We are at Sea! (11-13 May)

Sorry, this is a long post, as we had no internet while on the ferry, so it is few days in one post.

11 May- Our SP was 0900 this morning, and we were so anxious to get this party started that leaving a bit early was no problem. We both wanted to top off Bigfoot and Elkhorn with diesel and propane before the journey. We arrived at the Blue Canoe Terminal by 1030 and the gates open at 1100.
We got checked in, ate some lunch and toured a small maritime museum, centered on Bellingham. These folks were ship builders during all of the wars up to Vietnam. Plus, fish canneries were a big industry. Besides all kinds of old stuff displayed, there was a large collection of canned Salmon all around the museum.

As I walked around a display cabinet, I noticed a man sitting down with a steno pad on his knee, recording the contents of a box of papers, one by one.

I observed him for a bit, and then I told him he looked like he was the busiest man in the place, doing all this writing. He acknowledged that fact without looking up, and then I asked him what he was doing?
Well, he was a collector of Salmon can labels. He had hundreds of them, each mounted on a 4×8 card stock with a cellophane wrapper and price tag of $10.00 each.

He had some very old labels dating back to the 1930s. Then he said, “here, this one is on me” and gave me a 1961 label. I thanked him, thinking, what the heck am I going to do with this?
Then he gave me a “one-of-a-kind” label and said, this one is so rare you will never find another. I thought to myself, oh boy how much is this going to cost me…

I confessed to the hunched over label collector, that I had no idea that collecting these was even a thing and I knew nothing of their value. He said ” oh, that’s a one-of-a-kind” and paused, then he said with a straight face, “but it is not worth anything, that is my name and picture, I photoshopped it, it’s a fake!” with chuckle like he was proud of himself. ….LOL. Okay, we shot the bull for a few more minutes and I walked out with a story, and a couple of salmon can labels, but it was interesting!

So, we are anxiously waiting in the parking lot for the signal to drive Bigfoot and Elkhorn aboard the ship. After about 3 hours, of mingling and talking to our fellow explorers, that were driving a variety of RVs, even a helicopter.

We found out that this owner was from Chicago and owns a company that airily inspects oil and power lines and he sold this bird to a 78 yr old man out of Haines, AK to putz around in. He sold him the bird, the trailer, 10 hours of flight training, plus round trip tickets and lodging while he is instructing, not bad. He dropped the trailer off on the ship and returned to Chicago.

Finally given the “Let’s Go” signal from one of the Matanuska’s crew.

The Bigfoot approached the “aft” ramp (Navy talk for rear) of the ship and one of the crew stopped us and asked for our boarding passes and ID. So I handed him our Driver’s Licenses, and a bi-folded, two-part ticket
we had got when we checked-in. He asked me, where was my ticket? I laughed and told him that was it, he said NO, this is Ann Marie’s tickets, I gently bickered with him, then he showed me the tickets and he was right! I had no boarding pass ! So, after a very awkward silence, he said he would take care of it and get the tickets to me once on board. Okay, phew, all this trip planning and I can’t board, and now I’m a stowaway!

Getting a “Talking to”

We got the Bigfoot and Elkhorn parked on the “car deck” of the ship. The ship holds 88, twenty foot long vehicles. There was one 18 wheeler, boats on trailers, work trucks, cars, and RVs. There are two other ramps on the ship toward “bow” ( Navy for front), one on the starboard-side (Navy for right -side) and one on the port-side (Navy for left-side), one of which we will exit depending how the ship pulls into port.

We grabbed our four bags (about 2 bags too much) and headed upto the 5th Deck (Navy for floor). There we see the Purser (Navy for the one responsible for all administration including the ship’s cargo and passengers) got our stateroom key and extra pillows.

We got to our stateroom, a set of bunkbeds, bathroom w/shower (about 4-inches bigger than our Bigfoot shower), a fold own desk and chair, with a port-hole (Navy for window, but this one was a rectangle). We got settled in and then we met Virgil and Delores topside (Navy for upstairs).

Once we left Bigfoot and Elkhorn on the “Car Deck” , no one is allowed back there until instructed to do so, which was about every 4-6 hours (depending of the condition of the seas).

There were many people that brought pets, and all pets had to stay in their vehicles. So every 4-6 hours pet owners got to feed, water, and let them do their business, on the (steel) car deck. Bags, paper towels, and bleach was provided. We were proud of Bigfoot and Elkhorn, as they had been trained for this part of the adventure, remember they are thoroughbreds.

We explored the ship and found while it is not a cruise ship, it has all the amenities that we need for a 38 hour voyage. There were many signs on the ship that boarding passes must be presented before leaving the ship when we dock…hmmm.


The next day, I decided to go the Purser’s Desk and tell him I’m a stowaway and try to get my boarding pass. I rang the bell and the Purser (wearing the same dress whites that the guy on the Love Boat wore) walks up to the counter. I begin to tell him my whole story, and after politely listening to me, he reaches into his shirt pocket and pulls out my boarding pass and hands it to me! He said, I told you I would take care of it and thank you for coming here to get it! I thanked him and walked away happy but, what just happened? I did not recognize that guy, and it turns out that most of the employees on the blue canoe have many jobs. When on the ship’s ramp, the purser was wearing a hard hat and yellow vest and looked totally different than the man in dress whites. Kool,
I’m not a stowaway.

We had a good day at sea, they told us we would hit some rough water three different times in open water as we traveled north. What a beautiful journey, traveling along these narrow channels, with
snow capped mountains and waterfalls everywhere from the melting snow pack.

Look for the golf ball in the trees, it is an Eagle

We hung out together and separately as we explored the ship, taking pictures and talking to some interesting people and discovering their travel plans and upcoming adventures. We had many ask us about our adventure, as the t-shirts that Virgil and Delores made for our trip attracted a lot of attention.

The four of played a board game and ate some snacks, as we watched this beautiful scenery pass by. After dinner, we sat next to a couple who happened to be from Whidbey Island, WA.
Virgil and Delores were stationed there in the 1900’s (okay 1970s) and they loved it. They shared many cool memories with each other and they were blessed about their past, and grateful for the present and the future.

We are scheduled to be at Ketchikan, AK port at 0600 in the morning (13 May). Bigfoot and Elkhorn will begin yet another phase of this adventure and we can’t wait.

2 comments

  1. I lived in Kethcikan in the mid 80……Annual rain fall 14 feet that is correct 14 feet. Be sure to go out to Ward lake….If you want to see bears go to the city dump outside of town

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