Alaska redux part 5

Have not had internet access, satellite, or phone service all the way through the Rockies. As we approached Whitehorse our phones started pinging finally uploading texts and alerts collected over the last several days.

Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon, lies on the banks of the Yukon River. It has a population of about 26, 400. Historically, the Yukon River was a main source of transportation to the area until 1942 when the Alaska Hwy was completed. Whitehorse has services comparable to a much larger city including Walmart. It also has traffic and stoplights.

As with many Walmarts, the parking lot sported many RVs camping out. We stopped there in search of a filter for Jeannie’s new camera. While here we were able to re-provision, do laundry, scout out some of the shops and restaurants, and Rob and Steve played golf. What we couldn’t do is wash the car or coach. The one car wash was closed for remodeling. Whitehorse is on the main approach to Alaska and as such it would seem to be a perfect location for an industrious entrepreneur to invest in an automated car wash. Geesh! We can’t even tell what color our car is.

After much discussion regarding the mileage from Whitehorse to Haines, AK, our next stop, we decided to go for it, scrapping an interim stop in Otter Falls. We were able to extend our stay in Haines at the Ocean View RV Park which is located on the Chilkoot Inlet of the Lynn Canal between Skagway and 

Juneau.

 At the intersection of the Alaska Hwy with Haines Junction we turned south towards Haines. This route took us through scenic coastal forests, glaciated mountains and alpine tundra. It was quite evident we were in bear territory based on the frequency of scat deposited on the road. Didn’t someone once say “bears don’t ‘poop’ in the woods?

 

  

After passing through Customs

we followed the Chilkat River, home to the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. It is 40 miles from Customs into Haines and a good portion of the highway is under construction, thus limiting our speed. Big chunks of the granite escarpment are being removed, hopefully to widen the narrow road into Haines. We later found out that the road is being widen to be able to accommodate the large trucks that will be transporting gold ore from a new mine that will soon be opening up.

Haines is a small town with a population of just over 2500. The original name, Dtehshuh meant “end of the trail” and referred to the place where local Chilkat and Chilkoot Indians traded with Russian and American ships. In 1879 a Presbyterian mission and school was built and in 1881 the name was changed to Haines for Francina E. Haines, secretary of the Presbyterian Women’s Executuve Society of Home Missions. In 1904 Fort William H. Seward was established honoring the secretary of state who purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867. This was the first permanent Army post in the territory. It was deactivated in 1946 and sold. Today the original buildings house private businesses and homes.

Rob and I have stayed at this RV park before, but in the 11 years since we were there, the park has been significantly enlarged. The only spaces with hookups still back up to the road.

The rest of the new space is available for dry camping. The park is next to a small boat harbor and the pier where cruise ships dock. As luck would have it, a ship was in port when we arrived. Later that day another cruise ship was heading out from Skagway further up the canal. Skagway seems to be a popular stop for cruise ships with as many as three a day sailing past us.

Haines boasts a large population of American Eagles and we weren’t disappointed. Several, both adult and juvenile, were perched on the jetty into the harbor or on pilings, or in tall conifers, or just flying around.

Day two we ventured out to the fish processing plant to learn how it’s done. We were fortunate to find a boat had just come in loaded with a catch of Chum and Silver Salmon. This boat was used to transport large containers of fish that it would pick up from the smaller boats that are actually doing the catching. 

The containers are then brought in to this processing plant.

The fish are dumped into a huge bin with a shoot that “shoots” the fish into the processing plant. We were able to watch the process through windows. The fish are positioned head first on a conveyer belt. They proceed through a guillotine which chops off their heads.  Next they are lined up perpendicularly on the conveyer belt where they are gutted. Then they are washed out and sent down the line to be sorted. Eventually they are boxed and shipped. Mostly young people, high school or college age, were working the conveyer belt along with a few more seasoned workers. Signs next to the windows explained the process and also described machines that fileted and de-boned the fish, but those machines weren’t being used that day.

Friday, the 13^th, was a beautiful sunny day. Up until then we had had overcast days with occasional sprinkles. Rob and Steve decided to make use of their fishing licenses when the tide started coming in that afternoon.

Jeannie and I followed them down and took some pictures.

The end of the river is quite rocky perfect for salmon spawning. Activity was slow so no fresh salmon for dinner. A counting bridge spans the river a little further from the fishing spot. The fish are counted and identified as they pass through a weir under the bridge. I presume this is done electronically, however, there is a person sitting out on the middle of the bridge watching over things. At least, I don’t think he’s counting them one by one. Not sure I’d like his job.

Saturday was cold, windy, and overcast. A good day to stay inside. Wifi has been miserable, sometimes working then cutting out just when we needed it. Then we found out we could buy inexpensive service from a local company. What a difference…3 days or 3GBs was slightly over $12. I was finally able to post the preceding blog!

Sunday, cold, windy and rainy again! Despite the weather we decided to take another ride and check out the fish count for the day. Then we wound around the higher rent district to see how the other half lives. Nugget went for a ride with us. He is afraid of riding in the car and got carsick on the curves. We had to take him home where he recuperated with a couple of pieces of doggie jerky.

Dinner was planned to be “out” and as there is only one restaurant that’s where we went…The Pilot Light. It’s a sister restaurant to a pizza place we went to for lunch a couple of days ago. Very limited menu featuring several seafood dishes and a few game items. Steve opted for an elk burger, Jeannie had a salad out of local greens and rockfish tacos, Rob had nachos and a bowl of salmon bisque, I had a bowl of salmon bisque and halibut enchiladas. Steve also ordered of bread…home baked, crunchy sourdough bread. Total yummy. Jeannie, Rob and I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. While we were waiting for our meal the couple dining at the table next to us got up and cleared a vacant table. Steve asked if we were supposed to bus our own table when we’re through eating. The couple laughed…they are parents of the owner. Of course, being local, Rob and Steve grilled them on places they should go to fish. We were also advised to go to the Kroschel Wildlife Center. We’ll have to do some research, but sounds good. After taking our leftovers back to the coaches, Steve, Rob and Jeannie took a ride back out to the river to check the final fish count for the day. They came back with pictures of a couple of bears that had descended for dinner, but still not an impressive fish count.

Tomorrow we leave Haines and head back up the Haines Hwy through British Columbia, the Yukon, then back into Alaska. Our ultimate destination is Valdez, but we will have three short stops on the way and most likely no internet.