Anchorage and Prince William Sound

Anchorage, Alaska is where out tour ended.  Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska and the most northern city in the United States.  We traveled from Denali to Anchorage on a train.  The train had two different levels.  The top level was where all of the passenger seats were located, and on the bottom was a dining area.  The top of the train was encased by glass windows so you could have a 360 degree view.  As we got farther away from Denali, we could still view Mount McKinley.  The first thing I noticed about Anchorage was the skyscrapers and traffic.  I was so happy to see more civilization.  When we got to Anchorage we said goodbye to our tour guide and fellow tourists.  Then we want out to dinner at a seafood restaurant where I almost died again because I was squirted with crab juice.  The next day, we were to travel to Prince William Sound. 

Prince William Sound is a sound located off the Gulf of Alaska.  A sound "is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight, wider than a fjord, or it may identify a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_%28geography%29).  Price William Sound is named after Prince William and has seen many disasters.  In 1964 a tsunami hit and in 1998 Exxon had an oil spill.  Despite these disasters, Prince William Sound is one of the most beautiful places I have visited.  For more information about the sound, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_William_Sound and to plan a trip to Prince William Sound visit http://www.princewilliamsound.com/.

Prince William Sound was the last place on our trip to Alaska and the Yukon.  Our tour officially ended the previous day; however, we stayed an extra day so we could visit the sound. The main thing we saw in the sound was glaciers.  However, we did see a few fishing boats and animals.  The last glacier we saw was my favorite because we got so close to it.  Standing on the deck of the boat, I could see all of the cuts, jagged edges, and crevices in the blue ice.  The captain of the boat turned off the boat's engine so everything would be silent.  In the silence, I could hear the ice crack.  I even got to see a few chunks of ice fall into the ocean.  It was the most spectacular event I have witnessed my whole life.  I hope one day to return to Prince William Sound.

 My family with our tour guide

 Sunset over Mount McKinley in Anchorage

 Glacier on the way to Prince William Sound

 Glacier at Prince William Sound

Eagle and Denali

Eagle is a small city located on the border of the United States and Canada.  In 2000, Eagle had a population of 129.  There is not much to do or see in a city this small; however, the town does hold a mock court for the tourists in an old court house.  For more information on Eagle, Alaska visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle,_Alaska.

You may be wondering why I am talking about an extremely small city that offers little tourist attractions.  Well, this city is where I fell in love with Huskies.  To get to Eagle, we took a boat out of Dawson City.  On the boat we got to talk to all of the crew member including the captain.  The captain's wife was on the boat and she told me and my dad about her Huskies.  She told us how she would race them and how she had over 20 dogs.  Then she showed us pictures of the Huskies.  She told us that she lived in Eagle and when we got off the boat our family was welcome to come over and play with the dogs; I was really excited.  When we were walking up to her house, we could hear the dogs barking.  They were all outside and each had their own little house.  My family and I got to pet the dogs and feed then dried salmon.  Each dog was different; some were white, or gray, or black; some had blue eyes and some had brown.  I was amazed that the captain's wife knew all the names of the dogs.  She told us that it is customary to have themes when naming the litters; one of the litters was named after different types of alcohol.  Visiting the Huskies started my obsession; since then, I have always wanted a Husky.  However, I live in Texas and I am allergic to dogs.  For information about Huskies, visit http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/siberianhusky.htm.  After an hour, it was time to leave Eagle and travel to Denali.

Denali is a national park located in Alaska.  Denali is home to Mount McKinley.  Mount McKinley is the highest point in the Untied States, and it is an amazing site to behold.  We were told that only 30 percent of tourists who visit Denali actually get to view to mountain because it is usually covered by clouds; my family is part of the lucky 30 percent.  Mount McKinley is the biggest mountain I have ever seen; it is 20,320 feet tall.  The top of the mountain is covered in pure white snow. For more information on Mount McKinley, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_McKinley.  Information about Denali National Park can be found at http://www.nps.gov/dena/index.htm.

When we were at Denali National Park, we took part in many activities such as going to a sled dog kennel, taking an ATV trip, and wildlife viewing.  The kennel that we went to was called Husky Homestead.  Husky Homestead is home to the famous Iditarod Champion, Jeff King.  At the kennel we got to see Huskies training for races.  After seeing the training, each tourist got to hold and play with a Husky puppy.  Holding a puppy made me want a Husky even more.  Another activity we took part in was an ATV trip.  The trip took the same route that was described in the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer.  We could not take the whole route because part of it was flooded.  In Denali, my family took a bus ride to see wildlife while I stayed at the hotel because I was sick.  Another activity that my mom and brother did was fly around Mount McKinley.  They said the experience was wonderful and breathtaking.  I saw the amazing pictures.   

 The Huskies in Eagle

 Me and my dad with a Husky Puppy at Husky Homestead

 Mount McKinley

 Mount McKinley

Dawson City

The next stop on our trip was Dawson City, Yukon.  Dawson City was founded in 1896 during the Klondike Gold Rush.  Dawson City is a small town with historic looking buildings.  The roads are made of dirt and the sidewalks are made of wood.  The buildings of the town are starting to sink into the ground due to permafrost thawing.  Dawson City offers many tourist attractions such as Berton House, Claim #6, Danoja Zho Cultural Center, Dawson City Museum, Diamond Tooth Gertie's, Jack London Interpretive Museum, Klondike Institute of Arts and Culture, and Tombstone Territorial Park.  For more information about the town and attractions visit http://www.dawsoncity.ca/.

Dawson City is my favorite town in the Yukon because it is so unique.  I have never seen a city with dirt roads and wooden sidewalks.  During our stay, we went to Diamond Tooth Gertie's which is a casino/bar.  The casino has a stage where singers and can can girls perform.  The show made me want to move to Dawson City and become a can can girl.  After we saw a show at Diamond Tooth Gertie's, we walked across the street to a local place called the Downtown Hotel and Red Onion Saloon.  The Downtown Hotel's bar is home of the famous Sourtoe Cocktail.  If you do not know what a Sourtoe Cocktail is, here is the explanation from the sour toe club website:

"Established in 1973, the Sourtoe Cocktail has become a Dawson City tradition. The original rules were that the toe must be placed in a beer glass full of champagne, and that the toe must touch the drinker's lips during the consumtion of the alcohol before he or she can claim to be a true Sourtoer. The rules have changed in the past twenty-seven years. The Sourtoe can be had with any drink now (even ones that aren't alcoholic), but one rule remains the same. The drinker's lips must touch the toe. ' You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow-- But the lips have gotta touch the toe'" (http://www.sourtoecocktailclub.com/sourtoe.html).

The toes used in the Sourtoe Cocktail are actual human toes that have been dehydrated.  I was told the idea for the cocktail came from the gold mining days.  People turned in dead bodies of sourdoughs or gold miners in exchange for money.  It was soon discovered that the same bodies were being turned in more than once.  To solve this problem, the big toes were cut off the bodies.  It is said that the toes used in the Sourtoe Cocktail are toes of the sourdoughs.  I am a proud member of the Sourtoe Cocktail Club.

The next day in Dawson City, we took a rafting tour on the Klondike River.  On the river, we went over some gentle rapids.  We saw many local birds, beaver dams, and Bald Eagles.  This was the first time I have ever seen a wild Bald Eagle.  I watched as they flew above us and landed in trees.  They are truly magnificent animals.  At the end of our tour, the tour guides took us to a spot were the Klondike River meets with the Yukon River.  In this spot you can see the two rivers because they are two different colors; the Klondike is blue and the Yukon is grey.  The Yukon is grey because it has sediment in it.  If you put your ear next to the Yukon River, you can hear the sediment falling.  It sounds like sand falling between fingers.  The next day, we would travel back to Alaska.   

 Downtown Hotel- Home of the Sourtoe

 The toe used for the Sourtoe

The Klondike River (on bottom) and the Yukon River (on top)