May 30 2008 Skagway still

Today we explored the Dyea area and the Chilcoot trail. Dyea is almost non existent now, there being only a few ruins left and one false front from an old building that has miraculously survived.

We found the start of the Chilcoot trail and walked the first 250 metres. It is very rugged from the word go and I can only imagine what the Stampeders were thinking when they started out on their first trip up knowing that they would have to do the trip many times to get their ton of gear to the top. They must have been made from pretty good stuff. It was during a major depression, so I guess there was some desperation involved too.

One day we hope to walk this trail which takes about 6-7 days, but the best time would be later in the year than now. Now there is still snow and ice higher up, something that did not worry the Stampeders, but it worries me!

May 29 2008 Skagway still

Today was railroad day, with a rail trip up the White Pass, roughly parallel to the highway into Skagway from the north.

First we visited the information centre and learned all about theKlondyke gold rush of 1898. The Stampeders as they were called had to choose between the White Pass route leaving from Skagway and the Chilkoot trail leaving from Dyea about 8 km away from Skagway. Chilcoot was steeper and shorter but White Pass was meant to be alright for pack animals although thousands of animals died on the track due to owner ignorance. Due to the Canadian mounties wanting to protect these guys from themselves they imposed a rule that they needed supplies to last a year, one ton of gear and supplies, in order to cross the Canadian border. Once the Stampeders got to the top of the pass they then built boats and floated their gear down the Yukon river to Dawson City and then up the Klondyke. Apparently it was a very tough journey and when they finally got to the Klondyke most of them found that the ground was already claimed.

The train ride was very good, lasted from about 1:30 to 4:30 and we saw lots of scenery and 3 black bears!

May 28 2008 Skagway Alaska

Today we woke to partly cloudy skies, a bonus for us as the forecast was for rain. The road from Tagish to Carcross is all good bitumen with only a few frost heaved spots. We thumbed our nose at the fuel in Carcross with the wonderful feeling of knowing that in Skagway the price would be less because Uncle Sam is not nearly so greedy with his taxes! Yes, I know he has an illiteracy rate that India would be ashamed of, but hey, I'm Canadian or Australian, depending on which way the breeze is blowing, so that's his problem, not mine!

The drive from Carcross to Skagway is stunning. I think I said yesterday's drive was the most beautiful we'd ever had. Well, that puppy has just sunk into insignificance!!! The road climbs steadily to White Pass surrounding you with massive snow covered peaks, raging torrent rivers and some of the most rugged rocky moonscape river flats we've ever seen. Once over White Pass, the road plunges down past the Canadian and then the USA customs and rolls you shaken but not stirred into Skagway. For reasons known only to nature and US customs, we were chosen for an inspection. Lee had to show the guy our zuchinni while I had to sit in the car - “You sit in the car sir” He was OK with the zuchinni but was a bit suss on our bannanas and I don't blame him. They are getting a bit black.

We pulled into the Mountain View RV park. Nice, and the railway goes right past our door step. We also have views of 1000 m soaring peaks. We like it.

Oh and the fuel. We got diesel for $1.29 US. We've been paying around $1.47 Cdn Still cost us $110 to fill up. We left it a bit late and James was getting concerned. Bonging us. We've decided. He is James to his friends, Mr. Dean to you!

While I've been sitting here typing this, 5 trains have gone past with an average of about 800 people each (yes, I counted). We've booked a trip up to the pass ( the cheapscape tour) for $110 each. So we've seen somewhere between $4 and $5 million worth of fares go by in the space of one beer (oops, maybe too many beers - that's really $400,000 - $500,000 BA 30-May). Hmmm. The economy here in Skagway must be OK.

PS: The photos are proving to be difficult, so the one here today is from a few days ago, showing the new rig, by popular demand! :)

May 26 2008 Dawson Peaks

Only drove 256 Km today, made a few stops along the way to look at more
rapids and still go here before 1 PM. We crossed the continental divide
today. From now on the rivers will be flowing west and will end up in
the Pacific ocean. They will also be salmon rivers as the rivers that
empty into the Pacific are salmon rivers. Also, we were back in British
Columbia for a short while, but now are in the Yukon again.

Dawson Peaks is a beautiful spot on a lake, with a view of a huge
mountain, Dawson Peaks presumably! there is a restaurant, some motel
rooms and some cabins as well as a partly shady RV park. Because we were
so early we had our pick of the sites and now have a view of the lake
and mountain that can't be "built out"!

I'm going to try adding some of the photos we've taken over the last few days so look back at old posts.

May 25 2008 Watson Lake

An easy day today, home and hosed by 2 PM. We stopped at Campsite Services RV Park just east of Watson Lake to get a few supplies and to have a bit of a lazy afternoon. The RV park is nice, with shady level sites.

The drive today was much easier than yesterday, good roads and no longer as mountainous. We came down from the Rocky Mountains and were traveling along the Liard River for most of today. We stopped a couple of times to look at some pretty spectacular rapids. We had to walk about 150 m off the road at the first one but got a very good look and found that we could camp in the pull off in a pinch. The second rapids were visible from a road side view point, so we had a coffee and our cinnamon buns there. Most of the drive was low rolling hills but as we got closer to Watson Lake we could see the Cassiar Mountains which form the great divide and look huge, snowy and beautiful. I suspect that we will drive through them tomorrow.

Today was bison day, I guess because we were at a lower altitude. We saw 5 bison and one black bear.

May 24 2008 Muncho Lake

We got a slightly foggy start out of Sikanni River and headed north toward Fort Nelson. Before long we could see the Rocky Mountains to the west and they were to be our companions for the rest of the day, a beautiful backdrop to the drive. For a nice change the sun was shining and the day was perfect for driving, no wind, no rain, nice! We stopped for fuel in Fort Nelson and then the next stop was at Tetsa the cinnamon bun center of the galactic cluster. Well they were pretty good cinnamon buns and they would want to be – we were charged $20 for 4 buns and 2 cups of bad coffee! By this time we were in the Rockies proper and the road was slower but basically pretty good. There were a few dusty and gravel patches, but overall pretty good. Our truck who seems to be "James", because he is far too sophisticated to be called "Jimmy" has heaps of power and seemed to have no difficulty pulling our 3 ton trailer at all!

We saw our first wildlife today, about 9 moose, usually in pairs but sometimes single, 2 deer. 2 bunnies and 1 caraboo. All seemed healthy and sleek. Note to Aussies, bunnies are natural here, not introduced pests.

We stopped for the night at Muncho Lake at the Northern Rockies Lodge. It is a beautiful place, and we have lake views from our campsite. Muncho Lake itself is a beautiful green blue colour and is surrounded by snow capped peaks. The sites are $42 + tax. We went for a nice walk along the beach and came to a parks campsite that was $15/night inc tax, but had no power or water.

May 23 2008 Sikanna River

Another cloudy and rainy day with some sunny periods. Mostly bush today, nice smooth roads, easy driving and pretty country. We stopped at Dawson Creek and saw mile 0 of the Alaska highway, so we are truly on the highway now.

The camp ground at Sikanna RIver is nice but basic. We won the door prize which was our fee back, so got to stay the night for free!

May 22 2008 Grande Prairie

OK, yup, I've been a tiny bit slack on the old blogging! Here is a nut shell overview of the time since the last entry.

We left Thredbo and went to Melbourne to find a place to live. We located a retirement village in Lilydale, N.E. of Melbourne and are in the process of buying a place there, hopefully settling in September.

We left Australia and arrive in Canada on the 21^st of March in order to have Easter with my sisters and father in Kamloops. We then made our way to Prince George where Lee's brother Rick lives and traveled with him to Redwater Alberta, north of Edmonton to have an 80^th birthday for Lee's mom. We spent the time since then in the Redwater area at Shari and Blaines place (Lee's sister) buying a stonkin big truck and a 5^th wheel so that we could travel in Canada. During that time our niece Kelly became ill in her pregnancy and soon had a 2.5 pound baby girl called Tayten approximately 2 months premature. Mother and daughter were doing well when we left Redwater 2 days ago. During this trying time for Kelly and Jeff we parked our fifth wheel at their farm and tried to be useful doing the chores and building fences.

And finally today came and we began our trip up the Alaska highway. We spent last night with my sister Barb and husband Gordon in Edmonton and set out about 10 this morning for Grande Prairie. The day was rainy at first but turned sunny with partial cloud by about 2 PM.

The journey began on hwy 16, the Yellowhead, but soon we turned north on highway 43. Most of today was on good twinned highway, with only a bit of frost heave bumpyness starting about 50 km out of G.P. Geographically the land is rolling farm land around Edmonton, transitioning into forest by Whitecourt and then back into farm land by Little Smokey. Overall, our first day on the road was quite beautiful and anyone who does not have the time to go to Alaska should consider doing a loop from Edmonton to G.P., down to Hinton and back.

We had lunch at Tim Horton's in Whitecourt and are staying tonight at a nice RV park called the Tamarack RV park in Grande Prairie. The wireless network here is $6/hr, so I'm waiting for a free connection tomorrow in Dawson Creek at the tourist center!