Summer Trip, Haines Junction, Canada to Haines, Alaska

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Got up and left our hotel in Haines Junction.

We made a stop by the Kluane National Park Visitors Center. We learned many interesting facts about the park and the local animals. Heather was very entertaining and informative. We hit the road southbound on a rainy and chilly morning.

 We stopped and ate a late breakfast under a shelter in a campground. It was so windy and cold that we all ate standing up. The temperature hovered around 40 degrees but the wind chill dropped it to near freezing!

 We drove a bit further and the snow seemed to make its way further and further down the mountains.

 We found this rest stop and walked around in the snow for a bit.

 Once we entered British Columbia,

 the drive from there to Haines was as beautiful as we had ever seen.

There were huge snow-covered mountains, many lakes, rivers, and creeks to see.

 It was stunning!









We made our way into Haines. We got a room in the Fort Seward historic part of town. This was the last of a series of 11 military barracks built during the Gold Rush era. These large white barracks had impressive views of Lynn Canal. The buildings formed a perimeter around a huge green field . Troops used this area for physical formations, and drills and practices. Now many of the buildings are private homes and a few are hotels. People were using the green field area to fly kites and have picnics. Turns out that we love Haines, but if you are used to chain motels with all the amenities, you won't find it here. We drove down the peninsula to Chilkat State Park looking for bears. We didn't see any out this night.

 We saw several bald eagles and got a few photos. Went back to our hotel, had dinner, and called it a night.