Another view of Bove Island. The bus driver stopped to let take some nice shots.

....except for the views. A view of Bove Island

7/05/05. The big ticket item for this visit was the Bus/Train ride to Skagway, AK. Here is the bus and guide (forgot to get his name, but he was good) taking us to the train in Fraiser.

Inside the MacBride Museum was all kinds of cultural stuff, gold panning exhibits, a taxidermy of animals in the Yukon, an old cabin that belonged to the RCMP, steam engines and a bunch of other stuff. What I came away with was this picture of Mom and Christa. Seriously, the museum was worth the price.

7/05/05. Today is museum day. We are dedicated to checking out the local history and we start it here at the MacBride of the Yukon. A lot of history surrounding the gold rush and colonization of the Yukon from all over.

Frank's reward for helping out with the show - a certificate and a simple show of affection. You can see the simple show of affection on his forhead. I must take a moment for a serious aside. At this time, Frank's wife, Peggy, is not with us as she had to fly home back in Edmonton due to a loss in the family. We have missed her and she will be arriving back to the caravan tomorrow. We are sorry for Peggy's loss. Frank was sort of coerced into coming to the follies, but he needed the laugh being kind of down since Peggy's departure.

And here is our very own Frank. He was chosen to come up and do the customary Removal of the Garter to close the show.

They also liked to include members of the audience in their show. This gal gave em as good as she got.

More scenes from the Frantic Follies. Quite a fetching assemblage.

7/04/05. Being soldiers and sailors, and having taken care of our duties for the day, it was time to head downtown and check out the action. In this instance, the action came from the Frantic Follies, a vaudeville act performed in downtown Whitehorse. We had a rip roaring time. These guys are really good and really funny. Supposedly it is the same kind of show the lod miners would get when they came into town to throw away some of their hard earned wage. Hmmm, things haven't changed a bit.

Here, Roger, Roger, Rusty and Ed stand at attention after having raised the flag. We came back at 5 PM (closing time for the ship) and lowered the flag. The flag had 48 stars and was like the one flown over the ship when she was in service.

7/04/05. Ray reads a poem to the assembly that marks what the meaning of the day is to us. I don't have a copy of the poem, but maybe I can get one from him and post it at a future time.

Here is a picture of the SS Klondike. Really a wonderfully refurbished representative of the era. Our purpose, though, was not to simply tour the ship. Our mission was to hoist the Flag on the 4th of July - our independence day. I must thank the Canadian government, the Yukon, Whitehorse, and the caretakers of the ship for allowing us to render honors on this special day for us as retired servicemen and women.

7/04/05. Having made it to Whitehorse, YT, yesterday,we settled in for the night after a long drive arriving to a wet camp and went to bed. I was exhausted. Morning of the 4th we all jumped up bright and early and rushed down to the SS Klondike, an old steamer that used to ply its trade up and down the Yukon River.

7/03/05. Finally reaching the Yukon River after a long days drive, we bail out for some photo opportunities.

7/03/05. While in Teslin we stop in to the George Johnston Museum. George Johnston was a member of the First Nations Tribe the Tlingits. His fame in the local history was that of a photographer recording a visual history of his people in the early 1900's. His work is quite reknown (and much better than my own), and being a photographer, I had to check his work out. A great little museum that explains the history of the local people, displaying some fabulous bead work, early tools, homes, and habits along with a short film. Stop and see it, you won't be dissappointed.

7/03/05. Still making our way towards Whitehorse (our next destination), we come across the Nisutlin Bay Bridge in Teslin, YT. This is the longest water span on the Alaskan Hwy.

7/03/05. Marie and Bruce decide to tie the knot on the Divide. Of course its a shoe lace, but who cares in the Klondike.

The same place with Mom and I.

7/03/05. Christa, Lucy and I at the Continental Divide. Not as spectacular as being on the divide in Colorado, never-the-less a moment to remember.

Here Lucy, Christa, Ray, Bruce and Marie have their phots taken in front of the main fall. As you can see by the headgear we are not alone.

The falls actully break up and come into a coomon stream that winds its way toward the Liard River.

The falls themselves are very serene and lovely to look upon. Not overly large or spectacular, theYukon Territory has made great effort to present these falls in a beautiful setting.

7/03/05. After leaving Watson Lake we are off to more wonders. While traveling in between campsites, many opportunities are available to stop and look at sites in the remote areas , but not to far off the main track. One is Rancheria Falls just before getting to the Contenental Divide.

7/02/05. This evening we had to take care of some business. Prior to leaving Great Falls, MT, we were made aware that in our midst was a secret Sheriff taking note of trespassers against the caravan code of ethics. Well, the sheriff turned out to be our very own beloved Wanda. Boy, and did she have the goods. With Frank (not pictured) acting as Judge, she read off the charges - including one against this author. My violation was for driving through the meeting place at an earlier camp after everyone had been told not to - cheez, how petty. All done in good fun, the proceeds go to a party at the end of the caravan. Most of the offenses were for not wearing our name tags. Good job Wanda (I think). Looking on the proceedings from the left side of the picture is Rusty and on the right is Lamar.

This monster was driven by a German fellow who has travelled all over the world in this rig - a Mercedes heavy duty truck normally used in a fire or military application. Yep, looks like it would go anywhere.

In Watson Lake I noticed a couple of unique rigs so I took some photos. This is a custom rig built from 2 1935 ford cabs cut and welded together. The finished body rests on a 2002 GMC 4 wheel drive chassis with a 6.3 vortec engine. Nice.

7/02/05. And Al gets the job done, but not before a little good natured ribbing by the peanut gallery.

While at the "Forest" our club works to leave our own marker for future travelers to see. Here, Al prepares to climb the ladder and mount the club sign fashioned largely by Asst Wagonmaster Ed.

One of the main reasons for stopping in Watson Lake is to visit "Sign Post Forest." And here we are.

OOPs. This is the picture for the previous entry.

Like most of the parks in northern Canada, they are of the parking lot type. This park had full hook-ups (30 amp), a nice laundry, a pretty good cafe (i'm told) in the "Mess Tent." It really is a tent, just behind this building.

7/01/05. Arriving in Watson Lake, Yukon, we made for our campground for the night - Downtown RV Park.

A view from Steamboat Mtn in British Columbia.

While we our engines were huffing and puffing to get over Steamboat Mtn, this gent was using a different means of getting over the top. He had ridden (he informed us) from Corpus Christi, TX, and was headed for the arctic ocean in northwest territories of Canada. He might not look like Lance Armstrong, but he made it over this mountain's top and was rewarded with a 10 mile 6-10% grade downhill on the other side. You go fella.

7/01/05. Today finds us crossing Steamboat Mountain. A pretty hefty climb for the RVs. Close to the top, we come upon one of the many turn outs used for viewing and rest breaks.

Here the Beaver begins its takeoff.

7/01/05. This morning, we awoke to the roar of the engines from the Northern Lodge "float planes." We all paused in our morning ritual of breaking camp to watch these guys take off. Pretty neat.

6/30/05. Again after the meal (I mean these days are long) we gather for a little fellowship along the banks of Muncho Lake. A little story telling, a few jokes and wonderful laughter. This is what its all about.

After the meal, the sun came back out revealing a beautiful evening. This shot is taken at about 8PM at night. Have I mentioned the long days up here? Nothing new to those who have been here before, but pretty weird for those of us who are making our mark for the first time. Sun sets a little after 11 PM and rises a little after 4 AM.

6/30/05. This evening we had a meal fit for a king. The club arranged for a buffet served by the Northern Rockies Lodge. Splendid, wonderful, exquisite. Yep, a roast beef and baked ham, they were great. Served with delightful fruit and vegetable salads, this was a fine meal and served in an amazing lodge to boot. I failed to get some pictures of this place from the outside, but I'm sure there are some others on the internet. Bust pilot themed in the interior, this establishment is actually owned by one of those bravados of the northern peaks. A great place, but bring your bankroll, this place don't come cheap.

6/30/05. Yep, the ole foot shot. I'm making this my signature shot from the kayak. By the way, this was the last shot taken on this day. Shortly after the clouds opened for the previous shot, they closed up very fast. When they did they dropped some water. Not to worry, I was fully equipped. I already had the spray skirt on and it was just a quick moment before I had the rain jacket on and buttoned up tight. As I always wear a wide brimmed hat, the water hardly affected me. Matter of fact, I kind of enjoyed the experience. The bummer was that I couldn't take the camera out for some more shots.

Ahhh. The clouds broke for a moment to show this path that one can imagine a glacier grinding out on its northerly retreat.

Another shot from the kayak. Hmmm. Thos clouds are getting a bit closer.

Of course my main focus upon hitting this site was to break out the kayak and go for a paddle, which is exactly what I did. This shot is from out on the water. Note the dense clouds coming FROM over the mountains in the background.

6/30/05. Arriving at the Northern Rockies Lodge on Muncho Lake, BC, we were able to park many of the rigs (including ours, 2nd from left) right up to the water. What a view.

6/30/05. At the end of this days long drive, we finally came upon a first look at our next destination: Muncho Lake, BC. This picture does no justice to the emerald quality of the water in this lake. Additionally, the water is extremely clear, like looking through a pale green glass. The road is a foretaste of the geologic and glacieral activities that formed this region.

Another Hwy view.

6/30/05. One of the many rivers that the alaskan Hwy runs next to on its winding path north. This was a beautiful view, the only thing that really detracted from this serene setting was the voracious appetite of the mosquitoes along the roadside. As soon as we stopped and exited the rigs, the skeeters were on us. The stop was brief.

Later down the same stretch of road we hit one of the infamous construction zones along the Alaskan Hwy. This one was only about 7 or 8 miles long, we have much worse to look forward to in the future.