Ferry to Ketchikan

Robert, Thursday, May 29
The alarm sounded at 4:30 am. We had to check the small alarm clocks we had along to be sure the alarm worked. One did and one didn’t. Usually we use my cell phone as an alarm clock but with no cell phone service, we didn’t want to count on it. Pulling out of the campground was pretty simple as we had done most of the work the day before. We parked in line by 5:30 and got the rig measured. I had measured the length before we left home and my result was 54 feet. The official measurement was 52 feet. This was good news as the fare is determined by the length. I took the measurement and walked about 100 yards to the terminal to get the tickets. It took forever to get the tickets printed. The clerk said the system was very slow that morning. I was there for at least 45 minutes. In the meantime, Leslie drove the rig to the line to clear US customs and immigration. Fortunately I got the tickets before she got to the checkpoint. Once we got through the checkpoint, it was into another line to get on the ferry. As the ferry was going beyond the first stop of Ketchikan, this line was actually multiple lines as the loading was by destination. We were the second vehicle to load. On the ferry there are six lanes, three on each side of the center were the stairs and elevators are located. The trip took about six hours. Although a crew member told Leslie that they had seen multiple whales on the trip from Ketchikan to Prince Rupert, we didn’t see any on the trip back. When we got to Ketchikan, we off loaded on the starboard (right) side of the ship. As we had loaded in the stern it meant that we didn’t have to back off. The lanes on the ship are very narrow and there isn’t a lot of room to maneuver a 52 foot rig.
The campground where we had reservations, is about 15 miles north of town. We got here and set up by about 2:30 pm. The campground has rooms to rent, a restaurant, and a boat dock with boats to rent for fishing. There are people in their RVs who spend the entire summer here fishing. They have freezers under the nose of their fifth wheels where they keep their catch. We walked around the campground to check what is here. Shortly after were arrived, an RV pulled in and parked immediately next to us. We had met the occupants while waiting in line at the ferry. While Leslie and I were down on the dock, the people next to us started jumping up and down and yelling, "Whale!" We hurried back up to where the RVs were parked and watched a humpback whale about 100 yards away. It would blow about every 100 feet as it slowly swam along the shore. Another way that it is obvious that we are in Alaska is that the bald eagles are all around us–both juveniles without the white heads and adults.
As we had pretty much depleted our meat and vegetables, we decided to eat out. As the restaurant here at the campground doesn’t open until after we leave, we went back into to town to eat. The restaurant was recommended by one of the people in the campground and the food was great.
For the day we only towed 15 miles and most of those were from the ferry to the campground here in Ketchikan. After we arrive in Haines, the point at which finish riding the ferry, I plan to figure what we saved in fuel cost. Our total distance traveled today was 105 miles as it is 90 miles from Prince Rupert to Ketchikan.