Ketchikan to Prince Rupert, BC

Five weeks in this beautiful state of Alaska has truly been “A Trip of a Lifetime.” Leaving Ketchikan by ferry this morning, we will arrive in Prince Rupert, British Columbia this afternoon and our Alaska Experience will be over. Waking up to the alarm, for the last time this trip, at 4:30 am, we dressed and drove to town, bought Macdonald’s breakfast sandwiches and coffee “to go” and got in line for the ferry. For the first time since we arrived in Alaska, we actually saw a sunrise. How apropos that we saw our first sunset on our last night in Alaska and our first sunrise on our last morning here.

As we sailed in sunshine and saw the low lying fog hanging along the shore, our last ferry ride was otherwise uneventful. The weather was very warm, a nice change for us and may even break out the shorts soon. The scenery was the same beautiful snow-covered mountains, lush, green forest along the shore, a waterfall here, a glacier there, but unfortunately no wildlife. Arriving in Prince Rupert, we had to immediately drive through Canadian Customs. When I handed the agent our shotgun permit, we were pulled over for a complete inspection. The female agents who searched our vehicle, were very nice, but did try to charge me again for the permit. This was our first and hopefully last inspection.

The Prince Rupert RV Park, about a half mile from the terminal is where we went to meet up with our friends, Bill and Nadine, who are just starting their trip to Alaska. They arrived a day early so that they could see us as we departed the ferry. We filled them in on info about what we had seen and they filled us in on Route 2, which we will take home from Montana to Michigan. Nadine had fixed supper for us and we were very surprised and appreciative. What a nice treat to meet up with friends so far away from home, especially since we are really starting to get homesick.

The Prince Rupert RV Park has very nice grounds, but the owner or manager does a terrible job in providing information and in assigning campsites. We were never told that you needed a code for the restrooms, and if not for waiting for others to come and open the door, we never would have gotten in. Also the sites are not properly numbered and this caused a lot of confusion for us and others.

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