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Haines Journals

Detour Alaska

An August 2001 trip to Haines by sasha1

Waterfront Haines Photo - Haines, Alaska More Photos
Quote: As winds reached 70 mph our captain made the decision we would have to detour from our intinerary. The next morning we awoke in Haines. Haines?- No one knew. As we docked I leaned over the rail and heard a lone lady on the pier say "Isn't this exciting!"
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Detour Alaska Best of IgoUgo

Overview

Waterfront Haines Photo - Haines, Alaska
Quote:
The town rolled out its red carpet to us and I swear that between the time we arrived and early afternoon banners had been unfurled along the main street. Took back more souveneirs from Haines than anywhere else and they were free. Two bald eagles traversed the waterfront and perched nearby impervious to our intrusion. There are a few shops for local crafts and a lovely old hotel. We found out a ferry runs to Skagway and jumped aboard along with a local and his wolf-dog. After missing the last boarding for the Yukon Railroad we joined a tour by a park ranger. One of the best tours we took throughout our trip. Afterwards we wandered the town with it's many stores filled with Russian ...Read More
Treasured Memories Photo - Haines Rock Hound Heaven, Haines, Alaska
Quote:
After a craft shop owner told me the rhodenite necklace I was looking at was made from a stone picked up on the waterfront I headed out to see what I could find. This is not a beach but a waterfront of stones that have been worn smooth by the sea from the size and roundness of marbles to the oval and size of goose eggs. I began picking up unusual rocks in colors ranging from speckled white and black to rose, pea- green and copper until my pockets sagged and I had to admit that one more stone and the gang plank would be beyond me. In the meantime the lovely mountains of the Chilkat Range hovered in the distance and an annoyed bald eagle kept watchful distance. Sometimes the...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on September 16, 2001

Haines Rock Hound Heaven
Haines Waterfront
Haines, Alaska

Haines Ferry Photo - Haines-Skagway Ferry, Haines, Alaska
Quote:
The ferry provides a free tour as we pass waterfalls and glaciers and the onboard amateur and enthusiastic guide tells us about life in the tiny town of Haines where she'd grown up. Sleepy against the Chilkat Mountains, between late October and December Haines becomes home to over 3000 bald eagles- one of the top gatherings in the world. She, child of two native tribes, has spent her life in various Alaskan communities and describes meeting her father and his community for the first time. She is open to questions. "What do you do in the winter?" "Rent videos- relax." Away briefly from a hamster on a treadmill world it's hard to imagine months of videos and relaxation as an expected and...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on September 16, 2001

Haines-Skagway Ferry
142 Beach Road
Haines, Alaska 99827
(907) 766-2100

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Best of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Alaska Gold Rush- Park Ranger Tour"

Skagway Goldrush History Photo - Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Haines, Alaska
Quote:
Stop at the Skagway historical museum and join a park ranger walking tour. What will you learn about? A ton of stuff, and also what a "ton of stuff" means to the gold rush prospector and how without it they were turned back. Death, disaster and destroyed dreams. Foolish hopes and brave expeditions. How Mr. Moore thought he'd secured a fortune and a place in history but ended up caving to unscrupulous men who came after him who crushed his years of hope and planning. How marriages (sometimes to secure favorable relations) between dreamers, prospectors and Native American women in a frontier environment faired in the lower states. Walk through preserved buildings and the Moore home. Learn...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on September 16, 2001

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad Depot
Haines, Alaska 99840
(907) 983-2921

Skagway Visitor Center Photo - Skagway's Soiled Dove, Haines, Alaska
Quote:
As many women did, Belinda Mulrooney made her fortune from the men and not the mines of the Gold Rush Era. As you walk the streets of Skagway (no, she didn't, the soiled doves were never allowed on anything but the back streets of the town) stop by the bronze bust dedicated to her. Belinda used her shrewd wits to become what in today's terms would have been a multi-millionairess. When she used some of her money to build a hotel a bit from town people laughed at her. But she built it a comfortable distance to where the miners were seeking, finding and it seems willing to spend their gold. And considering that time away from their stake was money lost, her establishment proved this was one smart lady...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on September 20, 2001

Skagway's Soiled Dove
Alaska
Haines, Alaska

About the Writer

sasha1

sasha1
Florida, United States

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