We are on top of the world!! Thursday evening we reached Dawson City, the center of the Yukon Gold Rush. We walked the town for about an hour that night (It stays light literally all night) and had some interesting experiences with other tourists and locals...no comment :)
We spent half of Friday seeing Dawson City's shops and museum, then we went to Bonanza Creek and panned for gold! Dad bought a panning pan in a shop and we found two shiny flecks that possibly could be gold. That was fun :) We also saw a gold panning demonstration at the museum and there were industrial mining operations along the road to Bonanza Creek.
We spent half of Friday seeing Dawson City's shops and museum, then we went to Bonanza Creek and panned for gold! Dad bought a panning pan in a shop and we found two shiny flecks that possibly could be gold. That was fun :) We also saw a gold panning demonstration at the museum and there were industrial mining operations along the road to Bonanza Creek.
When we left Dawson City Friday afternoon, we had to take a ferry across the Yukon River. That was pretty neat! After getting off the ferry, which was a short eight minute journey, we were on the Top of the World Highway. That was really neat! The views were spectacular and often we were driving on a ridge that just the width of the road with dropoffs on either side. The temperature fell steadily as we continued driving and there were big drifts of snow still lingering along the road. There was even some snow in the valleys, that tells you how high up we were. This is where our family picture was taken.
We stopped at the Five Fingers Rapids and hiked 2 kilometers round trip to a lookout deck above the rapids. First you had to go down 200 stairs, then hike a steep, narrow trail. It was quite the experience :)
As of yesterday evening, we are now in Alaska! Lydia was still a bit nervous about the policemen, but they were very nice and even though they were wearing guns(as she quickly pointed out!) I think it left her slightly less traumatized :)
Since we had those first few days with tons of wildlife sightings we really haven't seen that many animals. We were pretty high up in the mountians, so I'm hoping there will be more once we come down a bit. At one point, our elevation was 4200 feet above sea level. Our ears were popping!
I was happy to get a good shot of a cow moose. I also got a magpie, some weird water bird I don't know what it is and a beautiful yellow butterfly.
Since we had those first few days with tons of wildlife sightings we really haven't seen that many animals. We were pretty high up in the mountians, so I'm hoping there will be more once we come down a bit. At one point, our elevation was 4200 feet above sea level. Our ears were popping!
I was happy to get a good shot of a cow moose. I also got a magpie, some weird water bird I don't know what it is and a beautiful yellow butterfly.
We will probably reach Fairbanks this afternoon. Beyond that, I do not know the plan, but I can guarantee more pictures and stories in a few days :) I love reading all your comments, I'm glad I am able to share a bit of the fun things we are experiencing with you.
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