Saturday June 21. Haines to Juneau Alaska and ports beyond.   I am awake at six, aware that I must check-in at the Alaskan Marine Highway terminal at eight o'clock, for a nine o'clock boarding. I pack quickly and take another fast run along the river and into the mountains. I know this is my last motorcycle ride until Tuesday when I arrive in Bellingham Washington. Down to the terminal. Other vehicles are already in line. The clerk tells me to park at the front of the line. I do so, much to dissatisfaction of my soon to be shipmates.   The Malaspina is a 701 passenger/88 vehicle ferry. It arrives on time and the boarding process is orderly. There is ample place to secure the motorcycle and chocks to prevent my tires from shifting. The crew provides rope to secure the bike, but I prefer tie-downs. I  brought several and feel satisfied the bike is secure. I am surprised that I am the only motorcyclist onboard. This is a first class operation. I remember my last ferry in Mexico where the deck was so filthy you could not knell to secure the bike. An engine failure turned a eighteen hour crossing of the Sea of Cortez into a twenty-eight hour ordeal. This trip promises to be much more enjoyable. [pic]

There are only 177 passengers on board as we leave Haines. I get an inside cabin and store my gear. If you prefer to camp, you can pitch a tent on the stern or sleep in the deck chairs.    As I leave Haines you can see small blocks of ice floating along side the ship. [pic]   The channel is narrow with tree covered mountains close to both sides of the ship. Most of the passage will be within the Tongass National Forest, a seventeen million acre wilderness that encompasses most of the Alaskan panhandle.  [pic]

 At four o'clock we arrive in Juneau, the State capital of Alaska. I am pleased we stop in Juneau because I cannot get here by motorcycle or other street legal vehicle. I take a cab the twelve miles into town. Four cruise ships are in town depositing over eight thousand passengers into a compact city of less than thirty thousand residents. The crowds, both in town and at the Mendenhall Glacier are too much for me to tolerate. I take the obligatory photo at the glacier and return to the Malaspina. 

When it comes time to go to bed I am real happy that I have a cabin. There is nothing wrong with tenting on the deck, but after having been outdoors for two weeks it is nice to have a cabin. It is also nice to have a space that is dark. The approach of the Summer Solstice has meant that it has not been dark for weeks. Today is the longest day of the year. I am glad that I can enjoy it in the total darkness of my cabin.

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