Alaskan Bike Trip - Golden Circle Tour
Traveling to Haines, AK

June 23-24, 2006

Home | Next Day
 


Travel to Haines from Houston via Seattle included a stopover at Juneau, AK, the capital of Alaska. It is a favorite cruise ship port and has many shops and other attractions - including a close up view of the Mendenhall Glacier. Traveling from  Juneau to Haines is via the Alaska Marine Ferry , which Thor used, or flying in a small plane, which Dave and Kevin took as they arrived later.
Note: Click on image for a larger picture in a pop-up window.


Flying to Juneau from Seatle on Alaska Airlines
 


Downtown Juneau
 


View of Juneau and Cruise Ships
 

Mendenhall Glacier

Taku Ferry at Juneau prior to departing for Heines
 

Juneau with Mendenhall Glacier in background

Western side of Lynn Canal from solarium deck
 

Haines Harbor

Glacier off Mud Bay near Haines
 

Haines from road to ferry

"Dalton City" - Movie set from filming of  White Fang

Fort Steward B&B - Former home of Fort Commander

About Haines

The small community of Haines sits on a peninsula between the Chilkat and the Chilkoot inlets at the northern end of the longest and deepest fjord in the US, Lynn Canal. The town tends to be overshadowed by its brasher neighbor, Skagway, but it remains a real Alaskan experience nonetheless. When the weather is clear, it is nothing short of spectacular, with snow-covered Mount Ripinsky rising up behind, the Chilkoot and Chilkat mountains hemming it in on either side, and glaciers spilling out into the deep fjord. The community itself is an interesting mix of unreconstructed rednecks and urban escapees from the Lower 48.

The Tlingit fished and traded here for years before 1881, when the first missionaries arrived and renamed the settlement for a prominent Presbyterian, Mrs. F. Haines. Adjacent to Haines is Fort Seward which was an active military post from about 1900 to 1944. The buildings now are used as private residences, stores and tourist rentals (B&B and hotel). Today Haines survives on fishing and tourism, and though cruise ships tend to press on to Skagway, it remains a popular spot, which in mid-August hosts the cookouts, crafts and log-rolling of the Southeast Alaska Fair  The fairgrounds also hold Dalton City , a small pioneer theme park notable only in that its buildings came from the movie sets of Jack London's White Fang , which was filmed in the Haines area in 1989.

Note: Click on each image for an enlarged picture with a higher resolution and scaled to print 4"x6" format.
MPORTANT: BROWSER POP-UP BLOCKERS MUST BE TURNED OFF FOR THIS PAGE TO SEE LARGER IMAGES