PLANNING PART 3 – Leaving Dawson for Skagway, AK and home

Lets go on an Adventure

ADVENTURE – An exciting, daring, bold, risky or very unusual experience or undertaking fraught with physical, financial or psychological risks.

Any ideas of what to visit in the areas I am traveling would be appreciated, not all sites are noted somewhere, secret spots abound. And if you share these secret spots with me to enjoy I will not post where they are but will relish in the beauty around me and be grateful you trust me with this shared this information.

 

Leaving Dawson I will ferry across the Yukon River, A major waterway in this area that is the 3rd longest river in the U.S. Heading west along Canadian Highway 9 to the border crossing into Alaska Crossing at a small border station I shall continue along Highway 5, The Taylor Highway, to pass Chicken, AK and finally end at the junction with Highway 2, The Alaskan Highway, to head southeast.

Dawson 2 Skagway 2017-11-17 at 1.52.06 PM

Crossing back into Canada I will continue then south along Canadian Highway 1 to visit Destruction Bay and Kluane National Park and Reserve.

kluane-PIC00016-edited

Kluane Lake from Google

Not much further I will turn at Haines Junction on Highway 3 toward the city of Haines, AK. I understand Haines Highway is a very scenic drive and is a perfect road to take on my way to the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry to Skagway, AK.

 

I have always enjoyed my time in Skagway with the cruises but have never stayed longer than 6-8 hours. I cannot wait to relax and explore the town after the cruise ships have departed. For 2 nights I will stay in this town to explore the many sites I have been rushed through or not been able to see.

Skagway-8

From this point of the adventure south I have not been lucky in finding many sites to visit. If anyone has driven these roads please let me know about interesting or scenic places along the route.

Skagway 2 Barkerville 2017-11-17 at 1.53.32 PM

After this short respite I will head north up the Klondike Highway back into Canada and again turn east around Carcroos onto Highway 8 to Highway 1 then south on Highway 97. Visiting Salmon Glacier – Granduc Mine then turning off onto Highway 26, I will visit the living history museum of Barkerville.

Barkerville

Barkerville from Google

“Today, the extraordinary town of Barkerville (named in Billy’s honour) still stands as testament to BC’s golden beginnings. With a unique streetscape of 125+ heritage buildings, authentic displays, satellite museums, restaurants, shops and accommodations there is still so much to explore. Declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1924 and a Provincial Heritage Property in 1958, Barkerville is now the largest living-history museum in western North America, where exciting seasonal events and fun-filled daily activities await.” from Barkerville Historic Town website.

Returning back to Highway 97 I will visit some of the Provincial Park’s scattered along this Highway and then turn toward Kamloops, British Columbia to explore Highway 5A, I hear it is one of the areas scenic motorcycle roads.

I will enter back into the United States at Abbotsford and head down Interstate 5 to Vancouver, WA for another stop to visit my son and family before heading back south to Southern California along the Washington, Oregon and California coast, Highway 101.

2 Home 2017-11-17 at 1.53.58 PM

There you have it a 45 day long adventure that I am looking forward to.

2017-10-31 OverallMap

Canada PLANNING PART 2 – Onward to Jasper and Dawson, Yukon, Canada

Lets go on an Adventure

ADVENTURE – An exciting, daring, bold, risky or very unusual experience or undertaking fraught with physical, financial or psychological risks.

Any ideas of what to visit in the areas I am traveling would be appreciated, not all sites are noted somewhere, secret spots abound. And if you share these secret spots with me to enjoy I will not post where they are but will relish in the beauty around me and be grateful you trust me with this shared this information.

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Chesters Fort and Hadrian’s Wall

Chesters Fort Rendering from the south

After the morning wandering and exploring Beamish we drove approximately 30 miles to visit Chesters Fort (LINK) a part of Hadrian’s Wall (LINK). Driving along beautiful countryside we had to have the car disinfected for Foot and Mouth. Arriving at the fort we visited the museum to learn the history of the wall and fort, then walked through disinfecting mats for our short walk to the fort.

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Welcome to Beamish – A Living Museum of Northeastern English Life

Back in 2001 it was decided to visit England, Scotland and Wales and to delve into the history, architecture and culture of the country.  What we discovered was an excellent way to do this, Living Outdoor Museums. This was the first Living Open-Air museum that I had ever visited and it started a search for additional ones during all future travels in the USA and Europe. Visiting one gives you the experience and a real sense of the past as you discover what life was like. Within the different buildings there usually are actors in period dress demonstrating the daily life of the time being depicted, while answering questions you might have and explaining what it was like living in those times.

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Pompeii – The death of a city

On a fateful August morning in 79 AD Pompeii (LINK), a Roman town-city near modern Naples, was totally destroyed and buried under a volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius (LINK) killing around 3,000 people as the rest of the population had already fled before the eruption. A flood of ash and protoplasmic heated air rained down on the town for approximately 6 hours completely burying the town and its inhabitants in up to twelve layers of ash and debris up to 82 feet (25 meters) deep.

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2016 a year in review.

Well 2016 I am not sorry to see you go, it has been a year of ups but with more downs for me. Looking forward to 2017 and what is ahead.The year started off as good as any of the last few years with travel plans and family visits and was looking to be a pretty good year shaping up.

Starting off, a wonderful trip to Walt Disney World for 9 full days with 8 split between the 4 parks and a rest day. It was wonderful but tiring for us. Jodi was a trooper as usual, she walked as much as possible for a couple of hours then she had to use the wheelchair for the rest of the day.

Back from the trip Jodi was tired but pushing along pretty well. A clinic visit went well in mid-March but then she had an incident and died on the 31st of March. This completely shattered me, she had a spark of life that I cold not explain. It just radiated from her.

Then I was able to get to 2 local events a Concourse Car Show and the Taste of Huntington Beach, both in HB Central Park, these two afternoons were just an amazing time out of the house.

Next up on the agenda was to get up north to see my grandson’s 1st birthday at the end of April. It was a wonderful time but sad for all of us adults at the same time.

Then a cruise to Alaska that was planned in 2015 with family and extended family in June. WIth 9 of us it was an exciting time and a very lovely trip.

Then in October it was another trip up north to visit my grandson with an overnight stop in the Redwoods for the night.

My daughter and the 2 grand kids moved back into the house the first  week of November to fill up the 4 bedroom house. Now it is a lively house again with non-stop activity.

Finally the holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas have been happy but hollow with something very important missing in our lives.

So looking forward to planning new adventures for 2017, enjoying travel again and seeing new places. My Bucket List is long and constantly growing so we will see if I can visit these places in the time left.

Planning and preparing for the 2018 Alaska adventure will take a lot of 2017 and really be exciting.

Possible Alaska Journey

I hope everyone has a wonderful 2017 and your adventures all come true.

May the calm be widespread, may the sea be as the smooth surface of the greenstone, and may the rays of sunshine forever dance along your path” Maori Prayer.

 

The Art Nouveau town of Alesund, Norway

 

View of Alesund from Fjellstua

Alesund from Fjellstua

This morning we dock in Alesund, Norway a municipality founded in 1838 consisting of a population of 45,033 surronded by fjords and the high peaks of the Sunnmor Alps. Alesund is the most important fishing harbor in Norway and was destroyed by fire in 1904, luckily only 1 person was killed but 10,000 were left homeless. The buildings of the town center were rebuilt in the Art Nouveau Style between 1904 and 1908. We plan to use the 10 stop Hop-on-Hop-Off bus that circles the town which gives us 24-hour transport with commentary.

418 steps that is a lot of steps

Alesund from Fjellstua

Upon reaching the mountain top stop at Fjellstua we get off the bus to view the town below us and appraise the menu of the restaurant that serves basic local dishes. Still full from breakfast we skip buying anything and just enjoy the view. It is decided we shall tackle the steep 418 steps back down to the town ending in Parken Kolturhus. Thank goodness we did not come up them, it is very steep and the steps are all at differing heights (from ankle to knee height).

Reaching sea level again we jump back on the Hop on Hop off bus at the Rica Parken Hotel and get off at the Art Nouveau City Center to walk around town enjoying the architecture and end at the Alesund Kirke (Church). The church was closed but it was a magnificent marble clad building, I can only imagine how nice it was inside.

 

The ship is leaving Alesund in the late afternoon so we will get a lot of scenic vistas as we wind our way through the numerous fjords on our way to tomorrows stop at the small town of Geiranger, Norway.

There is no Frigate Like a Book 2016-1-11

Bayeux

Bayeux

There is no frigate like a book                                                                                                                            To take us to lands far away,                                                                                                                             Nor any coursers like a page                                                                                                                              Of prancing poetry:                                                                                                                                             This traverse may the poorest take                                                                                                     Without oppress of toll;                                                                                                                                     How frugal is the chariot                                                                                                                                 That bears the human soul!                                                                                                                                                                                                  Emily Dickinson

Oh my how true this is, I am one who loves mathematics, history and reading; but I dislike grammar and spelling. I loved the literary classes which entailed reading and discussing books, poems and philosophies and have enjoyed reading since I was able to understand the written word.

Reading is a wonderful way to lose oneself in the story, be it comedy, science fiction, fiction, nonfiction, detective, mystery, romance, history…….. Instead of being force-fed others preconceived ideas of the scene as depicted in movies and television, books let you use your own imagination to visualize what I had read in the words of the author.

I have always used books to explore far away places, learn of other countries history, culture and to plan where to visit. I am still a “stick in the mud old timer” who would rather have a good printed book or map in my hand than a computer or phone screen in front of me. Give me the printed word, be it a map, book or magazine,  in my room in the evening, on a plane, in a train, wandering around town or country or just sitting enjoying the sunshine in the outdoors.

Mind you, I still use the computer to get updated information on places I am visiting, booking rooms, finding food establishments, seeing other travelers comments and recommendations and keeping up with family and friends, but the bookshelf of travel / history books and maps in my study has set the stage for all the adventure and exploration that has been taken by us.  I hope the printed word never dies as the batteries in my phone have so I may keep reading and enjoying the stories even in the middle of nowhere with out any power source.

It is so nice to unplug from the electronic leash that we all carry today.