Heading to Haines, Alaska

We left Valdez and drove to Glennallen.  In the distance we could glimpse the Wrangell Mountains.

Glennallen was uneventful and really a very small town (pop. 436). It consists mostly of the Athna First Nation Tribe who own a good deal of the land that encompasses the Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve. In 1899, the U.S. Army built a pack trail for summer use between the port of Valdez and Eagle which passed through the Copper River Valley.  The road was widened years later and became the Richardson Highway.  

There is a town called the Copper Centre that we wanted to visit because of the historical information and it was also supposed to be a beautiful site.  We drove over there and, boy, were we surprised.  The town consists of a loop and we drove down it with the pups thinking we might stop for lunch.  I felt like we had entered another country.  The place was a total disaster.  The only restaurant we saw (and I use that term loosely) had a St. Bernard who came out from the porch to greet us.  He was not friendly.  The few people we saw in the town looked at us as though we were intruders and there were no historical sights we could see, only old beat-up buildings. We decided to leave quickly.

We had noticed earlier when we drove down Richardson Highway  that right across the road that turns to Copper Centre is another road that leads up to the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge.  You could see it up on a ridge and we thought it was an odd place for a Princess Hotel.  We drove up there and found it was a very nice facility.  The draw for the lodge is the Wrangell-St Elias National Park for people who want the outdoor rugged experience (with a guide). 

   

The lodge was fairly empty and all around it were hiking trails and beautiful views of the area.  Many of the guests come in from the cruise ships.

In the distance you can see a section of the Alaska Pipeline.

But the neatest part was the inside of the lodge.  We took the pups for a hike and then decided to go inside for lunch.  The dining room was closed but the bar served lunch specials.

The main section of the lodge was decorated in a Christmas theme.  We thought maybe they did this because they were closed by winter time.

According to legend, in the early part of the 20th century a freak blizzard stranded visitors and their stagecoach at the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone.  Rather than lament the fact that they were snowbound in a hotel, the guests decided to celebrate Christmas since it looked like Christmas outside.  This Princess Lodge celebrates Christmas in August because it neighbors a national park, as do all of the Princess Lodges.

We had a great meal in the lounge and talked with several of the people who worked there.  They are not locals.  They are hired by the Princess Lines and go to different lodges every year.  The lodge was closing down for the season on September 8th and will not open again until mid-May of next year.  It is actually closed longer than it is open. Amazing!

We took a road called the Tok-Cutoff back to the town of Tok on our way to Haines.  Once again the frost heaves took a toll on the road. 

Bev and Terry we saw this sign along the way.  We're sure it was named for your sweet pup!

These pieces of metal on the side of the road were an attempt to prevent permafrost from causing  the roads to heave.  It did not succeed.

We spent the night in Tok and then continued our trip to Destruction Bay driving on the Al-Can Highway.  We stayed at a beautiful park situated in a gorgeous area around Destruction Bay.

The plants around the lake were changing color and we knew winter was not far behind.

On the beginning of our trip to Alaska, driving between Tok and  Destruction Bay, we passed a Creperie on the side of the road that was miles away from any town or business. I suggested we stop and see it when we were driving back.  Remember this is the Al Can Highway so you drive the same roads in and out. 

The shop is known for its cinnamon buns so we bought some.  We also decided to get a lunch crepe which was very good.

They had a cute dining room heated with a wood stove.  The owners are French and purchased the place several years ago.  Every two weeks the owner drives 4 hours to Whitehorse for supplies and 4 hours back so they can make all their own breads, crepes, etc.  I don't know how they do it.

About 40 miles after Destruction Bay we got off the Al Can and headed south on Haines Highway.  It was a beautiful road.  Nicely paved with good shoulders and easy driving, we were impressed.  We had to go through customs again because we were leaving Canada and going into the U.S. to get to Haines, but we had no problem crossing over.

It was raining again but we were still enjoying the drive and then about 10 miles outside of Haines we came upon road construction  and had to follow a pilot car the rest of the way into town.

The left side of the road is all mountain and the right side is a river.  They are blasting the rock from the mountain to widen the road and stop the continual landslides.  It is quite a project.

After blasting and manually pulling sections of the rock away, they then use blasts of water to bring down remaining loose rock.  It was already raining and the additional water from the trucks made the dirt road even harder to drive on.

Driving the rig through this mess was not easy and sure made everything dirty.

But here we are in Haines, Alaska.  A beautiful town where we stayed in another very nice park.

Our park was close enough that you could walk, bike, or drive into Haines.

Haines is also a big port for cruise ships.  We saw two different ships in port while we stayed there.

The views were stellar.

These carvings were made out of granite.

This area was part of the old Fort Stewart based in Haines but now it is residential homes.

Another cruise liner in port.  The town offers side trips to Juneau or Skagway so many of the passengers from the ships go on those tours.

Along with the cruise ships, Haines is another big fishing town which draws many people.  There is a cannery in town, too, so it is easy to purchase fish there if you don't want to go out and catch them.  And along with the fish are the bears and the eagles who are enjoying the spawning season.

Momma bear sitting in the water in front of a weir where the salmon swim upstream.  We watched her for a long time and she never caught a fish.  She must have been so full she couldn't eat anymore or maybe it just felt good sitting in the swirling water.  Ahhhhh !!!

But she had three cubs with her and they were really enjoying the fish.

Sometimes the cubs would walk back and forth across the road with their catch.  Notice the photographers in the background.  This was in a state park and they had rangers controlling the crowd to protect the bears and people who would get too close.

The town has many nice restaurants and we went to dinner at the Pilot Light one evening.

It was  very eclectic.

We spent four days in Haines and had a great time.  The weather was nice and the people were very friendly.  Haines was our last stay in Alaska as we begin the long journey back home. 

We left on a Sunday morning heading back to Whitehorse in the Yukon because that is the only way you can go by vehicle.  The drive out was much easier because it was sunny and the road wasn't being worked on so we were able to get through the construction area more quickly.  While in Haines we started hearing a strange noise coming from our GMC Acadia so we made an appointment in Whitehorse to get it checked out.  Always something..... the adventure continues ...... Peace!