Wednesday 25th June Haines We docked at 6.30am. Haines is nestled on the shore of America's longest Fjord and enjoys a spectacular setting. Pete and I went on the Haines town self guided walking route. First stop was the Totem Pole Workshop then we walked around the historical old fort area. Haines was a missionary settlement in 1901 when the US government established this World War I era military base. It was built in order to resolve the ongoing border dispute between the US and Canada. Most of the fort's building arrived by ship in pieces and were assembled on foundation laboriously built using picks and shovels, aided by one man and a horse drawn scraper. The fort never saw military action, though service here was considered foreign duty.

Ft. Seward is a very scenic and it is largely intact and in good repair. The buildings were bought as government surplus in 1947 by a group of WW II veterans. This group of veterans also left their legacy on the fort through preservation, organizing native culture events such as the Native Arts Centre, potlatch salmon bakes and the chilkat dancers, and opening the Hotel Halsingland. They were also instrumental in lobbying the state for the development of the Alaska Marine Highway.

There was something about these formal white buildings set against the backdrop of glacier covered mountains. We visited the Wild Eagle Foundation and then onto the Fairgrounds which incorporated a portion of the Set (Dalton City) from Walt Disneys "White Fang" film, filmed in Haines in 1990. The surviving set includes a dozen small structures common to a mining town of the period of Jack London's book of the same name. We walked back into the core of Haines which was full of small souvenir shops which were overpriced. There was a Hammer Museum also. As we were walking back to our boat we stopped at the Lookout Park and enjoyed the surrounds. The water and mountains were spectacular. There was also a 16 foot totem pole representing an Eagle Family Clan. We had lunch on our boat and then at 3.30pm we went on an Alaska Wilderness River Jet Boat Adventure to the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, home to the largest annual gathering of bald eagles. The Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve was created by the State of Alaska in June 1982. The Preserve was established to protect and perpetuate the world's largest concentration of Bald Eagles and their critical habitat. The combination of open water and plentiful food brings over 3,000 eagles into the Chilkat Valley beginning in early October and lasting until January. The peak of the gathering usually occurs in mid-November. When we arrived at the Preserve we were given Large warm jackets, hats and gloves to put on. We noticed the toilets here were unusual with a Female and Male Moose head on the walls. Pete and I sat in the back of the Jet Boat and covered ourselves in blankets to keep warm. We saw lots of eagles, salmon nets along the river and eagle nests. At the end of our boat ride we had coffee and cake by a campfire and returned to the boat at 7.30pm. We had dinner in the dining room on the 7th floor and passed by the Casino on the way back to our room.