Haines, AK
Day 20
July 29, 2019
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On Monday, July 29, we woke up to another cloudy and foggy day. We were hoping for a beautiful day to travel 150 miles to Haines. As we started out, we noticed some fresh snowfall on the surrounding mountaintops. The snow, cloud, and fog combinations made for a spectacular view!
Driving South on the highway, we went through different ecosystems before reaching Sea Level. In other words the highway was steep and winding all the way to Haines. We drove through a wide Alpine Valley, up over the Chikat Pass, and descended to the Chilkat River Flats. It was very cloudy and we were disappointed that we could not see the glaciers and beautiful scenery.
Arriving in Haines, we checked into the Oceanside RV Park. The park is situated 1 block from town and next to the Harbor with a panoramic view of the Lynn Canal. We enjoyed this quant town for 4 days!
Haines hosts a large number of visitors each summer. Many visitors are Inside Passage travelers. It is known for its spectacular scenery, outdoor recreation, and laid back lifestyle.
Since we visited Haines in 2012 there has been a major change…Cruise Ships! When we arrived, a large cruise ship and two smaller ships were docked in front off our RV Park. In 2012, the residents and store owners were adamant that Cruse Ships would never be allowed in Haines. I wonder what happened? Is it good or bad? One thing is certain, when the cruise ships arrive, there are people walking everywhere!
A change was also made to the RV Park, since our last visit. The parking area was made deeper/larger and more RV spaces were added. The owner told us that there will be more changes in the future. We found out that the RV park land is owned by Southeast Road Builders. We know of that company from watching Gold Rush and Parker Schnabel on the Discovery Channel. Parker’s Family owns Southeast Road Builders. I wonder what else they own in Haines?
During our stay in Haines, we made several trips to the Chilkoot River looking for bears. One day, we saw a bear swimming in the river. After the bear crossed to the edge it ran over to a big rock and stood on top looking out over the river. This was the same scene we saw on our 2012 trip. On our last day, we found a bear swimming near the fish weir, where the fish have to pass by a human fish counter. That was a smart and successful bear! While we were watching, several fish were caught!
Haines is famous for its fall gathering of bald eagles. The annual gathering of 3500 Bald Eages is a major attraction! Even though it is not quite fall, we did find several eagles at the Chilkoot River. I love watching them fly!
We drove out to Porcupine Crossing and drove on The Dalton Trail to the Big Nugget Mine and Porcupine Mine. These are the mines that were featured in the Discovery Channel “Gold Rush” series. It appeared that the Big Nugget Mine had been sold to Constantine Mining. The mine gates were open and we drove through the gate several feet before turning around…we could only get a glimpse of the house! We found a side road and followed it to the Porcupine Mine. There were several trucks and trailers and we could see some activity…one worker waved at us!
We had one gorgeous day of sunshine and took advantage of the perfect weather to view the many glaciers surrounding Haines. They were beautiful!
We made a stop at the Haines Packing Co., a fish packing facility. We arrived early and stopped by the gift shop and chatted with the interesting owner. What? Another AZ connection. She went to The University of Arizona, lived in Tucson, and was a school principal. She directed us to the cannery to view the packing process. How interesting!
As always, we checked out a couple of local restaurants. We had a great lunch at the landmark LIghthouse Restaurant at the harbor. I enjoyed the Halibut and Chips and Ken had a combination of Halibut and Salmon. Yummy! For breakfast we stopped at the Chilkat Restaurant and Bakery and bought some pastries. I had a very large cinnamon roll and Ken enjoyed a Bear Claw!
During our stay, the RV Park hosted a pot luck Crab Fest for all their guests. Dungess Crab, appetizers, salad, desert and Great Company! It was fun to meet folks from all over Canada and the USA!
The Ocean View RV Park is located on the water and within walking distance to town. On our last day, we walked into town. The town was “sleepy” since there was only one cruise ship in dock and not many “cruisers” in town. We browsed through the main gift shop and were on our way. We walked to the libray to check our email and surf the internet. Cell service and wi-fi is almost non-existant in Haines. The libray is the place to go!
We have had an enjoyable 4 day stay in beautiful Haines AK! Now it is time to get on the road and travel to “Big Alaska”.
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