The “Art” of ferry loading

Posted bycinnicrewPosted inAlaska

Day 31

7/21/26. Tuesday

Mosquito Count: they all drowned today

Campground checkout by noon. We had a full day in Homer before we had to be at the ferry station to Kodiak island at 8:30pm. The usual RV checkout duties, gray water, urine bucket, fresh water before we leave the campground. Jim is working his way between the campers that have to pull up with hoses. Ours is all manual with plastic containers. 

Jim… task master of fluids in the van

Today is another overcast day with some rain expected off and on. High today is 52’F. 

This salvaged fishing boat is someone’s habitat on the Homer Spit.
This little lake in Homer is home to several seaplanes.
Brightly colored ones too!

BIG Alaska! Things grow BIG in Alaska. Bears, mosquitos and eagles too! Eagles this morning perched on top of the mooring posts on the water. I wasn’t on fast enough to photograph them but there were two in a row.

Homer is famous for growing peonies. They are big too! As soon as the sun shines again they should start popping out all around town.

We drove on what they call the East End Road almost to the end of the Kachemak Bay. I did find a peony farm there but hours are on Fridays only.

We came back to the spit and we thought we would poke around all the shops and stores but no sooner did we park then wave after wave of pouring rain settled in. Instead we just hung out in the cozy van. Instead of going for fish and chips on the dock I made tacos. It’s all good.

Glacial Ice Cocktails. Tonight was the perfect time for our glacial ice cocktails. Tonight was Moscow Mules. The ice is so pure and clean and hard. It didn’t melt fast at all. So slow that Jim was able to save a chunk of his for another day!

Check out how clean that ice is!
You can see the sunk drain through it.

We packed our overnight bags for the upcoming ferry trip. Once we park the van we are not allowed back in the vehicles until arrival. Ferry rules internationally.

Ferry Loading. There’s about 7 lanes in the ferry cue. They ask the exact length of your vehicle for getting every car, truck, van, camper and semi onboard. We are side by side with a pickup camper from Sidney, Montana! What are those odds please?

Alaska Marine Highway system is what they call their ferry service in Alaska.
Part of their DOT.
I have no idea how many cars will be on this ferry but they say it will sellout.
Side by side Montana vehicles

So we were in our row about 7:30pm. They have loaded a few small cars, a semi and a few campers that have to back all the way in(😱)… glad that isn’t my job. But it’s been 1.5 hours and there is no steady stream of cars loading yet. This is a slow tetris of filling up the belly of the ferry. Now it’s 10pm and we gave them all our tickets and have pulled onto the loading platform. Next step is into the ferry. We are not last but probably at the back of the pack.

Ready to drive into the boat
It’s 10pm and they are still fishing at the park by the ferry.
The lighting on the water was
beautiful at 10pm
Seagulls in a row

We are on! That was amazing. You drive straight in and you are on a turntable that lowers and then rotates to drive and park. I had no idea about that and have never seen that on a ferry before.

Onto the loading ramp
We are on a pivoting ramp that will lower us down to the parking
We have pivoted and will back into our parking spot
You can see the pivot ramp above and to the front. It is blue.
That’s our van to the right
Locking us down for the night.

We have a room on board for the night. It’s a bunk bed and a sink. They provide all the bedding. We’re snug as a bug in a rug. The showers and toilets are just a few steps down the hall.

And here’s our room for the night. Bathrooms and showers down the hall.

We’re due to arrive at 8am tomorrow so it should be an easy nights sleep. Sounds perfect!

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