Via the Alaska State Ferry System, the Maritime Highway,

we travel from Bellingham, Washington to Whittier, Alaska,

with a stop over in Juneau, the state capitol.

When you travel along the Alaska Maritime Highway you sail through America's two largest national forests, through some of the most breathtaking and awe inspiring scenery in the world. The ferries travel through the Tongass National Forest - a forest of islands. At nearly 17 million acres, the Tongess is the largest protected temperate rainforest in the world! They also ply the waters of Prince William Sound which is surrounded by the Chugach National National Forest. As America's second largest national forest, this 5.6 million acre forest is home to over 10,000 glaciers. As we travel on these ferries, we are able to listen in on Forest Service employees, who help interpret and explain the great view to all on board.
 

On Friday, May 23rd, we drove on board the M/V Columbia, and departed Bellingham @ 6 pm,
with our first port of call, Ketchikan on Sunday, followed, also on Sunday, by Wrangell and Petersburg.
 

The M/V Columbia will contain 499 Passengers, and 134 "standard" sized vehicles.
 

For those of you who know us well, you know that when we were directed to wait in Lane 13, meant all is well.
 

As you can tell, not everybody has a
standard" sized vehicle.
 

Here we are, on the "Car Deck", ready for travel...
You may follow along our route on the map below
 

If you follow the white dots (above), from where you can see Bellingham down at the bottom, you will be able to follow our route.
We traveled on the M/V Columbia from Bellingham to Juneau, with stops in Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg along the Alaskan Inland Passage.
 

  
  
 

Life on the Ferry ships is casual - A "cheap Cruise Ship"
 

 

If you don't have a cabin, pop open your tent, and fasten it down with duct tape.
 

A lonely lighthouse along the Canadian British Columbia shoreline
 

Moving along at 17.3 knots
 

(Above and below) A lonely Canadian Coast Guard lighthouse and rescue station to assist those in distress

 

There were several Coast Guard service men and families traveling along with us, headed toward a new Alaska postings.
We had dinner with this family, Brandyn & Galina Sampson with daughter Lydia - one of the "Coasties" headed to the primary Alaska Coast Guard facility on Kodiak.

After leaving the boat, and after we had arrived in Eagle River with the Clark's, we received this interesting e-mail from Brandyn.
 
"I caught a salmon off of the ferry dock in Chegnea Bay, the next stop we had after Whittier. It was kind of funny. We pulled in for about 45 minutes to let the locals come on and buy food from the galley and while we were tied up I decided to go cast my 4 foot ultra light trout rod off of the end of the 30 foot high ferry dock to see if I could get a couple of herring out of a big school. First cast the line went tight and the line starting ripping off. We fought for 10 or 15 minutes until I tired it out. Then I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with this tired fish that was at least twice the weight of the breaking strength of my line laying way down there at the surface of the water. Gary Palmer one of the Mates on the Kennecott went down to the car deck and grabbed my net out of the boat and came back up to the dock. He climbed down the ladder and skillfully netted the fish. They cooked it up for dinner on the ferry that night and served it to my family, Gary, and I free of charge. I think that the rest of the fish just went into the menu of grilled salmon that was getting served for 15 bucks a plate that night. The funny part was that the locals who were at the dock said that one of the old guys in the village always catches the first salmon of the year and he'd been trying for weeks with no luck. One of the guys said with a big smile on his face, "you better get outta here quick before my uncle hears about this" That was our last day on the ferry the next morning we pulled into Kodiak".

 

The end of our first day.
 

Our arrival in Ketchikan, just over the border into Alaska from British Columbia
 

...And the process of off-loading those vehicles and passengers.

 

 

As we pull out of Ketchikan, we see a barge loaded with most everything, including the kitchen sink, we are sure, headed north.
 

A cruise ship is in town, so the flight-seeing is in full swing.
 

A light house just as we leave town.
 

... And we head toward Wrangle. followed by a visit to Petersburg, by going thru' the 'Wrangle Narrows.'
The Narrows are 21 miles long, and at places only 21' deep.
 
HOWEVER - there was a problem! - MAJOR PROBLEM!

About an hour south of Wrangle, the engines came to a complete STOP, and smoke came drifting up from the engine room,
and we were drifting, drifting. The Captain soon came on the speaker, and told us that the generator had gotten a bit hot, and failed.
Eventually, they were able to get a back-up generator up & running, and were able to get the engines started.
Before long they were working on all cylinders, and we were turned around and headed back to Ketchikan.
 
When we returned to Ketchikan, the Coast Guard made an inspection - and declared - stay were we were, the ship was not fit for safe use.

Fortunately, the ship (the M/V Kennecott) we were to meet up with in Juneau was sitting in the next birth, ready to start it's season, and head up to Juneau to pick us up for our next leg, the Gulf Of Alaska crossing.

So, all vehicles were off loaded, and parked on shore for the night. The next morning, we were re-ticketed from Ketchikan to our final destination; Whittier. Those who were not going on the Kennecott's route, were scheduled to be picked up at Ketchikan other ferry's. A major disruption to the schedules.
 

The M/V Kennecott, 499 passengers, 80 vehicles

 

We had a five hour layover in Juneau, as we had to again off-load all the vehicles in order to get them re-sorted. (When they load the ship of vehicles, they must take into consideration the weight distribution, side to side, and front to rear, as well as placing them in order so that when they come to port the vehicles can be taken off in order.)

While in Juneau, we decided to re-visit the Mendenhall Glacier, to what chances might have occurred since our last visit there four years ago.

See below what we recorded in '04, and then from the same places, our '08 views:

Juneau's Mendenhall Glacier - 2004 - above, and below in 2008

 

Juneau's Mendenhall Glacier - 2004 - above, and below in 2008

 

Juneau's Mendenhall Glacier - 2004 - above, and below in 2008

 

Juneau's Mendenhall Glacier - 2004 - above, and below in 2008

 
We boarded the MV Kennecott again, from Juneau Tuesday, May 27th. Our first destination was Yakutat at 8 am Wednesday.
 

You can see the broad flat surface of the Mendenhall Glacier above the city of Juneau as we pull out from the pier.
 

A bit nippy for sailing, but...
 

The mountain peaks above Juneau.
 

For the cross Gulf crossing, all vehicles are tied down.

 

 
See maps below - we head out to Yakutat, then across the Gulf to Wrangell.

 
   
 

On a foggy morning we pull alongside the pier at Yakutat, a small fishing village.
 

A small fishing boat came in, and was unloading his catch - mostly Halibut

The sorting and cleaning process. That red fish in there is a rockfish.

The Captain, here holding the red Rockfish, is making sure that he is getting the correct weight credit.
 

The next step is covering them with ice prior to processing.
 

Just before we leave, a snow-cat is backed on board.
 

You can find Yakutat, lower right.
We departed the Kennecott @ 7 am on Thursday, May 29th in Whittier

Whittier, as we pulled in - and it was COLD !
 

From Whittier we drove over to Seward for our first night on the Kenai Peninsula