Heading South to Lower 48

8/5 – 8/12/2016 – Watson Lake - Of course we had to go to Watson Lake Signpost Forest to hang our sign among the 90,000 plus signs that have been hung since 1942.  We decided to hang a sign that has been part of our RV travels for the last 20 years and represents our long time residence in NJ, which is no longer our home.  We will have a new sign made for our future travels.  The Signpost Forest is truly an amazing place that represents every country in the world and is displayed on everything from wood, plastic, steel, and rock.  It was started by Carl Lindley a homesick US Army soldier who was working on the original construction of the Alaskan Highway.  A sight to behold……

 

 

 

 Stewart BC/Hyder Ak – The ride to Stewart/Hyder was truly beautiful with glaciers and waterfalls along the way.  Of course the reason for travelling here was to visit Fish Creek in Hyder not only to see salmon reaching their final destination to lay their eggs and die, but also to see bears feasting on the salmon.  We saw plenty of salmon, but unfortunately no bears at the creek.  We did see bears along the highway on several days, but we not able to catch a picture as we were in traffic.

 

 

 

 

Travels through British Columbia - Here are some of the sights along the highway…..

 

 

 

Vancouver BC - Our last day in Canada we decided to take the SkyTrain into Vancouver to explore the city.  We enjoyed strolling the waterfront, shops, Canada Place, and Gastown, Vancouver’s most historic neighborhood, and had a nice lunch at The Flying Pig even though there was little pork on the menu.  It certainly appears like a city on the move with tower cranes constructing high-rises everywhere you look, but sadly also saw many homeless and homeless tent camps nearby.

 

 

 

  

 

 

Yukon

Whitehorse 8/1 – 8/4/2016 – We arrived in Whitehorse after a night in the Congdon Creek CG Provincial Park on Kluane Lake and checked into the High Country RV Park.  Whitehorse is the Yukon’s capital city on the Yukon River the Klondike stampeders used as a supply point via riverboat.  We visited one of these historic riverboats downtown at the SS Klondike National Historic Site.  The SS Klondike was built in 1929 and was the largest stern-wheeler on the river able to carry 300 tons of cargo on the 460 mile route up the Yukon River.  The SS Klondike carried mail, supplies, passengers and silver lead ore between Whitehorse and Dawson City until 1955. The dining room and front parlor are still a thing of historic beauty which we had to view from a distance as and they are undergoing continued restoration to ensure the safety of visitors.  As we wandered through town we came upon the White Pass Depot and decided to book a motor coach/railroad tour to Skagway for tomorrow….more to follow.

 

Built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush, the White Pass & Yukon Route was hailed a marvel of engineering despite the harsh weather and challenging geography faced by 35 thousand railroad workers.  The prospectors were required to carry a ton of supplies over the pass which took an average of forty trips and after harrowing experiences and the death of over three thousand horses used as pack animals men began thinking of an easier way.  The 19^th century was the era of the railroad, so it was the natural choice.  In April of 1898 the White Pass & Yukon Railroad construction began laying the 110 miles of track in heavy snow and temperatures as low as 60 below, and was miraculously completed in July of 1900.  The journey over winding turns, two tunnels, and numerous bridges and trestles was simply breathtaking.  We were treated to a panorama of mountains, glaciers and gorges, and waterfalls as we climbed 3,000 feet in just 20 miles to White Pass Summit on the way down to Skagway AK.  After the gold rush the railroad continued operating commercially until 1982 carrying iron ore to Skagway until the road between Skagway and Carcross was completed connecting Skagway to the Alaskan Highway and Whitehorse YT.  It reopened as a tourist attraction in 1988.  Skagway also known as “The Garden City of Alaska” is really a quaint little town which like today explodes from a population of about 1,000 to around 20,000 when the cruise ships roll in.  We enjoyed strolling the historic streets and wandering in and out of the shops and restaurants especially the Red Onion….check out the bed pans nailed to the ceiling. 

 

 

 

 

Our last day in Whitehorse we hiked around Miles Canyon and visited the longest wooden fish ladder at Whitehorse Dam on the Yukon River.  Miles Canyon and White Horse Rapids were once the most dangerous obstacles along the Yukon River for Riverboats during the gold rush, but a dam built in 1959 has harnessed the rapids.  Since the dam was built a fish ladder needed to be erected to allow the Chinook salmon to be able to continue upriver to spawn in the creeks they were born.  These salmon traveled further than any other from the Bering Sea across Alaska and the Yukon some 1,300 miles. 

 

 

Valdez

7/28 – 7/30/2016 – As we have learned on this trip through Alaska every road, every city, every day the sights that you find around every corner never stop amazing you.  We thought that the ride to Homer was amazing until we ventured from Anchorage to Glennallen to Valdez; the 300 mile journey was one spectacular sight from start to finish.  The massive glaciers, lush valleys, momentous peaks and winding rivers dazzled the senses around each bend and over each hill.  We arrived in Valdez and checked into the Valdez Glacier Campground and were greeted with yet another glacier, a beautiful waterfall, and an active eagle nest just across the road from our campsite.  Our first day in Valdez we drove around to see the sights of the beautiful downtown and harbor on Prince William Sound with magnificent views of Chugach Mountains and Alaska Range.  We also visited the Solomon Fish Hatchery which was a sight like we have never seen.  The salmon returning to their birthplace at the hatchery after two years were literally climbing over each other to reach the fish ladder to spawn and die.  The determination of these creatures is really beyond comprehension and typifies the miracle that is nature. 

 

 

Day two in Valdez was spent on a 7 hr cruise to Columbia Glacier, and no we didn’t get shipwrecked.  Columbia Glacier is the second largest tidewater glacier in North America and the largest in Prince William Sound.  The journey to the glacier was filled with sightings of sea otters, sea lions, puffins and porpoises, and orca whales.  The only thing missing was the allusive humpback whale, but the sight of the calving glacier watching huge chunks of ice fall into the ocean as the captain maneuvered through the ice burgs made the long journey worth the trip.

 

 

 

The journey from Valdez to Tok on day three was an amazing ride as the clear blue sky revealed glaciers, waterfalls, towering mountains and incredible scenery.  Proclaimed as one of “America’s Most Scenic Rides, it began with the Keystone Canyon a place of magnificent geology, a raging river, and cascading Bridal Veil Falls and Horsetail falls. At Thompson Pass, just off the highway was the immense Worthington Glacier which is one of the most accessible glaciers in Alaska.  As we drove on, we were treated with the best view yet of two of the highest gems of the Wrangell – St Elias National park, majestic Mt Wrangell at over 14,000 feet and Mt Sanford at 16,000 feet plus pushing through the clouds.  It was a bitter sweet journey as we were leaving Alaska after two glorious months of amazing sights the likes we had never seen, great times on the Kenai River doing something we never expected, seeing wildlife in their natural environments and just being amazed around every bend and over every hill.  We still have two Alaskan cities to visit (Skagway and Hyder) which can only be accessed through British Columbia by road, but this was our last day in the final frontier and it exceeded our expectations in every way.  Goodbye Alaska until we return, and we will, thanks for the memories.