GOING HOME

Before we start home I want to show you my big Silver Salmon.  They were really hard to catch.  I guess I'll show you one of Carl and Jiggs with their big salmons.

I can't believe our once in a lifetime trip is over and we are heading home.  What a great trip.   First night out we stopped at this campground that had a place for Carl and I to hike.  When we got to the top we took a pic of the campground.

The fall colors are outstanding and the wildlife was plentiful.  We are on our way to the TOP OF THE WORLD HIGHWAY. 

The top of the world highway has one town called Chicken,  it has a total of 8 people in the summer and 2 in the winter.   We pulled into Chicken and watched our front tire go flat.  The gas station attendant/fire chief/ambulance driver/sheriff had a plug we could use to get us back on the road. 

The road outside of Chicken was prettys bad with a million switch backs but the scenary was outstanding.

Along the road we encountered prospectors, hunting camps and many hunters on four wheelers as hunting season had just gotten underway.

We are now in the Yukon heading to Dawson city.

Looking down on the Yukon river and Dawson city.  It was really a cool view.

The only way to get to Dawson city is to put all the vehicles on this fairy and cross the Yukon River

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Dawson city is one of the old gold mining towns.  While there we went to a girly show and checked out all the old buildings in town.  It is pretty cool that they still have their wooden sidewalks.

A couple beautiful pics as we drove along the Yukon river heading for Watson Lake to check on our sign we posted on our way to Alaska.

After leaving Watson Lake and dropping down into British Columbia the wild life along the road was superb.  We saw bear again, sheep, Buffalo, Caribou laying and walking along the road.  I would get so excited I felt like a little kid.

We stopped at the Laird Hot Springs in BC and Carl and I went for a swim.  It was so nice and warm we could have stayed all day. 

We are now at the end of the road  with Cynthia And Jiggs in Dawson Creek, BC.  Tomorrow we will be heading for Winnipeg MB to see my brother and nephews.  Cynthia  and Jiggs will be heading to the lower 48 on their way home.

On our way to my brothers we found the greatest campsite, very secluded, not another camper around.  We cooked out and watched the sun set.

When we arrived at my brothers we had this gorgeous homemade apple pie waiting for us.  Carl could hardly wait to dive into it.   My brother is such a great cook.

The final pic - my brother and his gorgeous, sweet boys.

Our trip was magnificent, I wouldn't change a thing about it.   We are now home with months of work to do on our house and yard.  I guess it's true if you play you pay.  It was definitely worth it.  Thanks for coming along on our trip.

I do have one more picture for you.  Do you remember me talking about a buble gum wall in Seattle, WA  in the first post.  Well here it is.  I love this.  Most people thinik it's gross.

Denali Park

On our way to Denali Park we stopped off in Talkeetna, a unique Alaskan town with old time charm and history dating back to 1896.

Today is Denali Park and our 12 hours bus through the only road in the park.  We had a two hour lunch break - thank God.  We were told at the start of the bus trip we would have two options, dreary day see lots of wild life, sunny, clear day see Mt. McKinley.  It was a dreary day so we saw an abundance of wild life.

Following are some of the wildlife.

Lynx

                                                             FOX

                                   Many Grizzly Bears

                                                       

Caribou

Ptarmigan Alaska state bird

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The Wolves were the best.  There was one staking out his territory and the one retreating.

We also saw many moose and Dahl sheep along the way.

It was a great and memorable day. Before we could leave Denali Park we had to take a hike in this famous park.

 Now, onto the North Pole and Fairbanks.  At the North Pole we met Santa and a couple of his reindeer.

We are heading to Fairbanks to hopefully see Mt. McKinley from the amazing Alaskan museum.  The museum was wonderful but no luck in seeing the mountain.  Dinner time at the Alaskan Salmon Bake.  The food was a bit disappointing but we still had a good time

We are on our way back to our summer home in Soldotna.  As we are about to pass Denali park we realize it is a clear day and the sun is out.  Quick turn into the park to see if we can see the famous mountain.   As luck would have it we had success.  We are now among the 30 percent of 3 1/3 million people who have the pleasure of seeing this magnificent, majestic mountain, Mt. McKinley, each summer.

Carl and Jiggs have caught some silver salmon.  The fish are in not hurry to get here.

Carl and I had another amazing hike.  On the way up the mountain we encountered a couple of fresh piles that the bear had left behind.   When we arrived at the summit the view was out of this world.  On the way down a couple girls stopped us and asked us if we saw the bear and her cub off to the left.  I froze and then realized we were far enough down to be out of danger. 

Aren't you glad I shared the two pictures of what the bear deposited on the trail.

Pictures from another short hike.   I love hiking that brings me to a gorgeous view.  This is actually a ski trail.

 

Below is a picture of fireweed, it grows all over Alaska and is quite beautiful.  The weed blooms from the bottom up and it is said when the blooms reach the top Summer is over. Of course, Carl and I are still waiting for summer to arrive and it's already fall.

I haven't caught many silver salmon, but here is one them.  They just aren't showing up like the reds.

This last picture is my  two granddaughters.  Samantha is in the wedding dress with her sister Rachel.  I attended her wedding through skype from Alaska.