Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Top-of-the-World Highway
24 June 2010
Thursday
Woke up to some major fog and decided to go for the road anyway: it's steep, narrow, gravel, mushy after yesterday's rain, washboardy and has no guardrails. Glad we did because once we broke out of the fog the views were incredible. We just could not get enough of them. Lots and lots of pictures later we are 190 miles from Anchorage in a campground that is surrounded on three sides by wilderness and our site is next to another babbling stream. We are going to miss that when we get home.
The road is not only the main road, it is the only road. The trip over the top was unreal. Never have we experienced so much weather in such a short time: fog, glaring sunshine, heat [70-degree temps], then cold [in the 40s], followed by rain and SNOW and then it all repeated itself again. We were stopping constantly to try to capture the view. The "top" was a short hike up to a large cairn just before the border. It is a grand 4,500 ft. up. But we enjoyed it anyway.
We crossed the border without incident and then it was all downhill from there--and then back up and down and up and down: well, you get the idea. The roads in the Yukon make the roads in Alaska look like we are in a third world country. Apparently the permafrost takes no prisoners and the roads are like a roller coaster. Just watching the big rigs tackle them made us wince. We were glad we just have the van; it was bouncy enough. In the Yukon, they grade the asphalt right off and replace it with gravel so it is dusty but relatively smooth. In Alaska the rollers are just there and you get to bounce around a lot.
On a high note we started to see really tall mountains: 12,000 - 16,000 feet tall. They were all covered with snow and for the most part obscured by the clouds that were making the snow and sleet and rain that we were experiencing at a lower altitude. We are at an altitude of about 1,200 ft. here and will be steadily going down as we approach Anchorage which is at sea level.
And so the babbling brook rushes by the "dining room" and with the windows open tonight it will lull us to sleep.
Then it's off to the big city: Anchorage.
Thursday
Woke up to some major fog and decided to go for the road anyway: it's steep, narrow, gravel, mushy after yesterday's rain, washboardy and has no guardrails. Glad we did because once we broke out of the fog the views were incredible. We just could not get enough of them. Lots and lots of pictures later we are 190 miles from Anchorage in a campground that is surrounded on three sides by wilderness and our site is next to another babbling stream. We are going to miss that when we get home.
The road is not only the main road, it is the only road. The trip over the top was unreal. Never have we experienced so much weather in such a short time: fog, glaring sunshine, heat [70-degree temps], then cold [in the 40s], followed by rain and SNOW and then it all repeated itself again. We were stopping constantly to try to capture the view. The "top" was a short hike up to a large cairn just before the border. It is a grand 4,500 ft. up. But we enjoyed it anyway.
We crossed the border without incident and then it was all downhill from there--and then back up and down and up and down: well, you get the idea. The roads in the Yukon make the roads in Alaska look like we are in a third world country. Apparently the permafrost takes no prisoners and the roads are like a roller coaster. Just watching the big rigs tackle them made us wince. We were glad we just have the van; it was bouncy enough. In the Yukon, they grade the asphalt right off and replace it with gravel so it is dusty but relatively smooth. In Alaska the rollers are just there and you get to bounce around a lot.
On a high note we started to see really tall mountains: 12,000 - 16,000 feet tall. They were all covered with snow and for the most part obscured by the clouds that were making the snow and sleet and rain that we were experiencing at a lower altitude. We are at an altitude of about 1,200 ft. here and will be steadily going down as we approach Anchorage which is at sea level.
And so the babbling brook rushes by the "dining room" and with the windows open tonight it will lull us to sleep.
Then it's off to the big city: Anchorage.
Rainy Day in Dawson
23 June 2010
Wednesday
Last night we did a walking tour of the village and stopped in the Downtown Hotel for a drink--minus the mummified toe which is available for a $5 charge. You get to drink it with "captain" as your witness and then be added to the list of "Sourtoe" drinkers. It rained for most of the night --or what is defined as "night" this time of year. No need for street lights in the Summer!
This morning it was still raining so we did coffee in the campground office and bread and jam in the van and headed toward the Yukon River on Front Street--just like home! First visit was to the Visitor's Centre where we enjoyed two films on local history: "Gold Rush" and "Mining for Gold." Next we visited the Dawson City Museum where we learned about the short life of the railroads here and looked at some amazing engines, flat cars and box cars from the era. Very large to say the least. Peter would love these! Then on to the riverfront to visit the Dänojä Zho Cultural Center where we learned about the history and survival of the local First Nation people that were displaced by the Gold Rush. Thanks to their visionary leader, Chief Isaac, they moved downstream to a new camp called Moosehide which is still in existence. He also sent the tribe's artifacts, stories and songs to some relatives in Alaska for safekeeping. In the 1970s the Nation began to petition the government of Canada for the return of their lands and rights. In the early 1990s a reconnecting took place and the stories, songs and artifacts were officially returned. Since then the people have developed schools, adult classes and this center to aid in the revival of their Nation. The young lady working at the desk is the great-great-granddaughter of Chief Isaac so she was an awesome hostess. Outside we enjoyed freshly made bannock [and got the recipe, Liza] with a mixed wildberry jam.
It was still raining so we took a ride up Bonanza Creek where the first gold was discovered that precipitated the Klondike Gold Rush. You can still pan for gold at a claim that is owned by Parcs Canada but it was really raining by then. We drove to the Dredge #4, one of the wooden dredges built to assist the mining companies with the extraction of gold from the Placer layer. Jim signed up for the tour and will have to relate his findings in another blog.
Meanwhile, the rain continued to fall by the bucket-load.
After some window shopping in Dawson we stopped to enjoy some hot soup and coffee at the Midnight Sun Roasters. Then it was onto the ferry to cross the mighty Yukon River. After that we immediately found our campground for the night: the Top-of-the-World Highway campground run by the Yukon government. And, yes, it is still raining.
Poor Rocket is a mess; we could hardly recognize her in the parking lot.
The river here is a rushing maniac: high and muddy on its way to the Bering Sea. The softly falling rain lulling us to sleep in this very peaceful but bear-filled area is quite the experience.
Wednesday
Last night we did a walking tour of the village and stopped in the Downtown Hotel for a drink--minus the mummified toe which is available for a $5 charge. You get to drink it with "captain" as your witness and then be added to the list of "Sourtoe" drinkers. It rained for most of the night --or what is defined as "night" this time of year. No need for street lights in the Summer!
This morning it was still raining so we did coffee in the campground office and bread and jam in the van and headed toward the Yukon River on Front Street--just like home! First visit was to the Visitor's Centre where we enjoyed two films on local history: "Gold Rush" and "Mining for Gold." Next we visited the Dawson City Museum where we learned about the short life of the railroads here and looked at some amazing engines, flat cars and box cars from the era. Very large to say the least. Peter would love these! Then on to the riverfront to visit the Dänojä Zho Cultural Center where we learned about the history and survival of the local First Nation people that were displaced by the Gold Rush. Thanks to their visionary leader, Chief Isaac, they moved downstream to a new camp called Moosehide which is still in existence. He also sent the tribe's artifacts, stories and songs to some relatives in Alaska for safekeeping. In the 1970s the Nation began to petition the government of Canada for the return of their lands and rights. In the early 1990s a reconnecting took place and the stories, songs and artifacts were officially returned. Since then the people have developed schools, adult classes and this center to aid in the revival of their Nation. The young lady working at the desk is the great-great-granddaughter of Chief Isaac so she was an awesome hostess. Outside we enjoyed freshly made bannock [and got the recipe, Liza] with a mixed wildberry jam.
It was still raining so we took a ride up Bonanza Creek where the first gold was discovered that precipitated the Klondike Gold Rush. You can still pan for gold at a claim that is owned by Parcs Canada but it was really raining by then. We drove to the Dredge #4, one of the wooden dredges built to assist the mining companies with the extraction of gold from the Placer layer. Jim signed up for the tour and will have to relate his findings in another blog.
Meanwhile, the rain continued to fall by the bucket-load.
After some window shopping in Dawson we stopped to enjoy some hot soup and coffee at the Midnight Sun Roasters. Then it was onto the ferry to cross the mighty Yukon River. After that we immediately found our campground for the night: the Top-of-the-World Highway campground run by the Yukon government. And, yes, it is still raining.
Poor Rocket is a mess; we could hardly recognize her in the parking lot.
The river here is a rushing maniac: high and muddy on its way to the Bering Sea. The softly falling rain lulling us to sleep in this very peaceful but bear-filled area is quite the experience.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
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