Back to Alaska

Posted on September 6, 2015 by islandgirlwalkabout

Five Finger Rapids on the Yukon River

We left the Dempster and headed back to Alaska. Our next to last stop in Alaska was going to be Haines, a town we first visited on our last trip there. On that trip, our cruise stopped in Skagway, but we had our hearts set on seeing eagles, so we took a ferry to Haines, where we rafted on the Chilkat River and saw about 30 eagles. It was quite a memorable experience.

We split the drive to Haines into two days, first traveling on the Klondike Highway to Whitehorse, our third stop there.

On the way, we crossed the mighty Yukon River that was once the travelled by sternwheelers transporting miners and their supplies.

We stopped at the Montague Roadhouse Historic Site. A log cabin ruin that used to be a hotel, bar and restaurant, whose walls are still fairly intact. As I stood inside the structure, I could feel the energy of the stories that have been a part of this place.

And in honor of the old roadhouses, we stopped at a present-day roadhouse, the Moose Creek Roadhouse. It has a gift shop, and a restaurant, and lots of folksy art about the place. Continue reading →

On to Denali

Posted on August 2, 2015 by islandgirlwalkabout

Our excitement was building as we headed on to Denali. On our drive here we drove through some funky places – classic Alaska. One was an old hotel that was built in the shape of an Igloo, Igloo City, that has now been abandoned. Its parking lot seems to have been taking over by RVers.

Alaska Day driving day 8 recap:

Road Name: Denali Highway

Road Type: 2-lane

Road Conditions: Generally excellent but with some construction just south of the national park, we lucked out as we did not have to wait long for the pilot cars, but there can be some longer delays

Miles Today: 144

Driving Time: 3:00

Total Miles in Alaska: 1727

Total Miles since entering Canada: 3721

A little hitchhiker also tried to come on board.

Our initial stay in Denali National Park & Preserve was at the campground nearest the entrance – Riley Campground.

It has been pretty rainy these first few days which we are hoping means that the weather will clear and we will have some sunny days as we enter deeper into the park. We have not yet seen the mountain.

But we have had some great omens: we saw our first caribou since we entered Alaska, and also saw our first bull moose.

And the rain also gave us a gift: a bright, beautiful double rainbow. We stood in awe in the middle of the road for a long time staring at (and photographing) the rainbows, which seemed to last an eternity. Breathtaking.

There is more to come, but we are headed to a campground 29 miles inside the park where there is no cell signal whatsoever. We will be there for seven days and are super excited!

Stay tuned for more!

~ Brenda

The Liard Hot Springs

Posted on June 7, 2015 by islandgirlwalkabout

This was a very short driving day because we planned to stop at Liard River to visit the hot springs. The Liard River Hot Springs are apparently a must stop on the Alaska Highway. And, of course, it was still my birthday week.