The Final Days!

Here we are!  The final days of the season for the jet boat tours, and there doesn’t seem to be much time to spare with autumn closing in weeks earlier than normal.

The first sign of fall showed its colors in the big cottonwood tree overlooking the dock area just after the middle of August. Its yellow and brown leaves are now steadily falling and blanketing the ground around the fire that Duck has kept burning all summer.

The air has a new crispness to it and the temperatures are slowly making their way back down the thermometer.  With the cooler weather the snow and glacier melt has all but stopped, leaving the river no choice but to drop back down to a mere trickle compared to its high water levels just a month ago.

Sunrise over PC Dock
by Angie

The late run of Silver and Chum salmon will soon fill the rivers, and the eagles will be gathering by the hundreds for their yearly feast in the Eagle Preserve. 

 

The moose will soon begin their rut.  Cows will be heard for miles as they call out in search of a bull to mate with.  Bulls with their massive antlers will be heard grunting, trying to find cows and fighting off any other bulls that invade on their territory and its cows.

Young bear looking for salmon.
by Angie

 

Brown bears will be scurrying along the river banks eating as much fish as they can, preparing for the long winter hibernation that is just a few weeks away.

 

AND… Duck and Karen will soon be migrating to a warmer climate while the fall begins its many faces of change. Heavy rains and winds, cool mornings, hopefully sunshine, and eventually SNOW!!!!!!!!

Duck & Karen

Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ahh!  Early August at the PC Dock, and 100% vitamin D shining down on our Alaskan paradise.

The sun has been the "hide and seek" champion this year, so anytime it's out I feel like I have to get a picure of it. 

In just a couple of weeks, Autumn will be knocking at our doors with it's beautiful colors painting the mountains, and it's cool, crispy mornings.   The rivers' will slowly drop back down away from the banks that have been full for most of the summer, and the fisherman with their waders will be standing scattered throughout the river waiting to catch their first Coho/ Silver Salmon of the year.  The bears, eagles, and wolves have been waiting all summer for the easy pickings too.

Hey there "Gold Rush Fans"

The first Sunday morning of August was clear and sunny, and a perfect day to drive to the 33 mile Roadhouse and have lunch. 
Holly and I often go on road trips and hikes, as many of you know from my stories, and this one wasn't any different.
After a cheeseburger and onion rings, we drove to the lake that sits just across the Porcupine River bridge to let our dogs enjoy a long swim, while we walked off our lunch.

  The bridge takes you over the Klehini River, the same river that many of you have seen on the jetboats.

Jake & I on the Porcupine River Bridge


 

At the end of our day, we drove to the Chilkoot River and found this young bear fishing.

 

Here they are:   The moose tracks on 2nd and Main St. that I promised you.

*See the picture in a previous blog of the cow moose and her 2 calves.

A family of sea otters swam past me as I walked on the beach early last Friday morning.  I watched them as they swam to the Chilkat Cruise dock for a rest.  There were five otters in all, Mom, Dad, and three pups.  Sea otters are the smallest marine mammals in North America, adults grow to about 4 feet.

 

 The Alaska Marine Highway Ferry traveling south to Juneau, as it passes by Haines in a thick fog. 

 

Hi Carol and Star Princess

 

 

Bear-ly a Race with Jamie's Jets

 

Brown Bear
by Kay Showalter

  We came around a bend in the river, a lady in front of me said, "There's a bear", I turned with my camera and began clicking away. Luckily, I have a good camera that takes pictures continuously when the button is held down. It takes approx. a picture a second. I got 3 pictures. The one I sent you is the best one.   The bear ran along the side of the river bank for approximately 4-5 seconds and then disappeared into the brush.  My husband also got the bear on our video camera. What a stroke of luck!  The back paw up in the air is my favorite too. I just loved it.
  I hope more people get to see this wonderful bear. We also saw a moose, but did not get a picture of it. Good times!  We just loved every minute of this trip. The Eagles, the Moose, The Bear, The beautiful Chilkat river, the mountains and valley, Oh, and last but not least, the hospitality of our hosts. Just wonderful.    Kay Showalter

 * Jamie (Jet boat Captain) was thrilled to see the picture of the great bear running alongside his boat.  He said, “The bear was outrunning the boat at 30 mph.”

     

  

Storm clouds that somewhat resemble a bear track.
Toes, pad below the toes.

Friday morning as I sat writing this blog, I heard a rumble, then another.  AVALANCHES? Too many!

THUNDER? Here in Haines?  A bright flash lit up the sky!

I raced down to the cruise ship dock to watch the dark storm clouds as they rumbled across the peaks of the Coast mountains toward the Chilkat Inlet, before swallowing the sky with their darkness.
The storm roared for the better part of an hour, and with it many displays of lightning.
 

                                                                                                       

I have never heard a thunderstorm in the southeast with that much enthusiasm, a mere rumble at best.  I am certainly impressed, as I am sure everyone else was, that was up early enough to have heard it.

  As I stood outside watching, I heard a voice in the distance say; “I have never heard a storm like this here.” 

 DID YOU KNOW?

 According a news source out of Fairbanks 139 wildfires are burning, due to lightning strikes and have burned approximately 195,000 acres.  Also, about 165 fires have been caused by humans and have burned 6800 acres so far this year.

by Angie

 A couple of wind surfers enjoying a beautiful day where the Chilkat River meets the Chilkat Inlet.

Commercial fishing boat in front of Haines.
by Angie

Summer in Haines!



Enjoying the Davidson Glacier and it's followers.
by Angie

 

Finally!  Summer has come to Haines. Mother Nature has been quite generous this week, and we are thankful.

The sunny warm days are upon us here in Haines, and I did not waste any time getting my hiking partner rounded up.

 

 Last weekend Holly and I hiked part of the Seduction Point Trail out to the Chilkat Inlet across from The Davidson Glacier at Moose Meadows. 

Arriving at Moose Meadows, we sat on the shoreline taking a break and enjoying the long awaited warmth from the sun.  As we sat there staring at the beautiful day and it’s backdrop of mountains and water, our dogs swam in the salt water and chewed on tidal wood. We both agreed that, “this is what we live here for”, this moment.  A moment is worth it all sometimes!

Sierra & her mighty Kelsall jetboat coming upriver
from the confluence.
by Angie

                        

THE CONFLUENCE OF THREE RIVERS!

A confluence is an area where two or more bodies of water meet up.  In the case that I am talking about, many of you have been to the confluence of the Chilkat, Klehini, and Tsirku Rivers.  

If you boarded a jetboat and headed downstream past the bridge with one of the riverboat captain’s, you went to the “meeting of the rivers.” 

As you are entering the confluence just above the Village of Klukwan, the first body of water you see joining up with the Chilkat, is the Klehini River. It is the largest tributary to the Chilkat and runs about thirty six miles from it’s headwaters in British Columbia.

  “DID YOU KNOW?”  Parts of Walt Disney’s 1991 rendition of Jack London’s movie White Fang, was filmed on the Klehini River.  And, during the gold rush of 1898, the famous Dalton Trail also followed the river through Pleasant Camp (US & Canada Border) and into Canada.  You can also catch a glimpse of the river on the Discovery Channel when the crew of Gold Rush Alaska is filming a crossing of the Porcupine river bridge.

The second tributary to the Chilkat, is the Tsirku River which is just below the first junction of the confluence. The Tsirku is glacier fed by the Tsirku Glacier on the Alaska, British Columbia border; the river begins and ends in Alaska.

 This area is known as the Tsirku Fan, or “Alluvial Fan” and is about four miles wide.  This is where a great deal of water is trapped underground for long periods before being swept back out and into a five mile section of the Chilkat River.  This section is the part of the river that runs through the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve.  The river does not freeze in the winter, leaving it wide open for the eagles to feast on the late runs of Chum and Silver salmon that migrate to the area and it's tributaries to spawn.  There are several hundred eagles that are year round residents of the area and a couple thousand more migrate here for the yearly feeding, making this the largest concentration of bald eagles in the world.

A FEW COMMENTS FROM OUR GUESTS

**Hey Angie, We are the Showalters, who took the river cruise on July 11, 2012. We were in the group that saw the bear on the side of the river. We have just returned home and have gotten our pictures developed. I will try to send you a pix.

Thanks so much for this great trip. We loved it, and when we return we will do this again.

 

Kay and Robert Showalter.

 

 

**Angie, It was a bit chilly on the river (we were there July 2nd) and we didn't see a large quantity of wildlife, but what we did see was great and I was able to get some good photos from the boat.

Thanks for the good experience. cb

Bald Eagle in Nest on Chilkat River
by CB

4th of July with The Zaandam Eagle
by Jerry Earnie

                

The River Ran Through it.

86 degrees on Sat. June 23
The river is expected to flood by Sunday.
Golf Course.

**Thank you for keeping in touch.

**Jo wrote: "loved the pics Ang, and the story telling is very cool!"

**Angie, thanks so much for driving us to a wonderful jet boat experience. Your insight and knowledge of the area was very beneficial. The experience was one of the highlights of the trip. Someday, I would like to go again.

The Haines area was absolutely beautiful, with the mountains, wildlife and rivers. I can see why you would love to live in this area, especially during the summer months.
I did get a chance to look at your blog. You have done a great job with it. The pictures and stories bring the area to life! Keep up the good work! I will continue to check back on the blog from time to time. Perhaps our paths will cross again. Stay in touch!
The Illinois Hunter
Joel Clark

Cow & calf swimming the Chilkat River
Greg & Georgia from Arizona

**Just dropping you a note to let you know that we had a fantastic time in Alaska. As you can see below, we were really lucky to catch pictures of the "natives". Attached are the two pics from the Chilkat River Jet Boat Tour. Can't wait to return!!! Thanks for sharing your beautiful home. 

Brown Bear
Cheers: Frank & Kay

--



THE FLOODING OF THE CHILKAT!

The Lunch Pavilion

Here's a rapid weather change for you!

On Thursday we were still dressing for cool temperatures. On Saturday we were in shorts and sandals with the temperatures in the mid to upper
80's, and a forecast advising of a flood warning for the Chilkat River by Sunday.
 This picture is on Sunday June 24th at the lunch pavilion where you ate lunch.

With the high water in the gear sheds and lunch pavilion, it leaves us no choice but to close the tours down until the river levels drop. 

On Monday the weather changed back to gray and windy with cooler temperatures "our norm", this should slow down the rapidly melting snow.

When the river finally crested on Tuesday morning it left about 2 feet of water in the gear sheds and the pavilion.

The water quickly dispersed from the lunch pavilion, and with the whole crew on clean up duty we were able to get things up and running in 2 days. Whew!

by Angie

This cow walked up behind me in my backyard.  I could not believe how close she came to me, and...I didn't see her.  Remember, I talk about always having my dog with me for extra eyes? He didn't see her either!  I was shocked at how quick I was on the porch. 

I put the dog in the house, grabbed my camera and went back out on the porch and took pictures on and off throughout the evening. 
This picture was taken at 9:30 pm after they had bedded down for the evening. They were still there in the morning. This beats TV any night!

2 bull moose

On June 10th one of our tours had the rare opportunity to join "The Chilkat Pioneer" Duck, as he manned one of the jet boats upriver.  The experience on the boat must have been a great one according to the comments I heard as guests made their way from the dock.
  Everyone was excited to tell their stories of what they saw while on the tour.  The most talked about were the two bull moose found swimming the river.  As the two swam downstream Duck carefully maneuvered the boat so that everyone was able to get a good look and a picture without disturbing them.  The river is at 5 feet now and flowing stronger with more debree, but for two bull moose it's not an obstacle, it is merely a fact of life.

Courting Eagle's over Chilkat River
by Angie

The group was also lucky enough to witness a bald eagle swimming in the river with a salmon in it's grasp as it's wings were violently thrashing the water. As it struggled against the current, it had to fight the salmon that is now in a frenzy to break free.   Quite often the reason the eagle is not able to lift off of the water with a salmon, is that the fish is simply, too heavy.  We were not able to watch the outcome, as we were in the bus and traveling back to town.  But, I can tell you that to witness this event is spectacular and not often seen.

Forget Me Nots
by Angie

We still have a remarkable amount of snow left on the mountains for this time of year and for those of you I have met, you know we received a record breaking amount this year.  So, to keep you up to date, the month of May has been the 2nd coldest on record. And, at this point we are almost halfway through June, the temperatures have gotten a bit warmer, but still not warm enough to melt high mountain snow.


Then came June 21st.  The forecast was for "sunny and warm."
Wow, summer is finally here! OR, so we thought.

The stormy tour!  You Guys were great!

Everyone was enjoying the beautiful morning on the dock waiting for the arrival of the fast ferry and talking about how nice the weather was.   I had put my shorts on earlier in the morning, but the way things had been going with the weather, I began having second thoughts and changed into jeans.  I was glad I did when the wind came up quickly at the river dock and grew harder, almost by the minute.  As I loaded my guests on the bus to return them to town I received a message from “The Little General", "Remember her?" that the fast ferry was docked in Skagway until the storm moved through.  As we headed to town I explained the quick onset of unexpected weather and how it effects travel here in Southeast Alaska, due mostly to the fact that we travel by water and air.  When a storm blows in, it can quickly hinder all travel plans, as it did in this case.  I did however let everyone know that we were in contact with the cruise ships, and they would be in good hands until the weather has subsided. 

As a special treat to our guests we took them to The American Bald Eagle Foundation where they were able to witness a live eagle feeding.  Thank You guys for being so much fun and understanding during the storm.  HERE'S TO YOU!   



12,738 Sockeye through the weir at Chilkoot River!

These twins said, "your the best" after I gave them a hotdog.
Royal Caribbean

The forecast for the Haines area over the next couple of days is: temperatures around 80 degrees, sunny skies, and a flood warning for the Chilkat River. The heavy snowpack left behind from the winter is now melting at a very fast rate and racing down the mountains to the nearby streams and rivers.

 

Disney Kids on the River!

Spring on "The River"

   Many of us here in the Chilkat Valley are happy that the month of May has made its departure and with it the cold rainy days it has imposed on us. Because we only had one day of sunshine and warmth, the snow has lingered high on the mountains with no intentions of melting off,  until early June brought sunshine and warmer temperatures to the valley and "the melt began".

Karen (the moose) eating her first banana

   The river is now flowing four feet higher, which makes it easier to navigate and more accessible. Along the riverbanks cow moose and their new born calves have been spotted, and most of the calve's are anywhere from hours to just a couple of days old. They rely solely on their mothers milk for a couple of months until they begin eating vegetation. 
   The cow moose are like any other mother and will protect their calves with great intensity.  Although they are great protectors of their young approximately eighty percent of the calves born in the spring will not survive their first year.  The calf in the picture was abandoned by it's mother for reasons unknown, but was found by a passerby and taken to the wildlife park outside of town to be raised.

Sierra admiring Trumpeter swans

  
   Another of the many sightings on the river in the last few weeks was the Trumpeter Swan.
   The swans are native to North America and mate for life,  living mostly in small eddies of water just off of the rivers main channels.  It is here where they nest and raise their young, called (cygnets).  Just a couple of days after the youngsters are born they leave the nest and begin learning how to feed, and by their fourth month they are ready to begin learning how to fly.
  Adult Trumpeter Swans have a wing span of up to eight feet wide, and taking off from a body of water causes a violent turbulence that can be seen and heard.  We witnessed the three swans in this picture as they took off from the water then turned and flew passed us.

by Angie

Elaine, from Cockatoo Australia having a great time eating a (weina). Pronounce weiner or hotdog here. 



  
  

My favorite picture of the week. Here you go kid! Your famous!

When I asked everyone to wave from the boat this kid went all out.

 

 

                                        Hello from Switzerland!                                        

Merci vilmal fur de schon Tag
( Thanks a lot for this lovely day)