Day 4: Haines City - a must see

Today we docked in Skayway, Alaska - a gateway to the Yukon. We booked a wonderful excursion through our CruiseOne website. First we took a 40 minute scenic ferry down the Lynn Canal to Haines City (population of only 2,400). What a cute historic town. Our guide picked us up at the dock and took us to Chilkoot Lake. This lake is about 3 miles long and is completely surrounded by huge, snow capped mountains. Breathtaking. And thanks to the smaller size of our CruiseOne excursions, the only ones on this amazing lake were the 4 of us friends plus our friendly tour guide. She was a knowledgeable guide who moved to Haines City 30 years ago.

Afterwards we walked around downtown Skagway. There are many tourist stores selling everything from t-shirts to jewelry. I did find a few quilting/fabric stores. They carried lots of wilderness fabrics. It sure would be fun to partner with them on a future Cruise & Crop cruise.

Today's Alaska travel tip: dress in layers
We started out the day in heavy jackets. Although a bit chilly, the skies were clear and the mountains showed us their full glory. The locals said this was the nicest day in weeks. Very fitting for the first day of summer (and the longest day in Alaska - with the most sunlight). By the time we arrived at Chikoot Lake we ditched our jackets. The weather was perfect! A few hours later the wind picked up which brought in some chilly air. A few hours after that we put on our rain jackets as we reluctantly walked back to the ship in the rain.

So if you are planning a trip to Alaska - be prepared for all types of unpredictable weather.

Off to Juneau tomorrow.

-Cheri