An Alaska Road Trip–Ferry ride home

This is the final post on my quick trip to Alaska and back, with this entry focusing on the ferry ride from Alaska to Washington state.

Recap

Two of my buddies and I wanted to travel the Alcan Highway and, once that was accomplished, we were in Alaska so we decided to push on to Denali National Park. The plan all along was to take the ferry from AK to WA and while we had a few days until departure, making the ferry departure put the most pressure on the trip. The ferry only sails a couple times each month and if you miss that, you’re out a lot of prepaid money and you then need to drive home. We managed to get to the ferry, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Follow along as I share with you a bit about this leg of the trip.

Getting to the ferry (Skagway, AK)

The trip from Haines Junction (in the Canadian Yukon) to Skagway is just under 4 hours driving and well within a comfortable bit of traveling. We refueled and grabbed a Tim Horton’s breakfast in Whitehorse, but then continued to our point of departure.

We did stop one time, just after re-entering the US, and enjoyed a small “Welcome to Alaska” pullout. I was pretty excited about the history of the area and spotted what looked like a small group of people ascending a snow-covered slope. This so reminded me of the Chilkoot Trail Golden Stair photo (with far fewer people) that I snapped a pic … then I zoomed in! Oops.

  

“The trip home”

The title of this section is in quotes because I’m going to just (figuratively) wave my hands here, rather than give a stop-by-stop description.

On the way home we had six ports of call (Haines, Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg, Wrangle, and Ketchikan) before terminating in Bellingham where we departed the ship. Most stops were of the 15-30 minute variety, allowing one to get off, walk around the terminal a bit, and then reboard. All of this was done while vehicles either departed or boarded the ferry. All stops were made in the first three days of the trip, leaving the fourth day as a completely at sea, and the final day arriving at the contiguous States in the early morning.

My friends and I shared a four-berth room, with a bathroom and shower. Towels and linen were provided and the vessel had a cafeteria-style kitchen. While comfortable and clean, it was clearly an older ship and without any opulence you might get on a cruise. There were several indoor viewing areas and some outdoor seating that ultimately wasn’t much used given the weather and wind.

   

While I noted we were “at sea” for a full day, the route we traveled is called the Inner Passage (or Inside Passage) which allows seagoing vessels to remain largely between the continental mainland and a series of sheltering islands. The effect ensures a smooth and sheltered journey, largely unimpacted by Pacific Ocean conditions. While this largely held true for our journey, there was one section just north of Vancouver Island where the sheltering islands stop and the ferry can be affected by tides and swells coming off the Pacific. This hit on our at sea day in the early morning hours and had me scurrying to my bunk again, my head a’swimming! I appear to be a bit more susceptible to seasickness than my traveling companions. Sometime around 1PM that day we were back behind the sheltering bulk of Vancouver Island and I was able to walk the ship again.

Aside from the ports of call and my little bout of seasickness, the days were pretty much like this: arise and get dressed, walk the ship, sit and read a bit, walk some more, have a breakfast, walk a bit, read some more, have a lunch, walk the ship, read a bit, walk some more, have a dinner, walk the ship, read a bit, walk a bit more, shower up, and go to bed. I find I’m happier when I’m active and had trouble sitting and reading for hours at a time. I love reading, but couldn’t get into the routine of picking a seat and staying there until the next meal. And yet, even with all the strolling, this routine was absolutely relaxing and enjoyable.

   

When is a ferry ride more like a mini-cruise?

While I noted the ship itself was without pretense, the crew was another matter: they were outstanding. During the voyage I had four standout exchanges with the crew; there were other very positive interactions, but these four really caught my attention.

Getting a third key

Upon board the ferry, we were directed to the Purser to collect the keys to our cabin. As there were three of us staying in a four-berth room, my expectation was that we’d each get a key; we were given two. After entering our room and squaring things away, I returned to the Purser to ask if a third key could be procured. I was told that there are typically only two keys available to guests, as a final, third key, was their backup. I must have looked crestfallen because almost without missing a beat he said, “but I can give you the backup if you promise to get it back to me … it’s our only spare.”

While not really all that commonplace these days, Scout’s honor has meaning for me, so someone offering up their only backup of anything was nothing short of miraculous. I was appreciative, told him so, and when we were departing I made sure to hand him back the key and note that he was getting his spare back with the others.

Getting additional towels

As part of getting a room we were issued several towels; one bath towel each, to be precise. And like a noodlehead, upon exiting the shower on the first day, I then folded my towel in half and laid it on the floor as a bath mat. It was at this point I took stock of the linen and realized I was now standing on the towel intended to dry me the duration of my stay.

The next day I met the cleaning staff in the hall and asked about being issued another towel. The person noted that towels could be dispensed by the Purser on loan for a $1 each … or she could just give me some. And she then handed me four more bath towels!! Wowza!

I could have done with just a single towel and even gone the rental route, but the fact that the staff has the latitude to provide a simple towel to a requesting guest … well, that felt pretty cool. And just to frame things here: remember we were on a ferry, not in a hotel.

Getting an ice cream treat

About three days into the trip I started getting the jones for a cone: yup, I wanted me some ice cream. I had seen a ferry staff member spooning mint-chip from a cup and it looked like just the thing I was hankering. However, as I wandered the cafe, I couldn’t see any. I asked the cashier where I might get some ice cream and was told their machine was out, no ice cream was available. Almost without thinking I said something like, “oh, I thought I saw someone with a cup of ice cream earlier”. I then added that maybe that person was part of the staff and he was enjoying something not available to the guests. At that point the cashier gave a conspiratorial look about, asked me to return in 30-45 minutes, and left it at that.

I found my buddy and mentioned I might have a line on ice cream and he wanted in. So, when I returned to the cashier, I asked if it was possible to get a second. She committed nothing but gave me complete confidence that I was now in cahoots with someone about to commit larceny … for mint chip, no less. And within a minute she breezed back into sight with a couple of Dixie cups containing a couple generous scoops. This made my day fantastically brighter.

Getting a tour of the bridge

On the first day, after wrangling keys and wandering the ship, I asked the Purser if it would be possible to tour the bridge. His only comment was, “come back later”. Without specifying when “later” was, I decided to ask on the day we were at sea; every other day seemed busy with leaving a port, entering a port, or negotiating busy waters. So on our day at sea, the day before we departed the ship, I approached the Purser station again (there was a different Purser staffing it at this time), and made the request again. He looked up and said something like, “ooh, not good timing. We don’t have much time left at sea so I’m not sure we will get you in.”

Bummer.

He did, however, take our IDs and asked us to pen a few lines about why we wanted to tour the bridge. First, we were all Boeing engineers at one time (all retired now) and second … wait, who needs a second?!? It should have been enough just to day, “hey, mister … I’d like to do this exceptionally cool thing and tour the massively complex and interesting nerve-center that’s controlling the ferry and getting us to all these ports!” But we penned an eloquent line or two and then waited. And waited.

After a couple hours of not hearing anything, we’d given up hope of getting that tour when we heard our names being paged over the PA and asked to meet the Purser. We all but ran to his desk, was told we were getting a bridge “visit” (not a “tour”), and he escorted us to the top-front of the ship. There we stepped in and were greeted by the in-command Pilot who asked, “what would you like to see or know?” Kids in a candy store.

I’ll avoid a play-by-play of all we saw and learned, but the bridge is surprisingly modern and spare. Very few controls, very little in the way of clutter, and just 3-4 people required to manage the ship. And we got to see all of it.

Alaska-Washington Ferry thoughts

It’s hard to put a price on taking the ferry. One one hand, you could just look at the cost and compare that to what you’d pay to fuel a personal vehicle; add room rental, wear-and-tear, and other associated fees. That’s simple math. But the ability to pick up a book and read for hours, find others on deck and strike up a conversation, and look out at passing scenery you’d never see from a highway. That’s a harder bit of economics to factor in. For me, the cost was well worth it if only for the ability to walk the deck and stretch my legs at any time.

And one of the factors I noted but hadn’t talked about before was the scenery. I’d love to say we saw towering glaciers of ice calving off and falling to the ocean, spouting whales and porpoises frolicking in the wake, and picturesque sailboats disappearing beyond the horizon for ports unknown. And yet we saw few if any of those. The ship silently passed vast tracts of mist-shrouded forests, threaded between mute islands drenched in sun, and came across a few fishing vessels of espied a cruise ship in the distance (or a lot at port). I did meet a few people who had seen some whales, but they did note they were at a distance and hard to make out. While the exotic eluded us on this trip, the beauty of the quiet and simple was all around us at virtually any instance.

 

Finally, I still can’t speak highly enough of the great cheer and service of the ferry staff, but I’ve gone on a bit about all that, haven’t I?

The long miles driving weren’t hard or a chore, and good friends made for time passing quickly. And yet, it’s hard to beat coming home and returning refreshed instead of road weary. Thanks for reading this far and joining me on a fabulous trip. While it was a wonderful time on the road, as always, it’s good to be home.