Mother Goose’s journey begins on a blustery, cool morning; the southerly winds chasing away the unusual summer heat, cloaking the mountains around Skagway in a familiar shroud of mist. Bags stowed and charts plotted, the crews of Mother Goose got underway following Deception south out of Taiya Inlet towards the town of Haines. Underway the fleet marveled at the monumental landscape; thick forests of Sitka Spruce (Alaska’s state tree!) and Western Hemlock blanketed the rocky mountain sides; the expansive tree line interrupted only by landslides and numerous, cascading waterfalls. Being only 12 nautical miles away from Skagway, the town of Haines, prominently featuring Fort Seward, a cluster of white buildings with red roofs nestled at the foot of a magnificent snowcapped mountains, quickly came into view. Crews expertly docked among the fishing vessels in the small boat harbor, and were ready to explore the beautiful town of Haines by mid-afternoon.

The three brothers, Joe, Mark and David, off of Bonum Vitae elected to explore the quaint town of Haines. Meanwhile, Melinda and Doug, our father daughter duo off of Discovery, Grace and Max from Patos, and Mark and Anne from Thea all went for a hike out to Battery Point. The forest was lush and cool, with stands of Devil’s Club glowing green, their large light catching leaves lighting up the forest’s understory. Above us towering Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock swayed in the breeze. Give the forest floor even a moment of your attention and suddenly a new, lush world of mosses and flowers comes into focus. With a bit of perusing our group identified the lovely little flower, Western Rattlesnake Root, and found ample False Lily of the Valley carpeting the forest floor. Lucky for our group, Haines’ mountainous beauty-stunning from the water-did not diminish upon taking a closer look on land. What a treat to spend time in Haines!