DAY FOUR - TRAVELOGUES NORTH TO ALASKA - SKAGWAY

TRAVELOGUES – DAY FOUR - SKAGWAY
HOLLAND AMERICA MS VOLENDAM
13 DAY CRUISE/TOUR
“NORTH TO ALASKA”

Our day began early again with our breakfast being delivered to our cabin at 6:30 a.m. because we had to be in the Frans HAL lounge (showroom) no later than 7:45 a.m. to disembark the Volendam in Skagway. This was the end of our cruise. We enjoyed our time on the ship, but were anxious to start the land portion of our tour. All of the cruise/tour groups gathered together to start their land tours this morning. Once we were directed off the ship, we boarded our motor coach and met our tour director, Gabriel. He is a young man in his 30’s, I would guess. He has a fair skin complexion which compliments his short red hair and neatly trimmed and groomed red beard. He is very pleasant and seems to genuinely enjoy his job.

Our coach left the dock and traveled through the small town of Skagway for a short tour out to the Gold Rush Cemetery where we saw the grave stones of several of the infamous gold rush characters from the late 1890’s and early 1900’s. The cemetery is small and nestled back on the side of a hill facing the Skagway River about half a mile out of town. After that, we continued on across the Skagway River to a viewpoint where we had a gorgeous view of the city of Skagway and the Lyn Canal. The Lyn Canal ends in Skagway – so there is only one way in and one way out.

After our short tour of the city, we were dropped off at our hotel, the Westmark of Skagway; and we took off to explore downtown and enjoy lunch in the Red Onion Saloon where one of the “ladies” from the upstairs brothel served us. The ladies will also give you a guided tour of the infamous brothel for a small fee – but we did not opt for that.

The weather outside was quite brisk and a fine, misty rain began to fall. Our only regret was that we left our umbrella in the main suitcase that was sent directly to the hotel and we did not have access to. But, we were fine. After lunch, we ventured over to Starbucks – yes, they even have a Starbucks in Skagway, Alaska! And then we walked back towards the cruise dock where we met the group for our Haines Eagle Preserve float ride.

Once everyone was checked-in and accounted for, we boarded our catamaran, the Fairweather Express with Captain Molly at the helm. Molly appeared to be in her late 60’s with a round face full of wrinkles that gave her the appearance that each wrinkle could tell a fabulous story. Her eyes sparkled and you could see her smile as she steered the catamaran away from the dock and headed down the Lyn Canal to Haines. She maneuvered the catamaran so smoothly that you could barely feel any motion.

Haines is a small town 14 nautical miles from Skagway. It has a population of about 2500. As soon as Molly pulled into the dock, we were escorted off the boat to meet our tour guide, Tom Lang. Tom was quite a character. He had a vibrant personality and in addition to being a tour guide on the river in Haines, during the winter months he travels to Bali and writes books and gives talks and lectures on communication.

We were driven through the small town of Haines up to a flat area in the Tsirku River where there was a large opening and flat area to “put in” on the river. Our rafts were there along with the other tour guides. There were three rafts for the 23 of us. Jim and I were with Dan in the last raft or “safety” raft. Our raft was the one that had the communication to base camp and some first aid supplies that the other rafts did not carry. We were asked to exchange our shoes for tall rubber boots, a green rubber rain poncho and our life jackets. Once everyone was snug in their new found fashions, we each sat on the edge of our respective rafts and swiveled into the raft where we took our places. Jim and I were in the front of our raft.

The Haines Eagle Preserve encompasses several miles along the Tsirku and Chilkat Rivers. This is where the bald eagles come in the winter to mate and to feed on the salmon left over from the salmon run of the late summer. All in all we counted 43 bald eagles on our trip. Some were soaring above us with their 7 foot wing spans and gliding effortlessly through the air. Others were sitting on branches in trees along the river watching with their eagle eyes for the perfect fish to dive down on and have for their next meal. And others were perched majestically on pieces of driftwood as we floated by. I think they were all laughing at us when our rafts became stuck on the glacial silt and we had to get out of the raft and walk through the water a bit until deeper water could be found.

From the Tsirku River, we traveled to the Chilkat River - both glacial rivers that were that indescribably grayish aquamarine color that is so spectacular. The rapids we floated through were no more than a Class I and very mild. There was never any white water at all. As we came to the intersection of the two rivers, we saw a small Tlinket Indian Village called Kwaklu (?). Their homes were log cabins along the river and their smoke houses were right on the rivers’ edge and appeared to look more like dilapidated and abandoned shacks than anything with a real purpose like smoking fish.

All along the rivers’ edge you could see the accumulation of large amounts of driftwood that was twisted and knurly. Several of the ladies picked up small pieces and are taking it back home for souvenirs.

The misty rain continued for most of our trip down the river, but was never heavy enough to be a problem. Captain Dan skillfully paddled our raft down river and eventually pulled us out in a small opening 7 miles from where we began our day. We were greeted by the pick-up team for the rafts who had brought us sandwiches, Sun chips, fresh fruit and homemade chocolate chip cookies along with hot chocolate to drink. We took off our gear and put back on our regular shoes and made our way back to the transport bus where we were driven back down the mountain and through the small town of Haines.

Captain Molly was happily greeting everyone as they re-boarded the Fairweather Express and off we went to return back to Skagway through the Lyn Canal. The mist had stopped by now, and it was nice to go out onto the back deck of the catamaran and take a few more pictures of this glorious country.

Once we returned back to Skagway, we finally checked into our hotel and changed into some dryer clothes and took off to find a little dinner. We found the Bonanza Bar & Grill right around the corner from the hotel and one of the only places open at that time of night and so we ducked in there and enjoyed a cup of seafood chowder and a burger. It was about 8:00 p.m. and the Volendam had departed for Glacier Bay with a new group of passengers who had just finished their land tour. The street was deserted with only a few people out enjoying the evening. The campgrounds here in Skagway appeared to be full of campers who had driven in and were staying for the 4th of July.

Skagway celebrates the 4th of July at 11:00 p.m. on the 3rd of July by having a fireworks show over the harbor. We were so tired from all of the day’s events, that we decided to just go relax back at the hotel and try to get a little shut eye as our day tomorrow will begin by everyone meeting in the lobby of our hotel at 7:45 a.m. We need to find coffee before we leave on the train tomorrow – and Starbucks had a sign on its’ door that it would be closed on 4th of July – so we need to find a local alternative. Tomorrow will be another early morning for us. We are off on the White Pass & Yukon Railway tomorrow headed for Whitehorse. Till next time...