Well, here is sit in my inside cabin on the car ferrycalled the Matanuska (where do they come up with these names?). Today, July 27th, started at midnight for me, waiting in line to drive my Explorer onto the ship and get settled in my cabin for a good night's sleep.
The car ferry from Haines, Alaska to Juneau was late arriving and late departing, but somehow the ship's pilot (captain?) made up the lost time. We got to Juneau with plenty of time to check in and get boarded for the trip to Prince Rupert, British Columbia.
It was a drizzly, cloudy night last night. Further north in Alaska, I was happy to experience the Land of the Midnight Sun. When I flew up to the Artic Circle, I was taking pictures at 11:45PM, just fifteen minutes before midnight. Unbelieveable! But last night, it was so overcast, it was dark. And when we pulled into Juneau around 10:15PM last night, we could see the lights of the city from the ship, but not much more.
For some reason, when I checked in at Haines, I did not get a 'boarding pass' for the Prince Rupert segment, yet other people did. I think the difference was that I had a cabin reserved and others did not. A lot of the people I saw on both ships, simply sprawl out on lounge chairs or on the floor in the sleeping bags. You have to accept things here, in the north country.
Anyway, as soon as I drove the Explorer off the Malaspina, I parked, went into the Juneau car ferry terminal, got my boarding pass and drove to my assigned staging lane. The drizzling rain increased, so there weren't many people walking around their vehicles, while waiting for the actual boarding.
In addition to loading vehicles by their size, the loading at Juneau had the extra complication that not all vehicles will exit at the same place. The Juneau to Prince Rupert cruise makes stops at Petersburg, Wrangell and Ketchikan before arriving in Prince Rupert. And, by the way, those stops each add two hours to my total cruise time.
I was reading in one of the free newspapers on board, that my trip from Haines to Juneau was about four hours, and my trip from Juneau to Prince Rupert will be about thirty hours total. The distance from Haines to Prince Rupert is about 400 miles, and based on my driving 200+ miles per day, it averages out about the same. The obvious difference is that from Monday afternoon to 6:00AM on Wednesday, I didn't have to drive those 400 miles.
As soon as I parked the Explorer on board the Matanuska, I went up to the cabin deck, checked in with the ship's purser, and got the key to my inside cabin. The inside cabin is cheaper than an outside cabin which has a window. My rationale was that, on the assumption of good weather, I wanted to be outside for sightseeing and taking photographs. With the clouds of last night and today, I think I made a good choice. And, after all, this is the Inside Passage, so what better place to travel than an inside cabin?
This time, I took my two camera bags, my ditty bag (toilet articles and such) and my laptop case. I will be on board this ship for 30 hours and you're not permitted to go below to the car deck while the ship is underway.
I really like my cabin. It has two bunk beds, but I paid to have the room to myself. It had it's own toilet and shower, so I'm in good shape for my trip to Prince Rupert. Those travelers who chose not to book a cabin, have public restrooms and showers to use.
I had an excellent night's rest in my bunk bed, had a really good breakfast at 7:00AM, did some sightseeing from various places on the ship, read, did some data entry, and simply enjoyed the trip.
We're just now, leaving Petersburg. More later....
The distance from Petersburg, to Wrangell, the next stop for the car ferry, is only 40 miles, but it takes three hours. At this point of the car ferry's itinerary, it takes a 'short cut' through what is called the Wrangell Narrows. I think most passengers enjoyed this stretch of waterway, because it was narrow and that brought us close to the scenery on shore. While we were cruising to Wrangell, the Ranger on board made comment that the tide here is about 5-8 mph and the car ferry is scheduled based on high tide. The Narrows are also full of curves, and the ship's pilot follows navigational aids to weave our way, so much so, that ship rocks back and forth.
We saw various birds, including eagles during the trip from Wrangell to Ketchikan. We also saw luxury liners, cruising northward, probably to Skagway. Their passengers had the same cloudy, drizzly day to look at as we did. We have seen a variety of small fishing boats all day long. It must be a tough way to make a living.
At Petersburg, the guy on the dock told several of us that the permanent population is around 3000 people and that about doubles during fishing season. These Inside Passage towns really thrive on tourism. At Wrangell, they have a rather dire economic story to tell. The sawmill there has opened and closed, so they have to rely on tourism also. Its population is similar to Petersburg.
Ketchikan is much larger with a population of around 15,000, and their economy has been a roller coaster too. Early on, it was the gold rush, then there was the timber business, and fishing, and now, like the other towns, it relies heavily on tourism.
Passengers on my car ferry can disembark at any of these stops (ports) however the time available is rather limiting. You can't do much in less than two hours, yet some people do get off, just to say they've been there, I guess. With the drizzle, I'm not really prepared to get that wet.
Well, it's now 10:00PM and time for bed. We arrive at Prince Rupert at 6:00AM, so I want to be ready to get my belongings down to the Explorer and drive off when it's my turn. I have to make a decision tomorrow, as to my destination. Prince George, mileage wise is further than I would like to drive, but there's not a whole lot in between. We'll see.