Sue: We have been facinated by the number and variety of drive-up coffee and expresso mini-houses. Most open for service around 5 or 6 am but saw one that opened at 4 am probably for the early bird fishermen who abound all over Alaska. We have gone out of our way to take pictures of the most interesting and finally decided that we had to try some. We spoke with the friendly girl and told her we really had never purchased a coffee or espresso or latte. She told us her favorite drink was the Weddingcake latte which had carmel and cocont flavoring so we ordered a 16 oz. to share. It was $3.00 which we thought was inexpensive. It was so delicious we’ve decided we want to try another stand soon.
FireweedHomer...Flowers on a truckNenana Visitor CenterFairbanks Visitor Center
Sue: Since we have been in Canada and Alaska we have been awed by the beauty of the flowers here both wild and cultivated. The fireweed has been in bloom all along as the summer has progressed. You may not know that fireweed is the first flower to return after a devastating forest fire. It seems that the colors of the flowers are so brilliant because of the long hours of daylight they receive. When we were by Denali the sun came up at four and didn’t go down until twelve. It seems every home has a flower garden or a least multiple hanging baskets. The many varieties of cultivated species was wonderful to see. I don’t know how many pictures we took of wild flowers other than fireweed. There were flowers even at high altitudes that survive the harsh atmosphere and the cold of Alaskan winters.
Homer Halibut fishing....Mt Iliamna across Cook Inlet from Homer....Volcanic
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Mt. Augustine guards the Homer harbor 70 miles out....
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Coming into Homer in the rain…
Mountains across the bay from HomerHomer Spit from Skyline Drive
On the 16th the gypsy caravan headed for Homer, Alaska. There was intermittent rain all the way, also no flats and a good breakfast stop at Gwins Roadhouse. As we approached Homer the rain cleared, somewhat, and we got a glimpse of Homer, the mountains, snow and the Spit. Geography…. spits are long narrow pieces of land that extend into bays. Homer Spit extends about 4 or 5 miles into Kachemak Bay. Homer is small about 5000 people in winter, but the surroundings are impressive. Massive mountains, glaciers, ice fields, the bay and just 40 miles up the road (across Cook Inlet) smoking volcanoes. Tuesday, 16 of the caravan guys and 3 ladies chartered a boat to go halibut fishing. We met the captain at 6:15, boarded the boat for an hour’s ride to a fishing spot. The ride out was rough, about 4 foot seas, but once we arrived and anchored it wasn’t so bad. Not more than two minutes after the first hook went down, 200 feet of water (line) Sandy had the first catch. After about 90 minutes everyone on the boat had their limit. Halibut can reach a weight of 400 pounds most of ours were between 12 and 20. These small ones are called “chicken halibut” and are supposed to be better eating. Sue: While the men were out fishing in the big boat the women had a “Girls Day Out”, We were expecting the same size boat but found the Danny J to be a small fishing boat that had no covering and we sat on benches with yellow ponchos to keep us somewhat dry. The day was rainy and the wind was blowing and the waves were fighting the boat most of the way. This sounds awful and it was but we all kept saying it was an adventure to remember. There were 19 brave souls aboard and none of us got seasick just a little damp. We arrived at Halibut Cove where there are no roads and the few dozen residents are fishermen and artists. They get around on 12 blocks of boardwalk which are reached by long gangplanks from the ship, difficult because of the wetness. We ate lunch at the only restaurant called The Saltry which was very cozy and the food was excellent and beautifully displayed. I had a half of a delicious salmon salad sandwich, a bowl of seafood chowder and a small salad with nasturtiums, which we all ate. Afterwards we walked along the boardwalk to another dock as they had ordered a bigger boat to take us back. The ride back was again on the outside with no cover. It moved over the waves and went down into troughs and then back up! Someone estimated that the waves were about 7 feet. Some women got a shower but again no one was seasick. It was truly an adventure and I will remember it with fond memories.
On Friday August 13th we moved to Seward, a small fishing village, the Southern end of the Alaskan railroad. We had a flat tire on the way down, ran on it a little bit before realizing it was going down and ended up buying a new tire. But on the plus side…no body or rim damage. After the flat we stopped at the Summit Lake Lodge for breakfast…very good. Rain comtiuned to follow us….we stopped at a wildlife rescue drive-thru park ….They provided a place for animals that had been injured in one way or another…some hit by cars or shot. Also in Seward, one evening, we climbed up a trail to the side of the Exit Glacier. On Sunday we went to church…they were having their 100th anniversary….1910-2010. It was a big ceramony with the Archbishop of Alaska and a free prime rib dinner after. ( We didn’t stay for the dinner). One rainy day we went to the town libary book sale and the Sealife Aquarium. The last night there we drove up to Bear Creek to watch the salmon run….bank to bank, all trying to get upstream.
Water fall in the middle of Seward....Glacial melt water.Bear at the wildlife preserveBreakfast stop on way to SewardTaking a break at the wildlife preserve...Seward Harbor....Inside Seward ChurchLast part of the trail to exit glacierExit glacier out wash plain....Mom at Exit glacier...after the long steep hike.
Planes all around.....Indian ceremonial dog blanket....felt and beads, natural dyes.Blackstone Glacier...hear it creek and snap.Small icebergs near the glacier...hear them ping off the boat hull. Kittiwake colony near the glacier.What kiddiwakes look like....size of a small sea gullThe boat to the glaciersCook Inlet from the train...low tideMom at the train....On the train....from "between the cars platform"
Anchorage sign on 4th Ave by the visitor center….
Forth Ave sign 20104th Ave sign 1967....Eskimo doll...seal gut rain coat...about 2 feet tallIndian doll made of all natural materials....12 in.Anchorage visitor center
Tuesday August 10th we carpooled across town to the Alaskan Railroad station. We boarded the train for a 2 hour ride to Whitter. The trip took us along the shore of Cook Inlet, Turnagain Arm and finally through a three mile tunnel to Whitter, a small town right on Blackstone Bay. The tunnel was the weird part….the only way into Whittier, by land, is the tunnel. Cars and trains use the same tunnel !! of course trains have the right of way. In Whittier we got on a boat which took us around the bay, stopping in several points to view glaciers. The day was rainy so we only got to see the ends, called toes, of the glaciers….but it was still great. In Anchorage we also went to Earthquake Park, visited a museum, ate at the Snow City Dinner, did laundry and observed a constant amount of planes flying at all times. Near Anchorage is the world’s largest float plane base (lake). When we were on the train we passed a housing development, all the houses were connected, in the back yards, by a grass landing strip. In every backyard was a plane.
We stayed in a campground just outside the park and drove in every day. Everything in the park is located by distance from the entrance, called mileposts. One can only see a small fraction of the park because it covers 6 million acres….about the size of Massachusetts . Our main objective was to see the Mountain Top….something we did not do the last time we were here. The mountain top is most always covered with clouds, because it is the tallest mountain in North America at over 20,000 ft. One day as we drove in the clouds started to clear….as we got closer. Driving down the park road, approaching Mile Post 9….we sighted the mountain, massive and snow covered, glaciers were clearly visitable even though we were 80 miles away. It was called Mt McKinley in 1967…but in the 70’s they reverted back to it’s original Native people’s name….Denali meaning in Athabascan Indian, “The Great One”. We were esthetic for the rest of the day….after driving thousands of miles we had a clear view of the great one. Because of weather conditions only about 20 % of the people who come here see the top. I wondered if Aunt Jessie had seen it when she went there in the 40’s. Other things we did around Denali were….ride bikes and geocache, hike the Knife Edge trail, look for wildlife, get a lesson about Athabascan culture from Mary, see a dinner show about Denali and attend Church. We have seven Catholic couples on the caravan and we usually attend church together.
Knife edge trail....red arrowArctic Ground Squirrel ....top of Knife Edge TrailView of trailers from Knife Edge TrailRanger station at Savage RiverMary the Indian teacherMon at MP 17Gravel bars in the Savage RiverDenali ( then McKinley) 1967Denali sign 2010Denali from nearly 70 miles away.....
After reading that there was an abandoned gold dredge near the Steese Highway, North of Fairbanks, we decided to take a look. Dredges were constructed to process gold bearing material; rocks, sand, gravel, etc. much faster than the traditional water sluice method. Dredges were huge machines powdered by gigantic electric motors. Material was scooped by a bucket ladder and brought inside the dredge. There it was turned in a massive steel drum called the trommel. The trommel had small holes in it and the finer material, with the gold, fell through these holes. The silt and gold was then passed through riffle boxes separating the heavier gold. Rocks and unwanted material was taken by conveyer belt and deposited at the back of the dredge in huge piles called tailings. We arrived at the dredge site and after scrambling over massive piles of tailings….
Gold Dredge # 9...Viewed from the top of the tailings pilesInside the dredge operators room...levers to control everything.The massive trommel screenBucket ladder and buckets.....from front deckDredge diagramThese gears may have rotated the trommel screenOne of the main winches...The main entry....ladders going everywhere...For 40 years...24 hours a day it turned the landscape to piles of rock.
there it was; an abandoned, graffiti scared, rusting monster, the second largest dredge ever built in Alaska. After exploring inside….we wondered what in sounded like while it was working. Rocks clattering in the trommel, belts, gears and winches, motors humming and water flowing through the riffle boxes.
Yesterday we decided to investigate the oldest cemetery in Fairbanks. While we were walking around we met the caretaker, Frank Turney. Frank gave us the history of the cemetery: where the Catholics, Russians, bad guys, famous people and almost everyone else was buried. He was very interesting and we left with a greater understanding of Fairbanks history.
Frank the caretakerHer husband was first to find gold in the fairbanks areaRussians were the first settlers of FairbanksRussian Jewish emigrant Yellow flag represents a miner.
Yupik Eskimo Mask....carved woodYup'ik wolf mask...carved wood
Athabascan beadwork dress
Athabascan beadwork vest and moccasins Blue Babe: Mummified 36,00 year old Steppe BisonPainting of an Eskimo Dance...Large circles are walrus gut drums...loud !Blanket toss dolls...each about 5 inches tall.Ice fishing: a Yup'ik Eskimo carving in walrus ivory...about 6 inches longBlanket toss Eskimo drawing
We spent quite a bit of time at the University of Alaska Fairbanks; a beautiful sprawling, modern, hilltop campus. The campus looks down on the city and Mt. McKinley is supposed to be viewable from it, we didn’t see it. The hazy smoke from forest fires always interfered. One evening we went up to the Botanical Gardens which is also an agricultural research station. On another day we spent several hours in their Museum of the North.
University grain fields and veggiesCabbage...largest weighted 143 poundsUniversity student building a structure for the children's garden.Raspberry cross...cultivated and wild.
On Monday August 2nd the caravan went for a stern wheeler riverboat ride down the Chena river to where it joins the Tanana and back up to Fairbanks. On the way we were shown a demonstration of how little water it takes for a float plane to take off and land. We also got to see the famous dog racer Susan Bucher, winner of the 1000 mile
Athabascan Parka
Iditarod four times, kennel and dogs. They, her family, (Susan passed away in 2008) did a demonstration dog team run. They hooked the team to a 300 lb. ATV (motor not running ) and the dogs did 1 lap of the training course, at about 20 miles/ hour. The most difficult job appeared to be controlling them before the start signal was given. They really wanted to run….Later we got to meet some of the dogs, up close. Toward the end of the trip we stopped at a reconstructed Indian village and fish camp. There native people told about their culture. One Athabascan Indian girl was especially good telling about old and new ways. One tradition she spoke about was decorative bead work, for which they are famous. At the end, of her talk she modeled a ceremonial parka. Later at the museum we saw many more examples of Atabascan bead work.
Riverboat DiscoveryDog team pulling ATVOne of the dogs....One of the dogsI
For much of the highway north to Fairbanks we drove beside the Tanana River. The Tanana is a huge tributary of the Yukon. In spring meltwater stage it is 25 -30 times as wide as the Connecticut. We stopped at a scenic overlook to take a photo and started talking to an Asian family. They wondered what an Airstream was like inside, so Bob and Barbara gave them a “tour”. On the way we also stopped at the visitor center for the Tetlin wildlife preserve. Finally we crossed the Tenana River bridge, stopped at North Pole, Alaska, to see Santa’s Post office and massive gift shop, then went on to our campground.
Tenana river south of FairbanksWe like Airstream...Chinese enjoy the tour.Tetlin Visitor center... cabin made from fire killed black spruce.
Reaching Delta Jct is a milestone on the Alaskan caravan because its the official end of the Alaskan Highway. From now on , to Fairbanks, we would be on the Richardson Highway. This is one of the oldest roads/ trails in Alaska, it joins Fairbanks and the deep water port of Valdez. Valdez is also the southern terminus of the oil pipeline. So upon reaching Delta Jct we had completed 1422 miles of Alaskan Highway plus a 700 mile( round trip) “side” trip to Dawson City, YT.
End of the highway...Sullivan's Roadhouse 2010Sullivan's winter of 1911....copied from a photo in the museum.Sullivan's entry room...with stove and clothes drying rack.
One of the interesting spots in Delta Jct was the Sullivan Roadhouse. It is now a museum but it served as a spot for warmth, lodging and food for travelers from before 1900 to well into the 1920’s.
On our first trip up the highway we saw many signs to commemorate fatalities and also, I guess, encourage people to be careful. This time 2010 the signs were all gone….not one
Grave of a famous explorer...Dawson CityHorses on the road...Malcolm, Bob, Chuck and Ray stare at a hitch....is it fixed yet ?Our walking tour guide explains "paradise" alleyMural of a miner...Whitehorse,YTWash me......Alaska range of Mountains at Delta Junction
We camped at Burwash Landing, and are stopping again on the way back down, it’s on the shore of Kluane Lake. Kluane Lake is the largest in the Yukon. The road follows the shore line fom many miles with great views, water to the right and massive mountains very near on the left. One of the ladies in the caravan, who had never been fishing, caught a 41 inch Northern Pike. Kluane Lake is almost the size of Kent County Delaware.
Burwash Landing giant gold panBurwash Landing log churchRoad around Kluane LakeBurwash campground catMom at Burwash campground, Kluane LakeView on the road north of Klune Lake
Dawson grew from zero population to over thirty thousand when George Carmack and his partners found gold in nearby Rabbit Creek. Rabbit Creek was named Bonanza Creek and the gold rush was underway. Thousands arrived in Dawson only to find most of the good spots already claimed, some started businesses to provide services to the miners: dry goods, food, lodging, etc. Early buildings were built without regard of the permeant frost layer in the soil. Once built and heated the frost in the soil started to melt, this did strange things to the foundation. Many of the early structures, that still survive, are sitting at odd angles. Now, they have a method of building that allows it to float above the frost and move with it. While we were there we went on a walking tour of the town, ate in one of the restaurants and took a ride up the Dome road. The Dome road lead about 4 miles to a dome shaped height of land where you could look down on the surrounding countryside. We were up on the Dome at 10 o’clock at night and planned to stay for the sunset….until we found out sunset that night was 12:40 am. On the way down from the Dome we stopped at the Catholic cemetery..which was interesting. While taking the walking tour we found out that the exterior of some early building were covered with leaded tin that was made to look like stone. In the cemetery some larger memorial stones, looked like stone, but on closer inspection were leaded tin. We learned a great deal about the gold stampede. It was, in my opinion, a sad episode in our history. Very few people got rich, thousands of people and animals died. We saw a feature, from the train, called Dead horse Gulch, were thousands of pack animals died (horses, mules, dogs). But it was an extremely interesting place and I’m glad we went.
Bonanza Creek: this little stream had millions in gold.Cabin in Dawson City.Catholic Cemetery in DawsonCatholic Cemetery: 10:30 at night.Yukon River from the domeDome view: snakelike things are gold dredge tailings.Perma-frost damage.....1998 buildingsModern foundation in DawsonSod Cabin: in town.Old Bank building: Leaded tin cladOur trailers from the Dome ( in the circle)Library Building: restored tin clad
Sue: Dawson City was a most interesting old-time town but the intrepid Air streamers were waiting for the word that would send us all driving up the Top of the World Highway. However, rain, road washouts and finally the closing of the road to Chicken sent us all back down the Klondike Highway to stay overnight wherever we could find a haven. We, with the Helwigs and the Landes decided to stay at the Canadian Super Store parking lot. J.J. and his wife Marilyn, went ahead and got permission to use their free campground from the store manager. He was most accommodating and instructed his security people to check on us during the night. When we arrived J.J. was set up and invited all of us to share a moose stew with them. Malcolm made a salad, Chuck made corn muffins and Paige brought a cherry pie and ice cream. It was a wonderful meal with lots of laughter and good fellowship, not to mention a great stew.
The camp site....superstore parking lotThe Campers: Ray/Paige, Sandy/JJ, Sue...I took the picture.Campout food: Moose meat stew, salad, corn muffins.Dessert: Cherry pie and ice cream.
The Klondike Highway runs approximately 350 miles from Whitehorse to Dawson City. It was constructed in 1959 roughly following an early 1900s stage coach route. In 1903 there were over 50 Roadhouses along the route where stagecoaches, horse drawn sleds in winter, could obtain lodging and meals.Fox River Burn….Road travels through an area where a forest fire burned over 300, 000 acres in 1993.
Conglomerate MountainSue with "pudding stone" boulderFox River BurnBraeburn Lodge Cinnamon Buns...bigger than your head !Shell of the Montague RoadhouseOld stove in the roadhouseMontague Roadhouse winter of 1903Klondike Highway.....in the mud again.
Montague Roadhouse…Log shell of an original roadhouse on the Klondike stage road.
Conglomerate Mountain… Eons ago volcanic activity formed this mountain and the surrounding area. The mountain is made of “pudding stone” so called because it looks like a pudding with raisins, except the pudding is a rock matrix and the raisins different size stones. Freezing & thawing causes giant conglomerate boulders to break away from the mountain and roll to the bottom. The best part…..there is a rest area at the bottom to look at the boulders. What if one should break away while you’re in the port-a- potty ????
Braeburn Lodge….About 50 miles up the highway we stopped at Braeburn Lodge, an old roadhouse on the highway, famous for the size of its cinnamon buns….it took us two days to eat one.
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