G.G., Kalena and Landon
Map of Golden Circle route.
We took our time during most of the trip and even spent 3 days in Juneau, which we ended up needing due to a stomach bug! Our only long day of driving was the last day. We couldn't resist spending a glorious evening and night at Kluane Lake. Consequently, we had to drive over 470 miles our last day and go all the way back to Fairbanks! Despite the 12 hour drive, everyone fared well and we even had dinner in Delta at our favorite spot.
I'm glad we took our time coming home...just outside of Tok the sky started to get dark and by the time we got North Pole, the sun was red and the air thick with smoke from fires by Nenana. Yuck! Anyway, here are some photos of the scenery and activities along the Golden Circle route!
Blue skies on road ahead!
Deadman Lake...before the rain started.
Rainy day and we are only at the border...not anywhere close to Juneau!
Tundra Swan family.
Haines Highway:
One of our first expeditions was a trek up Rock Glacier, in Canada (near Haines Junction). G.G. did great and made it all the way up to the base of the rocks! The kids loved hiking on all the rocks and making their "own" trail. Plus, it was a great view from up there.
Brad and Willow take a break.
Landon waves from "his" rock.
Tom taking a break.
Kalena leading the way.
After Rock Glacier, the Haines Highway starts to "drop" towards the coast and the landscape starts to change from boreal forest to rain forest. Also, you start seeing more bear poop along the road and sure enough, we finally saw a black bear.
The glacier valleys of Kluane National Park are spectacular.
And, so are the rivers. Here we are a Million Dollar Falls -- which is quite a drop. Wouldn't have wanted to be a prospector in this area!
Finally, we reach the coast and here's the campsite. Check out all that gear!
The next morning we were up bright and early for our departure to Juneau. Here is a view of Haines as we depart on the ferry.
Juneau:
After about 4 hours on the ferry, we arrive at Juneau. Check out this welcome sign. I sure wish I had some spray paint! It wasn't until we left Juneau that we found out that Governor Palin would become X-Governor Palin. And, she had such a nice house...
After our great ferry ride to Juneau, our family got sick and spent two of our three days in the camper! Thank goodness Tom and G.G. never got sick! G.G. spent two nights in a hotel and we took advantage of her shower and tub :) In between people getting sick, we did manage to see a few sites around Juneau - including Mendenhall Glacier.
Mendenhall Glacier.
Glacier view. The "extra" kid is Ajax.
We met up with Sheri and Kahlil in Juneau. It was the only night we all felt good. The kids had a great time with Ajax.
Our last day in Juneau was outside of town at Eagle rec. area. What a spot!
Skagway:
After 3 days in Juneau, we got back on the ferry (didn't try to eat any of their food), and headed to Skagway. This trip was about 6 hours long and we didn't get into town until late at night...but that didn't matter as it was still light out! Gotta love summer in the North!
Yes, this is a GIANT cruise ship in the Skagway Harbor. Only 800 residents in Skagway but over 10,000 people get off the ships in a day!
Skagway was a very interesting town full of history and "old time" color and feel. It was packed with people but they were mostly on the street. We checked out the local Klondike museum and learned all about the Chilkoot and White Pass trails that were the starting points for prospectors headed to Dawson, Canada. It was very interesting and Landon and Kalena took it all in. They loved the "fact" that each person had to haul 1 ton (2000 lbs) of goods with them to Dawson. They liked this so much that the whole rest of the trip (and even today), they play "Chilkoot Trail" and pretend to haul gear around. I caught Kalena being a donkey the other day...kicking and all!
Landon learning about the trails that led to Dawson.
We took a 3-hour train ride on the White Pass railroad (a narrow gauge). It was GREAT and scenery was amazing. Those people were crazy!! Here's one of two tunnels we went through...
Along the route, you can see portions of the original White Pass trail. It took men 40 trips (33 miles each way and over 3000 feet in elevation) to get their 1 ton of gear to the top of the pass! They then had to negotiate 600 miles of rivers and lakes to float down the Yukon and get to Dawson....and then, most of them missed the actual gold rush. Just crazy.
Our last stop in Skagway was at the local cemetery where Soapy Smith is buried.
Landon by "Soapy" Smith's grave.
Whitehorse to Fairbanks:
After a few days in Skagway, we headed to Whitehorse and started working our way home. We got to Whitehorse pretty late in the day but managed a stop at the Beringia museum. It's a great place to learn about what Canada and Alaska were like in prehistoric times.
Kalena's tongue matches her shorts!
G.G. and Landon by a rhinocerous.
After Whitehorse, we found a new campground, Pine Lake, outside of Haines Junction. Despite all the mosquitoes (the most we had on the trip!), we had a very sunny day and managed a canoe ride or two around the lake.
Tom and Landon in the canoe (with me!)
G.G. goes for a paddle.
What a beautiful day!
Leaving Pine Lake, we had only one more day before we had to head home. We had "good" intentions of driving about 200 miles to get to another campground near the Canadian/US Border but alas, the weather was too beautiful to leave. So, our final stop was Kluane Lake.
Kluane Lake -- too pretty to leave.
It was a great trip and we were glad to have G.G. and Tom along to share our adventure!
Until the road beakons again...
1 comment:
Wow! Great summary. I love the Beringia museum : )
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