Anchorage, Alaska's Largest City

On the Boat in Whittier

Anchorage Alaska was our next stop on Saturday August 9th. Anchorage was founded in 1915 as a railroad camp and has now grown into Alaska’s largest city and main travel hub. Approximately 40% of the states population live here. Sled-dog races are still among the most revered events held here, moose and occasionally bears roam city bike trails.

View from the boat

Our group took an all day train/boat cruise to Whittier from here. Whittier is the remnants of a military town developed in World War II. The only way to get to Whittier was by boat or train until the tunnel opened to traffic in 2000. The town is very small and there is not much to look at, but the location is unbeatable. Surrounding peaks hold alpine glaciers, and sheer cliffs drop off and provide nesting places for hundreds of birds. 

Wildlife

We saw blue shining glacier after glacier, icebergs,  sea otters, and harbor seals.

Glacier

It was cold!

A Chunk of Clacier

On board the boat, the crew made margaritas made from glacier ice - pretty nice!

After the Margaritas

Glacier

View from the Train

Our Favorite Brewery

We discovered Anchorage had 4 breweries, and together with friends, managed to get around three of them before we had to head out to our next stop - great beer!

The one bummer in Anchorage was that on the Monday after we arrived I had to have an emergency root canal!!! Not a happy camper, but I am hoping it heals quickly.

Denali National Park

Denali

Our next destination was Denali National Park., a six million acre park. The keystone of the park is Mt. McKinley. More commonly called by its Athabascan name, Denali, meaning “the High One,” or often referred to by Alaskans simply as “the Mountain,” the peak measures in at 20,230 feet, the highest point on the continent. Denali is also the the tallest mountain in the world- yes Mt Everest is higher, but it sits on the Tibetan plateau, like it was standing on a chair to rise above Denali, which starts barely above sea level.

Mirror Lake

We were very fortunate as the ‘Mountain was 'Out’ both days we visited.  Only 30% of visitors get to see Denali, most of the time it is hidden behind clouds. The mountain is part of the Alaska range, a 600-mile long crescent of mountains that separates South Central Alaska from the interior. The Park is also filled with multicolored rock, glacially fed streams, debris and tundra-covered ice glaciers, lakes, rivers, and ponds.

Caribou

Of course, along with the mountain, we saw sixteen grizzlies, along with cubs, hundreds of  caribou, moose, fox, wolves, eagles, ptarmigans, and Dall sheep.

Grizzlies

The plane!

We spent the first day taking a 13 hour tour all the way through the park and this is when we saw all the wildlife. Some of our group were on a bus going out at a different time and actually saw a grizzly kill another bear, drag it across the road right in front of the bus, and start eating it….. kinda happy I missed that one!  The whole area was cordoned off by the time we made it back to that stop, as the bear sat on his ‘food’  all day. 

The second day we flew over the park and landed on a glacier - an unbelievable experience. We will let the pictures speak for themselves because, quite honestly, We don’t have the words to describe the magical wonder of what we saw.

View of the park, taken from the pl;and

Glacier, taken from the plane

Glacier, taken from the plane

View of the mountain range, taken from the plane

Glacier, taken from the plane

Glacier Up Close, taken from the plane

On The Glacier!

View of the Park with rainbow, taken from the plane

Denali from the Plane

Denali from the Plane

View of the Park, taken from the plane

View of the park, taken from the plane

Fairbanks, Alaska's northern capital - August 1st through 5th

Fairbanks has a population of about 85,000 and is Alaska's northern capital: home to the main campus of the University of Alaska and a very important point along the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, which we got to visit. 

Fairbanks had some nice things to see and do- the University of Alaska had an excellent museum, small enough that it didn’t get overwhelming, but filled with very interesting stuff.

Another day we headed out with the group and took a trip on a river boat which, apart from the rain, which we got to experience the whole day, was wonderful! 

We visited an Abathskan village and learned about native customs and practices; clothing, food, weapons, hunting, and history. The Athabaskan's are a First Nation People, and take their name from a Large lake in Canada called Lake Athabaska. They call themselves 'Dena' or 'the people.'

We also visited a dog kennel that trains and races dogs in the Iditarod here in Alaska. This particular kennel is owned by the husband of Susan Butcher the second woman to win the race and the only person to win 3 consecutive years. They have also won the Yukon Quest - another dog mushing race that is known to be harder and go farther than the Iditarod. These dogs are bred from stock that survived and thrived during the Gold Rush Era and it is thought that no animal on earth can match them for endurance, dedication, and their ability to perform in the extreme conditions of Alaska. They are truly amazing dogs, and extremely loving and friendly. These dogs are very different from the 'Husky' that is seen on TV and in Disney Shows. They have a very slight build but have amazing strength in their back legs, and - they don't typically have the blue eyes!

Then we visited a an antique automobile museum that was begun by an entrepreneur called Tim Cerny. He began collecting the museums 85+ cars in 2007 and selected each one for their historical significance, rarity, or technological innovation.  The museum was Fredric’s idea, but it turned out to be unbelievably good!  Best cars either of us had ever seen from 1898 to 1930’s - even I had a great time. I can't even begin to name them all, but if you are ever in Fairbanks, be sure to visit! 

Last,but not least, Gold Panning!  Felix Pedro discovered gold in the 'Pedro' Creek in 1902. This creek is open to the public - no equipment allowed other than pans-it is used mainly by local residents. We, of course, found it and spent a nice couple of hours - along with Baylee and Zori - panning for gold.  And, yes - we did find some!

To The End of The Road....

Our trip from Chicken to Delta Junction on Wednesday July 30th was uneventful with good roads and good weather. Delta is the official Western terminus of the Alaska Highway (when the Alaskan Highway was built, although Fairbanks was the ultimate destination, there was already a road from Fairbanks down to Delta). Delta was an easy stop where we caught up on chores (yup, still gotta do laundry!) and relaxed.

After two nights in Delta Junction, we headed out for Fairbanks - our biggest town yet, with a population of 3,000 people! Couple of fun stops along the way, one of which was the North Pole - an actual town!! 

Dawson City to Chicken, Alaska via Top of The World Highway

Dawson City is one of the most beautiful, funkiest towns we have yet come across. It was transformed from a First Nations camp into the largest, most refined city north of Seattle afer the Yukon Gold Rush of 1899. It’s population numbered almost 30,000 in 1899 - an increase of 29,900 over the previous few years!! The First Nations Chief, a man named Isaac, packed up his people and moved them from the confluence of the rivers, where they had hunted and fished for thousands of years, to the village of Moosehide, a few miles downstream. Today the city iteself is a National Historic Site of Canada and they have worked hard to retain its original buildings - and charm!

After three days in Dawson, we headed out at 5am to catch the George Black Ferry across the Yukon river (only way of getting across) to theTop of The World Highway. This highway is an  unpaved, dirt, narrow, pot-holed, winding road with steep grades and few guardrails - 108 miles long!! The views are apparently spectacular….. we were fogged in the whole 8 hour drive and couldn’t even see the road in front of us, never mind the pot holes!  It was the most harrowing drive we have ever taken!

This is what we drove in the whole time!!

View after we got above the fog for about 2 minutes!!

We arrived in Chcken, Alaska around 5pm, and after prying Fredric’s fingers from the steering wheel we partook of a really good bottle of beer.  Our truck and Airstream were so dirty…. and we wern’t the worst!!  We came through the road with everything intact, but some of our group had shower doors fall off, fridge doors fall off, water tanks come loose, and one couple opened the door to the Airstream to find the whole kitchen unit in the middle of the floor!!

This is Chicken, Alaska... all of it!!

Panning For Gold

Baylee helping Fredric pan for gold

Yukon Territories to British Columbia to U.S. of A…. all in a Day!

This is the trail the Gold Rushers Traveled on!!!

 Our first big group event took place on Monday when we traveled in buses (nice not to have to drive) to Frazier then boarded the a train on the White Pass and Yukon Route; this route was designated an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1994. This is an honor shared by other world civil engineering marvels such as the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty and the Panama Canal. 

Some history….The route was started because of the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896. Gold was discovered in 1896 by George Carmack and two First Nations companions Skookum Jim and Dawson Charlie. The first few flakes they found in Bonanza Creek in the Klondike barley filled the spent cartridge of a Winchester rifle. However, it triggered an incredible stampede for gold: the Klondike Gold Rush. The Seattle post-Paper broadcast that “Sixty-Eight Rich Men on the Steamer Portland” arrived in Seattle with “Stacks of Yellow Metal”.

The news spread like wildfire and tens of thousands of gold crazed men and women steamed up the inside passage to arrive in Dyea and Skagway to begin the overland trek to the Klondike. Six hundred miles over treacherous and dangerous trails.

Train we were on

 It was because of the danger of these trails that two men, Thomas Tancrede and Michael Heney got together and decided to build a railroad over the coastal mountains. The White Pass and Yukon Route began on May 28, 1898 and it climbs from sea level in Skagway to almost 3,000 feet at the summit in just 20 miles and features steep grades of almost 3.9%. The tight curves of the White Pass called for a narrow gauge railroad; the rails were three feet apart on a 10-foot wide road bed. Building the one hundred and ten miles of track was a challenge. Construction required cliff hanging turns of 26 degrees, building two tunnels and numerous bridges and trestles.

Work on Mile 16 took place in the dead of winter with heavy snow and temperatures as low as 60 below. The railroad was finished in July of 1900

One hundred thousand men and women headed north, but only between 30,000 and 40,000 actually reached the gold fields of the Klondike. Four thousand or so prospectors found the gold but only a few hundred became rich

And what happened to the original discoveres of the gold - George Carmack’s gold allowed him to have a more adventurous life with two wives inSeattle and California. Dawson Charlie solds his mining properties and spent his later years happily in Carcross, and Skookum Jim continued as a propspector and died rich but worn out from his tough life!

 The trip along the route was the most amazing scenic train ride either Fredric or I had ever had. And, to be quite honest, we ran out of adjectives to describe what we were seeing.  Here are a few photos - they will speak for themselves!

Drinking the Local Brew!