July 12: Like a Relay Race - The Suburban Hand Off

Monday July 12, Last day on the ferry: In the morning, we docked briefly 14 miles outside of Juneau. The city wasn’t visible, but we got our first glimpse of a massive glacier sitting just beyond and above the city. Underway for our last few hours, more glaciers and dramatic water falls pouring down clefts in the mountains and tumbling straight into the sea kept me reaching for the camera.

After 3 days on the ferry, we were so ready to get back on land, where the world is so much larger than a boat, and where stores sell green vegetables and food that’s not fried! We stood against the railings, searching Haines’ ferry landing for our car and trailer. And there it was! And there was Greg, his sister Nancy, and her son Ethan, waiting to trade places with us! All that planning actually worked out!

We had a nice visit with Greg and Nancy, swapping bits of advice and travel stories. Greg was right – although we didn’t see bears around Haines, their droppings were all along the roadside shoulders…why? Haines is spectacularly situated between their fishing harbor and towering, glaciated mountains. We camped just outside of town at Chilkat State Park. The sunshine and the gorgeous beach with good views of 2 glaciers made it a memorable place for our first night of camping.