TRIP DAY – 58, 59, 60,
61
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DAILY
MILES 107 – 0 – 0 - 343
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TOTAL
MILES – 7,150
|
8/11- The road to Skagway provided an amazing
drive. First we came to Emerald Lake
which was a beautiful deep-green and surrounded by mountains. Next it was a four mile stretch of desert
area of sand dunes called the Carcross Desert.
It was composed of sandy lake bottom material left behind by a large glacial
lake thousands of years ago. This was
followed by a subalpine “moon-scape” area that was made up of partially buried
boulders with scrub trees. Next the
descent into Skagway follows a road hanging off a mountain for 12 miles with an
11% grade. I think Wayne and I both had
our eyes shut going down this scary road.
After reaching Skagway we drove to the pier where we checked into the
Pullen Creek RV Park.
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| Skagway, AK |
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| Emerald Lake |
8/12- This morning we headed to the other end of the
pier to board the Alaska Fjordland, a catamaran type vessel that operates the
Fjord Express wildlife cruise to Juneau through the Inside Passage. We saw
“tons” of whales and tried repeatedly to catch pictures of “whale tails” as
they descended into the water. At Juneau
we were picked up by a cruise bus and taken into town for lunch at the Red Dog
Saloon. The food and atmosphere were
both a treat. Next we boarded the bus
and headed to Mendenhall Glacier where we enjoyed views of the glacier and a
movie. Just 13 hours later the boat
returned us to the Skagway pier where we hopped on our bikes and road back to
the RV Park just before dark, another adventure filled day.
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| Mendenhall Glacier |
8/13- Today finds us attending the Days of ’98 Gold
Rush Show which was most enjoyable. This
was followed by a trip on the White Pass & Yukon railroad. The train follows the path up White Pass used
by the Klondike Gold Rush prospectors.
It was as scary as the roadway down that same mountain pass we drove into
town. This completed the activities we
had hoped to do in Skagway and tomorrow we will leave here and head back toward
the Alaska Highway.
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| Days of '98 Show |
8/14- We were up early and headed out to drive back down the Alaska Highway to the
Cassiar Highway junction which is almost back to Watson Lake. We made the 343 miles to the junction by late
afternoon and will head south on the Cassiar tomorrow morning. The campground for the evening has flush
toilets, showers, Wi-Fi and a laundry.
This is like waking up in heaven.
This stretch of road does not have much to offer in the way of RV parks. All “Rest Areas” along the Alaska Highway are
vault toilets only as are many of the campgrounds. More on this subject later. . .
The Cassiar Highway is about 500 miles long and we won’t expect to
have Internet until about the end when we reach Prince George, BC. See you then . . . .
