The Meandering Melanders

We spent a couple days getting to Haines. Lots to see. Stopped at the Burwash Museum which contains an excellent collection of wild animal mounts.

The Dalton Cache. This is a trading post which was established on the Canadian/US border along the trail from the port city of Haines to the interior.

There is a major bald eagle sanctuary just North of Haines but the birds were not there yet, would be another couple weeks.

Our RV park in Haines. A real nice place right along the water.

A bald eagle in a tree in the downtown area of Haines. It sat there for hours.

Wanting to see a grizzly, we went to Chilkoot Creek where the salmon were running. Neat place.

There was a fish counting station on the creek. Fishing seasons are flexible depending on what is running and in what numbers.

A rather scary story about the grizzly in the following shots. We parked along the road to walk down to the creek. No sign of bears. We got in the truck to look for another site then returned a few minutes to the same parking site and were told that we had been blocking the trail it uses and that right after we left the bear came out, crossed the creek, walked past the fishermen, crossed the creek, then started fishing.

This guy is sharing the fishing with the grizzlies. There are specific rules when fishing with the bears. When the bear comes you let the fish go so the bear doesn’t link fishermen with food. This is called combat fishing. Another rule is clean the fish on the spot, let the bones etc. stay in the water, put the rest of the fish away in a storage cooler.

Although numerous cruise liners visit the area, mainly going to Skagway, one each week comes to Haines.

These are some of the old homes in Haines.

Our first totem pole on this trip.

A salmon cannery. This is a working collection of antique equipment owned by and used by a private individual.

One of the cruise ships leaving Skagway, which is located some 30 miles from Haines.

Fort Seward. This was an active military installation from 1902 through WW II. After the war it was abandoned and ended up being bought by a group of ex-military who had been stationed there.

We went to an Indian story telling session at the Indian Center on the fort grounds. A renowned local artist, who is also the producer (and the star) of the show created, carved, and painted the masks.

At this time I (Harry) will put on my mask and get ready to close this update.

We snuck away from Haines in the middle of the night, having to be at the ferry dock at 3:30 am for the ride to Skagway. Haines was a hard place to leave, laid back and interestng.