July 26, 2007

This morning we were on the shuttle bus before 8:00 AM for our trip to mile 80 of the park road. It only goes to mile 85 and they told us the last 5 miles were not worth the cost or time. Along the way we were many miles closer to Mt. McKinley than the previous day. This shows the gravel road we traveled in the shuttle bus. The bus would stop for any animal sighting and we would all try to look out the windows and take pictures. It also stopped several times at rest areas so we could get out for a few minutes. This picture was taken at a rest area. During the day we were able to see grizzly bears, moose, caribou, Dall Sheep, fox, and a Golden Eagle.

July 25, 2007

We checked into Denali mid morning to get our pass to travel to Teklanika Campground. It is located at mile 29 inside the park. Without a vehicle pass private vehicles can only go to mile 15. They require a three day minimum to camp in this campground and you cannot move your vehicle until you are ready to leave. Transportation within the park is by shuttle bus. Individuals purchase tickets which are usable for as long as they are in the park. This picture of Mt. McKinley was taken on the way in to the campsite. We felt it was an answer to prayer that it was visible as it had cloud cover during the previous week or more.

July 24, 2007

Traveled from Fairbanks, AK, toward Denali National Park. The only highlight was stopping at Nenana. This is a small river town located at the Tanana River. This is a town of less than 600. It is the hub for the tug boat/barge shipping industry that provides goods to numerous villages not accessible by road or rail. The town is best known for it's ice classic. This is an annual event which awards cash prizes to the lucky winners who guess the exact minute of the ice breakup on the river. This is a spring highlight since 1917. Participants buy tickets for the event. Last year the winners divided over $200,000. They have a tripod on the river with a cable to a tower that trips a clock which records the official breakup time.

July 23, 2007

We visited the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. First we went to the Large Animal Research Station. We saw muskox, caribou, and reindeer. Do you know the difference in caribou and reindeer? Reindeer are just domesticated caribou. They are a little shorter. There is another difference. I will let you think about that. We next went into the University Museum of the North. It has artifacts and a lot of history of Alaska. Then to downtown Fairbanks for a film on the Eskimo Olympics. After that we went to the Ice Museum where they showed a video of ice carving. They had large freezer rooms we were able to go into to see some of the carvings from last years competition. They keep the rooms at 20 degrees. Finally, we saw one of the champion carvers from last year carve a snail on a branch. He first drew his design on the block of ice and did the bulk removal with a chain saw and then used rotary instruments to finish it. The other difference between caribou and reindeer is that reindeer can fly.

July 22, 2007

This was Carol’s day. We spent a good portion of it shopping at the North Pole Santa Clause House. They have all kinds of things to help the tourists part with their money. That evening we enjoyed a comical musical about the way life was lived in the north many years ago.

July 21, 2007

We went to the Fairbanks church. Many of the members were at a camp meeting at Palmer. That afternoon we went to a wildlife refuge. It was a dairy at one time. The migrating birds would stop there on their way to the far north. Some of them stop and stay. We saw a number of birds including some sandhill cranes.

Our morning was taken up with a ride on a sternwheel riverboat. We were so very surprised when we heard a voice say “there’s my dentist.” We had known that Mike & Lydia Tubbs were doing an Alaska cruise this summer but never expected to see them. Lydia was one of the last patients I had seen before retiring. We cruised down the river. First, a float plane demonstrated taking off and landing next to the boat. Next, the boat stopped at a kennel where sled dogs are trained. It included a demonstration of the dogs pulling an off-road vehicle. They love to run and really got excited about it. Next, we watched an Alaskan native prepare salmon for smoking. Last, we stopped and were able to get off the boat for demonstrations of how the native people lived and adapted to the more modern ways. Our afternoon was for laundry. We have to take out about one half day every 7 to 9 days for this.

July 19, 2007

We went to Pioneer Park here in Fairbanks. There is a “Gold Rush Town” with old buildings that have been moved from various parts of Alaska. They have been converted to souvenir shops. There was a museum with history of Fairbanks and the area. We also attended a show that reenacted the stampede for gold. It was in a round theater with seats on a turntable. There were mural-size paintings depicting scenes of the gold rush by a famous local artist with narrative about them

July 18, 2007

At 6:30 AM we left for a tour to the Arctic Circle. It was a 16-hour tour. We arrived back at 10:30 PM. The trip was 400 miles round trip. Almost 200 miles of it was gravel. John was glad someone else was doing the driving for a change. The guide, a young woman, was very special. She has a lot of knowledge about the area and presented it in a very interesting way. The trip was on the road that was built in order to install the Alaska pipeline. We were able to see it for miles. At one place we stopped right beside it and were able to get good pictures. The Arctic Circle is not spectacular. You only know you are there because of a sign. The significance of the Arctic Circle is that it is the latitude where the sun does not set on the summer solstice--either June 21 or June 22. I am not certain which.

July 17, 2007

We moved to another campground that is very centrally located in Fairbanks. It is where they have the World Ice Art Championship contest in March. You can check out the ice sculptures at www.icealaska.com The gold mine tour was a lot of fun. There was a train ride into a simulated underground mine and we were shown how they mined gold. Next the train stopped and they demonstrated how the gravel from the underground mine is processed. Then we were taken to another area where they washed the gravel, using a pan to separate the gold from the gravel. After this we were each given a small bag of gravel to pan. They guaranteed some gold. John ended up with $7.00 in gold and Carol had $6.00.

July 16, 2007

Went to downtown Fairbanks and got brochures at the visitor center. It is located in a rather large log cabin with many beautiful flower boxes and hanging flower baskets. We found an interesting Italian restaurant and had tasty spinich calzones for lunch. There is a Sam’s Club store in Fairbanks, so today we shopped there and at WalMart. Later we drove out to the river boat location to schedule our cruise for the next morning and a gold mine tour for Friday.

July 15, 2007

The picture is of the footprints we saw outside the motorhome when we woke up. We are quite certain they were made by a gray wolf. We have a book for identifying animal tracks. There were also moose footprints. We stopped at Denali Park and made reservations for Wednesday, July 23, and then drove to Fairbanks. No sightseeing was done today. The park John phoned and made reservations for was about 7 miles from Fairbanks, but the information we had didn’t state that; so we stayed there only two nights.

July 14, 2007

Since it was cloudy and rainy when we woke up this Sabbath morning, and we have unlimited time, we decided to wait out the weather. During the morning we had our own church service and watched one of the Doug Bachelor sermons John had recorded on a DVD for our trip. We ate and then drove about 80 miles along the Denali Highway. It was a beautiful drive. We were able to find another pull-off beside a small lake about 5 miles before we reached a main highway. The water was less than 15 feet from the motorhome.

July 13, 2007

Drove to mile 49 of the Denali Highway. The first 21 miles were paved, and then we drove over 100 miles of gravel, pot-hole and washboard "highway." The first night we parked in a pull-off beside a large lake and across from a pond. We saw a lone moose across the lake, two swan, some herring gulls and a loon. Although the road was terrible, the scenery was outstanding.

July 9, 2007

From Haines Junction we traveled 208 miles to Border City RV Park. It is located in Alaska just after going through US Customs.

July 10, 2007

This day we only made it to Tok, Alaska, a distance of 91 miles. We are not rushing through Alaska. We take our time leaving the campground in the mornings, pull over often for pictures and stop early in the afternoon to get a good campsite. There are so many people traveling in RV's that the campgrounds fill up fairly early.

Our campsite was at Sourdough Campground-a very interesting place. They have a morning breakfast buffet of sourdough pancakes and fruit. The evening program was a lot of fun. The owner is quite an entertainer. He has a pancake toss, using pancakes left over from breakfasts. Each camper gets to toss two pancakes. The object is to get them in a 5-gallon bucket, which is about 15 feet away. If you succeed with at least one, breakfast is free the next morning. There must have been over 50 campers participating. Four people were awarded a breakfast. The owner had each person tell where they were from before tossing. He would then make funny comments about the state. Occasionally he had a special pancake for someone to toss. He had made pancakes in the shape of fish and several animals-even an ostrich. He would take them out of his "special box" and say something funny. He had the crowd in stitches most of the evening. Tok is on the road to and from Alaska. We have to go back that way and will probably stay there again.

July 11 & 12, 2007

One hundred thirteen miles to Delta Junction, the end of the Alaska Highway. On our way here we had a moose encounter. One was grazing on the right-of-way. After we snapped a few pictures, she decided to meander cross the highway and into the trees on the other side. They can really be a hazard to motorists. In this area within the last week we know of 4 being hit by motorists. Just 2 or 3 miles from our campsite 2 people were killed and 3 injured when a car hit a moose, went out of control and hit some trees. Today, Thursday, we saw a car just after it hit a moose. We arrived about the same time as the trooper. Most of the windshield was broken out. The other two were a mother and daughter. The daughter hit a moose and totaled her car. Her mother was going to pick her up and hit another moose within the hour.

We are in one of the nicest rv parks we have experienced. We arrived early and washed the mothorhome and truck. After getting set up, we decided to drive 100 miles to Fairbanks to shop. We stopped at North Pole, Alaska, for a delicious pizza. We were running short on several grocery items, and the stores in the small towns don't have much available and have high prices. We found a Fred Myer store. It is similar to a Super Wal-Mart but nicer. We found most of what was on our list but went to the nearby Wal-Mart for a couple of items. Across the street is a Home Depot and next door is a Lowe's.

July 9, 2007, Haines Junction, Youkon, Canada

Yesterday we left Haines, AK, for Haines Junction, Yukon. The highway took us through a portion of British Columbia. It is only about 150 miles, but it took us over six hours. We stopped a lot for pictures, and there were so many mountains that slowed us down. Our weight slows us down on the ups, and it is necessary to gear down on the steep downgrades because often there is a curve at the bottom.

Along the way we saw two trumpeter swans in a small pond and two black bears feeding close to the road. We were at sea level when we departed Haines. The picture above was taken at Chilkat pass, elevation 3,510 feet.

Today, we continue on the Alaska Highway toward Tok, Alaska, a distance of 251 miles. Since the road is not in good condition, we may not make it. There are frost heaves in the road. It is worse than going over a speed bump in a parking lot.

July 5-8, 2007, Haines, AK, USA

Haines, Alaska, is a beautiful little town. It is 359 miles from Skagway by road. With the road conditions up here that would take all day. It is only one hour by ferry. We chose to load the motorhome onto the ferry and arrived about noon on Thursday. We spent Thursday afternoon at the local health clinic getting Carol's elbow x-rayed. She fell on Wednesday and was having considerable pain. Fortunately it is not broken. Today, Sunday, she is much better.

Friday, we did our sightseeing and went over to Fort Seward which is part of the town. Its history goes back about 100 years. It is now a historical site.

Saturday, we drove several miles looking for some wild animals. We did see 3 bald eagles in flight. The bears, etc. stayed hidden. The scenery in the mountains was beautiful. Later in the day we had our church with a sermon on the millennium by Doug Bachelor. I recorded several sermons on DVD before we left home.

Our camp site is just to the right of the picture. We are on the waterfront, parked about 50 feet from the water at high tide. We have a panoramic view from the front seats of the coach. We have seen several cruise ships, ferries, numerous small boats, eagles, a seal, and ducks.

Today, Sunday, we woke up to light rain. Now at 8:30 the sun is trying to come out. Today's plan is to drive back into the Youkon to Haines Junction

July 4, 2007, Skagway, AK, USA

How often do you get to see two parades in one week? The bagpipers were from Whitehorse. They participated in the Canada Day parade and then came down to Skagway for their parade. In addition to the parade, they had entertainment on the main street with music and games for the children and a number of food booths. They had to wait until about 11:30 for it to get dark enough for fireworks. They set them off from a tugboat in the harbor and from the end of a pier. Two of the cruise ships left the dock but remained in the harbor for the fireworks. They really had an outstanding display. Skagway is a real tourist town. There were 4 cruise ships there the first three days we were there and 5 the day we left.

July 1, 2007, Whitehorse, Youkon Territory

We were fortunate enough to be in WhitWe were fortunate to be in Whitehorse on Canada Day and attended their parade. How do you like the Mounties? The previous day we attended a small SDA church. We did not get to do all we wanted to do there because of rain, so will finish them when we go back there on our way home.