So I says to the waitress "what do you recommend for a nightcap after a great meal?" She says, "how about a Balvenie on the rocks with a splash of water?" I think I'm in love! Actually, it's probably euphoria after an amazing three days of driving through some of the most amazing scenery. To all my friends in the NWT, you must drive the Alaska Highway to Whitehorse, up to Dawson and then over the Top of the World Highway down to Haines, Alaska. To all my friends everywhere else in Canada . . . same advice.
We added up the days for the first time tonight and could not believe we've only been gone for 12 days! Seriously, it seems like months. I'm writing this from the bar of an old officers mess in Seward Base in Haines Alaska overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The Inside Passage exactly. Haines is incredibly beautiful. Surrounded by snow capped mountains that truly put the Rockies to shame, it has the largest population of American Bald Eagles in the world. Tomorrow morning we will drive ten minutes to see Alaskan Brown Bears (grizzlies) fishing for salmon in the Chilkoot River. We just finished an amazing meal of fresh halibut ... an Alaskan classic. The people here are so friendly and we are looking forward to spending our first night outside of Canada since we left.
When I last checked in from Dawson City YT, we had not decided on our route to our ferry port in Alaska. In the end we decided to take the Top of the World Highway to "Chicken" Alaska. The "Top of the World Highway" is unique in that it follows the mountain ridges as opposed to the valleys. The views are really amazing and at times we were staring straight down 500 foot cliffs into the most amazing river valleys.
Chicken Alaska is an authentic old Alaskan plasser gold mining town. Legend has it that they named it Chicken because they didn't know how to spell Ptarmigan, which are plentiful. In any event, we stopped for a fun picnic there and soaked up the American frontier vibe. Soon enough we were back in Yukon where we pitched our tent in one of the awesome Territorial campgrounds ($12 a night with free fire wood!). Just as we were getting ready to hit the fart sack two elderly folks walked into our campsite. "How y'all doing tonaight?" they asked in an obvious Texas drawl. "Y'all like cherry cobbler? We noticed y'all have two daughters and we're partial to daughters. We cooked up some cherry cobbler over the fire in the dutch oven and thought y'all might like some." These were REAL cowboys and girls from Ranger Texas. Mira had gone over earlier to borrow an axe (we forgot ours and have been offering her $5 every time she can borrow one for us at a new campground) and they stopped by for a chat. The girls were tickled pink to hear a real Texas cowboy talk about his cows and horses and they could barely escape with a flurry of ongoing questions. What lovely people.
Last night we pulled in to Kluane National Park and simply could not get over the beauty of the surroundings. Most of the pictures are on Deb's new camera which we haven't yet figured how to upload. Needless to say, I don't now how any camera could capture the beauty. This morning we got up early and embarked on one of the Park's "difficult" climbs - a 4-6 hour return trip up to the King's Throne - the base of a huge land slide on a mountain overlooking a pristine lake. We would never have attempted this had not Steve and Michele paved the way for us with their kids. It was a steep, scrubby climb but the view from the top was amazing. The kids never complained a word on the way up but we all agreed that the climb down was WAY harder. We were all proud and happy to be back on Terra Firma. Many of the young climbers were a bit deflated to see a 7 and 9 year old descending the mountain with smiles as they were on there way up.
The only thing I can say of the drive from Kluane to Haines is that it was even more breathtaking than anything we'd seen thus far. Mountain streams pouring out of massive glaciers lead to soaring peaks nosediving into the ocean. What a thrill to smell salt water as we approached Haines. The kids were sick of driving so we pulled into the first place we came across - an old Victorian officers residence in decommissioned Fort Seward. The room has an old creaky floor with a big claw foot bath tub overlooking the sea. Rather than head "downtown" we ate at the splendid dining room that specialized in fresh seafood. Deb, Shannon and I had the sublime fresh halibut but Mira could not be talked out of the most expensive thing on the menu-a 12 oz ribeye. Maybe one of the best meals ever topped off with great homemade deserts including a fresh basil creme brule . . . good heavens!
Anyway, tomorrow we end the northern part of our trip and hop on the Alaska State Ferry for a four night steam to Seattle. They let you set your tent up on the helicopter deck at the back of the ship so you can fall asleep and fall asleep to the wake of the ship slipping away. Can't wait but am a little bit sad to say goodbye to northern North America. I'm sure we will see amazing sites on the remainder of our trip, bit I fail to see how any could surpass the beauty of what we have seen in Yukon and Alaska thus far. I hope I'm wrong about that, but will be smugly satisfied if I'm not.
I promised at the beginning of this blog to be honest about life on the road with two kids. Honestly, there are ups and downs, but we are really having a blast. The kids hate driving, Mira mostly. She is starting to experience some of the pre teen angst that we knew was coming, but it really hasn't been that bad. As we drive through towns advertising there "going back to school" specials we are both nervous and excited by the fact that we have another 11 months on the road with no hard commitments. Shannon and I did our first french reading last night since we left and it hit home to me how quickly they forget and hope diligent we need to be on that part.
Other than that folks, we are having tons of fun. When we are sick of driving we stop for a few nights. When the weather is crap, we cruise on. We are sleeping and eating well when we are tenting and have even managed to get out jogging several times in the campgrounds.
So far so good! Not sure if we will have wifi on the Alaska Ferry so we will likely check in again from Seattle. Would love to hear from everyone so feel free to leave a message on the blog.
On schedule and under budget,
Tim