Haines / Beers / Bears / Oh My

My first stop in Haines... side of the road next to a quiet inlet for the night:


The Haines Brewery. Very small, but the Spruce Tip Ale is really good:


I found these mushrooms in the forest and decided to eat them. Just kidding! I bought them from a guy who found them in the forest. It was a farmer's market so it was probably safe. Regardless, I'm still alive. And they tasted good in my hobo stew:


A brown bear near the Chilkoot River:


A black bear chowing on a salmon in the Chilkoot River:


Same guy:


I discovered upon arriving in town that it was Mardi Gras! But wait, you may say, isn't Mardi Gras usually in the spring, like before Easter or something? Yes, in the rest of the world, but in Haines, it's September 1st. Apparently an old Nawlins native moved up here and decide the Fall needed a holiday. I can tell you, it went off.

This guy had the biggest balls and was looking for a lady to give them to, with the appropriate transaction details:






Eventually, of course, there was the "show your boobs" contest. Alaskan ladies aren't afraid: