Into the Sunshine

Today we headed northwest out of Haines on the Haines Highway on our last leg to Fairbanks and the Summer Solstice. It felt like anything but summer as we left Haines on that cold and rainy morning. The extra day in Haines did not buys us much but a $5.00 salmon dinner. The salmon was very good but the grilling was slow and we were there early. When we left there was still a long line of people waiting to get their food. The feed was at the Southeast State Fairgrounds, a little cluster of buildings within walking distance of our RV park. Earlier in the day a relay bike race had made its way down from Haines Junction into Haines. The bikes rode by near our park and we drove into town to see the finish line. It was a bit anti-climactic and the riders looked all but frozen to their bikes.

Another border crossing today back into Canada. It was not too difficult. They asked mostly about where we had been and how we had gotten into Canada and Alaska and where we were off to next. As we went through the mountain passes, the clouds clung tight to the tops and rain drizzled on us off and on. However, as we approached Haines Junction, and a rejoining to the Alaska Highway, some spots of blue sky started showing through and sunlight shown on some of the flanks of the mountains ahead of us. When we stopped in Haines Junction for lunch, the sun was warm on our backs and the heavy jackets had been left in the rigs.

From Haines Junction we drove about 50 miles to Kluane Lake (clue-ah’-nee). There we stopped at a primitive campground right on the lake side and found a couple of nice campsites with views of the lake. It looked like the start of a nice evening and we even planned for a campfire, but rain moved in from the northwest shortly after dinner.