and out of woods onto various beaches along the shore of Chilkat Inlet. Some of the wooded sections were muddy but overall the trail had good footing. We were glad to be in the shade of the tall trees on such a warm day (69F). The four small coves were so calm there were hardly any waves -- but no sea life to be seen either. Hanging above the...

Aug 14, 2012 - Haines AK

Hi to all. We left Seward last Friday and backtracked up to Anchorage to Palmer to Glenallen and then back up to Tok. A big circle. We were last in Tok in early July. We then reconnected to the Alcan for a trip down to Haines Junction and then down to Haines. Everyone kept telling us the Alcan in the Yukon was bad. However going up from Whitehorse to Dawson City & across the Top of the World Hwy hadn't been bad. Well we got a wake up call. A whole day of pot holes, gravel washboard, frost heaves and road construction. We had washed the...

Aug 13, 2012 - Haines - bears and fish

Monday -- The Visitor Center in downtown Haines gave us several and varied local hiking suggestions. As a good warm-up hike before lunch we chose the 2.5 mi Battery Point hike out to the rocky promontory called Battery Point. The mountains towered impressively over the inlets on this clear sunny day. From the point we had a good view of Lutak Inlet, Haines and Taiya Inlet (at the end of which is Skagway). No wonder this location was chosen as the site of the first permanent Army post, Fort Seward, in 1904. The fort was named after William...

Aug 13, 2012 - 8-12 in Haines, 8-13 Haines To Whitehorse, B.C.

8-12 in Haines, 8-13 Haines To Whitehorse Sunny and 58 Degrees on 8-13 Stayed At Wolf Creek Campground 8-12 Where was all this gorgeous sunshine when we wanted to take pictures in Haines yesterday? It’s a good thing we saw the beautiful mountains behind the town of Haines from the cruise we took in June, because we never saw them while we were here. We knew the mountains were there, but they were covered by clouds or haze the entire time. We spent the day shopping and enjoying the Haines local and Alaska made crafts yesterday instead of...

Aug 12, 2012 - Haines Junction to Haines (Bear Creek Cabins)

Sunday -- Last night it really poured hard but the tent stayed dry inside. We were glad to not hear rain when we woke up but didn't waste any time packing up this morning just in case. We were leaving for Haines, Alaska today. During the hour it took to hike the first trail of the day the tent, laid out on the car, dried out completely. The 3.2km out-and-back Rock Glacier trail leads up a series of rock 'waves' left behind by a glacier to the face of the remaining rock glacier (rocks embedded in ice). The second trail of the day was an...

Aug 11, 2012 - 8-10, 8-11, In Haines

8-10, 8-11, In Haines Cloudy on Friday, Sunny and 47 Degrees on Saturday, then 58 Degrees and Gloomy, Staying at Hitch-Up RV Park Friday, the 10th was one of our “catch-up” days. Mike needed to take time out to pay bills. How Boring! While he was busy with that I cooked and cleaned. Later, we drove into town to get a feel for Haines and what is there, driving the streets and looking around at the stores and shops. We got a few groceries, and then made another unsuccessful attempt at bear viewing out along the Chilkoot River before heading...

Aug 9, 2012 - Harbor Town of Haines, Alaska

8-9 Harbor Town of Haines Raining and 47 Degrees, By Afternoon, Sunny and 60 Stayed at Hitch-Up RV Park We have been looking forward to seeing the town of Haines. We made a quick stop there on our first wildlife cruise from Skagway to Juneau to pick up passengers, and got a look at the quaint little town from the boat. It is built on a natural harbor, and sits down low and goes up the side of the hill with beautiful old houses. We could see an RV park right on the bay. Our drive today took us through an Alpine meadow at a 3000 foot...

Aug 5, 2012 - Haines, Alaska

A bad day all around. I woke up and the rain and clouds had returned. I was going to go see the American Bald Eagle Foundation, Fort William H. Seward National Historic Landmark, the Hammer Museum, see it I could locate any bears, and just look around Haines but when I checked the SUV I had no radiator fluid. Put in some water and it is leaking but not from the radiator but further back. I cannot get underneath but it appears a hole in a hose or a hose has come loose. I called the NAPA store in Haines and they said they could take a look at...

Aug 3, 2012 - Haines

Cool and overcast with heavy clouds and temperatures in the mid 50’s with a very light rain/mist. I can only see partial glimpses of the mountains surrounding Haines. The clouds are obscuring everything. Hopefully, as predicted, the weather will clear later today. The clouds, rain and mist continued most of the day. In late afternoon the rain finally stopped but the cloud cover continued. The lady who is going to walk my dog tomorrow came by to spend a few minutes with the dog and get the key to the RV. The weather being what is was I spent...