 |
| Haines, AK |
 |
| Ah! Salmon for breakfast! |
We make it to Haines easily enough, but our plans to camp at Chilkat State Park are stymied by a 14% grade on a dirt entrance road and the promise of five days of rain. I’m worried that by the fifth day, not even four-wheel drive will pull the rig uphill in the mud.
Today was spent stopping for photos along the Haines Highway. So many mountains, so much colour! And Darlene continues to have nosebleeds, adding a little colour to the inside of the truck as well.
Checked out another state campground but no sites that could accommodate our length. Did see a grizzly sow with cub fishing for salmon in the river, though! Apparently this is a nightly occurrence in Haines so we’ll try again without the rig on our back end. We’ve found a great turnout by Lutak Inlet, complete with bear scat, so maybe tomorrow morning will bring some excitement when I go outside to fire up the generator for our morning latte.
Sunday, Sept 5th, Labour Day Weekend - Chilkoot Lake State Campground
We’ve been in Haines for five days now. Although it is a small town with limited “attractions” we have kept ourselves busy.
Wednesday was largely spent figuring out where we were going to camp until the 8th, when we leave. There are certainly enough turnouts beside the highway but I’m leery of leaving the trailer unhitched for long periods of time while we explore. We took the truck over to the other campground and checked out the 14% grade. Ridiculous! They must be actively discouraging RVs without actually saying so. The road is not only steep, it is twisty and has not been graded. The potholes and humps are immense. It could easily rip the trailer from the hitch, even at a snail’s pace.
And we are very happy with our site at this campground. Bob, the Camp Host, helped us secure a large pull-through by the lake and we are staying here for five days. Not only is it beautiful, surrounded by tall Sitka Spruce,and facing the lake, we can walk 10 minutes down the road in the morning and evening and watch grizzly bears fishing for salmon. Mostly sows and their cubs - all show up for the salmon (coho), along with eagles and ravens. (They really like this part of the river as the Dept. of Fish & Game has erected a weir so that they can count the salmon run. How’s that for a summer job? Sit in the middle of a weir that spans the river, counting the salmon that swim through a three-foot hole, with grizzlies on either side of you grabbing as many fish as they can.)
 |
| Bear & gull discuss fishing technique at the weir |
 |
| So moose like bananas - who knew? |
Another highlight is a trip to Steve Kroschel’s Wildlife Center. Steve is a film-maker in his own right - just google him - and keeps a tremendous number of Alaskan animals on his huge estate that are used in movies. Need a wolverine? Steve’s got three. (Years ago he brought two to Johnny Carson’s Late Show) His relationship with his animals is nothing short of amazing: grizzlies, wolves, moose (yes, moose!) even weasels and lynx. He vocalizes a hundred different sounds - noises humans don’t usually make. It’s a complicated connection. He doesn’t think of these animals as pets and he is very concerned about their rights as wildlife. I think he sees them as family.
At the end of the tour he invites Darlene and me to remain behind so that we can try for some weasel photos. ( Weasels seem to be constantly on the move, staying still for only a second unless they are in their den.) Amazing guy, multi-talented, no pretense.
We have discovered the Alaska Carving Center where Dar and I talk with a Tlingit carver about a pole that he’s working on. Slowly I’m sorting out the Eagles and Ravens, Killer Whale clan and Frog clan.
The Sheldon Museum helps clarify things and gives me an appreciation for button coats and Chilkoot blankets. But I always come back to the carvings - masks, raven rattles, house posts and totem poles - I’m entranced. ( That Tlingit carver will carve me my own pole - $2500 - $3000 / ft. ) I want thirty feet - something I can plant in front of the house. Make a statement on Knights Bridge Court.
We have had some terrific meals here. Darlene’s been eating salmon and I’ve rediscovered a taste for halibut. And the beer!!! The Haines Brewing Co. is a one-man operation housed in the film set used for the “White Fang” movie. (Apparently the producers were going to tear it down when they were finished shooting but offered it to the town. Haines grabbed it and, as well as the brewery, there is a restaurant, a massage therapist and a wool store housed in the quaint little buildings of “Dawson City”. I contributed by buying a “growler” full of Rock Red. (one of those jugs with a finger hole at the neck)
 |
| Ian supports a small independent business |
Tuesday, September 7th - back by the side of Lutak Inlet, Haines, AK
It’s September 7th. Our friends back in Ontario have just had their first day of school and we are parked beside Chilkoot Sound, watching a couple of seals chase down a fish dinner.
Our week in Haines has been bears, bears, bears! I have shot hundreds of photos and still don’t have one that’s really good. If it’s not the light, it’s the distance - or the way the bear’s facing. And when everything’s perfect it walks behind a rock.
This morning - our last in the park - we woke up to bright sunshine. The river had some mist rising and everything was rimmed in liquid gold. So beautiful, but .........
No bears. In a place where there are ALWAYS bears - no bears.
I don’t think I have the patience to be a wildlife photographer.
Did I mention bald eagles? Haines is a gathering centre for bald eagles in the late fall. If I could wait until November there would be over 3000 birds feasting on a late run of chum salmon on the Chilkat River. As it is, Dar and I counted fifteen fishing the river below the bears. Not easy to photograph, though. I’d need to invest in some very expensive glassware to get close.
No comments:
Post a Comment