Our visit to Haines is ending. This small town offers so much to see and do. A highlight for many is the bears that frequent the area of the Chilkoot River near the lake and weir. We saw at least seven different bears, some with cubs, during our time here. It is fun to see the bears coming down the river and the fisherman hurrying out of their way. Several bears fish the fish-counting weir daily and we were able to plan to see them each day. The interaction between the mother bears and cubs was so touching to watch. One sow gave her little one the responsibility of carrying the “take-home” fish across the road. He dropped it partway and batted it back to the side and then she had him pick it up and bring it back again. We also went to a stream out of town filled with spawning salmon and watched a very large grizzly boar catch and eat many fish in a very short time.
A beautiful old cannery has been reopened and processes salmon and halibut. You can watch the fish unloaded from the boats into an icy slush and wheeled to the processing area, and observe through glass windows as the fish are filleted, deboned and packed for the freezer. I arrived at lunch time and thought they were closed. A peek through the windows showed a spotless work area with not a sign of fish. They obviously clean the area thoroughly before leaving for lunch and beginning the afternoon shift. Within just a couple of moments big king salmon were shoveled onto the table, deheaded, and moved toward the filet and deboning maching. There are even workers with tweezers who carefully examine each piece of fish for any pinbones missed by the machines. We bought halibut and sockeye salmon to add to the store in our freezer.
Two glaciers are visible near the cannery. The entire town is surrounded by soaring, snow-capped mountains. Cruise ships sail pass on their way to Skagway and two days a week cruise ships are in town. The shops in Haines are a delight to visit. Unlike neighboring towns the stores are all locally owned and offer a charming variety of merchandise. One of my favorites is Dejon Delights which has a wide variety of gourmet foods, including the best smoked salmon around.
We traveled to Skagway on the Fjordlands Express. The Express travels between Skagway, Haines and Juneau, stopping for whales and other wildlife along the way. The captain/owner of this boat is very skilled and knowledgeable. I took my favorite seal photos ever along the way and was happy even if the whales dived too quickly for me to get good photos.
This trip we didn’t visit many of the other places in town, including the American Bald Eagle Foundation, Kroschel Wildlife Center or the museums and galleries in town. There is just so much to do and we spent a lot of time just relaxing.
Monday we will load the car and motor home onto the ferry for the next stage of our trip south.
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| Seals on Mussels and Kelp |
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| Cannery |
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| A Very Large Bear |
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| Fishwheel |
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| Fishing Grizzly |
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| Haines |
4 comments:
It's crazy how many bears yall are seeing. It seems like you would hear of more bear attacks in that area.
The grizzlies in Southeast Alaska are called "brown bears". They are the same type of bears as inland grizzlies but are much larger because of the abundance of food. They are also much less aggressive, probably for the same reason.
Fascinating account of the bears and salmon fishing in Haines, Gayle. You and Breland must have had an exciting time.
Dick:)
Sounds and looks wonderful. A wildlife photographer's dream.
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