A Day in the Mountains of Alaska!

Biking in Creamer's Field, Fairbanks, Ak

 Travelling North to Fairbanks, the second largest city in Alaska, we decided to stay a few days to check things out in this area. It was quite a happening place and coincidentally we ended up camping next door to another pair of Newfies originally from Clarenville, NL. They say Newfoundlanders are everywhere, and NOW we believe it!! After enjoying a campfire night

together and a few sociables, we said goodbye to Paula and Wallace and began our trek South on the Park Highway to Denali National Park.

As their website will tell you, Denali National Park is more than just a mountain. It is six million acres of wild land, bisected by one ribbon of road. Home to grizzlies, moose, caribou, dall sheep and wolves, the terrain consists of alpine tundra, spruce forests and glaciers. But, in the centre of all this natural beauty, stands Mount Denali, formerly known as Mount McKinley. With the tallest peak in North America normally covered in clouds, we were two of the lucky few who witnessed this majestic mountain in all her glory. There are no words to describe the sense of awe and wonder we experienced as we travelled by bus to visit Denali. 

Parked in the Visitor Centre at Denali

One of the tour buses meandering its way through the mountainous terrain

That white speck is another tour bus off in the distance

The mountain ranges are spectacular!

Off in the distance Mount Denali stands tall

 Some of the wildlife, just wanted to get in on the action! Yep, that's Mount   Denali in the background. 

Up close and personal!

Heading back! What a wonderful day!

The Top of The World Highway

We really enjoyed the show Gertie and her can can girls
put off in Dawson City on our final night!

We really enjoyed our time in Dawson City but it was soon time to move on. Heading north again, we decided to take the Top of The World Highway! This remote highway connects Klondike Loop from Dawson City to the Taylor and Alaska Highways. It is an extremely scenic route that narrowly winds its way for about 126 kilometers. You literally feel that you are on top of the world, however, more than 100km of the route is gravel and unpaved with few guardrails or shoulders which meant slow going and the risk that we could lose a windshield from flying rocks. This highway, and Border Services, also closes around mid September when the

weather worsens so we could not waste anymore time thinking about it. We decided that this was something that could not be missed and onward we went, first crossing the Yukon River on the George Black Ferry after leaving Dawson City.

Dash Cam Video from our travels on the Top of The World Highway

Yep! We really were on top of the world!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

After crossing the border, we came to a little town called Chicken.....yes,

Chicken! Population 7, a town founded on gold mining, it is one of the few surviving gold rush towns.... and what a neat, cool little place to visit!

After leaving Chicken, we motored on to Tok, Alaska, having officially completed the Top of The World/Taylor Highway! Time to stop and spend the night! We were tired and dusty inside out...nothing a good cleaning couldn't fix!

Boondocking in Tok, Alaska!

Next stop......Fairbanks!

Dawson City, Yukon

So for the last three days we have stepped back in time!! It has been absolutely amazing to have experienced the place where thousands were drawn to in search of wealth during the Klondike Gold Rush; a place where many men and women still come in hopes of striking it rich! 

With the discovery of gold on a Klondike River tributary in 1896, Dawson City

became the destination for the thousands of stampeders who came to stake their claim during the great gold rush the following year. Many young inexperienced men, the cheechakos as they were known locally, sacrificed everything in hopes of striking it rich only to discover that the sourdoughs (or oldtimers) were already in the North before the

Birthplace of the Klondike Gold Rush

big strike with all the claims staked. Some men moved on, however, many stayed and worked for the companies that eventually industrialized the gold mining process using equipment. 

Today this small town of about 1200 people is a

Looking for gold in Bonanza Creek

working town where only families in the community have claims. It is a town that has retained its historical charm with gravel roads, restored buildings and boardwalks. For the many tourists that come here in the summer months, there is wonderful entertainment and places to eat. We thoroughly enjoyed our time, browsing the hundred year old streets, reading the placards and taking in all of the entertainment we could. 

A 4.5 oz gold nugget found last year at Claim 33
We HAD to give it back!

We had lots of fun at Dawson! Steve made his acting debut at the Grand Palace Theatre and on our last night we visited Diamond Tooth Gertie's Gambling Hall and took in a couple of great shows!

Dawson City is a must stop for anyone travelling to the North!! especially when you get to take in the beauty of the Yukon River from atop "the Dome"!

Thanks for the memories, Dawson City!!

The North Klondike Highway

North Klondike Highway

Time to head North to Dawson City! From Whitehorse, this is about a 6 hour drive but what a drive it was! From the very beginning of our journey to when we arrived in Dawson City (which ended up taking us 8 hours, by the way!) was a feast for our eyes! The fall colors and the tranquil lakes were amazing and the opportunities along the way to stop into some interesting little places was fun as well!

One of the first places we passed was Lake Laberge, made famous

Lake LaBerge

by the poem "The Cremation of Sam McGee"! Many of us remember the lines from our High School English days; "The Northern Lights have seen queer sights. But the queerest they ever did see, was that night on the marge of Lake Laberge I cremated Sam McGee." Well, this is the actual lake that the poet Robert Service was talking about.

Our next stop was at Braeburn Lodge for, you guessed it, another cinnamon bun!! Not sure what the fascination is with cinnamon buns in the Yukon but that's okay we'll take it. At this particular stop, however, we will take just ONE of these cinnamon buns as one will feed about four people!! No kidding! In any event we really enjoyed stopping by and chatting with the owner, Steve.....from politics to motorcycles! A great guy with big buns!!!

Steve
Braeburn Lodge, YT

Our next stop was at the Montague Roadhouse Historic Site. This was a typical early day roadhouse, that offered lodging and meals to travelers on the stagecoach route

between Whitehorse and Dawson City. In 1901, there were 52 of these types of roadstops on this route. It really brought us back in time! Our travels took us on through Carmacks and Pelly 

Moose Creek Lodge

Crossing  to another interesting little place called the Moose Creek Lodge. Though the historic log building has a restaurant we only stopped to grab a drink and take in the really unique sights this place offered up.

















Before we knew it, we were finally in Dawson City!!! We can't wait to start exploring this exciting place!

Can't wait to begin exploring this place!

     

Autumn Glory
North Klondike Highway, YT

Whitehorse and The South Klondike Highway

Somewhere on the South Klondike Highway

After arriving in Whitehorse we decided to set up camp for 3 nights to explore the area. Our first day we spent on our bikes, riding from the Pioneer RV Park in to the city of Whitehorse. We were super

Where are we going??

surprised to see all of the amenities this city had...everything from Walmart and Canadian Tire right to Tim Hortons, Boston Pizza and a lovely trail for walking and riding that went around the entire perimeter of the city. There were many First Nations buildings as well as many historic sites throughout the town that

Miles Canyon, Whitehorse

we had a chance to visit. It was a very busy little spot, still bustling with tourism as well.

National Historic Site - old stern-wheeler
The Klondike, Whitehorse, YT

The second day we decided to explore the South Klondike Highway which extends from Whitehorse to Fraser, British Columbia and down to Skagway, Alaska, USA. We had signed up to do the White Pass Summit Scenic Railroad excursion but discovered that there had been two rock slides and our train couldn't run. Instead we first visited a little place called Carcross and then went on down and had a wonderful afternoon in Skagway.

Just strolling along the Klondike Highway

Carcross, originally known as Caribou Crossing because of the large numbers of Caribou that traversed the narrows between the lakes, was historically a stopping place for gold stampeders on their way to the Klondike goldfields. The town has retained much of its original character and also has many buildings representative of the First Nations people in the

Carcross

area.

I guess they mean business in the Yukon! Yikes!

A short stop at Customs, and then we were on to Skagway, Alaska, the oldest incorporated city in Alaska with just over 1000 permanent residents. Skagway owes its birth to the Klondike Gold Rush

when in July 1897 thousands of stampeders bombarded this little inlet to follow the White Pass and Chilkoot Trails to the Yukon

Skagway, Ak

goldfields. Today the original buildings, saloons, stores and gambling houses are still standing and now operating mostly as tourist destinations for the thousands of cruise ship visitors that stop in port.

Four cruise ships in the Skagway port today

Though we didn't get to travel the historical railway we really enjoyed taking in the sights and sounds of Whitehorse and the South Klondike Highway.  Tomorrow we travel on the North Klondike HIghway as we head to Dawson City! Until the next time.....

Klondike South Highway