June 11, 2007
Posted by: Dick Wilson
Start: Off ship at Haines, Alaska
Destination: Haines Junction -Yukon, Canada
Miles traveled: 154
The purser’s announcement over the intercom awakened us abruptly at 4:30 a.m. He was announcing the Columbia’s arrival at Juno. I dressed and hustled to the kiosk on shore to pick up e-mail messages. It was then back to the stateroom to pack our bags and cases. Murphy struck us again today. Steve’s bike was attached with a tie-down strap to a refrigerated truck-trailer. They drove off without undoing the strap, pulling his bike and dragging it 10 feet. Fortunately, the damage was only superficial, and the AMH employee agreed that they would pay for any necessary repairs. When we docked at Haines, it was missing a bit. We donned our rain gear and headed north. When we reached the Canadian border, there was a huge line of people waiting to get through customs. Apparently, the holdup was because of one individua
l who had a DUI conviction in the U.S., and they were not going to permit him to even enter Canada. Then, there was only one custom’s agent on duty, a surly and portly gal who was becoming bored by the time we reached the front of the line, and she wisped us through but only after we answered a series of somewhat inane questions regarding our intentions, duration of stay in Canada, and whether we were carrying any weapons or pepper spray. We continued riding north through some beautiful country in the Yukon and arrived at Haines Junction at about 8 p.m. Except for a shaky start on the vehicle deck of the Columbia, our first day of riding in Alaska was judged by all to be a definite success and enjoyable experience.
Posted by: Dick Wilson
Start: Off ship at Haines, Alaska
Destination: Haines Junction -Yukon, Canada
Miles traveled: 154
The purser’s announcement over the intercom awakened us abruptly at 4:30 a.m. He was announcing the Columbia’s arrival at Juno. I dressed and hustled to the kiosk on shore to pick up e-mail messages. It was then back to the stateroom to pack our bags and cases. Murphy struck us again today. Steve’s bike was attached with a tie-down strap to a refrigerated truck-trailer. They drove off without undoing the strap, pulling his bike and dragging it 10 feet. Fortunately, the damage was only superficial, and the AMH employee agreed that they would pay for any necessary repairs. When we docked at Haines, it was missing a bit. We donned our rain gear and headed north. When we reached the Canadian border, there was a huge line of people waiting to get through customs. Apparently, the holdup was because of one individua
l who had a DUI conviction in the U.S., and they were not going to permit him to even enter Canada. Then, there was only one custom’s agent on duty, a surly and portly gal who was becoming bored by the time we reached the front of the line, and she wisped us through but only after we answered a series of somewhat inane questions regarding our intentions, duration of stay in Canada, and whether we were carrying any weapons or pepper spray. We continued riding north through some beautiful country in the Yukon and arrived at Haines Junction at about 8 p.m. Except for a shaky start on the vehicle deck of the Columbia, our first day of riding in Alaska was judged by all to be a definite success and enjoyable experience. 
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