Ketchikan is busy when we stop. It's our first Alaskan stop. We're a bit behind due to the extra stop in Prince Rupert and the long crossing of Queen Charlotte Sound, but the crew keeps our stops short and we make up time.

There is snow on the ground now. An Alaska Airlines jet lands at the airport across the channel. This is the channel that would have been spanned by the so-called "bridge to nowhere" that was in the news. The bridge would have connected Ketchikan to its airport and given the town room to expand. Worth the price? I don't know. But not as ridiculous as the media made it out to be.

Two tugboats muscle a heavily laden barge.

Our fellow passengers watch the action from the forward observation lounge.

Another day aboard the ferry is drawing to a close as we see one of several lighthouses we will pass along the Inside Passage.

Most of Juneau is hidden from view as we pull into the ferry dock.

A young couple moving to Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage suggest that those of us hitting the highway at Haines form a convoy. We tell them we're interested. I know from experience that there won't be much traffic on the highway, and even though my daughter's Subaru has all-wheel drive, the car has summer tires on.

A few cars get on the ferry at Juneau.

The purser makes an announcement that people interested in driving together should meet in the bar before it opens.

Roughly amidships on both sides of the deck there is a fast rescue boat. I think these are new since the last time I rode the ferry -- about thirty years ago when I was college student myself.

The mountains are taller and snowier as we move north.

We attend the convoy meeting in the bar. My daughter is the only one with a CB radio in her car. Now I'm sorry that I didn't bring along our little walkie talkies. I usually carry them when traveling but figured my daughter and I would always be together.

Nearly everyone has a cell phone and we pass around paper to write down our numbers. I don't say anything but I'm skeptical whether they'll do us any good. I'm not sure most people realize there won't be cell reception where we're headed. It's a big country, and there's not much out there.

We pass another lighthouse as the end of our ferry ride draws closer. It's been a beautiful trip, and if you're not afraid of a little cold weather, I'd highly recommend the winter ferry ride. There's no crowding and the scenery is just as wonderful in winter.

We make landfall in Haines late in the afternoon. Our ferry adventure is over and a new adventure begins.