NORTH TO ALASKA 2025 - DAY 19 - DYEA AND SKAGWAY FERRY TO HAINES

Waking up at the Dyea Campground just west of Skagway, Alaska.  We stayed here two nights, and it was FREE until the season opens on Memorial Day. We like FREE!

It was a pretty nice quiet place. In yesterday's blog I posted some of where we walked around and enjoyed the day. This morning it was raining somewhat. But we didn't mind. It is really nice to take a hot steamy shower in our own motorhome in the middle of the woods. That's one of the comforts of traveling in a motorhome. Not schlepping off to public showers or staying at a hotel. Pretty nice to have all of our comforts around us. I am so appreciating our motorhome travel.

We noticed that many of the state rec area campgrounds offer free firewood. That is really nice. What was really interesting at this particular park is that they also offered the use of an axe and a chopping block!!! 

(I guess I just think of liability issues)

We slowly packed up and headed back into town in the morning. We had an exciting day planned in the afternoon. But we had some time to spend this morning in Skagway.

On the way into the campground the other day, I didn't take that many good pictures on Dyea Road. It's pretty scenic with high cliffs on one side and over the edge into the water on the other. Not many guardrails either, as you can see in this pic below. Just in the really really treacherous spots! Lol

The sun started poking over the ridge of the mountains and it looked like we were going to have a nice day after all.  At first I thought it was going to be cloudy and rainy all day like the weatherman said. But sometimes, as you know, they are wrong.

This adorable little log cabin was on the road on the way out to the campground. What a beautiful place to live and look out over that water. Although I don't quite know what it's like in the winter time...

We buzzed into Skagway and took care of refilling our propane. It was interesting, the propane suppliers had a sign saying they are open 24 hours. We thought that was unusual for a small town of only 900 people? 

Well, it turns out that when you get to the propane yard, you call the phone number posted on the door. He lives 10 minutes away. He buzzes over and fills up your tank for you. That's how he can be open 24 hours. He's not there all the time. What a great way to run a business.

I also had a few moments to pop into a little quilt shop downtown. I had found it on Google Maps, and a few people on my quilting group had recommended it. 

I went inside and was greeted by a very friendly clerk. The shop was laid out with adorable displays and really nice quilting fabrics. 

I can't take a lot back home with me, but I did manage to find a couple pieces of fabric that would go along with some fabric I bought in Minnesota. There were also some beautiful hand carved seam rippers. A local guy makes them. So I splurged on one as a memento for myself.

Now for the next part of our exciting adventure. We drove on down to the docks and found the Ferry Terminal.

We'd already pre-registered and paid, but we needed to get measured up and in line 2 hours in advance of departure. 

Yes, We were putting our motorhome on a ferry!!

See, let me explain: if we drove around from Skagway to Haines, it is 400 miles. And although Google Maps says 10 hours, it's probably closer to 12 to 14 considering the roads.

These are also some of the same roads that we would be driving on our return trip in some sections. By taking the ferry, we're not duplicating anything. We will still see those same sights. Just one time instead of two. 

If you look here at the map, the ferry is only 21 miles!! To get from Skagway to Haines is an hour and a half. Plus, it's an adventure!

So we drove over to the ferry terminal and got our measurements, we got our Lane Assignment and we were ready to go. The cost of the ferry for both is us and 25.5 foot motorhome was $187.00.

There were four large cruise ships in Port, and it was interesting to watch the people scurrying back and forth from town into their rooms and out on their patios. The wind was blowing and it was pretty cold, even though the sun was shining.

Our ferry was called the Hubbard. It's the type of fairy where you load in from the side of the ship. Very interesting. 

We patiently waited our turn for loading up. Steve was able to maneuver our rig right into the exact spot they wanted. If you're not comfortable with doing it, they will help you. The loading crew were very nice, and the one young man got to stop and chit chat with us while we waited for someone else to maneuver their travel trailer in backwards!! 

Soon we were all settled into our spot. We made Nick comfortable by pulling down all of the shades and turning on some music on an mp3 player quite loud to drown out any outside sounds. He was all set and ready to take a nap on the love seat while we left for a couple hours to be up on deck. People are not allowed to remain with their vehicles, and dogs must remain IN the vehicles. 

We scouted around on the ship and went to the various decks and lounges. The one big deck opens out to the back and has infrared heaters overhead. So you can sit out there and still be warm. We opted to go inside and watch through the windows. 

Yep, we sure look like a couple "tourists"! But then again, so does everyone else.

Once we were underway and cruising, I did go outside to snap a few photos. The wind absolutely blasted me and blew me away. I hung on tight or I would have gone over the railing.

We did sit out on the deck for a while. I told Steve let's stay right by the lifeboat... "just in case". But it still was way too windy.

We went around on the side of the ship, there was one little area near the doorway where the winds seem to be blocked. We managed a few minutes there to do a little selfie video that is included on the YouTube in the link below. 

That is also the area where all the smokers congregated. Their cigarettes wouldn't blow out if they stood right in that little spot.

It was gorgeous though, looking out across the waters. This is the converting of both the Chilkoot and the Chilkat inlets. They both open up out into the Gulf of Alaska which is the northernmost part of the Pacific Ocean.

Some people were hanging out the lounge area, others were at the deli snack counter. There's even a playroom for children.  We walked around a bit and then settled back into our chairs up by the front windows. That was the best view.

The icy peaks of the snow covered mountains were breathtaking. Watching it from the ferry gave us an advantage that we would have never seen from the highway. We are so glad we took this cruise!

Once we rounded the corner and started moving through the Chilkat Inlet, The winds died down a bit. We were able to go back up to the front of the ship on the deck. We were chatting a bit with the workers up there too.  It was interesting to see them stretch out and rewind all of the mooring ropes. Each one has a job to do and everyone's life depends on having the ropes correctly laid on the deck and not wrapped around someone's ankle!!

We scared up a big flock of ducks that were racing alongside of the ferry. It was kind of neat to watch them, even though the pic is blurry from the in motion movements.

We were looking at the big strong anchor chains and the devices used to winch them in and out again. Even the ropes were huge with multiple strands of heavy twisted nylon propylene. I don't think they use cotton or sisal hemp ropes anymore like the old days. These maybe dry out faster and less prone to rot.

Pretty soon we were sidling up to the dock in Haines. Again, we have to unload from the side of the ship once they get it correctly lined up with a ramp. We were now at low tide so we had to drive up up up the ramp to get out of the belly of the ship.

We were all lined up in moored tight to the dock. It was time to go down below and see how our little dog was doing.

Everything was wonderful. It's on the video link below of us weaving our way amongst the vehicles to get to the motorhome. He was pretty darned happy to see us. 

We waited our turn and disembarked up the long plank to reach the main parking lot. Once we were there, we could either turn left to drive down into the town of Haines, or drive right and go towards Chilkoot Lake Rec area. 

It was much warmer on this side of the mountain range. The views were spectacular as we wound our way up the valley towards the campground.

This is called a fish weir... It's used a couple times during the year to count the varius species of fish as they come up to spawn for the season. I think the workers line up all across the structure to count and release each batch of fish from each section of net. Then the fish can continue their journey upriver to spawn.

Only a few miles further we came upon Chilkoot Lake. What a beautiful location surrounded by mountains. There was a boat landing with a number of kayaks available to rent as well.

We drove around and picked a nice private campsite in the farthest loop away from anyone else. There were only three other campers in the entire campground, including the host. Where we went, it was total peace and quiet. We didn't hear another sound.

Camping here was $20, which was payable by credit card at a solar powered kiosk. How interesting is that. Otherwise, we had cash along and could have put it in the envelope in the pay post. They had options for both here. Many rustic campgrounds do not have that flexibility. 

There are no services included. This is rustic camping. The bathrooms are outhouses and there are no shower facilities. The hand water pump is still closed off for the season. So we were sure to have filled up with our water and dumped our tanks back in Skagway before getting on the ferry.

Our coach batteries were a little low, so Steve set up our two flexible 100 watt solar panels to catch the sun. They do the trick. They are smaller than the big 320 Watt panel we normally use on the roof of the cargo trailer. But because we didn't take the cargo trailer this time, we would make do with what we had.

We also topped off the Bluetti power station at the same time. That unit supplements our Coach batteries and also runs our Starlink as well. 

We decided to take a little walk over on a hiking trail nearby. Yes, we carry our bear spray. We also have bear bells and whistles and try to be very "Bear Aware". We noticed an odd odor in one part of the path. Seemed to be coming from these plants. My friend Linda helped look them up on her plant identifier app. They are a version of skunk cabbage. They are different than the skunk cabbage we see back in Wisconsin. These are quite ummmm "aromatic" should we say?

We found an adorable little babbling brook. Yes, the quintessential babbling brook that you read about books. This one had a little tiny waterfall and made just the most delightful gurgling sound in the middle of the soft green muffled sounding woods.

We stopped for a little photo op, because it was just such a pleasant experience. Now when I look at this picture, I can close my eyes and remember exactly what it felt like that day. What it smelled like. What it sounded like. Isn't that what scrapbooks and blogs and photographs are all about?

It was going to get cold overnight. We put up our reflectix panels on every window around inside of the motorhome. Another added method of insulating the camping area is to take this beautiful quilt that I had made right before we left. It's called my Vermont Maple Leaves quilt. It serves double duty.  

Not only is it a quilt to cuddle up in when we watch TV or to cover the faux vinyl loveseat from Nick's paws... It's also a WALL!

We clip it up to a metal strip that originally was a short bunk curtain track. We just use little black plastic clamps to hold it up there overnight. Then during the day we take it back down and put it back on the love seat again. It makes a great insulating layer between the coach part of the motorhome and the front cockpit area. Less square footage to heat.

The next day, the sun came out and it was absolutely gorgeous. It's one of the first days in a long time that we got to sit out in our lawn chairs and really relax and enjoy the surroundings. We looked high up over the trees at the mountains. We listened to the birds chirping. We felt the soft warm breeze on our faces. We actually ended up taking a nap in our lawn chairs sitting outside!!!

Here is the video clip that goes along with today's blog:

Stay tuned for our next blog. 

 It might involve doing 

a little bit of whale watching???

17 miles travel today 

2,931 miles so far