Day 4 – Skagway – Another beautiful sunny day. It was a little chilly this morning with a cold mountain wind on the dock. Thank Goodness my clothes had arrived, managed to bundle up a little more for the Fast Ferry ride from Skagway to Haines. I had signed up for another Photo Tour, this one was a total of 6 hours, including the Ferry ride back and forth to Haines. The ferry was a beautiful boat. Water Jet Catamaran designed to hold about 60 people. Top speed was 45 knots, we cruised over to Haines at a leisurely 30 knots or so. Nice trip nothing really to see along the way, except the beautiful mountains and some harbor seals on several of the rocks along the way.
Upon our arrival in Haines we were met by a couple people who were to take us up the Chilkoot River for our photo trip. There were only 2 other people besides myself who were signed up for the tour, so it was nice, not a large crowd. The tour company had three people total as they were using the opportunity to train a couple new people who will be running the tours throughout the summer, when it gets busier.
The mountains that set behind Haines are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. We drove about 10 or 12 miles out of town and made a stop at the mouth of the river. Saw some fresh bear tracks and bear feces, but no bears. The photo trip turned out to be primarily landscape stuff, since there was nothing really blooming yet and we didn’t manage to see much wildlife. The river itself was very pretty and we made several stops to get out and take some photos. At one stop as if on cue a Bald Eagle flew across the river from his perch and circled us for several minutes, allowing everyone the opportunity to get some decent in-flight photos.
On our way back into town we stop one last time before lunch and was able to get a couple good shots of the town of Haines with the wonderful mountain backdrop. Sadly the tide was out and the reflection tide pool was not large enough to get the shot with the entire town in reflection in the water, but I did manage to get some of the mountains in the shot, which turned out nice. Then the wind came up a little and put ripples on the tide pool which eliminated the reflection entirely.
We had a wonderful “Seafood Sampler” lunch at a very nice restaurant overlooking the Haines Small Boat Harbor. It was a very good lunch and was included in the tour. After lunch we went to Old Fort Seward right in downtown Haines and saw some totem poles which have been placed there and did a little exploring of some of the old buildings.
I really enjoyed the tour, however, there was not much to photograph as it was early in the year and nothing had started blooming and the wildlife, other than the Eagle, was nowhere to be found.
Boarded the ferry back to Skagway a very pleasant ride, calm seas and bright sunshine. Took a couple pictures of the Ryndam as we arrived in the harbor of Skagway.
Stayed aboard ship, missed the tourist traps that are in downtown Skagway. Went back to the boat, charged up batteries and my computer and downloaded photos before dinner. After dinner managed a few cocktails with some people I have met and shared stories of our travels that day. Several were disappointed that their tour had been canceled at the last minute, but they were able to make some other arrangements in town for something else, so all was not lost!
Early to bed, as we arrive in Glacier Bay tomorrow morning, we left Skagway at 8:30 PM….
Enjoy,
Capt Jim
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