B - reporting
We set of for Alaska this morning. We'd travelled some of this road before, and autumn has really set in now. The deciduous leaves are golden, glorious. We had a coffee in tiny Haines Junction, which is basically a collection of motels surrounded by mountains, then went south west to the US border.
This may have been some of my favourite countryside. Massive high plains, rolling up to craggy snow-capped mountains under blue skies. Ever so slightly reminiscent of Mongolia, only less green, and fewer yaks.
The US border was quite a ways south, out of the plateau and back into trees. After the very easy crossing we drove down the Chilkat valley along the Chilkat river. It was like going back in time, as the trees became greener, and there were even late blooming flowers by the roadside. The trees were huge, now, this far south. It seemed so incredibly fertile after the rather bare plateaus of the north.
This valley is a Bald Eagle sanctuary, and depending on the time of year one can see thousands of the birds fishing for salmon. We saw a few, and also a (very distant*) bear. The river widened and deepened, the trees were even more massive and then we emerged at Haines, a fishing/tourist village on the Pacific coast.
Haines is an extremely pretty town, nestled between enormous mountains and the ocean. It is very much a working town, very small but with plenty of motels. They offer all manner of out-doorsy adventures. We found a motel and wondered round the town, past craft shops and cafes, down to the harbour where we were in time to see one of the Alaska cruise ships steaming down to Skagway.
Hungry now, we found the gorgeous Fireweed restaurant, which was fantastic. And very crowded, so we put our name down and had a glass of wine on the patio, overlooking the ocean. Then consumed pesto rolls in such quantity that we had to waddle back to our motel.
* he was a long way away, not aloof
We set of for Alaska this morning. We'd travelled some of this road before, and autumn has really set in now. The deciduous leaves are golden, glorious. We had a coffee in tiny Haines Junction, which is basically a collection of motels surrounded by mountains, then went south west to the US border.
This may have been some of my favourite countryside. Massive high plains, rolling up to craggy snow-capped mountains under blue skies. Ever so slightly reminiscent of Mongolia, only less green, and fewer yaks.
The US border was quite a ways south, out of the plateau and back into trees. After the very easy crossing we drove down the Chilkat valley along the Chilkat river. It was like going back in time, as the trees became greener, and there were even late blooming flowers by the roadside. The trees were huge, now, this far south. It seemed so incredibly fertile after the rather bare plateaus of the north.
This valley is a Bald Eagle sanctuary, and depending on the time of year one can see thousands of the birds fishing for salmon. We saw a few, and also a (very distant*) bear. The river widened and deepened, the trees were even more massive and then we emerged at Haines, a fishing/tourist village on the Pacific coast.
Haines is an extremely pretty town, nestled between enormous mountains and the ocean. It is very much a working town, very small but with plenty of motels. They offer all manner of out-doorsy adventures. We found a motel and wondered round the town, past craft shops and cafes, down to the harbour where we were in time to see one of the Alaska cruise ships steaming down to Skagway.
Hungry now, we found the gorgeous Fireweed restaurant, which was fantastic. And very crowded, so we put our name down and had a glass of wine on the patio, overlooking the ocean. Then consumed pesto rolls in such quantity that we had to waddle back to our motel.
* he was a long way away, not aloof
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| Amazing skies leaving Haines Juction |
.JPG) |
| Heading towards the US again |
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| Haines Valley |
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