Morning came early for us today. We were up and on our way by 5:45am to the ferry terminal in Haines a short distance from Oceanside Campground. We were taking our motorhome, Larry his 5th wheel, on the ferry to Skagway- a 45 minute ferry ride as oppose to a 350 mile land travel. The cost for the motorhome and car plus Tom and I were $228.00- $31.00 a person, car $41.00, motorhome $125.00. May sound expensive but the cost for gas (Alaska gas is about $3.68 a gallon) and probably a night camping before getting to Skagway and the wear and tear of travel on some of these roads on vehicles plus on us makes it seem practical. Once at the terminal we had to go inside to check-in and get lane assignments. Tom drove the motorhome on and I drove the car, the car cannot be towed on the ferry. About 6:15am the loading of the vehicles began. I was loaded on first, then Tom and later Larry. Larry had not been issued a ticket that covered the truck and 5th wheel (Larry had questioned this the day we had purchased our tickets and was told that everything was covered) so he had to go back into the terminal and pay additional money and then he had to back his 5th wheel down the ramp into the ferry with the help of a terminal worker that did not know how to give directions for backing up. What fun!!
We all met up in the observation lounge of the ferry to sit back and enjoy the scenery.
Travis and Sadie had to stay in the RV’s. We left Port Haines about 7:15am and got to Skagway about 8am. Leaving the ferry was easy- Larry was the first off,
Tom followed soon afterward and then I finally got to leave. We grouped up in a parking lot at the terminal and got in the car and went uptown for breakfast at the Sweet Tooth Cafe. Reservation had been made at a campground but we had been told that we should bide a little time before coming to the campground so early. We did go to the campground after we had had breakfast and were able to get into sites. After setting up our RV’s we rode into the town area. There were 3 cruise ships in port so the town was bustling with activity.
We went to the Visitor’s Center and watched a movie about the Klondike Gold Rush and all 4 of us had difficulty keeping awake so we returned to the campground and rested for a couple of hours. Then we returned to town and did a little shopping and went to the Red Onion Saloon for a late lunch or early dinner. The Red Onion was a brothel during the gold rush days. The waitress were dressed in period style racy dresses acting out the part. Afterwards we drove out to Dyea a town that no longer exists but once was larger than Skagway in the Gold rush days. The weather today is cold- highest temperate was in low 60’s but the wind was blowing and it is cloudy although no rain today- not the kind of weather we think of in July.
