August 17, 2013 Saturday
Day 41
Yep, got up at 4:00am, not fun, but we are ready to leave Juneau and to explore around Haines for a few days before we leave southeast Alaska for the Interior portion of our trip.
Mostly slept on the ferry. It was a four and one half hour passage today, our last trip on the Alaskan Marine Highway. The ferry has been such a wonderful experience, filling our senses with some fantastic sights, sounds and memories.
Arrived in Haines at 11:30am, checked into our campground, Oceanside RV Park, and promptly called the medical clinic because my knee has gotten increasingly worse. I haven't been sleeping well because of the pain and now I can barely walk. Their one clinic was closed, so our campground host told me to call the police non-emergency number. I did and they took some information from me, explaining that the doctor would call me back. Within the hour, I got a call from the doctor, who asked me to meet her at the clinic at 3pm. She x-rayed my knee to rule out any broken bones, etc. (other than a little arthritis it was ok) and she recommended I rest it and take ibuprofen for the swelling. Plus she gave me something for the pain. This was swift, professional medical treatment. She gave me the drugs and she called in a couple of refills for me to pick up Monday when the pharmacy was open. She seemed very professional and skilled, and took very good care of me, suggesting I see an orthopedic doctor soon if it didn't get better. I have never had knee problems before, but I have newfound considerable sympathy for those who have. It hurts!
I popped those pills, pronto, then we drove out to Chilkoot River which flows out of Chilkoot Lake. Watched a few folks fishing for salmon in the lake, but the real show was in the salmon filled Chilkoot River. We saw several adult brown bears, plus a mother and her cub at various times, fishing in the river. It was just indescribable to watch those bears. There were humans fishing in the river, too, but when they spotted a bear, they would just back slowly out of the river until the bear passed by, then they would resume fishing. Not too sure that is so smart, because these huge creatures can be unpredictable, and fast, but oh well, there certainly was enough salmon to go around. We mostly stayed in our car, but a few times we got out to take pictures. Totally thrilling experience!
We had a lovely dInner at the Commander's Room Restaurant, located in the Hotel Halsingland. This hotel was the Officers Quarters in historic Fort Seward which was built in 1903 in response to a border dispute with Canada. Then in 1946, it was sold to Army Veterans. Today it is a National Historic Site with beautiful white buildings surrounding a green, grassy parade ground. The buildings are well maintained and are now personal homes, B and Bs, Restaurants and Art Galleries.
Full from dinner and feeling much better, we snuggled down in the camper and watched a movie on tv, Born on the 4th of July with Tom Cruise.
Wildlife Sightings
Brown Bears
Bald Eagles