Calgary, Alberta (Day 3)

It's late. It's really late. We only put in 50 more kilometers today than yesterday, but somehow it ended up taking us 50% longer to travel that distance. As you might have already concluded, we had a few setbacks today,  but let's start at the beginning and, more importantly, with some pictures.

From Sitka to Prince Rupert on the M/V Matanuska

M/V Matanuska (at 2am)

Kids in the cabin, snuggling up before crashing.

3-berth cabin.

Seren using her camera.

At the on-board play area.

Petersburg

Some guy fishing in Petersburg.

Another fisherman.

Zonked.

Rainbow!

Waiting to go down to the car deck.

Yes, but where does it end?

At the playground in Wrangell.

"Do I look like a movie star?"

Narrow channel.

At last!

Beautiful British Columbia

Mudflats.

The Canadian Rockies, Alberta

Glaciers in the Ice Fields.

Mountain goat!

Gravel slides left behind from glaciers that have long since melted.

Off-road trolley?

More glaciers.

It's true, we've encountered some pretty breathtaking views along the way, but as mentioned before, we've had our share of setbacks. Porter is toilet-training while we are on the road and he is doing a super job. The only trouble is that he still has a sensitive stomach from all those allergies and we've had to deal with not one but two cases of spontaneous diarrhea. We've made several wrong turns, resulting in an hour or so of back-tracking (total), and there are frequent pit stops with two little ones in tow. Over all, though, it's been a pleasant drive. We've managed boredom and frustration with remarkable ease and the kids are enjoying all of the scenery and wildlife along the way.

Speaking of wildlife, just today (yesterday?) we saw several black bears, some white-tail deer, moose, a coyote, caribou, mountain goats, and a rabbit. It's almost always too fast to get a picture, but Seren really enjoys seeing the animals that she is learning about in her books.

That's all for tonight. It's after 3am here and we need to get out on the road early in the morning. We're hoping to reach Regina tomorrow night, but we'll have to see how the day goes.

checking under the hood...

We're going to get this blog rolling again in the next few weeks!

For those who don't know, my grandfather died about two months ago. In the intervening time, it was decided that, instead of spending a lot of money to fly one or two of us to Cleveland in order to attend a funeral and then turn around and come right back to Alaska, we would save up our money a bit and make a family road trip this summer. Our plan is to load the car up with four humans and a dog and ferry to Prince Rupert, BC, then to drive across Canada to Niagara Falls, ON, where we will meet up with my parents and sister for a couple of days. This will mark the first time in two years that all four of us have left Sitka at the same time and also the first time that more than two of us have visited any family members outside of Sitka since we moved here. Our plan for the month or so following our time in Niagara Falls is to help sort through my grandfather's house, preparing the estate for its final resolution and preparing the house to change hands. We also intend to take some time to visit with family and friends in the Midwest. We will then get back on the road in order to return home with a bit of time before school starts back up for everyone.

While we are away from Sitka, we will be taking pictures and video to share here. We will also be posting daily updates from the road and occasional updates while we are in Cleveland and visiting with loved ones.

Over the next week or two, look for some cosmetic changes to occur on this blog! We'll be giving it a bit of a facelift and getting everything ready for a new travel adventure!

The ferry!

I've been informed that it is my duty to elaborate on our journey by ferry, so here goes.

It turns out, the Alaska Marine Highway System has been around about as long as the state, largely due to the fact that Alaskans are nothing if they're not practical about their situation. Faced with a state way bigger than Texas where only two of the four largest cities can be reached by road, it was decided that car-carrying ferries would have to do instead. The system has been expanded to the point where almost every port on the southern coast of the state is connected, from the western tip of the Aleutians to the southeastern port of Bellingham, in Washington state.

Our ferry was the M/V Columbia. She is currently the flagship of the fleet, making the run up and down the Inside Passage from Skagway to Bellingham. When we were waiting to board in Skagway, there were indeed brave individuals booking passage all the way. I believe that meant that they were in for 4 days' sailing. More importantly, that can't be cheap. For us to take a 4-berth cabin, two adults, and a car it cost just over $450 from Skagway to Sitka (three stops down the way). The people next to us were going to Bellingham with an RV and a Suzuki Samurai.

The Columbia is actually a pretty neat ship. She has two decks of vehicle storage, complete with a car elevator. In addition to two decks of cabins, she has several lounges with comfortable chairs and a few diner-style benches and tables. She also has a "movie theater" that is also referred to as a recliner lounge because of the nicer furniture in it. While we were onboard, they showed Alice in Wonderland (no, I don't know which version). She also has an area referred to as a "solarium" that is basically a covered outdoor deck with windscreens on the sides and heater lamps overhead. The solarium is also equipped with stacking lounge chairs so that people can sleep out in sleeping bags. Beneath the solarium is a deck reserved for people who want to sleep out in tents (experienced travelers were obvious for their use of duct tape for securing tent flies). Again, Alaskans are nothing if not practical about their situation. I could see similar ferries in the mainland US discouraging these people from sleeping in deck chairs and in tents, but the Alaskan ferries provide safe, out-of-the-way space for them. Over the 18 hours we spent on-board, it was common to see people sleeping anywhere that was comfortable or warm.

On top of all of the other amenities, the Columbia also features a cafeteria and a full-service restaurant. After looking at prices, we opted to pass on the restaurant.

While I was exploring the ship at night, I actually discovered an interesting citation that had been awarded to the captain and crew a few years earlier by the Coast Guard. Apparently, they were involved in a rescue effort for one of those ridiculously overpriced cruise ships full of tourists* (contemporary account to be found here) and were recognized for their efforts. I like knowing that the ship I sailed on saved the butts of a bunch of Floridians in silly sweatshirts.

*Important note: though we were taking in the sights as we traveled and made a side trip or two along the way, we were TRAVELERS, not TOURISTS. A traveler is looking for the good, interesting, and useful things along the way in an unobtrusive manner. A tourist is tacky, noisy, inconsiderate, in the way, generally only good for milking for money, and gloriously unaware of any of this.

Only about an hour after we boarded, our first stop was at Haines. I'm sure it's a nice enough place, but the ferry terminal was about five miles out of town and we were all too busy resting to care about checking the place out. Though the animals were in the car two decks below us, we figured Nika (our dog) would be fine until we got to Juneau in a few hours.

Juneau was an interesting stop. When I realized that we were drawing near, I went up to the boat deck to catch the views without disturbing sleepers. Aside from nearly freezing my ears off, I discovered that the skies are pretty light at 10pm, although none of my pictures turned out at all. Nika appreciated getting out and I didn't mind the walk either, but again, the ferry terminal was too far from town for me to introduce myself to Sean Parnell.

We all slept very well on the trip from Juneau to Sitka and woke up with plenty of time to catch a quick breakfast and pack up our things before they opened up the car deck. All in all, this was a very comfortable way to travel (and customizable by budget - with no kids, pets, car, or cabin, it would have been $76 per adult) and we've already started seriously considering taking a "cruise" on the AMHS to see the Inside Passage.

ON TO THE PICTURES

I probably could have watched them loading and unloading for hours.

The inside of our cabin. There were four of these berths, two on each side, and they were surprisingly comfortable.

A very economical bathroom in our cabin, but I liked that it was all one piece and that there were drains on both sides. I could see myself cleaning a bathroom like this with bleach and a hose. They requested that showers only be used while at sea because then "dispersal" wouldn't happen in port.

Man, these guys are dedicated.

The kids loved it, when they weren't too busy being passed out.

Alaskans like their flag.

Yeah... I don't think this conforms to the Flag Act, but it's pretty awesome (not sure why there are only 11 stripes...).

Spending the night the cheaper way!

Juneau at night. 10:00 at night.