July 10, 2010

Jade City

We left about 7:30 and headed east for an hour.  Our last stretch on the Alaska Highway.  It has been fun and we would do it again.  I would recommend it to anybody.  It is very doable with a few simple precautions in places and definitely something that will be remembered.

 

We turned south on BC 37 (Cassiar ‘Highway’}

and immediately the road changed.  The Alaska Highway is a paved, wide, two lanes with wide, level, shoulders that has been engineered for gentle grade transitions.  The Cassiar is two lanes wide – just.  No shoulders and the edge of the road bed falls away abruptly on both sides.

Instead of asphalt pavement it is chip sealed which is actually a very nice surface.  Result is much like pavement as far as ride but is much easier to maintain.  The road bed is raised to avoid flooding but follows the topography.  Not much cut and fill.  The result is much like a kids roller coaster.  No sudden, hair raising drops but lots of ups and downs in a row.  The speed limit is 50 mph.  We averaged a little under 40 mph and were comfortable.  Slower road but very pretty.  The forest is closer to you and very green.  Starting to see trees we are more familiar with like Lodge pole Pines.  We saw a rabbit, a Black Bear,

and a young buck deer during the trip today.  Also a fox going across the road with dinner in its’ mouth.

We stopped in Jade City.  Something like 95% of the worlds jade is mined a few miles east of here. There Outside the store there are a number of saws and polishing stations where they cut the raw stones into slaps or blocks. 

The store sells finished jade of all types (jewelry, decorative pieces, etc.) but you can also buy raw slabs, slivers, chunks, whatever.  They will even cut and polish a piece to order.

Jade City also offers free overnight parking for RV’s.  So here we are.

We took a walk after settling in to see a beaver dam.

Sort of a Kodak spot.

Couple more.

Saw another fox along the way.

 

Wasn’t in a posing mood.

 

 

 

 

 

Fireweed, mid season.

July 9, 2010

Whitehorse to Rancheria

One last look at Eagle.

 

We started the day with a visit to Enviro Lube for an oil change.  Then to Wal-Mart to meet Mike and Gladys and head back down the Alaska Highway.  The road looked different.  Going the other way and having full sun can do that. 

  

Happy Anniversary to us.

 

 

 

 

 

Teslin Lake Bridge (in sun).  Longest bridge on Alaska Highway.

 

 

 

 

Typical Alaska Highway view.

 

 

 

 

We saw lots of RV’s headed toward Alaska.  Guess our exit timing is just about right.  Just in the last few days everything seems much more crowded.  Roads, POI’s, attractions, campgrounds.  Everything has definite feel of summertime tourism.  The road we will be on for the next few days is less popular and hopefully less used.

July 8, 2010

Day in Whitehorse

Layover day to do some shopping and sightseeing of things we missed when we were here several weeks ago.

There is a fish ladder in Whitehorse that allows salmon to get around a hydroelectric dam.  It is the longest wooden fish ladder in the world.  In May the ladder and visitor center were closed.  This time they were open but the salmon run will not start for several weeks.  Oh well.

 

Wal-Mart here allows RV parking over night.  It is dry camping with no utilities. We didn’t get a very good picture but this RV has its’ power cord plug laying in the seat of his ‘electric’ chair.

On one road entering Whitehorse, inside the city limits, there is a small roadside park overlooking the river.  In a small group of trees next to the park there is a telephone pole with a basic support frame on the top.  On that frame is an eagles nest.  Eagles mate for life and use the same nest year after year, adding to it every year.  This nest is only a few yards from a busy road with cars parking under it and people standing under it all day long.  The birds didn’t seem upset at all.  We saw one adult and two fledglings in/on the nest.

 

 

This is a first for us.  Sleeping tent platform on top with ladder.  Kitchen is in left compartment complete with stove, sink, and awning.  Solar power to charge batteries for lights/etc.

 

 

 

 

 

We have seen three of these this trip.  Saw one several years ago at Grand Canyon. The front half is a bus.  The back half is individual sleeping pods.  Has full camp kitchen with barbeque and sink.  Seems to be a German thing.

July 7, 2010

Leaving Alaska

Over a month ago we entered Alaska on a bright sunny day traveling a remote gravel road with beautiful vistas. 

 

Today we left Alaska (will enter again briefly in a week or so) on a not so remote, paved road that is heavily traveled by many tour busses of all sizes and RV’s and rental cars.  It also has beautiful vistas. 

At least the tour books say there are vistas.  We climbed up into a very thick cloud and were in it for twenty miles over the summit and across the border.  Visibility about fifteen feet. 

Oh well.  Pity the cruise ship tourists who paid for a land tour and only saw fog.  A few miles after the border the clouds lifted and we could see a pretty sub arctic type landscape.  Windy but pretty.

 

 

The worlds’ smallest desert is in Carcross, YT, Canada. 

 

 

 

 

About thirty miles from Whitehorse we saw something different.  Lots of blue sky.  And rising temperatures.  Whitehorse was shirtsleeve and hats weather. 

We spent a frustrating afternoon looking for sash cord to repair a blind and buying minimal food because of prices.  We will have to hang on ‘till Prince George for better chances of finding things.

July 6, 2010

Day Trip to Juneau

 

One final major city to see in Alaska and we can’t drive there.  The state capitol of Alaska is isolated from the rest of the state and the world except by air or water.  It also is far from being major population center.  Don’t ask why Juneau is the capital.  Even Alaskans have a hard time understanding why and explaining it.

We traveled with an outfit called Fjord Express.  They operate a fast, small/medium sized catamaran power boat ferry between Skagway and Juneau with one stop at Haines.  The day trip down and back includes two ‘meals’, bus transportation to downtown and then to Mendenhall Glacier, narrated sight seeing along the way, and lots of wildlife viewing.  Total trip is about twelve and a half hours.

We left at 8:00 in gray drizzle. 

The ride was quite comfortable.  A little bumpy because of the smallish boat size but very stable.  On our way in to Haines several days ago, we passed through a Bald Eagle sanctuary.  Didn’t see a thing.  Today fixed that misfortune.  For one stretch we saw at least one eagle every mile, often two or more and in one spot seven or eight at once. 

This is the RV park we stayed in in Haines several days ago from a different perspective.  :)

Cruise ship in Haines harbor.  Pretty much fills the harbor.

We spent some time observing an active  sea lion rookery

and saw several active humpback whales

and some seals.  

Our morning ‘meal’ was a blueberry muffin and juice.  Not much but enough.

The boat dropped us at a pier several miles north of town and a tour bus took us to downtown Juneau.  On our own we had lunch, walked the commercial downtown and walked to see the capitol and the governor's mansion as well as some historic churches.  After about three hours we met the bus for the drive to Mendenhall Glacier just a few miles from Juneau.  Seeing any glacier is spectacular and this was no exception. 

What was different was the number of people there.  This is one of the most accessible sights in Alaska.  A ride of about fifteen minutes on a wide, flat,  paved road.  Tour busses by the dozens bring people from the cruise ships all day long.  People everywhere, tripping over each other.  Clogged trails, full visitor center and a steady stream of busses loading or unloading.  Still, seeing the glacier and lake and learning a bit more at the visitor center was nice.  It would be nice to spend more time on a less crowded day to experience the glacier in some of the numerous ways available but at least we did see it.  Sue’s mother remembers walking on this glacier.  At that time it was just a few hundred yards from the present visitor center.  Today the foot of the glacier is over a mile away from that spot.

Back to the express ferry for the three hour return trip.  More nature watching, and watched gill net fishing up close (40-50 yards away). 

Wanna buy a light house?  This one’s for sale.

 

Our evening ‘meal’ was clam/crab chowder, a roll, and a cookie.  Not a lot but filling. 

Something we have not seen for some time.  The captain had to remind us what it was.  Sunshine.

 

 

The ship we saw in the morning in Haines just being pushed clear of the harbor by a tug boat.

 

 

 

We arrived in Skagway about 8:45 pm.  When we left, there were four cruise ships in port.  It was early so thing were not busy yet.  When we returned we passed two cruise ships leaving and the last one was just leaving when we pulled into the harbor.  Nine o’clock at night and the town was dead.  The streets were empty.  The town had been returned to the locals and they were all at home.  Talk about rolling up sidewalks.  At nine o’clock the next morning (Wednesday) there were already two ships in port and the town was busy again.