August 11, 2022 Thursday Day 76: Meyers Chuck to Prince Rupert 136 miles- 3410 total miles
Happy Birthday Ellen! I can’t believe my baby is 2! Ellen must have been excited for her birthday because she slept terribly! So bad that Chris even had her come in with me and the kids in the middle of the night. (Yes we had 4 people in a full sized bed.) I think Ellen is getting the cold the kids have, fun!
Right around 7:00 AM Cassy came with our cinnamon rolls! I actually think they were more like sticky buns as they didn’t have frosting, but extra gooey goodness. They were still warm, and they were delicious! It was so perfect having something special for Ellen on her birthday.
After eating our sticky buns we headed into Clarence Strait, and it was calm and perfect. We made it to Ketchikan to do laundry and shower. (Maybe the last time of the trip!)
We docked the boat where we did the last time we were in Ketchikan. The kids and I got out, and realized that we weren’t allowed to dock there. Chris called the harbor master and figured out where he could dock the boat. It ended up taking a while so the kids and I went to search for the showers. The laundry is at the south side of the marina, where we docked. The shower and harbormaster’s office are at the north end. It’s a decent walk, especially with a grouchy 2 year old, and all our shower stuff/laundry stuff. Luckily we made it. We got quarters at the harbormaster’s office for our showers. I will say the price for the showers here weren’t bad. $2.00 for 8 minutes. It was enough for me and the 3 kids to shower.
When we were done showering Chris finally made it to us. He hopped in the shower, Ryan went in and grabbed Chris’ dirty clothes, and me and the kids headed to do laundry. When Chris was done showering, he came and got the big kids to run a few errands and to grab food. When they were done with that they came for Ellen and went back to the boat to wait for me. I finished up the laundry and met them on the boat and off we went. Soon we were lucky enough to see a humpback whale breaching!
Ketchikan is near Dixon Entrance. Dixon Entrance is a big strait that we have to cross to get back into Canada. Timing the weather/seas here is pretty important as it is a big crossing and can get pretty rough. Luckily this evening and into tomorrow the weather was looking like a great crossing window. We thought about waiting for tomorrow to cross, but the tides were looking a little better today, and fog was on the forecast for tomorrow morning. We decided we would just go for it tonight. We’d made it across in daylight, but getting into Prince Rupert would be pretty close to dusk.
Crossing Dixon Entrance tonight ended up being a great choice. The water conditions were perfect, even better when we crossed getting into Alaska. The sun was on us for a big chunk of it, but towards the end was sunset and it was beautiful! It was a perfect crossing.
We did pull into Prince Rupert at dusk, and by the time we cleared customs it was dark and late. We found a spot to tie up and went to bed. We did use the ArriveCan app, and clearing customs was just a quick phone call. We were on hold for a while though.
Ryan’s Thoughts: Ellen is 2! Cinnamon rolls and tablets. We are in Canada now!
Lillian’s Thoughts: Today is Ellen’s B-day yay! Ellen cut her head. (She tripped on her way to take a shower.) We ate sticky buns and left Alaska! Goodnight!
