The Last Hurrah

I know that I said it would be a day or two for the conclusion. Well, I lied. On with the post!

July the 5th we left our lovely Dyea campground and hit the road for Skagway one last time. On our way out we passed Rocky Rd., Lois Lane, and my personal favorite Ragged Ass Rd. It just says it all doesn’t it? I found a great bakery/sandwich place and we had the yummiest -so fresh that they were still warm- cinnamon rolls and we bid adieu to the driving trip enroute to the ferry dock .

All vehicles are preassigned a lane, in our case the night before, and cue up. We were among the first to load and it is a real jigsaw puzzle for ferry workers. Fortunately, the lane assignments tell them your final destination, but it is quite a process loading a boat that has multiple destinations. We found our “state room” which was basically bunkbeds and a bathroom but worth the extra money. Passengers, who did not have rooms vied for the best sleeping spaces and it was blood sport. It required folks to stake their claims early. Because the boat originated in Skagway, those that boarded with us had the best choices. Some sleep outside under the solarium on lounge chairs. I felt a little voyeuristic each time I wanted to go up there, though. It is a bit like walking into someone’s bedroom without knocking or saying something like, “Hey are you decent?” The next most interesting accomodation was the tent city. It was erected on deck below the open air motel and was a conglomeration of families and single folks who bring their own tents and camp...well sort of camp.Then people set up bedrooms anywhere they found a chair, recliner, or couch inside the boat. The folks outside have the blowers and the noise of the engine, rudder, intakes, outflows, etc. To cope with the boat noise and the stranger next to you who might yell in their sleep or snore, earplugs must be deployed. In fact earplugs are mandatory for all of these arrangements.
I knew ahead of time that people basically sleep where ever they can and let the big fella know that WE MUST get a room. So, I took the top bunk due to head room problems for Greg. There was none. I could not even sit up let alone someone his height. Eventually we were enjoying our first Miller Time on the Columbia and ready for this part of the adventure.

Haines was the first stop and is not far from Skagway. The ferry workers did their jigsaw loading again and more foot passengers set up their outside and inside accommodations. Oh, and I forgot to mention that there are two decks for cars, but the second deck requires the car be driven onto an elevator. Kind of cool and in Haines a couple of semi trailers were loaded which was interesting, but they boxed in the truck/camper. No getting off first for us…their destination was also Bellingham.

Between July 5th and 7th we stopped at Haines, Juneau, Petersburgh, Wrangell (in the middle of the night) Sitka, and Ketchikan. We had layovers in both Sitka and Ketchikan and spent sometime wandering around both. By the time we arrived in Ketchikan the weather was spectacular. We discovered some rubber duckie remains which were likely casaulities of their duckie derby. Poor guys were beached on a rock. We treated ourselves to a crab feed at one of the local restaurants and then walked back to the Columbia and we were once again on our way. A pod of orca swam near the boat as we left and bald eagles soared above us. How perfect and later we saw we saw hump back whales breaching.

The ferry goes through the inside passage which made both Greg and I long for our boat again. While cruising by Bella Bella two tribal canoes passed the ferry. The captain slowed the boat to a crawl to let them go by and as they passed all of their paddles were hoisted straight up. They were saluting the boat. It was pretty cool. We were not close enough to see the carvings on the canoes, but WOW. Both Greg and I want to go back to the Queen Charlotte Islands and north of Vancouver Island, but in a small boat. There were so many nooks and crannies that I would love to explore.

As the ferry docked in Bellingham –we were among the last off the boat- I pondered where I had been, everything that I had done and seen. On this trip we logged 4145 driving miles, went to restored and unrestored mining towns and soaked in a luxurious hotspring. We visited more museums than two people ought to in a month and saw beautiful downtown Chicken, Alaska. We met so many people –the three guys from W. Virginia, a couple from Wisconsin on their way to the Arctic Circle, a family staying in Tok with three or four kids with one wanting to drive to Pt. Barrow until his Dad told him there was no road to Barrow, the friendly people that live in Whitehorse and Dawson City, YT, and while we were on the ferry a couple from NYC just starting their combination ferry/driving vacation- they got off at Ketchikan to catch another boat to Prince Rupert. To be able to experience Denali and its vastness and wonderful wildlife was such a highlight. Then there were the roads –the good, bad, ugly, and heaved. And the campgrounds –the good, bad ugly, and ones that stacked ‘em deep. Skagway and Dawson City helped to bring the last great gold rush to life. The beautiful water of Dyea and the trail head of the Chilkoot are still fresh in my mind. And the ferry ride home was the perfect way to end the Moose and Mosquito Tour. I miss the inside of the camper already….OK I don’t. It seems spacious until you live in it for a month, but boy was I grateful for the hard sides and solid roof especially with all the the wet weather that we had.

We left the moose and mosquitoes in the Yukon and Alaska which is where they belong. My moose memories move me -how’s that for alliteration. The marvelous moose provided a couple of kodak moments. Ah - the pictures that I have yet to take off the camera. You may want to come over some time and look through a few? I only snapped about 500.

The moose were great the mosquitoes not so bad and that’s it for Moose and Mosquito Tours.

To the followers and lurkers, thanks for hanging in there with me. Thanks too to Greg who bore the brunt of my attempts at humor.

It's been fun!
Mary