Haines is located 80 air miles northwest of Juneau in Southeast Alaska (AKA the Alaska Panhandle) on the upper arm of Lynn Canal. Lynn Canal is a misnomer. It is not a canal but a fjord; actually, the deepest fjord in North America (outside Greenland) and one of the deepest and longest in the world. (Another Biggest/Largest for our list?).
Transportation to Haines is by car, ferry and/or plane. We decided against a 14-hour, 757 mile drive over sparsely populated, mountainous roads in winter. We decided to fly between Anchorage and Juneau and ride the ferry between Juneau and Haines.
Arriving and Departing
Alaska Airlines flew us between Anchorage and Juneau. The flights were on time and uneventful. The views from the window included mountains, coastline and on the return trip a colorful sunrise.
The ferries were a fun, new experience. The ferries of the Alaska Marine Highway System are a large part of Alaska's highway system. The routes are even designated as Scenic Byways! The routes cover 3,500 miles of coastline and service over 30 communities, from Bellingham, WA to Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Chain.
Our ferry, the LeConte, left Juneau at 7:00am and arrived in Haines at 11:45am. We found seats in the inside forward cabin. The morning was overcast; however, we were still able to enjoy the views. Once Juneau harbor was out of sight the communities we saw were few and far between. We saw lighthouses, snowcapped mountains that came down to the water and dolphins. We hoped to see whales, but no luck. The ferry was not crowded, about a quarter full. There was lots of room to move around and spread out. The majority of the passengers seemed to be going to the Eagle Festival like we were.
The ferry back to Juneau was a completely different experience! It left Haines at 4:00pm arriving in Juneau at 8:45pm. I hoped we might see the Northern Lights, but no. It was cloudy and rainy and soon became very dark. The ferry was sold out. Groups of school kids were taking the ferry home after attending a Regional Drama, Debate and Forensics competition. Bodies were everywhere! Kids were sitting on the floor, standing in the aisles and EXCITED to be with their friends!
Leaving Juneau
Sunrise
Alaska's Marine Highway is a designated Scenic Byway
Eldred Rock Lighthouse
Approaching Haines Dock
The Festival
The American Bald Eagle Foundation puts on the Alaska Bald Eagle Festival each November. Eagles gather along a 4 mile stretch of the Chilkat River in the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve to feed on a late season salmon run. This is the largest gathering of bald eagles in the country. The Chilkat Eagle Preserve is located 8 miles north of Haines.
The scheduled activities:
I enjoyed these activities the most:- Thursday's Natural History Chat
- Thursday's Bird Talk
- Friday's Guided Eagle Walk
- Saturday Eagle Release
- Saturday Banquet
The Natural History Chat and Guided Eagle Walk were fun and interesting. Josh Sanko, Animal Curator, lead both these activities. The chat took place at the American Bald Eagle Foundation's headquarters in Haines. Josh introduced us to the Foundation's 3 resident eagles, Bella, Arden and Vega. These are rehabbed eagles that are unable to return to the wild. They became ambassadors and educators! Josh explained eagle behavior, told eagle stories and answered questions. Josh also guided the walk which took place at the Eagle Preserve. We were able to see wild eagles and their behaviors in their natural setting.
The Bird Talk gave participants the opportunity to tell a favorite bird story.
My favorite was the one about an eagle that forgot to unlock his talons before taking off from a limb. The limb broke off and went with him. When the eagle realized this he was flying over a road. A car was on the road. The eagle unlocks his talons, the limb falls and shatters the car's windshield. The insurance company only believed the car owner because another car was behind him and saw it.
BB's favorite story was about the contents of an old eagle's nest. Eagles will use the same nest for many years. Eagles like to eat small animals. An abandoned nest was removed for study. Many cat and dog collars were found in the nest!
The Eagle Release! Amazing and wonderful! However, this is BB's story to tell.
Good food and conversation at the banquet. And I won one of the raffle drawings! I am looking forward to receiving my Yukon Wildlife Preserve T-Shirt, postcards and sticker in the mail.
BB and I drove to the Eagle Preserve twice on our own. Eagles gather along the Chilkat River to gorge on salmon and get fat for the winter. We saw them so full of salmon that they couldn't fly! When full, and when they can fly again, they perch in a tree to digest their meal. Eagles like to steal food, so we saw them steal salmon from each other.
Museums
This trip we visited 5 museums.
Alaska State Museum, Juneau: Our flight had us in Juneau by noon. We spent the afternoon at the Alaska State Museum. Cultural exhibits have artifacts from each of Alaska's Native Cultural Groups. Historical exhibits also cover the Russian colonial period and the American period, 1867 to now.
Hammer Museum, Haines: The Museum's winter schedule is 'open by appointment.' We were fortunate that they agreed to open up during the Festival! We learned that several Haines residents served as members on multiple local Boards/Committees, so things that would normally be closed were opened during the Festival. The Museum is dedicated to preserving the history of the hammer. With over 2,000 hammers on display and another 8,000 or so in storage, the Hammer Museum presents the world's largest hammer collection. (Another Biggest/Largest for our list!). The staff pointed out interesting hammers, telling their history and how they were used. Definitely worth a visit!
Sheldon Museum, Haines: Open House at the Sheldon Museum was an item on the Festival Schedule, so I believe this was another example of Board Members of the two organizations working together. Exhibits showcased the cultural history of the people of Haines and the Chilkat Valley. We saw works by Wayne Price, Master Carver, along with works by woodcarvers he has mentored. There were refreshments (punch, wine and pizza) and great conversation. A museum Board Member introduced herself and gave us a private mini tour of the museum. We had discussions with Eagle Foundation Staff about living in the area and future Festival events. A most enjoyable evening.
I took this picture in the Museum to help me identify the images so I could read the stories on the totems
American Bald Eagle Foundation Natural History Museum, Haines: The Natural History Museum has over 200 taxidermy specimens from all over Southeast Alaska. While looking at stuffed, dead animals might not be my first choice of things to do, I did find it helped me identify animals. How to tell a crow from a raven? Was it a juvenile eagle we saw? How do you identify the different salmon species? Very educational for me.
Jilaat Kwaan Heritage Center, Klukwan: The Heritage Center is on the Chilkat River. There is an open space next to it where the eagle release took place. The Heritage Center was closed for the winter but agreed to open up for the eagle release. Yeah! The exhibit hall contained 3 functioning clan houses. The artwork on the totems and screens is beautiful and tells the history and stories of the clan.
The entrance of the Heritage Center
Waiting for the eagle release (Ali and Josh)
Room and Board
We stayed at the Captain's Choice Hotel. Our room had a view of Lynn Canal; however, we didn't see it until the third morning due to the weather. Snow showers started as the ferry came in on Wednesday and the weather didn't clear enough to see the view until Thursday. We enjoyed our room. The hotel provided shuttles to and from the ferry and let us check out late, with no charge, on our departure day.
Finding food in Haines was interesting. Because it was off season many places were closed or had reduced hours.
Breakfast was provided by the hotel.
We had our first meal at the Fogcutter Bar. It was a friendly place. As we walked in the patrons seated at the bar greeted us with a round of 'Hellos.' The menu was limited. We had a choice of Red Baron Cheese or Pepperoni Pizza or DiGiorno's Canadian Bacon and Pineapple Pizza. We chose DiGiorno's. Watched it come out of its cardboard box to be baked. We were hungry, though, and it tasted great! As they say, hunger is the best sauce. The patrons and staff were welcoming and made us feel at home. We saw one person win $500 off a Pull Tab Game (similar to a scratch ticket). BB gave it a try...but alas did not win. Our next meal out was at The Rusty Compass Coffee House. We stopped in after watching the eagles at the Preserve. We were cold and looking for something warm. Cinamon lattes and a bowl of chicken and sausage gumbo were what we needed...followed by a slice of strawberry coffee cake.
We had several meals at The Bamboo Room. It was nearby, a block down from the motel and seemed to always be open. It is known for its halibut and chips, which BB and I had our first time there. We stopped in one afternoon for a snack of coffee and cheese fries. We had our last meal in Haines there before leaving to catch the ferry. (BB - hamburger; Sal eggs and hash). About 12 kids came up from the ferry to have lunch at The Bamboo Room. Every table in the place was taken. It slowed service but had no impact on our food....it was still good! However, it was a glimpse of what to expect on the ferry.
Rusty Compass Coffee is next door to Fogcutter
BB at Bamboo Room
Two views of Lynn Canal from our room
The Captain's Choice Motel
People
I don't want to forget some nice, interesting people we met so I am mentioning them here.
These Festival participants were at the Capitan's Choice with us. We would have breakfast together and plan our days:
- George and Brenda from Denver
- Dean from Austin.
These Festival participants we didn't really meet until the banquet. We sat together and they gave us a ride back to the hotel when our shuttle asked to be relieved of duty:
All the staff at the American Bald Eagle Foundation:
The woman, who I think was a board member (I am so upset that I don't remember your name!), who spent time with us at the Sheldon Museum and made a point to speak with us at the eagle release and the banquet.
I'm glad I met them all!
Sal
