With our car loaded "to the gills" we say farewell to our Anchorage apartment and kind neighbors in the "Arctic Gardens" complex. This had been our happy home for the past year and a half.
We drove two and half days to Haines, Alaska, a delightful little coastal town where we met the ferry for our ride home. Fishing and tourism keep Haines alive. We spent the afternoon with Elder and Sister Oswald, the senior missionary couple that keeps the branch here going.
We will miss the verdant evergreen mountains which seem to rise right out of the water all along the coast of Southeast Alaska. We were always frustrated in our attempts to "capture" the magnificence of the Alaska landscapes. We boarded the "Colombia," largest and most comfortable ferry in the Alaska Marine Highway fleet. We enjoyed a relaxing three-and-a-half-day "budget cruise" watching the awesome scenery go by.
Our car was carefully loaded into the ship's hull with dozens of other vehicles. Our route hugged the coast, so we had smooth sailing all the way. The wilderness coastline was occasionally punctuated with small fishing towns, native villages, or lonesome lighthouses.
We enjoyed a stop in Sitka and got a short tour of the town which served as the first (Russian) capital of Alaska. We disembarked in Bellingham, Washington, drove our car off the ferry, and with two more days of driving,completed our trip home to Rexburg. We are so grateful for the precious memories we have of our mission in Alaska!
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