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To see Tour Two and three, click the above buttons Please visit our Main RV Caravan to Alaska website: www.rvalaskatours.com May 7, 2004
Deano, Jen, Shirl & Spike Jen and Deano Organize The group arrived, Yea! Visiting Totem Poles Hi Everybody, We just arrived at the starting point - 'Ksan RV Park and Historic Native Village. Jen just arrived today and Deano and Shirl are due in tomorrow, everyone else will trickle in from the 11th to the 13th when they are due to check in. The weather is clear and cool, snow capped Mountains on all sides and plenty of Clan Houses and Totem poles to make the area interesting. Deer and Bear are coming around looking for forage. The Black Bears are mostly eating the Skunk Cabbage growing down by the Skeena and Buckley Rivers that flow past the RV Park. It helps get their digestion going after the long winter hibernation. There is plenty to do here, as soon as everyone arrives we will go on a Tour of the Historic 'Ksan Native Village and Museum. After that I am working on the possibility of a traditional Native Meal catered by one of the Native Elders. Price around $12 to $15, we'll see, anyway it sounds like a fitting meal to have after learning about the Native History and Heritage and seeing the Clan Houses and Poles. More Later, Gunish Cheech HO HO (Thanks, very much)
5/12 These are the folks who have arrived so far.
5-16 Everyone is here, well and healthy and ready to get on the road. We first visited Native Totem Poles and learned about them and toured through the Clan houses. A wonderful Native dinner with singing by the Chief of Gitksan Native Village. Bear Glacier was visited on our way down to Hyder, Alaska (Our first night stop) Plenty of Bears in Hyder and the weather is perfect. Tonight is a Halibut dinner and then on the road again heading North to Skagway, Alaska.
Our leader in front of Bear Glacier Take one step back, Jen! Marie keeps us all in line
The girls The Moose Catchers Looking over the Scary Bridge
El Dorado Dave sings and Dances Marie and Kathy hoof - it Strangers in the Night
Don Dances with his Wife May I have this Dance The Can Can Girls of Skagway, Alaska
Getting Hyderized and then falling off the chairs Our Girls on the Road again The Caravan stopping for some Salmon Dip
If I dish it out, I have to learn to take it. Big Grizzly of Hyder Visiting Kitwanga, BC and the Totem Poles On
our last day in Skagway, some of the group will take the water taxi to
Juneau to enjoy all the Capital of Alaska has to offer - they will even
see the Capitol building and Mendenhal glacier, Stellar seals, whales and
amazing views of lighthouses and eagles. We will be heading to
5-25
In Whitehorse, Yukon we saw the dance follies, took a cruise up the Yukon River to Miles Canyon were Jack London at 19 years of age, was the steerman for the Klondikers heading through the rapids on their way to Dawson City and the Klondike Gold Rush. Today is a "Day Off" and everyone is doing Laundry and shopping.
Emerald Lake Deano found old packing boxes with his family label Dredging Bonanza Creek
In Dawson City we all panned for Gold and Found the Mother Lode on Bonanza Creek. Tours to the Gold Dredge and more sights and sounds then ever. Jack London's Cabin, Yukon River and Can Can Girls.
We all struck it rich and were visited by a curious Fox
Spike was delighted to go up on stage to remove the Garter from Squirrel Tooth Alice's leg. Crossing the Yukon & the Survivors Party
Marie visits Santa "You are my Sunshine!!!!!" NOOOOO!! first kick then shake
The boys The Girls The train to El Dorado Gold Mine The weather is perfect. Everyone found gold at Bonanza Creek and Fairbanks is all we expected. The Alaska Range visible all day and then its off to Denali Park with all the animals to photograph.
Hey everyone this is Jen, the official hostess of the tour. The last few weeks have been lots of fun, in the last few days we have done and seen more than some Alaskans will do in a lifetime. Starting in Dawson, where we panned for gold desperately trying to make our fortunes. Some found nuggets others found flakes but either way it was gold. Most of us have decided that it would not be smart to quit our day jobs. Panning for gold was a lot of work, more work than we ever expected because we had to actually dig the dirt from the side of the hill, carry it back to the river, and then we were able to pan the pay dirt. Spike showed me how to pan for gold from the creek by moving rocks around. I made this my mission. I started moving every rock that I could get my hands on, until I fell in the water. Everyone but me thought it was funny. After a long day of panning we visited the local casino, Diamond Tooth Gerties. By the looks of the photos Dale had a little to much fun with the Can Can girls. I even took a dare to take a shot with a toe in the glass " The infamous Sour-toe Cocktail". Yes a real toe from the one of the old stampeders, but that is another story. Boy was that a night to remember. Then off to Alaska, leaving Dawson for Tok was interesting. We left early in the morning and lined up for the ferry to cross the Yukon River. This ferry only fit two Rvs and two vehicles at a time and let me tell you this was a tight fit. It was a once in a life time trip. However, we all made it across safely and by the end of the evening we all determined that the ferry was the least of our worries. Traveling the Taylor Hwy or Top of the World Hwy was more challenging than the ferry. Some of the road was challenging but that we were used to by now after learning "Alaska driving techniques" from our Wagonmaster and Leader "Alaska Spike" . Once in Tok we all celebrated. We took off for Fairbanks where we currently reside on the banks of the China River. But on the way to Fairbanks we stopped in North Pole Alaska to visit Santa. However, he was unavailable that day so some settled for a picture in Spikes lap. While in Fairbanks we have visited the pipe line and can you believe that there is actually a sign on the pipe that says not to climb on the pipe itself. You know somebody had to try climbing on the pipe for them to put that warning on there. Alaskans call the oil running through the pipe "Black Gold" because every year it brings them mucho denero. We also visited El Dorado Gold Mine and took a train ride though a mine in progress. The miners explained to us how they processed gold in the past and how they currently mine the area. They even gave us a poke (a small bag of pay dirt) to pan ourselves. Everyone found something in their poke and in the gift shop they even weighed the gold to tell how much it was worth. Something interesting that I noticed about weighing gold was it is measured in grains rather than grams or ounces. Today (6/1) we took a river boat tour where we saw Susan Butcher's dog kennels, the life of the Athapaskan natives, and even met with some of the dogs that participated in the Iditarod. The only problem that we encountered was there was no separate seating for the Boat People (those who come in on cruise ships) so we all had to be extra cautious not to touch them. (not to catch a cold.) On a more personal note, I am having lots of fun. This group is great and personalities connect. They are those who track golf courses and those who track moose. Either Way they are both on a mission. If someone has a problem you can bet that the rest of the group will help solve it, whether you ask for help or not. Making sure that no sole is left behind.
Yes, Rita its a verrrrry Big Bear track Terry once again woos the girls
We all went to see the Native Center Then we panned for gold again The smiles mean "Gold Fever)
We drove to Denali Park and to our wonderment there was Mt McKinley (Denali - The great one) 20,320 feet of clear as a bell Mountain from top to bottom. During the Park tour everyone saw a large number of Grizzly Bear and Caribou along with a host of other wild animals. (Dall Sheep, Mt. Goats, Ptarmigan, and Moose to name a few. We are currently in Anchorage and have seen the Native Heritage center for Native songs and Dance. Plus we have a chance to shop and relax while here. Some went Gold Mining again at Crow Creek Mine yesterday and are getting slowly rich. Our three dogs Cinnamon, Lucy and Buddy and enjoying all the new smells and have been adopted by all. 6-11 Today we drove to Portage Glacier and were rewarded with the most beautiful sites. Large icebergs were wind blown right up to the shore line. We now have Glacier Ice for our Martinis, plus Deep blue metamorfic ice and all the mountains with their Glaciers showing. Tomorrow we go on an eight (8) hour boat cruise to see more Glaciers and Whales, Puffins, Muirs, Calving Glaciers, Sea Otters and much much more. Plus a Salmon and Prime Rib Buffet on board. Next off we go to Homer Alaska and more sights and the big Halibut fishing trip. Stay tuned.
Bob the famous Mariner & Fisherman Terry the infamous fisherman "The Fish"
Deano and friend Jen and friend All the friends
Iditarod Dog Sled ride Denali Park residents And they are off |
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Hey Gang it's Jen again. When I last left you we were in Fairbanks and a lot has happened since then. After our adventures in Fairbanks we drove the short distance to Denali where we took a tour of the park. The trip to Denali National Park was extraordinary, eventhough it was eight hours. Everyone piled onto the bus prepared for an adventure and that is exactly what they got. The Ranger on board the bus helped point out the many animals native to the park and the group was lucky enough to make it to the top in time to see the Mt. McKinley. They say the Mt. is only visible 20-30 days out of the year and we viewed it both days we were there. Lucky us, the view is amazing!!! After our stay at Denali we departed for Anchorage where we tried our luck, once again, at gold panning although this time we used a sluice box to assist us. We were able to move twice as much dirt as in Dawson giving us a better chance to finding gold. We only panned for three hours in Anchorage and I think we found as much as we did in Dawson although there we panned for three days. Also in Anchorage we visited the Earthquake museum, where we actually experienced the wrath of a small quake. Then we moved to the Aurora Museum and watched a digitally mastered video of the Northern Lights taken by a local photographer. Anchorage offered one day of rest, a lot of shopping,or even a place for the fishermen to try their luck. Seward was our next destination. There we camped on Resurrection Bay and watched the sea otters play in front of our rigs. Everyone had the chance to take the glacier cruse and see several whales, seals, Puffins and Bald Eagles. Seward was a peaceful stop and the day before we left we carpooled to Exit Glacier and walked up to the base with the close supervision of a Ranger, of course. Next came Homer, where the mighty fisherpersons set out early in the morning to catch their trophies. Everyone caught their limit, with rather large fish, however Bob caught the largest dressing out at approximately 58 pounds (initially 120 pounds before it was cleaned ). Bob was nice enough to donate his fish to the final potluck. That afternoon was dedicated to sleeping for most but some diehard fishermen tried their luck at the local salmon run, while others shopped. After Homer we headed to our final destination Kenai. The first night in Kenai we had a crab feast. Everyone experimented with their crabs trying to determine what was the best way to prepare Alaskan King Crab. Although there was no group consensus each enjoyed their feast. The last day was dedicated to the potluck and everyone slaved on their specialty dishes. The main course was Bobs halibut grilled by Spike and I to perfection while everyone else brought their own special dish to complement the fish. During the potluck Spike announced the winners of the quiz and handed out a few other individual awards. We all took turns sharing moments from the tour and exchanging final moments. Later that night we roasted Smores and biscuits on the fire while waiting for it to get dark. HAHA One by one we all said our good byes and prepared for our take off the next morning. Some pulled out early, others decided to stay awhile but everyone was safely on their return home. This was a really fun tour for me and a great success in my eyes. I would like to thank everyone for all their participation and help throughout the tour and reminding everyone to keep in touch.
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