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After a restful night in the Historic Skagway Inn, a former brothel, we got an early start to board the car ferry to sail from Skagway to Haines, Alaska:
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...DSC_0037-1.jpg http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0041.jpg http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...DSC_0080-1.jpg Haines is a very small town, a little south of Skagway. We stopped for a fill up, since the next service was 180 miles away. The good news was that I was able to fill up with Premium for the first time in several days. The bad news was the price: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0113.jpg From Haines, we drove north up the Haines Highway to get back to the Alaska Highway. I am running out of ways to describe how beautiful the scenery is in Western British Columbia, Yukon, and Alaska. The day started of cloudy but we got some sun as we got farther north. http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_1167.jpg http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_1353.jpg Jim |
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AWESOME!! Just AWESOME
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Jim and Lyndi,
What a ride! I am totally in awe of your adventure. :worship: Please keep the adrenalin rush going. :fahne: Be safe, Paul |
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Snow!? Snow? It's August!? That stuff is left over from the winter, right? Oh, am I seeing things or do people look like they're wearing ski jackets?
I wouldn't know what to do if I wasn't cheek by jowl with other cars! :dontknow: I'd have to tune in the traffic report and see what was wrong! :sign10: I'll say this, the scenery is way over the top. Absolutely magnificent! :cheers: Tom |
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Yes, the snow is left over from last winter. We are up pretty high in some parts of our trip. Also, the sun never gets very high in the sky at these latitudes, so there are many places that are always in the shade.
The weather has been nice for traveling, but it does get cool when there is cloud cover. Here is a bonus pic of a water fall we hiked out to: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_1241.jpg Jim |
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since you are posting as you go, how are you doing it? using a celullar wifi card?
just curious how cell service is ( or isn't) |
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Jim:
I can't say nothing more than THANK YOU! Safe travels to your destination, and return trip home. =D> |
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We are using Lyndi's Nikon D5100 SLR camera with the new Nikon 18-300 telephoto lens.
Each evening I transfer the photos from the SD card to a notebook computer. Then when I have WIFI at a motel, I select the post-worthy pics and upload them to Photobucket. Then I make my posts and link to the pics. It is a little cumbersome, but it has been working. Our cell phones are Verizon, and my research showed very little coverage in western Canada and Alaska. In Alaska, I might get coverage in Fairbanks and Anchorage, but we are enjoying being off the grid. I haven't even checked for coverage at all. There have been a couple of times that it would be nice to get data coverage for my tablet, but we did it the primitive way, we stopped and asked for directions. In most of the areas we have been driving there is no cell coverage of any kind. It is a long way between pockets of civilization. Before we left, I considered renting a satellite phone to carry in case of emergency on the road. But the most reasonable advice I got from seasoned travelers was that in these areas, other drivers would offer aid to a motorist in distress. We already have helped a family whose car was over heating and needed water. Jim |
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On Friday, the 11th day of our trip, we left Haines Junction, Yukon and headed northwest on the Alaska Highway toward Alaska. The first part of today's route runs along Kluane National Park. The park is dominated by the St Elias Mountains:
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0066.jpg As we moved further north, we traveled on the high Yukon tundra. The tundra is a wet swampy area that in the winter is frozen deep under ground. In the summer months, the surface melts and there are large areas of standing water that cannot drain into the soil. The plants that thrive in the tundra include the Black Spruce, the tall, skinny, scruffy-looking evergreens that dominate the forests. The Black Spruce trees may be hundreds of years old. They grow slowly and it may take 100 years to reach a two-inch diameter trunk: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0094.jpg There is a little more traffic today but there was still a lot of open road: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0095.jpg The largest body of water in the Yukon is Lake Kluane: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0100.jpg Here we are crossing the south end of Lake Kluane, approaching a weathered mountain: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0131.jpg This area suffered a large forest fire a few years ago. One of the first plants that regrows after a forest fire is Fire Weed: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0115.jpg Jim |
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Here we are in Burwash Landing, Yukon, parked in front of the World's largest Gold Pan (we had to stop for that):
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0175.jpg The road conditions today are the most challenging thus far. There are many areas of the road that have been damaged by frost heaves and pot holes. The Canadian maintanence crews do a good job of repairing the road, but the repair leaves large areas that are made of packed crushed rock. They can carry the traffic, but the speed is reduced and there is a lot of dust and opportunities for rock damage: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_1453.jpg We stopped for lunch at Buckshot Betty's. The Alaska Highway is home to a lot of characters and people who enjoy the "last fronteer" status of north west Canada and Alaska: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_1473.jpg Ahead in this photo you can see some bicyclists riding to Haines Junction. This group was apparently a family. They were carrying packs and the third cycle was a tamdem bike with a young girl on the back seat: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_1479.jpg WELCOME TO ALASKA!!! http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_1482.jpg After crossing the USA-Canada border, the road is instantly transformed to the nicest road you ever drove on. But after a few miles, the road condition matched that in Canada with many repaired areas: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_1487.jpg We arrived in Tok, Alaska, another small town that provides service to drivers on the Alaska Highway. Jim |
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The pictures are outstanding and to experience an adventure like the one you and Lyndi are on is beyond words. Thanks for taking the time to share your pictures. Alaska is on our bucket list but we'll probably see it from the deck of a ship. I've seen less of the USA and more of several other countries than I ever cared to. I hope to change that. Being able to see North America the way you and Lyndi are is a blessing. Doing it in a ZR-1 is icing on the cake. Drive safe, enjoy, and God speed. |
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On Saturday, we left Tok, Alaska for the last day on the Alaska Highway. One of the things that many people told me when I said I was going to drive a ZR-1 to Alaska was that my windshield would get broken. I think that the posibillity is low, I did note that in Tok there is a Gift Shop that advertises Windshield Repair:
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_1605.jpg Heading up the Highway towards Fairbanks, the road was in execellent condition and the traffic was light: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_1659.jpg We reached Delta Junction, Alaska which is the official end of the Alaska Highway. The Highway which was finished in November 1942 as essentially a single lane dirt road through the most challenging terrain ever attempted cost $115,000,000. During every day of our trip, I marvelled at the dedication and accomplishment of the American military and contractor team that toiled through cold and miserable conditions to build the road: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_1714.jpg We stopped for a photo under the Alaskan Oil Pipeline where it crosses the Tanana River: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_1743.jpg A lot of todays travel was on a wide alluvial plain. The high mountains to the south made a breautiful scene: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_1765.jpg West of Fairbanks, we passed Eielson Air Force Base, home of the Alaska Air National Guard fighters: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_1798.jpg After a brief stop in North Pole, Alaska, we arrived in Fairbanks. Jim |
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I still can't quite wrap my mind around the vastness of that part of the world! It just defies description!
Thank you Lindi and Jim for sharing the picts on the outbound leg! :thumbsup: Be safe and have a ton of fun!:thumbsup: :cheers: Tom |
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What a fantastic pictorial exhibit this is.
It's like we're traveling with you. :flag: |
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I'd like to take a sec to thank Lindi for putting up with Jim while he keeps all his car buddies up on the trip.
Thanks Jim and Lindi, this is amazing. Steve |
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Driving throughout Alaska. Check
Driving a ZR-1 10,000 miles *(in less than 30 days) Check Bucket list item. Check *. With a permagrin. Priceless!!!!! Thanks for posting for all to see!!!! David |
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On Sunday, we drove from Fairbanks to the Denali area, the home of Denali National Park, which is known as "the jewel of the National Park System."
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0477.jpg The landscape south of Fairbanks starts out relatively flat and gets more mountainous as we approached Denali: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0388.jpg After crossing the Tanana River, we stopped in the little town of Tenana. They have an interesting event every year (since 1917) to celebrate the melting of the ice on the Tanana River, which signals spring and the reopening on commerence on the river. In March a large tripod is erected on the ice in the middle of the river. A cable is connected from the tripod to a clock tower on the shore in downtown Tenana. http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0436.jpg Thousands of people pay $2.50 for a guess at the day, hour and minute that the ice will break up When the ice breaks up, the tripod pulls on the cable and stops the "official" clock. The person with the winning ticket splits the pot with the city. In 2012, the the winners split $250,000!!! I put my money on April 30, at 11:30 AM. http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0437.jpg The route from Fairbanks to Anchorage parallels the tracks of the Alaska Railroad and there are some very picturesque bridges along the route: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0490.jpg Unfortunately, we didn't get to see a train go by: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0522.jpg Jim |
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As we continued our journey south to Denali, we encountered some rain. We were worried that the weather would spoil all of the plans we had for activities in Denali, but we lucked out and had excellent weather when we needed it.
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0483.jpg We arrived in Denali before noon and headed up the hill to our Lodge: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0541.jpg http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0567.jpg Here is a view from the our hotel, looking out at the river and Denali Park: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0569.jpg With a great feeling of succes, we hoisted a few beers and celebrated 4,200 miles of flawless performance by the Yellow ZR-1. Jim |
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Hoping that the rain would hold off, we went for a trail ride on some ATV's. Not as powerful as a ZR-1, but much more nimble:
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0007.jpg The trails that we rode on are not actually in Denali park, but on old coal mining land that is surrounded by the Park: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0010.jpg The views were fantastic: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0020.jpg We rode up the rock field left by a retreating glacier: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0032.jpg The "cliff" we climbed is the lateral moraine deposits: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0045.jpg http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0055.jpg Jim |
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On Sunday evening, went by helicopter up into the Alaska Range Mountains to visit a glacier.
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0076.jpg http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0087.jpg This trip was without a doubt, one of the most impressive things that I have ever done. It is very hard to explain the sheer mass of these mountains, they go on for hundreds of miles. We left the Denali area and headed east: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...DSC_0094-1.jpg http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...DSC_0210-1.jpg When we got up into the higher mountains we started to see a lot of glaciers: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0308.jpg http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0447.jpg to be continued... |
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There were two helicopters in our group. The pilot selected a galacier that had some interesting features and we landed on the ice:
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0046.jpg The surface of a glacier is amazing. We were standing on ice hundreds of feet thick. This particular glacier's movement is measured in feet per day. The surface of the ice was marked with black spots that looked like grains of sand but were really rock dust ground to a ultra-fine powder. There was a lake of melt water that sparkled from the effervesence of trapped gasses released from the melting, ancient ice. http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0084.jpg The other helo landed across the water from us: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...DSC_0076-1.jpg After we were airborn again, we saw more glaciers: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0240.jpg On the way back, we flew through a cloud and made a rainbow: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0346.jpg Jim |
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Stunning, breath taking, fantastic, surreal and outstanding.
What else can I say? Oh, what was the temperature outside when standing on the glacier? Like mid 40s or so? |
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You guys are having way too much fun! :mrgreen::thumbsup: Way to be Jim and Lindi!:fahne:
Thanks for sharing! |
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:saluting: David |
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When I look at pictures like these I'm always struck at how puny and insignificant man is compared to the forces of nature.
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Karen & I visited Alaska a couple of years ago and really enjoy seeing your trip to some of the same places we were. Denali is an incredible place. I hope the weather is in your favor to see Mt McKinley. Your experiences make me want to go back.
Thanks for sharing with us! |
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Jim |
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Great pics and write up!
Thanks for sharing! |
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On Monday we stayed in the Denali area for a second day. We took an all-day guided bus tour of the only road in Denali National Park. It was a fantastic day. The Park is an amazing place. Because the National Park Service has designed the park with only one road and that road is only accessible to guided bus tours and very limited use by hikers and campers, the wildlife and scenery in the Park is unsurpassed in the park system.
The buses are not very fancy which adds to the adventure: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0288.jpg Here is a picture of what is called a braided river. The wide alluvial plain of glacier run off becomes the course of a meandering river when the volume of melt water deminishes. As silt is deposited, the stream changes course many times making the pattern: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0233.jpg Wildlife in Denali is visible to someone with sharp eyes. The bus driver/guide would stopped when anyone spotted something. Here are three Dall Sheep that are grazing high up the slope to try to avoid the wolves: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0255.jpg We spotted this golden grizzley bear with one of her two cubs: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0144.jpg This antelope was grazing near where we saw the bear: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0174.jpg The main attraction of Denali National Park is Mt McKinley. At over 20,000 feet, it is the highest mountain in North America. Most visitors to the Park never see Mt McKinley because of the clouds. We were very lucky to get an unobstructed view of the mountain from the park road: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...DSC_0308-1.jpg Just a few minutes later the peak was obscured and by the time we got to the Visitors Center, the mountain was hidden. Jim |
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The end point of the Denali National Park tour is the Kantishna Roadhouse, where we had lunch. We decided that instead of riding the bus for five hours back to the Park entrance, we would fly back and do some sightseeing on the way:
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0738.jpg We took off from Kantishna and flew across the relatively flat central area of Denali towards Mt McKinley: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...DSC_0765-1.jpg As we approached Mt McKinley, the pilot took us above the clouds at about 10,000 feet and we saw McKinley again This is the north face of the mountain, called Wickersham's Wall, named for the first man to try in 1903 to climb McKinley. This view is only the top third of the mountain above the clouds: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...DSC_0823-1.jpg We got very close to the peak: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0121.jpg And then we circled around to the east side where the main glaciers are that were the route for the first successful effort to climb: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...DSC_0892-1.jpg After we explored McKinley, we returned to the park entrance. Along the way we witnessed the splendor of more mountains: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0195.jpg Jim |
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And then you got to see it from the plane too.:dancing |
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Jim -
These posts are absolutely awesome. Please keep them coming all the way back home! Very much appreciate them. You are the best! Scott |
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On Tuesday, we left Delani and headed south to Anchorage. The day started out cloudy with a little rain. The route runs on the west side of Denali National Park and the scenery is wonderful:
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0092.jpg We stopped in the town of Talkeetna, which is the base for a lot of tour companies that operate in the Park. The Mayor of Talkeetna is a cat (by a write-in vote). We tried to find the Mayor, but it was rumoured that he was asleep under the General Store: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0273.jpg We did find an Alaska Railroad Locomotive on display: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0347.jpg In Trapper Creek, AK, we stopped at Wal-Mikes, a icon in southern Alaska: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...DSC_0175-1.jpg When we arrived in Anchorage, Lyndi visited with a long-time friend while I took care of some logistics. I changed the oil, washed the Z, and did some shopping. http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC04760.jpg In Anchorage, our accomodations were on Elmendorf Air Force Base. Being retired US Navy has its benefits: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0015.jpg Jim |
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On Wednesday, we stayed in Anchorage and took a train from Anchorage to Whittier and then boarded an excursion boat for a tour of the glaciers on Prince William Sound.
The Alaska Railroad is a state-owned company that provides passenger and freight service from Anchorage to Fairbanks, Whittier and Seward. We found the passenger trains to be very comfortable and well run: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...DSC_0008-1.jpg. The route from Anchorge to Whittier runs east along Turnagain Arm and through two tunnels at Portage. Along the route, we passed a marshy area where all of the trees were dead. During the severe earthquake of 1964, the ground southeast of Anchorage dropped eight feet. After the ground shift, the salt water of Turnagain Arm infiltrated the ground water and killed the trees: We did spot an American Bald Eagle sitting in one of the trees: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0179.jpg Across one of the tidal ponds we had great views of the Chugach Mountains: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0220.jpg Here is Lyndi on board the excursion boat. In the background three glaciers are visible: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0954.jpg Here are some more of the glaciers we saw: http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...DSC_0640-1.jpg http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/DSC_0699.jpg |
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