Haines and the Alaska Bald Eagle Festival (Nov 9-12, 2002) - Sal's Take

 

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:

• Neil
• Elaine from Reno

All the staff at the American Bald Eagle Foundation:

• Josh
• Ali
• Ashley

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

Ferry, Haines, Eagles and More Eagles!!!

The Bald Eagle Festival in Haines has been on my bucket list since visiting Anchorage six years ago and seeing a picture of like 30 eagles together on a beach.  It was stunning to me. Well, we didn’t see that many gathered on a beach, but we did count 14 on one stop and probably more on other stops.  And the eagles were stunning.

Here are some pictures from our week-long trip.  We flew into Juneau and spent the night, rode the Alaska Marine Ferry four hours to Haines (a beautiful trip starting at 7:00 am), had five days in Haines, then ferry back to Juneau yesterday and plane home today.  I am tired, so mostly pictures now.  But it was a wonderful trip, and, so exciting, I won an auction and got to participate in the release of a young, rehabilitated bald eagle!   More on that later!  

 

Good Alaska Advice

We chatted with a longtime Alaskan in the Hyundai waiting room while our studded tires were being put on.  She told us always open your door slowly, you never know what might be outside.

Oh, like that…

That’s mama moose at the corner of our apartment and baby moose on the sidewalk directly in front of our door.

When mama lifted her head and looked at Sal, we decided to watch from my bedroom window. We weren’t looking for trouble.  They trample you with their hooves, you know.  In Alaska, moose outnumber bears 3-1.  And while 5-10 people here are injured annually by a moose, that’s more than black and grizzly bear attacks combined in the state.  Worldwide, hippos injure more people than any other animal; moose rank second.  Isn’t that interesting?

But, sorry, that took a dark turn, 

Back to our window watching.  

We had been thrilled to see them earlier in the backyard just chilling.  

Y’all, Alaska is so cool! Hope to be seeing some eagles soon!

China Hot Springs - BB’s Take

Today, Saturday, Sal and I went to Big Ray’s here in Anchorage and got warm gloves, a warm hat, more flannel-lined pants and fleece balaclavas because China Hot Springs was COLD and we weren’t properly prepared for below zero temps.  When I say “we” I of course mean me, because Sal is an outdoor person and she knows things.  But I learn quickly.

Anchorage has been in the 20s and 30s, Richmond winter weather, and dressing in layers was comfortable for running errands.  Snow pants and boots made longer trail walks easily tolerable.  But CHS was forecast for a high of 2 and a low of -11 on the day we arrived.  I saw the temperature posted at -4 on the resort’s activity board, so it was at least that cold.  Long periods of standing outside, a glove off to take pictures, was very cold.  Totally worth it for the beautiful northern lights, but, yeah, very cold.

The trip up from Anchorage was beautiful.  We did see at least four moose.  Maybe five.  I saw eyes in the dark and a big shape that I think was a moose.  We still love to see them, but no longer do a U-turn to go back for a second look.  We’ve seen a lot, which is cool.  Once the sun rose, we had snow-covered mountains all around us.  Did we see Denali?  Maybe. Is this it?  Probably not, but it’s a big one.

Later it got cloudy, but driving through the snow-dusted forest was magical.  

There was snow on the road on the drive up, but the snow is so dry, just powder, and the wind would blow it around so it would swirl in different patterns on the road.  If a truck passed us, we would be in white-out conditions for a few seconds until the show settled back down on the pavement.  

Sal pretty much told what we did.  Everything was fun.  I’d brave the hot springs again in a minute.  The ice carvings were pretty amazing and the bar was fun.  We each had an appletini in an ice-carved glass.  The tradition is to take your glass outside afterwards, make a wish and smash it.  Which we did.

The drive home on Thursday was long, partially because of stops we made and also because it snowed off and on and we were cautious driving.    Sal drove the whole way and I took pictures.  

Anchorage had gotten 6+ inches of snow while we were gone, apparently unexpected snow, and the schools  were closed.  That surprised us, but it’s partly due, maybe, to a big school bus driver shortage  here.  That’s what someone said, anyway.

We’re heading out for another trip before too long.  More Alaska adventures.  I’ll be better prepared for this trip.  Watch for pictures.   That will be us in the balaclavas .

Our Trip to Chena Hot Springs - Sal's Take

Chena Hot Springs Resort is located 57 miles northeast of Fairbanks.  We decided to visit because, according to its website:

Chena Hot Springs Resort is world renown for being one of the best places on Earth to see the northern lights. It is located under the most active band of northern lights, it is away from the light pollution of city lights, and the skies over Chena are clear more often than those over Fairbanks, 60 miles away.

We checked the Auroa Forecast on the Geophysical Institute's Website and decided the nights of November 1 and 2 looked promising. 

The majority of our trip would be on AK-3, or the George Parks Highway, which goes from just outside Anchorage to Fairbanks.  George Parks was governor of the Alaska territory from 1925 - 1933.  The road is often called the Parks Highway.  People who only hear it called by its short name think it was named that because it goes by Denali NP.  No.  

Day 1: Nov 1

It is a 7.5-hour drive from Anchorage to Chena Hot Springs when driving conditions are perfect.  November is winter in Alaska, so conditions might not be "perfect".  We wanted to get there before dark (sunset was at 5:10pm) and allow extra driving time.  We decided to leave at 6:00am.  It would be dark, but we figured driving roads near Anchorage in the dark was better than driving roads near Chena Hot Springs (CHS) in the dark.

We were on the road by 6:10. It was dark.  We were on alert for moose and Northern Lights.  We saw 4 or 5 moose by the road before daylight.   The Northern Lights weren't out.

Healy is 4.5-hours from Anchorage.  We planned to stop at 49th State Brewing in Healy for lunch.  We were disappointed to discover it was closed for the season.  Denali NP is about 11 miles from Healy and there are restaurants, shops and lodging at the park entrance.  All the businesses outside the entrance to Denali NP were boarded up.  BB found Rosa's restaurant near Healy that, according to its website, was open.  It was not.  We ended up getting gas at a Vitus station in Healy and stopping at Three Bears Grocery for bathroom break and snacks. 

We experienced snow showers on the Parks Highway in the neighborhood of Denali NP and Healy.  Then the sun came out.  And made RAINBOWS!  Rainbows and snow....who'd a thunk it?

We discussed having lunch in Fairbanks but decided we just wanted to get there.  I was driving and while the roads weren't bad I was channeling my Mother, which means I was worried about what the weather and roads might be like closer to CHS.  However, we arrived about 3:30, still daylight and without incident.

We checked into our room and headed straight to dinner.  We both had halibut. I don't remember ever having halibut before coming to Alaska.  Halibut has replaced salmon as my favorite fish.

We rested for a few hours before bundling up to go hunt for the Northern Lights.   The night looked promising.  The stars were out.  The forecast for the Lights was promising.  A room in the Resort's Activity Center was set up for viewing.  It had chairs in front of a large, north facing picture window.  The room had a door to the outside. We would watch out the window until we saw something promising, then move outside for a better look.  We were not disappointed. The lights showed up!  At first they were faint cloud-like formations over the horizon.  The faint clouds turned into defined bands of light crossing the sky.  Then they grew to be bright, dramatic waves of light that covered half the sky.  It was awesome!

BB took these two Northern Light pictures:

The Viewing Room in the Activity Center (Seymour the Moose says Hi!):

Day 2:  Nov 2

First order of the day was a visit to the hot springs pool. We were conflicted. The pool is outdoors.  The average temperature of the water is 106 degrees (Yeah!).  The air temperature around 20 degrees (Boo!).   We had much discussion on what to wear to the bathhouse and whether it was possible to stay warm going from the bathhouse to the pool.   We didn't run from the bathhouse into the pool; however, I admit we walked very quickly!  It was warm and relaxing in the pool.  Mist rose from the water and coated the trees with frost, giving the place a magical, fairy tale look.  

Second order of the day was a GEO Thermal tour, or the many ways CHS uses thermal energy.  All the salad greens, herbs and tomatoes served in the restaurant and flowers used to decorate the property are grown in green houses heated using thermal energy.  The resort is conducting collaborative experiments in greenhouse production of vegetables with the UAF Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. CHS is off the power grid.  The resort's power needs are met by a geothermal power plant.  All the buildings are heated using hot water radiators.

Our third event of the day was a tour of the Aurora Ice Museum.  We were surprised to hear that this is the world's largest year-round ice environment.  Another Biggest/Largest item for our list!  Inside the museum are many amazing ice sculptures (jousting knights, a chess set, an igloo and more), an ice chapel (CHS allows couples to get married in the ice chapel), 4 hotel rooms made of ice (you can book one for the night) and a bar made of ice that serves drinks in glasses made of ice.   Very Cool!  (Pun intended).

Wandering around the resort we saw a warm water pond posted with a sign reading "for moose and ducks."  The ducks flew over us while we were soaking in the hot springs.  No moose showed up.  We did see a fox playing in the snow.

The evening was overcast.  We hunted the Northern Lights for a few hours with no success.  The lights were so specular last night that we were OK they didn't appear tonight.

The Hot Springs Pool:

The mist turns to frost on the trees:

CHS Greenhouses:

In the Aurora Ice Museum:
   Knights Jousting

The Ice Bar

Us in the Igloo:

The Fox:

Day 3:  Nov 3

Time to go home.

We left early, 7:50.  Besides being a long drive we had things we wanted to see near Fairbanks.  

It was snowing lightly during the 64-mile drive to the Fairbank's Fred Meyer on Airport Way.  Why did we want to see this Fred Meyer store?  It's another Biggest for our list! The Fairbanks Fred Meyer on Airport Way has the highest sales in the entire country. One reason the store's sales are so high is that it delivers goods to many bush communities in Alaska's interior.  It is the second largest in size with a footprint of over 5 acres.  It certainly is an impressive store.  After filling up with gas we headed 20 miles down the road to our next stop.

The next stop before heading home was North Pole, Alaska.  Here we visited the Santa Claus House. We saw Christmas decor and candies galore along with reindeer and the World's Largest Santa!  Another entry for our list!  Lunch was at the Country Cafe.  The Country Cafe was featured on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. 

The Three Bears in Healy saw us again, as we stopped for gas and to use the rest room.  We encountered snow several miles on each side of Talkeetna, but slow and steady got us home safely.  

The end of the trip was topped off with a beautiful sunset!  

Inside Fred Meyer:

World's Biggest Santa:

Sal