Haines and Skagway

Haines is a nice little town. The people are very friendly, and the library is great for such a small town. Ft. Steward is a neat little area, and the officer's quarters give the town a genuine look. It rained much of the time we were here, but then the sun decided to come out yesterday, and today has been a beautifu, sun-filled day. Last night we were able to go for a drive to see a lot of wildlife and nature. There were many eagles out, like usual, but we also were able to spot a mounatin goat and drive up Chilkoot River. We went on a hike in the forest, where we were able to identfy Sitka Spruce, Western hemlock, Dwarf dogwood, bunchberry, blueberry, skunk cabbage, ferns, moss, lichen, etc. It was very pleasant. Day one everyone says hi, and by day two in Haines, you are greeting people in the street by name. I imagine if we were around for much longer, it would be easy to just never leave, as has been the case with many of the current residents. Today we took the fast ferry Skagway, a really neat gold rush town, and probably the northernmost stop of our trip. There was not enough space in the small harbor to facilitate our boat, but we wanted to see the town anyway. We were able to attend a church service in a really neat log chapel before we caught a live show about "Soapy", the famous outlaw from 1898. They pulled Debbie up on stage to do the "can-can" dance. All the towns' sidwalks were wooden, and there was a train running near. Horse-drawn carriages dotted the street, and in the spirit of the season many tour directors were dressed in period clothing. We are currently back in Haines, and will depart from here in the morning.