From Skagway to Juneau

Yesterday we made the journey from Skagway to Juneau.  We had arrived in Skagway the previous night and had spent some time looking around town, but we still had several areas we wanted to explore.  So after sleeping in for the first time in a week, we were off on some adventures.

Skagway has an interesting Gold Rush history and I decided to learn more by visiting some of the National Park sites there. 

There is also a historic Gold Rush cemetery with graves dating back to the late 1800's to early 1900's.

I wanted to make sure that we explored some areas of nature as well, so we took a hike out to Yukatania Point.  

In order to get there and back to town, we had to cross a foot bridge.  Peaches wasn't sure about that! She's not much of  a fan of most bridges, so it was a slow and steady crossing.

We also visited Reid Falls.  They were gorgeous!  After that, Imke was ready to head back to the Jeep for a break.  It was a busy morning!

Soon we had to check in for our ferry ride to Juneau.  I grabbed a quick bite to eat and then we headed to the ferry terminal.

Upon check-in I learned that our ferry was running late.  Due to the delay, we had a little more time to do another quick walk around town before lining up to load onto the ferry.  

Then it was time for the girls to settle in and get comfy in the Jeep while we lined up to load onto the ferry.

It was a cold and windy 7 hour ride to Juneau, but it was beautiful.  And we finally arrived at our destination!

When we finally arrived in Juneau, we helped our new Dutch friends, Bea and Franz, get to their hotel in downtown Juneau, 9 miles away from the ferry dock.  We then headed to our AirBnB where Nicol was sound asleep, waiting for us to arrive. By the time we were settled in, it was after midnight, so we were off to bed to rest up for more adventures on our first full day in Juneau.

More exciting adventures to share tomorrow as I tell you all about our first day in Juneau.  It was spectacular and I can't wait to tell you about it...but I'm exhausted and off to sleep!  Good night from  Juneau. 

Hello, Alaska. It's nice to finally meet you!

We woke up this morning with our eyes set on getting back to the U.S.A.  It was a beautiful sunny morning and the girls were rested up and ready for our day on the road.  But before leaving Watson Lake, we needed to get out for a walk around town and we made another stop at the Sign Post Forest.

After our first trip there, I determined that we needed to add something of ours...to leave our mark.  The history behind it, the fact that it is a major attraction along the Alaska Highway, and seeing all of the other items that others had left behind- I just had to leave something.  I had seen so many odd items, I was sure we could figure out something.

From sandals to tires, motorcycle helmets to dustpans,  we had seen an eclectic mix of items, so I knew we had to have something that we could contribute.  And then it came to me.  I had the perfect item-my ISR car magnet.  It was small and we had to put it low to the ground, but we had contributed.  Peaches was proud to show it off for me.

And then we were back on the road again to see what we would see.

The Yukon did not disappoint.  There were marshy wetlands and beautiful wildflowers.

And then we reached the mountains again.  There is something special about driving toward those snowy mountain tops. They are so beautiful looming in the distance.

The girls were ready to get out for a stop and were in no mood for me to take their picture...but I made them do it anyway.

After our short stop at the rest area, we headed on our way and I was pleasantly surprised by the Rancheria Falls park.  Of course we couldn't resist a little hike through a boreal forest to some waterfalls.

Once again there were promises of wildlife and I was really hoping to see a caribou, but we had no luck today.

But the beautiful views along our way helped to make up for the lack of wildlife.  We made a brief stop at the Nisutlin River Delta.

Soon after, we reached Jake's Corner, where our journey on the Alaska Highway ended as we headed off on YK8 through Tagish toward the Klondike Highway.

After a short drive on YK8, we reached Carcross and the Klondike Highway, just about an hour away from Alaska. 

And then, it happened.  We arrived!  We did it, we made to Alaska.  I turned to Imke and patted her on the head and we shared a moment...celebrating our accomplishment.  We excitedly jumped out of the Jeep to touch Alaskan soil and to get our picture.  It was freezing and windy and no one really wanted to pay attention to me, but we were there and that's all that really matters.

We are in Skagway for the night and took a nice walk around town. After our walk, I grabbed dinner at the taco truck about two blocks down the road from our room and carefully carried them back on a plate while the girls were paying very close attention since I had food(they were amazing halibut tacos, by the way).  We settled in for the night and they have been sound asleep ever since and I've just been enjoying the down time.

Tomorrow we have most of the day to explore Skagway and then we catch our ferry to Juneau in the afternoon.  It is a long ferry ride and we get into Juneau late so I may not be able to post tomorrow night, but I promise to share more on our day in Skagway and our amazing journey to Juneau when we're settled in for our stay there.

Peaches is having the time of her life because there are birds everywhere and she loves birds.  People are giving the girls lots of love and attention and they are all enjoying it.  Plus there are so many new smells.  It's a GSPs dream!  I can't wait to continue our journey and to get to Juneau and to be joined by a very special person...my daughter, Nicol, who is flying in to join us tomorrow.  It's going to be a great week here in Alaska!

Our travels on the Alaska Highway continue

We left Fort Nelson this morning ready to continue our Alaska Highway adventure.  I had no idea what to expect.  When we left this morning we had seen a a total of 4 deer-one in each Province we had traveled through- one rabbit, and one ground hog-looking critter.  I had expected to see more.  I had heard tales of bear and moose and caribou, and yet, I had seen none of these critters.  But today that changed.  We have now seen 16 buffalo, 4 black bear, and three mountain goats(or maybe they're sheep of some sort).

We have seen snowy mountain peaks in the distance and beautiful rolling hills and mountains covered with pine trees.

Stone Mountain

And we've seen rivers and lakes with the most beautiful blue and crystal clear water.

Tetsa River

Summit Lake

Maddie was so happy that we found a spot at Muncho Lake where we could actually get down to the water.  Of course we had to stop and all of the girls got in for a cool off and a good drink.  And then they posed nicely for a picture.

Muncho Lake

While we were stopped we met this friendly fisherman.  What a view for fishing!

Fisherman at Muncho Lake

 And after miles of beauty, we reached the Yukon Territory.  When we stopped, we met a group of friends traveling by motorcycle heading to Alaska.  They made friends with Peaches of course, everyone is her friend! And once they left, we got our picture at the border.

We even left a little proof that we were there...look above the N in Iron.

It wasn't long before we were in Watson Lake, our destination for the night.  We arrived with lots of time to check things out, grab dinner, and relax for the night.   Of course we had to check out the big tourist attraction in town, the Sign Post Forest.

Watson Lake YT

It was a great day of travel and we saw so many amazing sights.  Tomorrow we leave the Yukon and enter Alaska!  We are so close to our arrival in Juneau.  I can't wait to see what adventures we'll have tomorrow.  Wish us luck as we re-enter the US.  Crossing the border is never fun, but we have all of our paperwork in order for the girls to enter Alaska for our amazing adventure as our epic trip continues.

Now to figure out where I'm supposed to sleep.  Goodnight from the Yukon!