It was an adventure that took us by charter bus to Vancouver, Northern Air to Whitehorse, by rail to Skagway, cruise ship to Vancouver and then by bus back home. That is nine days in a nutshell which I will crack open to reveal the highlights.
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| Beringia Interpretive Centre, Whitehorse. |
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| Takhini Hot springs. |
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| S S Klondike paddle wheeler |
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| An evening of turn of the century Vaudeville entertainment |
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An hour wait to eat at Klondike Barbecue Rib and Salmon was well worth it.
Reviewed on TV by John Catucci on "You Gotta Eat Here"
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| The Yukon River runs through Whitehorse |
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| From Whitehorse to Carcross by bus where we began our rail journey to Skagway Alaska |
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| The White Pass and Yukon route train arriving at Carcross |
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| Conductor David stops the train! |
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| All Aboard |
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| Lake Bennett |
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Bennett BC
30 000 stampeders spent the winter of 1898 - 1899 building makeshift rafts and boats to take them across Lake Bennett and down the Yukon River to the goldfields. |
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| St Andrew's Presbyterian church from 1899 stands as a symbol of Bennett's boom period |
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The 53 Km Chilcoot trail from Dyea, Alaska to Bennett BC
was a major route for hungry gold seekers. |
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| Bennett Lake |
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Replica boat used by those that successfully crossed the mountains on the Chilcoot Trail.
From here they were on their way to the Yukon river. |
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| Narrow Corridors |
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Steel bridge constructed in 1901 was the tallest cantilever bridge in the world.
Used until 1969 |
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| A peek down into Skagway from the summit, 2,865 feet |
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| Skagway Alaska |
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The gold rush cemetery.
The chained gold has it's own story |
In Skagway we boarded Holland Americas Volendam for a 4 day cruise to Vancouver,
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A day in Glacier Bay
A day to behold the wonders of nature in silence.
The ship turned off all music and occasionally a park ranger gave us some narration. |
Lamplugh Glacier
150 - 180 feet above sea level
John Hopkins Glacier
250 feet above water
200 feet below water
Due to all the ice floes which the seals use for birthing their pups
we could only enjoy this vista from a distance
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| Puffins |
Margerie Glacier
250 feet above waterline.
50 - 100 feet below water.
1 mile wide and 21 miles long.
There were cracks and pops in the air and then ...
a little splosh of water as a piece of ice broke away and slipped into the sea.
"The Master Builder chose for a tool, not the thunder and lightning to rend and split asunder, not the stormy torrent nor the eroding rain but the tender snowflake, noiselessly falling through unnumbered generations." John Muir
Ice Sculptures
Prisms of blue hide in nooks and crevices.
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| Goodbye waves as our ship silently slips away |
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| Grand Pacific Glacier |
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| The inside passage faded quickly into clouds the darkness of night. |
Holland America held a 5 km walk around the promenade to raise money for breast cancer research. We walked for our niece Ellie who is in the middle of chemo treatments.
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| Lions Gate Bridge |
3 comments:
Great way to take in the scenery. The ship with no sound floating by the glaciers must of been magical.
You've captured some magnificent photos of nature's beauty and majesty.
Catherine
Beautiful pictures. Would love to do that route someday. Thanks for walking for the cure. Ellie
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