Day Two - Ferry to Prince Rupert

After waking up every hour on the hour I finally gave up trying to sleep around 4:00 am. It worked out in the end as it allowed me time to get ready and packed up before waking dad. After poking him I started hauling gear back down to the truck and once dad was ready to go we headed out for the ferry.

I considered yesterday a constant lesson about patience. The first lesson came while trying to figure out why on earth I needed to be at the ferry two hours in advance! Well let me tell you - if we all arrived on time (7:30ish) nobody would be on the ferry!! The checked our ideas when we arrived...they listed me as a senior :) and again when we boarded the ferry. This is an attempt to ensure that they know exactly who is on the ferry. The other little tidbit that slows up the process? Well you can not simply drive on this ferry!

You're probably say, "what do you mean you can't just drive on the ferry"? Well you drive on but then you have to turn around because unlike the southern ferries there is only one entrance/exit on this boat. So the process involves driving on the ferry on one side and then turning the "corner" so that you are facing forward. The last two vehicles on the ferry were the buses and they backed on! It was an interesting experience to say the least! Another interesting feature of the northern ferry...you can only get back to your car for 15 minutes every 2-3 hours!

The ferry ride itself was incredible! I was worried that the 15 hours would be long and tedious as the 2 hours ride out of Duke Point can last forever but it was really only the last 45 minutes on the ferry that seemed to last forever! The rest was spectacular in spite of less than wonderful weather. In fact I think the ride was more special because we were shrouded in mist which added to the overall mystique of the Inside Passage.

The mountains seemed to grow out of the ocean into the sky, reaching far beyond anything humans could reach. There were times that the passage seemed so narrow that I hopped that another boat wouldn't come along. I also felt sorry for the small fish boats that we passed - there was not a lot of space to avoid the wake of the ferry!

The ferry itself was nothing too amazing - the new ferries on the southern routes are much nicer so hopefully the new one they are building will be more passenger focused. Of course they cabins may be beautiful but as we didn't pay for one I cannot say. The lunch menu was similar to the pre-whitespot menu on the lower ferrys but dinner was good - Dad and I both had prime rib! You can also have been liquor on this one but neither of us took advantange.

The wildlife viewing on the ferry ride was good but over early in the voyage. We saw a humpback whale and some white sided dolphins - It made me think of Grampa Forbes when I was looking at my "black dots" and remaking, "it's a whale tale"! Of course my zoom lense is a little bit bigger and we have the advantange of digital editing!

So far we've seen whales every day and bears on the first day - of course tomorrow is the trip to the Grizzly sanctuary!

We're supposed to be camping on this trip but given the crappy weather and the lateness of our arrival we (I) decided to stay in a hostel - we've made reservations for the Black Rooster Hostel in Prince Rupert.