Saturday, June 27, 2015

We are at Denali National Park in Alaska.  We spent yesterday taking a 6.5 hour tour of the park, but were unable to see Mt. McKinley.  Mt. McKinley is so large it creates it’s own climate, usually with clouds and yesterday was no exception.

But the scenery is gorgeous.  Denali encompasses 6 million acres.  The bus took us about 50 miles into the park and back, with a few stops along the way.  The road was mostly dirt and gravel.

They limit vehicle access to most of the park; hiking is unlimited. 

We did spot a few animals:

A young caribou.

Dall sheep

A hawk.

And a golden eagle.  He apparently had his eye on some prey, as he hovered over the same spot for a long time, allowing Steve to get a good shot.

But the scenery stole the show.  It was ever changing and we took way too many pictures.  It was hard to narrow them down to just a few. 

The glaciers created what are called braided rivers – rivers with multiple channels that change often.

The haze in the upper right of the picture above is smoke.  As we turned around to head back to the front of the park, the smoke from some of the forest fires in Alaska was beginning to creep into the park.  We were lucky to have a relatively clear day.  There are over 400 active forest fires in Alaska.  The later tours didn’t see nearly as much, as more smoke kept creeping into the park.

We finished the day off with pizza at a local place that had both a crust AND cheese I could have.  And it was good pizza!  (Or as good as a gluten free, dairy free pizza gets!)

I’m going to create another post or two on our previous adventures, but stop now and try and get this posted.

Deb

Sunday, June 14, 2015

We are in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada.  And we finally have decent Internet service, although my email is acting odd.  I have to sign on through the Internet to send anything.

First, the view out our window:

We won’t have a lot of spectacular views out our window on the caravan trip.  The primary concerns for where to camp are convenience and enough spaces.  I think we’ve always been close to fuel and frequently within walking distances of attractions.   I’m glad this time that we got a view of trees.

The caravan is going well.  It’s a nice group of people and our RV technician, Roger, has earned his keep in many ways.  Tires have been changed, loose brackets fixed, refrigerators fixed and that’s only what I know about.  Luckily, we've only used him for advice on fixing a bracket.

On Monday, June 1, we went to see the local village totem poles.  Typically, totem poles stand outside a home or along the river bank, but the government worked with the natives to locate some together to enjoy and preserve.

After lunch, those who wanted gathered to walk to the place where the two rivers join and hear Spike (the caravan leader) talk a bit about the history.  The First Nation people (which we would call Native Americans) have lived here for thousands of years.  The rivers provide transportation and food.  There’s a recreation of a native village nearby.  We visited it and had dinner there that night.

 We pulled out of Hazelton, British Columbia, on June 2, headed to Hyder, Alaska.  The caravan is a sight to see.  People point at us and even stop and take pictures.

 We have 26 rigs, 52 people and 22 dogs and one cat.

Hyder, Alaska, sits right on the Canadian border across from Stewart, British Columbia.  It’s a small town and the only way to get there is through Stewart or by sea.  It used to be a large port for the mining companies, but I think airplanes did that in.  It’s the most southern Alaskan town that you can drive to.

It’s also at the southern end of Glacier Highway, which does live up to it’s name.  We visited the Salmon Glacier west of town and had our first chance to throw snowballs.

Coming back from Salmon Glacier, we had our first bear sighting.

We were so excited!

We’ve eaten well on this trip and Hyder was no exception.  One nice thing about the caravan is that the staff can recommend restaurants in a strange town.  We use an IPhone app, Urban Spoon, which has been real helpful in the lower 48 states, but if there’s not cell service, it doesn’t work!  So the staff recommendations have been helpful.  We ate at “The Bus” in Hyder, for great fish and chips.

 You’ll see lots of people in yellow vests in my pictures.  These were handed out as we checked in for the tour.  It makes us easy to spot and helpful when there is a paid admission.

When we left Hyder, we had to go through Canadian customs.  They are real picky about poultry products coming in from the US because of the bird flu.  The Alaskans were having some fun with a sign on their side of the border.

The sign says Eastern Sektor, Checkpoint Charlie, You are leaving the American Sector.  The stone building on the right is a very old checkpoint.  (I think Checkpoint Charlie was a checkpoint on the Berlin wall.)


And another glacier – I think this one is called Bear Glacier.

We left Hyder on June 4, and headed for Dease Lake, British Columbia.  We have three one night stops before we reach Skagway, Alaska.  Distances up here are bigger than Texas. This is just some of the beautiful scenery on the way to Dease Lake.

On June 5, we departed Dease Lake and headed for Watson Lake. It was a rainy day, but we got to drive through great scenery.

 This is our caravan at a rest stop.

 We also see a lot wild flowers along the road and a lot of lilacs when we pass a residence.  I think I need to find a place at home for some lilacs.

Watson Lake is known for it’s sign forest.  During WWII, it became apparent that Alaska and western Canada would be a target for the Japanese and we had no way to supply anyone.  So airfields and the Alaska-Canada highway was built.  The airfields are quite long and I suspect are backup airports even today.  They are still in use and maintained.  Anyway, one of the soldiers stationed in Watson Lake during the building of the highway got homesick and put up a sign pointing to his hometown.  And thus a tradition begins.  The forest covers several acres now.  Several of our tour group posted signs of their own.

 The next day, Saturday, June 6, (it is hard to keep track of the days!) we headed for Teslin, Yukon.  Along the way, we notice things spelled out with rocks.  It's the local version of graffiti.   

More beautiful scenery.

And a decent restaurant with an international flair.  Here’s part of the menu (prices are in Canadian dollars).

At the Continental Divide, we stopped and took a group picture with the dogs.  The one cat wasn't having any part of it.

And then it was on to Skagway, Alaska, where many started their quest for Klondike gold.  These people were nuts.  Dawson, where the gold was found, is almost 500 miles inland.  And the Canadian authorities wouldn’t let you go without 2000 pounds of supplies – which you would need to survive the trip.  And the first thing you needed to do was climb 30 miles up the mountains to reach the Yukon river.  It’s too steep for wagons; most of the horses used died on the way up, giving the trail the nickname of dead horse trail.  And they were climbing in winter.  Most worked with a partner, carrying goods up the trail a way and then heading down for more.  It was back breaking work.

Gold was discovered in 1896.  News reached the world in 1897 and it was 1898 before those who survived the journey reached Dawson.  By then, most of the land had been claimed and there were few opportunities

But the gold rush inspired the building of a railway and the White Pass and Yukon railroad still runs today.  Early in the 20th century, steamships started bringing tourists.  Tourism continues today as the main industry.

Many of the buildings in Skagway date back to the gold rush days.

The scenery is gorgeous.  This river is next to where one of the gold rush trails up the mountain started.

And here are Steve and I actually on the trail.

And a better picture of the trail.  Can you imagine carry 2000 pounds of supplies up it 30 miles, 50 pounds at a time?

Skagway sits on the ocean, but it’s on a narrow fiord.

This was the view from our door at night.  Lots of small fishing boats.  (And people who put them in and out all day and night!)

And in the morning:

As many as 5 cruise ships can dock at Skagway at once.  Note the Disney ship on the right.  One day our guide said there were 12,000 visitors that day.  Less than 1,000 people live there normally.  

We left Skagway and headed for Whitehorse, Yukon Territory on Thursday, June 11.  We’ll mostly be following the route the gold miners took, except we have roads and bridges and vehicles.  We stopped at Caribou Crossing for lunch and a chance to interact with a mushing team that competes in the Iditarod dog sled race.  I played with the puppies.

Again, the scenery is spectacular.  Pictures don’t do it justice.

Whitehorse is the capital and largest city in the Yukon.  Its’ population is about 23,000.  There are only 33,000 people in the Yukon.  If you want to get away from people, this may be your place.

Whitehorse is a good stop for us.  It has a Walmart and an even better Canadian store, so stocking up was easy.  We also took a trip to Miles Canyon, which was a canyon the miners had to come through.  Because it’s so narrow, the river runs fast and there’s a whirlpool near the end.

And, continuing our tradition, we also found some great food!

Tomorrow we head out for Dawson City, Yukon Territory.  This is where the miners were headed to find their gold.  It’s a town full of history.  And hopefully, we’ll have decent Internet!

There are times on this journey that I want to just stop and enjoy what’s around me, but I know that around the next bend is another beautiful view.  The land is so immense that to see much of it, we have to keep moving.  And I know we’ll still not see it all.

As the song says,

“There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found

(Tim Rice, The Lion King, Circle of life.)

So we’ll enjoy as much as we can as we move along.

Deb