Sunday, August 15, 2022 - Today, we drove from the pull-out near Kluane Lake in the Yukon to Haines Alaska. The weather was excellent and the temperatures were excellent until we began to approach Haines. The temps then drove into the mid-50s and the tops of the mountain were covered with clouds.

Thirty minutes before we reached Haines Junction, we had a flat tire. We did not have a good place to pull off the road, so we just moved to the side of the road and put out reflectors to warn oncoming vehicles. Luckily, the traffic was low. Just about every car or RV that came by stopped to ask if we needed help. They were so nice. Lisa and I were able to change the tire and then head into Haines Junction where we met with Jim Bucknell to give him the tie-straps that we had bought for him as a gift for helping us previously. We found out that there was one place in Haines Junction that could mount our new tire on our flat tire, but they were closed. Jim made a phone call and the owner of a tire repair shop came out to help mount our tire. This allowed us to continue on to Haines with out the fear of not having a spare.

The road to Haines is excellent. It is one of the best roads we have been on in Canada and Alaska; very smooth. The distance from Haines Junction to Haines is 150 miles. It turned out to be one of the most scenic drives that we have had on our trip. Lots of glaciers and large vegetation covered valleys. We drove slowly just to extend the time to enjoy the scenery.

We arrived at the Haines Hitch-Up RV Park and found setup very easy. We plan to be here two days. We want to see some bears that feed on salmon near here and also explore the Bald Eagle Preserve in the area. We are early for the eagles, but we will see if some are here a little early for the salmon runs.

Tuesday, August 16, 2022 - We drove to Chilkoot Lake to see if there were any bears or bald eagles there. As you leave Haines, you drive about ten miles south along Portage Cove and you will arrive at the Chilkoot River that is fairly shallow and about 40 yards wide. The water is moving pretty fast, but there are still several fishermen who were able to wade out into the water to catch salmon. This is also a place where bears come to "catch" the salmon too. The fishermen are told to leave the water if the bears show up and not to leave their catch unattended by the shore. They also do not want to clean their fish near where they are fishing. These antics all attract the big brown bears who consider this their area to fish. There were no bears in the area while we were there.

Since there were no bears and few salmon, we decided to go for a kayak ride on the lake. The weather was overcast with no wind, so we thought that we would give it a try. We went back to the RV and unloaded the kayaks and racks. We mounted the racks on the truck and then put the kayaks on the racks. With out gear, we then drove to Chilkoot Lake. We put on our wet-suits and then launched the kayaks. The water was super-calm and the mountains were spectacular. We took off for the far end of the lake. The trip out was awesome with no wind and outstanding views. We got out of the kayaks at the far end of the lake to stretch our legs and we found several grizzly bear tracks. For this reason, we did not "dilly-dally" in the area and got back into the Kayaks to head back. On the way back, I fished in a couple of locations with no luck. We then noticed that the wind was coming up and the rain starting to come down. We had to "buck the wind" on the return trip, but we made it back in a little bit of a soggy condition. It was fun though. When we got back to the RV, I took a hot shower and a nap to warmup while Lisa cleaned up her kayaking gear.

Wednesday, August 17, 2022 - Our plans are to drive to Whitehorse for one night stay over, but before we left Haines, we decided to go check out the historic Fort Seward Army Camp at Haines. This camp was made in 1903 and was instrumental during World War II to protect Alaska. We then made a stop at the Bald Eagle Foundation Museum and Sanctuary in Haines. We were able to see several dioramas of the First Nation peoples and the animals of the region. Then we went outside to check out the bald eagles and other raptors that they have in large cages. It was raining, so it was hard to stay long viewing the birds. Also, photos taken through the screens of cages are totally worthless, so I did not take any.

After the Bald Eagle Foundation, we made a short stop at a local bakery for cinnamon rolls and coffee. We ate one cinnamon roll and kept another for consumption at a later date. They sure were good on a cold, wet morning. We then wet back to the RV and prepared to depart for Whitehorse.