Dawson CIty here we come!

Day 9 was a cold day. Lucky to hit 40. Stayed at a campground that the lake was still frozen. No fishing yet. I wonder why. Left Teslin and drove to Whitehorse. It snowed on the way. Yes, I missed the snow all winter--but I got to see it first hand. Had my picture taken sitting on a snowbank. Arrived Whitehorse and went downtown, made a sirloin roast and then took in the Frantic Follies. It was the highlight of the day. Good jokes.

Day 10 was a rough ride to Dawson City. Up and down, and bumpy. Not too much to see--a lot of the land was hit by forest fires. 329 miles this day. Stopped at the Yukon River. In Dawson City we are now right on the Yukon. The road ends here.. So we have to take the ferry across to start the Road to the Top of the World Road.

Day 11 was a day of rest. We all needed it. I was waiting for church, but the bell didn't ring. That meant the priest wasn't in town. They did have a rosary and readings, so I went to that. That is their church service if the priest doesn't show. It has been along time since I did the rosary. My mom would be proud, let alone Aunt Angie. We then went to town which is 5 blocks by 5 blocks. Then we took a trip to pan for gold. I liked finding neat rocks better. We drove to the top of the dome road. Great view. Tomorrow we cross on the ferry and start our full day treck to Tok, AK. We will finally be in Alaska.

In all this has been a great trip and we never know what is around the bend in the road.
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HEARD OF THE EXPRESSION....HANGING ON BY A THREAD...............WELL
Day 12 I will never experience again in my life. My life hung from an edge of a mountain top for 7 hours. Yes it took 7 hours for us to go 180 miles from Dawson City to Tok. The problem the "Top of the World Highway"-- NOT GOOD!!!!!!! AT ALL!!!
BUT MY DAY STARTED OFF BADLY TO BEGIN WITH----LET ME TELL YOU!!!!!!
THE DAY STARTED OUT BADLY BY ME GOING UP A SERVICE ROAD TO GET TO THE DOCK TO TAKE THE BOAT ACROSS THE YUKON. AFTER DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD FOR ALMOST 1/2 MILE OR SO I COULDN'T GET OFF AT THE OTHER END BECAUSE A BOAT WAS PARKED THERE. I HAD TO BACK THE WHOLE WAY WITH JUST ENOUGH ROOM FOR MY TIRES TO FIT ON THE ROAD THAT DIDN'T HAVE ANY SHOULDER, BUT DID HAVE A HIGH DROPOFF ON EACH SIDE. NEEDLESS TO SAY-------IT WAS NOT GOOD. IT WAS NOT GOOD TO BE THERE WITH A CAMPER. VERY STUPID ON MY PART, IT TOOK ABOUT A SLOW 15 MINUTES FOR ME TO GET BACK FROM WHERE I STARTED. THEN I DROVE ALONG ON THE LOWER EDGE WHICH WAS THE STREET THAT I WAS SUPPOSE TO BE ON TO GET TO THE FERRY.

The rest of the 180 miles 160 of them being gravel, rocks and potholes. It was so narrow at times around the mountains that only one vehicle could fit. When we finally got to Chicken- at 106 of the miles-I had to sit still for a moment to get back my sanity. Then we still had 74 miles to go. After we crossed the border to Alaska the road got worse. We finally made it to a fantastic Alaskan State Park on the Tok River. FINALLY IN ALASKA!!

Day 13 What a great day today. Great weather. FLAT ROAD, EVEN ROAD, NO HOLES, Traveling from Tok to Fairbanks. Only about 200 miles. Good road Alaska 2. Had some great stops along the road. Just before Fairbanks was the North Pole. Had my picture taken with Santa. Then there was a convention of 25 Santas that appeared. Great picture. Fun stop. Nice campground on the Chena River now for 2 days.

We will go to Denali on Thursday. It is good to alive!!!

Day 14 kept us in Fairbanks--no driving. Called for a prescription--still sore throat kept me up at night. Made a baked chicken for my traveling family. In the afternoon we went on a paddle-wheeled boat for a 3.5 hour ride. It was a nice change to have someone else driving even if it was a boat. When we got back we talked with some new neighbors traveling from Germany. We then played some cards. Karen and I won!!!!

Day 15 traveled only 119 miles south to Denali. Staying outside of the park at Healy. We left by noon to drive through the 15 miles that a car can travel on within the park. A great sunny day which allowed us to see Mt. McKinley. Lucky us on the first visit. We also saw a moose and then some grizzly bears. They are huge. This truly is a vacation of a lifetime. The park is mesmerizing. To stand and look at the Mt just reconnects me to the land and how wonderful life is that grants me the opportunity to fulfill my dream vacation .. The park is the highlight of the trip. We then made reservations for an 8 hour bus trip.

Day 16 bus left at 8 a.m. Most of the road is gravel that is (62 of 66) miles. Back to the gravel and winding turns and narrow roads. It took 3.5 hours to go 66 miles--about 20 mph if we were lucky. Then of course he had to get back on that winding road--this time my seat was on the outside, cliff side. At higher elevations one lane with very steep cliffs. FUN? It was a great day. The park is fantastic and more beautiful than one can imagine. We saw 14 grizzly bears, some caribou, many sheep on the cliffs, 2 female moose, and then the highlight when a bull moose walked right in front of our bus. We had stopped to watch it. Of course, I got a picture. I'll send it soon. We also saw many hare. They are snowshoe hares--I finally got a picture of a flat one thanks to the driver.

Tomorrow we move inside the park to camp. Lots of warning about the bears but it is a new challenge. I have never seen it dark here so it will be easy to hopefully stay away from the bears.

A trip that is only getting better each day.

Camping Family doing fine.

Day 17 Camping in Denali Park
Drove the roads again, picked up hitchhikers, saw a dogsled demonstration, had homemade pizza, and went to a Northern Lights film.

Day 18 Left Denali but only drive 27 miles to be able to drive another gravel road--The Denali Highway
Best thing happened only a few minutes after leaving Denali. I wanted a picture of the Riley Creek that we stayed at from the road. Good! But then a female moose crossed right in front of the camper. I stopped and let her cross the road. She climbed over the guard rail, stood there, looked across the road, and there was baby moose on the other side, she then climbed back over the left guard raid and the right guard rail, talked to the baby and then they both climbed over the right and left guardrails and walked into the woods. Yes, I sat with my camper stopped on the highway while they took their time. It was awsome!!! The day even got better. We kept seeing Mt. McKinley all the way down the highway for about 50 miles. It was as clear as a postcard. I must be living right.


Day 19 Drove just outside of Anchorge found a great state park--it ended up right next to a prison for sex ofenders. BUT IT WAS A GREAT PARK RIGHT ON EAGLE RIVER. GOT SOME MOOSE MEAT FROM VANCE.

DAY 20 Hit 4000 miles today. Going to Seward. Beautiful spot right at city park on Resurrection Bay. What a view. On the way a guy was netting Holligans (a fish like smelt) gave us a bag. Cleaned them, tried to eat them--too soft when fried. I think they should have been bait. Toured Seward..

Day 21 Went on a 8.5 hour cruise on a boat. It was suppose to be warm and sunny. It was the opposite. Cold and foggy. It turned out to be a great trip in the Kenai Fjords and glaciers. Had a great meal on Fox Island. When we were by the Aialik glacier the water was full of icebergs hitting the boat. It just appeared out of the fog when we got into the bay. A mile wide and 400 feet high. What a sight. It was rough waters and hard to hold on to the rails at time. I was sore and rather worn out when we got in. Yes, I took medicine.

Day 22 traveled to Homer. Stopped to see Exit Glacier in the Kenai park before we traveled south to Homer. Now here we will go out to catch Halibut. I think I'm going to be sick on this boat. They go out 20 miles in the ocean. No land to see--oh my!