Valdez is located in the south-central part of Alaska on the coast, so we had to drive out the same road we took in to get back on our route. We were now heading to Haines and Skagway, and then starting our trek back to Minnesota.
On the way to Haines, the view was gorgeous. The road followed the mountains and a river was also flowing alongside; sometimes deep in a gorge below and sometimes right next to us. The continuous climb and descent on the mountainous roads led to picturesque scenery for hours. Plus, a big grizzly ran across the road right in front of us. Exciting!
We stopped to camp for the night along Nabesna Road which is a 42-mile road leading into Wrangall-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. It is 1 of only 2 road accesses to the park, and Wrangall is the largest National Park in Alaska (possibly North America… can’t remember). As soon as we started driving down the road we spotted a moose, just standing next to the road, looking around. He was huge.
We took off early the next morning, saw another moose, and headed toward Tok, then the border crossing into Canada. We drove through Yukon and eventually crossed back into the US to get to Haines. The van put on some miles.
Haines is a small town on the coast and a few cruise ships stop here (but most stop at Skagway). Haines is a wonderful place; both Adam and I loved it. First off, it’s gorgeous (rivers, sea, mountains, wildlife, trails, the list goes on…) and it has a great vibe. It doesn’t have a ton of tourists and it’s full of small town businesses. Every place was unique. The town is full of artists and the like, and it was apparent everywhere. Something we wanted to stop by was the Hammer Museum, but we unfortunately got there at 4:59 for a 5:00 closing. Most places closed pretty early, but we were able to find plenty to do.
We went to the Raptor Center and saw just a handful of the hundreds of birds that call Haines their home. A large bald eagle preserve (48,000 acres) is just outside of town and is home to more than 3,000 bald eagles. The best viewing starts mid-october so we missed out.
A picture of their camper on their camper... and the front has their names painted above their seats (Bob and Judy). Awesome.
We went out to dinner at the Bamboo Room and checked out a few local bars. One bar had a bell that signified free drinks for everyone when rung and a local man rung it twice. We thanked the double-dinger and had a cheap night out.
We had already purchased ferry tickets for the following day to head to Skagway and only had a small amount of time in the morning before taking off. We went down to the Chilkoot River which was known for grizzly watching due to the high amounts of salmon and fishing. We drove by at the perfect time and saw a mama bear with her two cubs. We stood on the bridge and watched with dozens of other people and just couldn’t get enough. The cubs were adorable and the big grizzly’s head was the size of a beach ball.
We checked out a couple other viewpoints before heading to the ferry and were sad our time in Haines was so short.
The ferry to Skagway took about 45 minutes once we were on the water, and it was the van’s second ferry ride. This was the cheaper option between taking a ferry from Haines to Skagway or driving from one to the other. If you imagine a wishbone or the letter n, Haines is at one bottom point and Skagway is at the other. The fastest way between them is by boat (or plane).
We got to Skagway and were welcomed by swimming sea otters, schools of salmon, and 3 cruise ships. Every day the town increases by 5 to 10 thousand people. The main strip is covered in souvenir shops, jewelry stores, and a few restaurants. We walked around for a little bit and decided this would be a great place for the real surf and turf meal I had been talking about since we got to Alaska, and since this was our last stop, we had minimal options. We had steak and salmon and it was delicious.
The main strip.
We headed out of town after visiting a sweet rock gallery and a few other shops, and drove down a 7-mile gravel road that connected to the old Dyea townsite. During the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898-1899 this place housed thousands of people. This is also a wetland/inlet area that leads to the Chilkoot Trail (a popular hike).
There's a moose on the loose.
On the way in to Dyea we noticed a bunch of seals swimming. We pulled over and watched for a bit. It was so serene. The mountains were coming up behind the water, the seals were poking their little heads up everywhere and a lady in a kayak was floating around. She slowly paddled by us and we broke the natural calmness by saying hello. She looked up and said, “Welcome to Dyea” as she continued by and 3 seals followed after her. Her hat had a feather sticking out of it and her voice was peaceful as not to disturb anything.
“Was that just the opening scene for a movie?” I asked Adam. It all seemed so fake because it was that great.
We camped that night and the next morning headed north out of Skagway. We crossed the border again and this time realized we had left Alaska for good. It feels like we just arrived, and we aren’t quite ready to leave. It’s pretty easy to see how people can spend 6 months traveling around here, especially the Kenai Peninsula and the southeastern towns.