Up to Alaska

Here I am in Alaska! I'm afraid I'll have to be quick about this post since I'm paying for my internet access. I'm told that this will be a common situation here in Alaska and I think it will be hard to find any internet access at times, so be prepared to wait longer between posts for a few weeks.


Here's the ship being loaded at Bellingham



A couple of antique car clubs got on here as well.




I didn't get a cabin so I stayed with the other campers out on the deck. I pitched my tent (second from the left) and a lot of people slept on these plastic lounge chairs or on the floor under this "solarium" or covered porch.




The weather was very nice as we set out and since the boat was big and the waves were small I don't know if I even needed the sea sickness patch I had. I'm still glad I had it though.




The first night was a bit windy but not bad. The second night it started to rain and it didn't really stop for the rest of the trip. By the third night all the tents were off the deck and everyone crowded under the solarium. Sadly though, the solarium had many leaks in it too. You had to be very careful about where you put your sleeping bag. There I was crowded in with a bunch of strangers. It made me think about what it must have been like in the Super Dome after Katrina.


Here's another self portrait. My tent is still right there behind me but I had it packed up soon after this. It seems like they could do a better job of waterproofing a tent.




This is the oldest lighthouse structure along the inside passage. There are older lighthouses but the others have been rebuilt at one time or another. this is still the original structure.




This spot is near Haines.




At a stop in the town of Wrangell there were some kids selling Wrangell Garnets that they had collected from a nearby hillside. The last owner of the hillside willed it to the children of Wrangell so they are the only ones that can collect and sell them. They aren't gem quality but they are kind of cool anyway.





We also stopped in the towns of Ketchikan, Petersburg, And Juneau before my stop in Haines.


It raines in haines. It has rained a lot since I've been here, but I managed to get this shot when the mountains could be seen all around the town. Usually you only see clouds.



The next day I decided to hop a ferry to Skagway. It's only 35 minutes away by fast ferry but it's around 360 miles away by road. It's also worlds different form Haines. It's a major destination for Cruise ships and there were four of them in port that day.




The streets were packed with people.


My goal there was to get some shots of Jewel Gardens for my friend Mike. It was a nice little garden and it was on the other side of town from the docks so the crowds were thinner.


Back in Haines I got this shot of the Rainbow Glacier with a waterfall from the melting Ice.




I also spent an hour or two standing on the shore of Chilkoot Lake. The breeze was blowing the mist around and it made for some interesting images. I thought about hanging around until the sky got some color to it but sunset is somewhere around 11:00 around here these days and sunrise is somewhere around 4:00 AM. A man has got to sleep sometime you know!

Now I'm getting ready to leave for the rest of Alaska. Civilization will be harder to come by for a while. Pray extra hard for my safety. you can also pray that I'll make wise decisions with my money since everything is expensive here. Gas is $3.80/gal. Take care till next time.

Steve