June 19th to July 10th Our caravan consists of 12 Newmar RV’s all types, models and years from all over the U.S. and Canada. All of us are retired and for nine couples including Rudy and I, this is our first trip to Alaska. We are divided into groups for traveling to spread out the rigs on the road. We usually leave ½ hour between groups. In our group of four couples (12 people), four of us were born in the same year and three couples were married in the same year!!! June 19th – 21st Whitehorse, Yukon Today, after we settled in our campsite for the next few days, we had dinner and then we all boarded a bus and went to see the Frantic Follies Show. It was two hours of laughter and fun. We laughed so hard our faces hurt!! June 20th we boarded another bus and had a tour of Whitehorse. One stop was a tour of the S.S. Klondike which is the tallest structure in Whitehorse (42 feet high). This is a national monument and the last steamboat built (1939) for the Yukon River. It was retired in 1955. It is over 200 feet long and has a 2 foot draft. It carried tons of freight and some passengers. June 21st, we toured the Yukon Beringia (Bering Strait) Center. Here we heard interesting theories concerning the fossils they found under the retreating glaciers. They believe that many animals crossed the land bridge that once existed between Russia and Alaska. There once were camels and horses in the Alaskan area many years before the Spaniards brought horses to North America and camels haven’t been seen since. They also found that the Navajo Native Americans in New Mexico have a language very similar to that of the First Nation People in Alaska. After a movie and many exhibits, we went outside to hunt small and big game (cardboard cutouts). We were taught how to throw a spear-like weapon. Rudy hit the Mammoth’s foot and I almost got a beaver who many years ago was EIGHT feet tall and weighed 150 pounds!!!! We went to see the Transportation Museum and most importantly, I got my hair done!!!! Today starts a month long festival called the “Longest Days”. The days never get totally dark now. It goes from sunlight to twilight and then back to sunlight. Our bus driver told us that when he tells his kids to come home before dark in June, he doesn’t see them until September!!! Today is the Summer Solstices, the longest amount of daylight for the year. Many people go to the top of Dome Mountain just outside of Dawson City, (our next stop) to see the sun set at midnight and rise about a half hour later. Many of us are still having trouble going to sleep because the sun is still shining very brightly when we are ready for bed!!!! June 22nd to June 24th Dawson City This is where 30,000 men and some women came to get rich quick by finding gold in 1898. The town was a mining town with only 500 Sourdoughs (experience panners). These people who invaded the Yukon were called “the stampeders” and their number started out around 100,000. Many turned back or died on the road and many died trying to cross the mountains or the rapids where two rivers meet on their way to Dawson City. The North West Mounted Police decided to stop the use of the Yukon River above Dawson City because too many people were being killed in the rapids. Before they got to Dawson City they had to cross the mountains. When they got to the mountains, they had to climb the Chilkoot Pass on the Whitehorse Trail. This pass was near 4,000 feet high and had a slope of 45 degrees covered with snow to a depth of about 40 feet. Towards the top there is a sheer ascent of 1,000 feet where a slip could certainly be fatal. Since many people were not taking enough supplies and perishing, the North West Mounted Police didn’t allow them to proceed unless the (Cheechakos or newcomers) each had “one ton” of supplies with them. It took about 30-40 trips and about a month to move their supplies over the pass. The main gold veins were found in 1896 and by 1898, it was too late for most of stampeders. Only a few of the earliest prospectors found major gold veins so most of the rest of those 30,000 people had given up everything for a dream!!!! Many of them went back home and others opened up shops to service the growing population and never left! On June 22nd, we stopped along the road to Dawson City to eat the largest cinnamon bun I have ever seen. Rudy and I shared one and we had more than a half of it leftover!!! That night we all went out to dinner together. June 23rd was a day of more exploration of the town of Dawson City. We had a walking tour of the town. This town still has gravel roads and store fronts like the old western movies. Our tour guide was a woman who has lived in Dawson City for over 30 years. She told us interesting stories and explained much of the history of the town. We then went to tour Dredge #4, the largest gold dredge in North America. It was fascinating!! There are still many people who are looking for gold today even though the regulations have grown significantly in the last 110 years. We saw several active mines. That night, we went to Dome Mountain at 11:45 p.m. to see the sunset/sunrise cycle. We stayed about an hour and never did see the sun set. We were positive we were 2 hours early…..so much for local lore! On June 24th, we all had breakfast at the restaurant at the campsite. We then went into town to tour the Danoja Aho Cultural Center. When I came back to our RV, I went and did laundry while Rudy worked on protection for our car’s windshield. They are continually fixing the roads and we had many miles of gravel to go. We have had the car windshield repaired twice so far. That night the owners of the campsite prepared dinner for us. We even had local entertainment. During one of the sets we had a special treat when Anitra, one of our group from Michigan, treated us to a couple of songs with her violin!!! She has been playing for over 40 years and joined in with the three guitars. It was great!!! June 25th – 26th Tok, Alaska Today had an unusual beginning. We had to cross the Yukon River by ferry. The car lane was shorter, so I crossed two trips before Rudy in the RV. They squeezed in two cars in front, then two RVs and then my car and another car. When Rudy crossed they had 3 RVs and two cars. With two RVs on one side the ferry was listing!! When we looked back as we drove away we saw about 15 RVs waiting and the line was growing! After we drove through the town of Chicken, it started to rain, snow and hail. About an inch accumulated on the road. We made it!!! We are officially in the interior of Alaska. Everyone driving to or from Alaska must go through Tok. It’s the only road! That night at the campsite we had a wonderful meal with a choice of beef stew or Reindeer Chili in a Sourdough bread bowl, with fresh baked pie. Then we were entertained by the “Crazy” Ken who kept us laughing for over an hour with his “Crazy” humor and antics. We learned that there are no snakes, skunks, cockroaches, fleas, tics, local government or local taxes. After the “show” we all were involved in a Sourdough Pancake Toss. One of our group landed his pancake in a bucket and won a free breakfast. We all had an “all you can eat breakfast” the next morning which was exceptional!! (The fresh fruit was just as great as the sourdough pancakes!!) Oh….the name of the campground is the Sourdough Campground!!! We went sight seeing and shopping and happened to see some Siberian Husky puppies for sale. I got to hold one, but Rudy wouldn’t let me buy it!!! After being entertained by a local singing quartet, we went to Fast Eddy’s for pizza. June 27-29 Valdez We traveled from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., over 300 miles of the worst roads in Alaska! We stopped along the way to take pictures of glaciers and eat lunch. Here, as in other areas of high altitude, are snow markers about 15 feet high towering over the road for the plows to use when the snow covers everything!! And they say it does!!! At 7p.m. we had a bus tour of the town. We also saw some of the results of the earthquake in 1964 (9.2). The whole town was destroyed. They decided to rebuild the town on bedrock a few miles away from the old town. After the famous Valdez oil spill, they instituted many safeguards and rescue procedures which were evident in and around the harbor. June 28th was a day of food shopping, washing cars and RVs and resting!!! But the next day we had a nine hour cruise of Prince William Sound to see the Columbia and Meares Glaciers. We got very close and personal to the glaciers and in fact, we saw several pieces breaking off (calving). One was a huge and caused a wave of about 3 feet rolling towards our boat. You could actually hear the glaciers moving and the water lapping on the small icebergs and sea ice sounded like Rice Krispies or as the Captain described it, Ice Krispies. It was spectacular and very exciting to say the least!!!! On our trip we got to see a few hump-back whales, sea lions, fur seals, harbor seals, otters, bald eagles, Puffins and bear. June 30- July 1st Palmer June 30th: We toured the town of Palmer which was the site of one of FDR’s homesteading projects in 1935. After interviewing many welfare families in Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota, the government selected 100 families and brought them to Palmer to colonize Alaska. (These states had a large population of Scandinavians who hopefully could handle the cold weather) Only 40% stayed and were replaced by other families from all over the country. Some of the original log cabins and barns provided by the government are still used today and many of the descendents of the original colonists still live in Palmer. We visited a Musk Ox Farm and I fed Musk Ox dandelions which they love. We also went to the Iditarod Race Headquarters. The man who started the race donated the land. His son was there and taught us a great deal about the race and the dogs that are trained for the race. We also got to hold a young sled dog puppy; all the women wanted to keep it including me!!! July 1st…..Happy Birthday Rudy!!!! We took a tour of Palmer visiting the Matanuska Valley Colony homes and other historical sites. When we had our Potluck Dinner, we surprised Rudy with a song and a birthday pie!!! He had told everyone that his birthday was September 1st, but “someone” told the leaders the correct date!!! July 2nd-July 6th Anchorage Today we arrived at Anchorage. They call Anchorage the “City of Flowers” in the summer and the “City of Lights” in the winter. With over 20 hours of sunlight for growing the flowers, they are beautiful and the vegetables are bigger and better than I have seen…..carrots growing to 17 pounds, cabbage growing to nearly 180 pounds and much much more!!! The short growing season though does limit the variety crops. July 3rd we ate lunch at the Sourdough Mining Company and then visited the Alaskan Wildberry Products store which had a two story chocolate water-fall. We passed many, many float planes. There are probably more float planes than cars. There was one lake that had a plane every 20 feet around the perimeter; it even had a water runway. It was the largest float plane airport in the world! Float planes are a major method of travel throughout Alaska. July 4th was celebrated by having a hot dog and hamburger potluck at the campgrounds. We also played dominoes to celebrate. On July 5th, we visited the “Alaska Native Heritage Museum” where we saw demonstrations of Native dances and drumming from many areas of Alaska. They also had replicas of five of the 20 different types of villages showing different types of housing with explanations of their lifestyles. We also visited the “Alaskan Public Lands Information Center” where we saw some very interesting films of the Alaskan animals, glaciers and people. I also got to meet Barbara Wyso who is a friend from the Poughkeepsie area. She was visiting friends who have been living in Anchorage for over 33 years. On July 6th, we brought the RV to a service area for a few minor repairs. We repaired the awning that opened during a storm while we were driving and welded the mount for the windshield washing fluid container that broke on the rough roads in Alaska. July 7th to July 9th Homer Alaska is so huge that if you cut it in half, Texas would be the third largest state!!! We had dinner at the Chart Room Restaurant at the Lands End Resort. It was at the end of “The Spit.” It is a narrow piece of land formed by the glaciers that extends into the bay. There are mountains and glaciers all around the bay; it is a spectacular sight!!! The food was fantastic too!!! July 8th Rudy went Halibut fishing with three other men from our Caravan. They caught many fish and one weighed 70 pounds! We had 100 pounds left over (25 pounds each) after our fish fry for the whole caravan. We shipped 15 pounds of fish home. We could only keep 10 pounds since our freezer is full of food because we never get a chance to cook!!! I hope Ken and Chris like Halibut!!! At the fish fry, Sylvia, from BC, sang a song she wrote about our trip and all of the caravaners….we will all learn the words and sing it together at our farewell dinner in Fairbanks. Thanks Sylvia! July 9th…….Happy Anniversary Rudy and Faith!!!! Last night we received a cake for our anniversary and today we received many cards from our new friends!!!! Rudy and I finished some necessary details to get our fish shipped to Stacy. We then went to the local Visitor Center which was very informative with many exhibits and interesting movies. After we ate lunch, we drove around and took pictures of the beautiful scenery. We also noticed that there weren’t any mosquitoes in Homer!! It was really nice to have a break from that pesky insect!!