17 June 08, Tuesday
At the ferry check in we decided to buy some extra distance and go all the way to Skagway in Alaska. Our ferry or the ship is called Matanuska; 408 feet long 74 feet wide with 3029 tonnes. Skagway seems to be more the tourist destination than Haines, AK; as a matter of fact, the town lives off the tourists. There is no more gold rush; fishing is better in other places, some logging continues but it is easier to get money out of tourists. Just about all the cruise ships stop here; one day in summer they had 12 thousand people disembark and storm into town.
Every time our ferry was docked we could get at our Sprinter and take the things up to our cabin which we forgot. The cabin was just that, a cabin with three beds; shower, sink and toilet; but we did sleep in a bed. There were many young people “camping” on deck. They even are allowed to put up tents in the rear; this time there were so few passengers, it was not necessary.
The trip was quite exciting; we went through some narrows where you thought you could touch the side of the mountains. Even though it was cold, we had pretty good visibility. We did see whales, many dolphins, sea otters; it was interesting enough to keep you eyes peeled on the water.
We also met two couples in motor homes, which we had met on the road before. I am sure we will be running into them again here in Alaska; there are not so many roads.
We walked only once on land, in Wrangell, Alaska. Our stops were either too short or it was midnight or some other time when you don’t feel like walking around. The bed was cosier.
Getting back into our Sprinter today,
