As forecast, it did start to rain last evening and continued through the night. As I loaded the bike in the morning it was a race to stay dry. I was up at 5:30 am in order to be at the dock by 6:00 am for boarding the ferry Malapina, a part of the Alaska Ferry Service, at 7:00 am.
There were two Princess cruise ships in harbour and one Holland America, and as we left the dock another Holland America arrived . Skagway is truly a tourist town set up to satisfy the cruise ship customers.
It was not very busy and we left the dock at 7:00 am sharp. It was very overcast, so the beautiful views of the mountains on each side of the passageway were not easily seen. So sad.
As we arrived at Haines it stopped raining, but remained overcast. I had been to Haines once before ten years ago, and it seems to be much more run down than I remember. It is not on my list of places to revisit in the future.
The road north inland from Haines is a very beautiful route to follow as it meanders along a river where there are many bald eagles, and then it climbs over a mountain range before rejoining the Alaska Highway at Haines Junction. There is a really small Canadian Customs building at the border in Pleasant Camp, British Columbia, and after a hour or so the road enters the Yukon.
Along this highway I was surprised when a wolf bounded onto the road and started to chase me as a dog would be expected to do. Then a few minutes later a huge grizzly bear was seen below the roadway eating away in a marshy area . Once he stopped, he took a look at me and ran as fast as he could away from me. They can run very quickly.
Riding east on the Alaskan Highway, I rode into Whitehorse where I purchased some chain oil, went to an ATM and made a reservation for a room further along the Alaska Highway.
It took over two and half hours of riding in rain and very high winds before I arrived at Walkers Continental Divide Lodge where the dinner special was pork, mashed potatoes and vegetables.
Before finishing the day I tightened and oiled the motorcycle chain.
Today's blog ends on a very sad note. I received an email last night telling me that the wife of one of my friends died unexpectedly from a very brief illness. She was an amazing person, married to an amazing guy, and the two young daughters will surely miss their mom. Jim, all your friends' thoughts are with you and your "girls".
Distance Travelled: 715 Km