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Grand Alaska and Panama

rafinmd

By rafinmd,
in Holland America Line

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oaktreerb

oaktreerb

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Oh my gosh, those cinnamon buns!! They were more like cinnamon loaves! I wonder how much they were and if they were any good. I bet they're a great seller!

 

The cinnamon rolls are huge. They would feed at least four! They are also delicious.

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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Thank you Oaktreerb, Denise, and Krazy Kruizers. Yes, the buns are expensive but I think they are at least the size of 8 regular ones.

 

 

Day Y4C-7, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, Dawson City

 

For or the second day in a row I was out for a walk before 5AM. While I saw a few things they did not include the sun, open businesses, or much in the way of people. There is an old sternwheeler, the SS Keno on display but it was closed to visitors for renovations.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/sskeno.jpg

 

There are 3 roads out of Dawson. We came in on the North Klondike Highway. The other route, the Top of The World Highway, starts out by crossing the Yukon River on a small ferry. The ferry runs essentially 24 hours but traffic is pretty light at 6AM. It did make one crossing as I watched.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/yukonfy.jpg

 

On the way back to the hotel I passed a deserted Diamond Tooth Gerties.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/gerties.jpg

 

The sun had come over the mountains just briefly when I stepped outside about 8.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/sun0724.jpg

 

It was a pretty quiet morning with a short walk with Roger. Near the end of the walk I visited the Dawson Fire Museum. In the panel shot the bottom row is the equipment they are using today, with some 50's era equipment in the middle row, and the oldest equipment on top. The 2 steam pumpers were originally horse drawn. Late in their service the horses were replaced with the Catapillar tractor. It’s a volunteer department except for a full time chief.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/firestuff.jpg

 

There was one afternoon activity, a Klondike cruise on the paddlewheeler Klondike Spirit.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/klondikespirit.jpg

 

We sailed down river first to a First Nations Village, Moosehide. It is primarily a ceremonial village now but is preparing for a gathering and there was a fair amount of activity there.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/moosehide.jpg

 

The Yukon was a major artery for commerce into the 1950's. When the North Klondike Highway was completed the business for steamboats dropped to zero. Each fall the boats were pulled out of the river before the freeze; one year they were pulled out and never moved back to the river. We passed the Julia S, one of the more visible remnants was on the shore alongside out path.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/julias.jpg

 

We continued upstream past the confluence of the Klondike and Yukon rivers before returning to the dock.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/confluence1.jpg

 

As we disembarked we passed one of the winches used to pull boats out of the river. Many were steam driven but the one we saw used horses to haul the boats out of the water.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/winterwinch.jpg

 

Dinner was at the Aurora, a hotel a block from the Westmark. I hadn’t noticed it at the time but the power went out while we were eating. It stayed out for about 2 hours. We think Diamond Tooth Gerties 8:30 show was cancelled due to the failure.

 

My parting shot is a very sad one. My county’s fire service has been a combination of career and volunteer personnel for over 50 years. The first career fatality came Monday in a fire near our station. I did not personally know Nathan Flynn but he leaves behind a young family. Rest in Peace Nathan.

 

Roy

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DeeniEncinitas

DeeniEncinitas

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I’m sorry Roy for the the fire fighter Nathan Fallen who past away. Wow another sad news for you from home.

I’m enjoying your photographs and even with no sunrise I bet it is so peaceful with your morning walks!

The photos you took of the volunteer fire department was interesting, and how they have swapped out horses for a caterpillar!

Denise 😊

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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Thank you Denise, Carole, erewhon, and Krazy Kruizers.

 

 

Day Y4C-8, Wednesday, July 25, 2018, Dawson City to Fairbanks

 

I started my walk later this time, following the street the Westmark is on towards the river. The sun came up above the mountains about 7:30.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/dawn0725.jpg

 

The street ended at the Klondike River with a platform overlooking the confluence with the Yukon.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/confluence2.jpg

 

I walked the path on the dike following the rivers back into town. The front street has been closed off; signs said it was for upgrading the waste water mains. It looks like a big part of the job us installing pipes with a lot of insulation.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/newpipes.jpg

 

A pretty elegant courthouse was built in 1901 but has been unused since the territorial capitol was moved to Whitehorse.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/oldcourt.jpg

 

A little further along the bank was the stately Anglican Church.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/anglican.jpg

 

After breakfast I continued working in our room until the 10AM checkout deadline.

 

Between checkout and departure there was time for a visit to the Dawson Museum.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/dawsonmuseum.jpg

 

I have noted that the old Dawson courthouse was closed soon after it opened. Trials in Dawson are quite rare now and in an unusual move one of the rooms in the museum has been restored as a court and is used today when there’s a trial in Dawson.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/newcourt.jpg

 

A railroad was built in the area in the heyday of the mining boom. It is gone now but the museum has an annex with equipment from that era. It only opened at 11:30 and we were leaving for the airport at noon so I had only the briefest of peeks inside the train shed.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/trainshed.jpg

 

The flight to Fairbanks is just about an hour. Holland America seems to have chartered a 737 that’s primarily theirs for the summer. The 40 of us were the only ones on the flight, leaving each of us pretty much a row of 3 seats to ourselves.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/ourplane.jpg

 

Dawson airport has a gravel runway, quite unusual for jet aircraft. Ours was equipped with a plate under the nose gear to deflect stones and some extra piping around the engine to keep dust and debris away from the engine.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/gravelguard.jpg

 

We left Dawson at 12:50, gained an hour moving to Alaska time, and landed in Fairbanks at 12:40.

 

The rest of the day was largely lost to me. I have had a swollen bump on my leg that has not gotten any better since Toronto, and this became the time to check it out. The Doctor thought it might have been a clot and ordered an ultrasound of my leg. There was good news and bad news. The good news was that there was no clot and the medical verdict is that it is nothing to worry about. The bad news is that there isn’t really anything they can do about it and I will just have to live with it until it runs it’s course. It also means I did not write a word in the afternoon and the internet went out all evening. I’m still a day behind and will have limited chance to post from Denali.

 

My parting shot today comes from the Dawson Fire Museum and is a continuing comment on the slow pace of change in the far north. I noticed on one of the engines that seemed quite modern a 7-digit emergency number. When I asked the guide about 911 in Dawson, it had been installed just a year ago. Change comes but the pace is certainly slow.

 

no-911.jpg

 

Roy

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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Caught up and oh my Roy, so sorry to hear of the death of Nathan. Such sad news to hear away from home.

 

Prayers for him, his family and all of his loved ones.

 

Your pictures are lovely. Love the dawn picture.

 

amazing that 911 was just started last year!

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DeeniEncinitas

DeeniEncinitas

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Good morning Roy!!

Happy to see the first sunrise in Alaska

While you were on your walk. Pictures are so interesting and I love the small town Dawson!!

Glad your leg is not a a blood clot. Sorry for so many things happening but

I’m happy your healthy and have your brother with you!!

Denise 😊

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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So sorry to hear about the firefighter and your leg. I hope it is not painful.

 

I am wondering if you have had a lot of blackflys and such?

 

Blackflies are certainly a possibility?

 

I'm just glad it's not a clot, Roy. Sorry you have to "let it run it's course". Was the doctor able to give you any idea how long that would be?

 

Take care of yourself.

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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Thank you everyone. Rushing right now to post and do a couple other things before my wifi spot becomes a busy restaurant. Not much issue with bugs at all.

 

 

Day Y4C-9, Thursday, July 26, 2018, Fairbanks to Denali

 

I slept late this time, getting up between 5 and 6. Bags were due out at 6:40, and we were given 3 options all of which were used. Roger sent one bag to Anchorage with the other going to Denali. The third option was to send bags straight to the ship. I did that with my smaller bag while the big one went to Denali.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/bags0726.jpg

 

I took a half hour walk in the city about 6, and Fairbanks is quite sleepy at that hour. The Chena River runs right though the center of town.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/chena.jpg

 

Departure from the Westmark was 9:40, and we had a little tour before leaving for Denali. While it did not generate the same legends as the Klondike, Fairbanks is rich in gold. While mining started out small, the real boom was the first half of the 20th century with gold harvested by massive dredges. We toured one.

 

The site was about 10 miles from town. We accessed the dredge via a short train ride where guides gave us information as traveled quite slowly for about a third of a mile.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/onthetain.jpg

 

The best view of the dredge was from the train as we approached.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/dredge8.jpg

 

There was a collection of mining equipment scattered around the property. As we came to our destination, Mandi was perched on a grader.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/dredge2.jpg

 

Once at the site we were given little bags of dirt and an opportunity to pan for gold. My yield was about $6, the lowest count of anyone in our group who had actually gotten gold. The highest yield was $30. I was given a little candle as a consolation prize.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/panning.jpg

 

After the panning we got a chance to go inside the dredge for a look at the inner workings.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/dredge3.jpg

 

As we returned to the bus we got a look at the Alaska pipeline. About half of the route is underground like most pipelines, but where there is permafrost it is elevated on towers designed not to melt the ground underneath.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/pipeline.jpg

 

The inside of the line is kept clean by “pigs” that flow though the pipe scraping deposits off the pipe walls.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/pig.jpg

 

When we left the dredge we stopped in the center of Fairbanks where there was time to get lunch. Our stop was near the end point of the Yukon Quest, the annual 1000 mile dog sled race between Fairbanks and Whitehorse,

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/quest.jpg

 

The ride to Denali was a little under 4 hours, with a stop midway.

 

Arrival at the McKinley Chalet Resort was about 5:30. It’s a huge, sprawling complex. We are in the “Canyon Lodge” more or less in the middle of the property, but it’s just a block of rooms with few other facilities. The main lodge is up a steep hill (at least there’s a frequent shuttle), There’s also a “Denali Square” complex in the opposite direction, a little more accessible. It has a nice plaza with fireplaces and a guitarist, as well as shops and a large restaurant. We had dinner in that restaurant a Mandi had planned a social but the wind was a bit too strong to do anything.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/square.jpg

 

Wifi is annoying. There is none in Canyon Lodge, and the lounge in Denali Square where they have it is fully restaurant most of the time. That really means going up the hill anytime the internet is wanted.

 

Our cruise tour is almost over. It’s wonderful but anything but relaxing. In the 17 days since leaving home I’ve slept in 17 different beds. For a cruise tour I’ve really decided the way to do it is cruise last (Or better yet cruise at both ends),

 

Roy

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Krazy Kruizers

Krazy Kruizers

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I have enjoyed your report.

Many years ago when we did the land portion we chose to do that first -- then get on the ship to rest before going home.

We also did a tour that included panning for gold -- we had to go down to the creek and do it ourselves -- DH found a large chunk of real gold worth $800.

Love the pictures -- especially of your brother and you.

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DeeniEncinitas

DeeniEncinitas

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Great picture of you and Roger 👍

I agree with you Roy Cruise at the beginning and a cruise at the end!!!

17 different beds for me would be a nightmare since I am sooo picky with beds!!

Brings back fond memories of Chena River and Fairbanks!! We’d stay at Sophie’s Station which is a nice resort and I’d be in Fairbanks while my husband would be doing business with the Navy. I’d walk to the University of Fairbanks and to Chena River! Clean air!

Also I had a friend who went to dental school with me and I’d visit her practice

when I was there.

Look forward to more adventures of you!

Denise 😊

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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Fabulous pictures Roy! Including the one of you and your brother. Nice to see you had the choice where to send your bags.

 

17 beds? YIKES. I'd be worn and weary.

 

I like your suggestion of cruise before and cruise after :). Can't say I blame you ;)

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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Day Y4C-10, Friday, July 27, 2018, Denali National Park

 

Thank you Denise, Krazy Kruizers, Jacqui, and erewhon, Wow! That last parting shot I misspoke. It should have been 11 different beds in 17 days, not 17 beds.

 

This was our day to visit the interior of the park. It was a day for an early start with the bus leaving the lodge at 7:10AM.

 

The trip into the park is on school-type buses. All our group was on the same bus, but there were a number of other people as well filling EVERY seat on the bus and the seats were packed in tightly, making a solid wall of people blocking the view when wildlife was sighted on the other side of the bus.

 

We make a round trip about 60 miles into the park and back. The first 15 miles are paved but the rest is gravel, much of it winding and mountainous. We turned out to be lucky that we had our first sighting, a bear, before we even left the paved roadway.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/firstbear.jpg

 

Only buses and a few permitted other vehicles are allowed beyond that first 15 miles. The drivers are all in radio communication and clue each other in about wildlife sightings.

 

There’s something new since the last time I was in Denali. There are several video monitors hanging from the overhead and the drivers have a camera with a very intense zoom they can train on wildlife along the way. It’s not a perfect system as it can only be used after the bus is stopped and secured, and the drivers still must stay on top of traffic so they cannot use it as extensively as would be ideal, but some of my best views came from the monitors, like one of 2 bears in the distance.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/2bears.jpg

 

I remember only one moose sighting. I got glimpses of it but never for long enough to train the camera on either the monitor or the moose. While we got several glimpses of Denali it was mostly shrouded in clouds with just one clear view of both peaks.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/themountain.jpg

 

Most of our other wildlife encounters were with caribou. The first one was lying down with just the antlers sticking up.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/caribou1.jpg

 

A rare sighting (the first of the year for the driver) was a gyrfalcon perched on a nearby tree.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/gyrfalcon.jpg

 

Twenty minutes later we had our second caribou sighting, a pair of them who appear to be crossing one of the rivers.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/caribou2.jpg

 

I think my favorite caribou picture came about a half hour later. It was far in the distance but a magnificent silhouette making it’s way up a steep hill.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/caribou3.jpg

 

We had 2 rest stops (same places) in each direction. We stopped only briefly at the second stop outbound with hopes of a good view of Denali at our turnaround (no such luck) and had a more extensive stay at the outer stop on the way back. It’s on a river. Many of Denali’s rivers were originally fed by glaciers and are very small with wide silt fields.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/glaciaalriver.jpg

 

We had 2 additional caribou sightings on the ride back. The first was grazing in a meadow on my side.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/caribou4.jpg

 

The last one was on the other side of the bus up on a steep hill, a magnificent animal. We returned to the lodge about 3PM.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/caribou5.jpg

 

Before returning to my cabin I walked over to the nearby Princess property (I stayed there 2 years ago), and reviewed their menus before deciding L liked one of our own restaurants better. Despite the late darkness we had quite a quiet evening.

 

I’ll backtrack a bit on my parting shot. I have always felt that customs people are pretty reasonable if you cooperate with them but was still surprised at one encounter I saw in Fairbanks. One of our party had brought an apple in from Canada. She obviously answered “yes” on her food question and the immigration guy had noted what the food was on her form. She was directly ahead of me in the customs line and he sail “Let me see the apple” He looked at the little sticker on it and said “yes, it’s from the US, go ahead”. I would never have believed that much cooperation from them was possible.

 

Roy

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