Chop Chop Billy Goat

Our return to Washington was a bit jarring. After almost four months in Alaska we were not accustomed to the crowds, the traffic or the full campgrounds.

After some quick errands in Bellingham (oil change, Trader Joe’s) we headed south in search of available campsites. We found some lovely, and unpopular, spots.

We had camped for several days near the coast, until heavy rain was predicted. After looking at maps and checking forecasts we decided to head inland towards Lassen National Park where clear skies were predicted.

For our fifth and final trip of the summer on the ferry M/V Columbia we spent four nights sailing from Juneau, Alaska, to Bellingham, Washington.

Our last stop in Alaska was Juneau, the state’s capital. During our week there we camped In Auke Bay. We explored the beach and saw a lot of cool things like picnic shelters and a dead jellyfish that looked like a cream soda cap.

On a sunny day we explored downtown. We saw giant cruise ships and a cable car that took people up the mountain. We also saw a fish processing plant where there were huge bins filled with fish and ice that were waiting to be hauled into the plant! We also visited the capitol building, where we went inside and saw the legislative chambers.

We visited the Mendenhall Glacier where we learned about climate change and how the glaciers are receding. We also learned how the ice field was the birthplace of the glacier. We hiked to Nugget Falls where we saw the waterfall and had good views of the Mendenhall Glacier! In the visitor center I got to hold a piece of glacier ice and earned my Junior Ranger patch.

We went to a cool playground where I played with some kids and explored the whole playground. It was a very big and interesting playground with a lot of secret rooms and dark passages.

On a very rainy day we went to an indoor swimming pool where there was a lazy river and a giant red slide. I played with lots of kids. We had so much fun splashing around and playing tag!

It was a fun week in Juneau, but with winter approaching it is time to leave Alaska. We will be taking the four day ferry back to Bellingham!

We drove to Haines to take the ferry to Juneau. While we were in Haines we played at this amazing playground where there was a cool tunnel made of car tires, an amazing swing and lots of fun things to climb and play on.

After picking our campsite at Chilkoot Lake State Recreation Site we went on a bear hunt. We saw people with gigantic camera lenses and then we saw a grizzly and her two cubs catching salmon along the banks of the river. As the bears moved down the river we moved with them all the way to the bridge. Then a scary thing happened! The bears came up on the bridge and everybody quickly backed away. When the bears were off of the bridge we all came back onto the bridge and watched them move upstream.

The next day we hiked the Battery Point Trail. There were lots of cool mushrooms that looked alien like. There were big puffy mushrooms that looked like pillows, big red and white mushrooms, and creepy finger like mushrooms. We also saw a beautiful beach and a cool rainforest.

It was fun staying in Haines but now we are moving on to a new island. New island, new adventures.

After more than three years of being Covid free, we all finally got it. Thanks to the many vaccinations the three of us have had, plus Paxlovid for Pa and I, we all recovered fairly quickly.

We holed up at a lovely La Quinta in Fairbanks, and got back on the road once we were feeling better. It was a three day drive thru Canada to get to Haines, Alaska.