Blogs from Alaska, United States, North America - page 204

Saturday August 23 - Sunday August 24 After one night in Tok we depart at 6 am for a long day of travel to Dawson. Our route is the scenic Taylor Highway with a stop at Chicken for coffee and fresh baked treats. That afternoon at the American Summit we enjoyed a boxed lunch and then continued to Eagle, Alaska's first city now a village of about two hundred. At four we boarded the Yukon Queen ll for a narrated 102-mile cruise up the Yukon River (highway of the North) to Dawson City, Yukon Territory. Dinner is served onboard as we cruised past traditional native settlements and abandoned gold rush towns. ... read more

LEAVING SAN MIGUEL This is not our normal travelblog but more of a newsletter to let family and friends know what's happening in our life. So if you are looking for travel tips you won't find much of that in this blog. We spent April doing some construction/renovation on our rental house; building up a wall, plastering and painting. We improved the look of the front and gave the roof a more “finished” look. We are so thankful for our friends Trish and Bliss. They build houses (very nice ones) and lent us their crew, expertise and advice, making everything much easier for us. But as usual when doing renovation problems surfaced. The first headache was getting the work permit from the city. Since our house is historic (over 200 years old) and in the ... read more

After Seth and I were done with SAGA...the real fun began! We started with a 20 mile back country trip through Denali....... read more

Thursday August 21 - Saturday August 23 - 08 During the day at Denali the clouds had gathered and as the train pulled away from the station it started to rain but a few miles down the track the sun was out all the way to Fairbanks. Friday morning we went on our own to the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. The museum is world class with various exhibits of the First Nation People, the gold rush era, native animals and modern art. That afternoon our tour included a cruise aboard the sternwheeler Discovery Experience on the historic Chena and Tanana Rivers. Along the way we stopped at Trail Breaker Kennels, the home of the late Susan Butcher, the first female winner of the Ididarod. We then proceeded to the Chena ... read more

Tuesday August 19 - Thursday August 21 After a short ride to the Railroad Depot we boarded the luxurious McKinley Explorer for the 8-hour trip to Denali. The weather Gods are with us! The sun is warm and with only a few clouds we have fantastic views of Mt. McKinley starting from 200 miles away as we take in the spectacular scenery along the rails. A plane flight later in the day brings Sylvan to within a half mile of the majestic peak. The next day we were up at five am to meet the bus that took us on the 8-hour round trip bus tour through Denali Park. There is only one road and travel is limited to 30 buses a day operated by the National Park Service. You can hike and backpack almost anywhere ... read more