Day 12, Juneau to Skagway

After an overnight trip to Skagway, we arose early for a 7:15 start on our float trip through the Chilkat Eagle Preserve. No rain this morning but it is very windy. Joining up with our tour guide, we learn that Skagway comes from a native word meaning something like 'the big wind'. We take a small boat to Haines where there is almost no wind blowing. We then take a bus to the drop off point for our float trip. The tour is a group of about 25 people. We put on our waterproof boots and life preservers and load into 5 rafts. We float down the Tsirku and Chilkat rivers during which we see many eagles. Sometimes they are sitting high in a tree, sometimes sitting on a low bush along the river, sometimes standing along the river banks or on gravel bars, and sometimes flying overhead.
It is amazing to see the eagles in their natural habitat at such close range. It is also an interesting experience floating down the river delta in the rafts. Sometimes the raft gets stuck on a gravel bar and the guid has to get out and pull the raft back into the current. After about an hour and a half, we reach our destination and eat lunch. We then bus back to Haines and take the boat back to Skagway where we do a little shopping before returning to the ship. While docked in Skagway we went to the dining room for dinner. During our meal a humpback whale came near the ship so that we could watch it from our dinner table.