Day 18 - Crazy!
We woke up to low gray heavy clouds, a ferocious wind and rain. Mmmm, the Dalton in rain. Well, there is nothing for it but to get going only one road back out so here we go.
It was very slow going as the road now was washboard soup and mud - very slippery, very dirty and very treacherous. We crawled along, pulling over for trucks and admiring the birds, ducks and .... horses? They say that the Tundra will make you crazy! Here is a conversation along the Dalton that proves it!
Oilcan: Hey look there's a horse!
Sparky: A horse? On the Tundra!??
Oilcan: Yes! They must use them for hunting and guiding outfitting.
Sparky: Are you sure its a horse?
Oilcan: Yes, see he's moving in the trees?
Sparky: (Still not seeing what he is talking about) Trees? On the Tundra?
Oilcan: Oh, wait! It's a moose!
Sparky: (Finally I can see what he was seeing and yes it is a moose with very large antlers! Not a horse moving through trees on the Tundra!)
We laughed so hard!
As we moved further south, the weather did not improve. We were so hoping for sunshine in the Atigun pass. I think I forgot to mention the Atigun pass in the last blog going up the highway. The Atigun pass is in the Brooks Range and it feels like you are going up and up and up but the view at the top is breathtaking. It was a little rainy when we went north so we had hoped for better weather. But the clouds were obscuring the mountain on the way up but surprise, surprise, on the way back down we had to pull over for a wide load and a puking dog! We cleaned up after Corona and waited for the big truck to crawl it's way up the mountain and then the sun popped out. Earl was ecstatic and was clicking pictures left and right! From then on, the weather just got better and better with lots of opportunities to click pictures.
By the time we were at the better part of the highway, the weather was sunny and lovely and we felt like we were zipping along at 45 to 50 mph! We stopped in at Wiseman that we didn't see on our way up. It is a very picturesque little old mining town with a population of 16 and a little B&B. We just drove in, took some pics and then headed back out but if you needed accommodation along the highway it would be a lovely place to stop!
We stopped for supper, gas and a break at Coldfoot and then pushed onward so we could spend the night at the Arctic Circle. It was a lovely evening but I'm afraid we just fell into bed (trying hard not to touch the very thick mud on the side of the trailer as we did so) and slept till morning.
Day 19 - On the road again!
In the morning, we slowly got ourselves packed up again and headed back out on the Dalton. We stopped here and there for pictures and had breakfast at the Yukon River Camp. There was a lady there who sells crafts and we looked in and had a chat. She lives up the river with no road in to her place. She makes beautiful birch bark and fur crafts. I bought a lovely bracelet make of birch bark and beads. We then stopped to say hi to Dottie and the interpretive centre and report on our wildlife spotting but unfortunately she was not there and the sign said she would not be back for at least an hour so we had to press on. We saw more moose and birds along the way and the sky just got bluer and bluer the closer we got to the end. We stopped for our photo-op at the Dalton Highway sign at the beginning again (well end for us). The dog, the trailer, the car and us were a little worse for wears but we did it! We conquered the Dalton! And -- no flat tires!
We joined the Elliot highway again, and stopped by the Carlson's and had a chat. They have the most lovely certificates that are hand drawn to celebrate crossing the Arctic Circle so we got two of those! Our poor dog is not feeling well, so we'd better get back to Fairbanks and stop traveling for a day or so for him to recuperate.
We are camped back at Riverview where we were before as it is such a lovely spot. We had a leisurely evening in beautiful sunlight and Corona seems to be perking up a bit so that's good.
We have driven the Dalton - one more thing off Earl's Bucket List (true confessions - it was never on mine!) but that's ok - it was a very interesting trip and we are glad we did it.
Day 20 - Working at the Carwash!
The plan now is to clean ourselves, the trailer, truck and laundry of the Dalton mud and rest for a day then head down the Parks Highway to the Denali and down to the Anchorage, Valdez and Seward.
Well, the laundry is done, Earl had come back from washing the trailer and the truck, its time to put things away and see what other trouble we can get up to in Fairbanks!
Wednesday, 31 July 2013
Day 16 & 17 - Dalton Highway (mile 20 to Deadhorse)
Day 16 & 17 - Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On!
It's a little cloudy this morning but off we go, maybe the weather will cheer up as we go along. So this is the Dalton Highway. The biggest surprise is what good condition it is in for a lot of the way. Some of it is chip sealed, some is paved, some is gravel in good condition, some is gravel in not such good condition, some of it is a mud road! It is like someone wanted to experiment with all kinds of road surfacing and how it would react to the climate, permafrost and heavy trucks. Each few miles the surface of the road changed.
The constant along the road of course is the Alyeska pipeline that winds its way north, at times right beside the road, then off in the distance, under the road (never over it), up hills and down dale, just like the road. There are some huge hills along this road and if we had not got our transmission problem fixed we would not have been able to do it. Blessings and thanks to amazing Zak again and again!
We soon came to the first major stop along the highway - The Mighty Yukon River. There is a visitor centre here with information panels about the pipeline, the river and the bridge. This bridge is a little freaky - it has a 7% grade slope - going north it's a downslope. The Pipeline crosses the river here too. We wondered around and read all the information panels and admire the river and bridge. Then we popped into the visitor centre and had a great chat with Dottie the interpreter. She has a great passion for the north, the Dalton Highway and the Arctic and it was very interesting talking to her about our plans and what we might see up there for animals and plants. We again, promised to stop on our way back to let her know what we saw as to wildlife.
There is a little place called the Hotspot Cafe just past the Yukon River that we dropped by to see. It is amazing to me that people are able to establish businesses in such remote locations. This is a little motel and eatery with tables inside and out with a small gift shop. While we were there, quite a few people also found it. Of course, they are in The Milepost so people can find them.
Traveling north again, we drive rolling terrain with evidence of past forest fires, lots of fireweed and interesting rocks. One such rock is Finger Mountain at Mile 98. Just a few miles later (Mile 115) we arrived at the Arctic Circle. It is very different crossing the Arctic Circle here than it is when you cross on the Dempster Highway. On the Dempster, you are already on the tundra and can see for miles and miles and miles. Here on the Dalton at the Arctic Circle, there are still trees and bushes and you cannot see for miles. We did our photo ops here and met some interesting people - some were turning around here, some were going all the way like us and some had already been up and were on their way back down. We drove around the little campground and it is very nice but it is too early to stop today and we have many more miles to go as we need to get as far as we can today. We might stop here for the night on the way back as it would be cool to say you spent the night at the Arctic Circle!
Coldfoot at mile 175 is an interesting spot. They have accomodations (camp style) and a buffet for lunch and supper where you get soup, salad, main meal, dessert and beverage for one low price. We met a young man there from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, who was conducting a survey on why people venture up the Dalton and what they hope to get out of it. We agreed to do his survey, it will be interesting to read the results when the study is complete. I am sure there are many reasons people head up this way - sense of accomplishment, adventure, curiosity, insanity...
As we mosey along, the speed limit along here is usually 50 mph but mostly you are not traveling that speed, the terrain is changing and the trees are getting more stunted. This far north, they have what they call continuous permafrost so it does not thaw. There are lots of little pools of water where the surface permafrost thaws in summer but only down perhaps a foot. There are patches of deep magenta fireweed, splashes of yellow from the Potentella and clumps of fluffy white from the Arctic Cotton. I just love the arctic cotton - it looks like someone is growing bunny tails all along the highway! The Brooks mountain range can be seen from quite a long way off and as you get closer and closer those mountains are quite striking. Earl's favourite one for photos was one called .....
that is sharp and jagged with interesting shapes, shadows and colours. There are also beautiful rivers and creeks that are glacier fed so they take on that aquamarine colour just like at home in Toad and Muncho.
Wildlife was a little sparse at first, but as we got closer to Deadhorse, we saw muskox down by the river, two snowy owls (two separate sightings) that were just breathtaking and two little fox kits who were playing by the roadside. When we go close to them, the ran across the tundra so fast in a zig-zagging pattern as if they were thinking "Oh, no! Mom warned us about playing by the road. We'd better get home!"
So, here's the thing! The further we got up the Dalton, the more rough the road got until we were grinding along at about 20 mph (the journey takes a long time at that speed). The road is narrow and there is not a lot of places to pull over but you have to try get as far as you can, stop and let the big trucks go by. The other name for this road is the Haul Road because they haul supplies for the oil and gas fields up here. Just like the Alaska Highway, one road in, same road out! We finally stopped for night or tried to at about 1:30 in the morning! But the bugs were so bad and the area we stopped on was at such an angle we could not stay in our trailer. We tried to sleep in the truck but were not succeeding so we pushed on further at a snails speed and finally found a better place to sleep in the little guy at 4:30 a.m. Needless to say "Happy Camper" were not words to describe me just 4 hours later when Earl woke me to say we needed to press on if we were going to get to Deadhorse by our 3 p.m. appointment for the tour to the Arctic Circle.
The last 60 miles of this road is total washboard! You cannot go past 20 mph without shaking yourself, the truck and Little Guy trailer to bits. At least you get to feast on the scenery - beautiful tundra that is already getting a tinge of its Autumn colours in places. There are the bluffs that are just beautiful where we saw muskox and lovely reflective ponds and ducks. We also saw long-tailed Jaegers that have a weird flight pattern - they look like they are tethered like a kite, they hover over the Tundra finding voles and then drop to the ground to capture their prey - quite fascinating to watch.
After many, many innards shaking miles we arrived at Deadhorse or Prudhoe Bay. Deadhorse is the camp and although people preferred the name Prudhoe Bay, somehow when the post office was officially awarded it was named Deadhorse after the company that shipped materials originally for the pipeline. People would see all equipment with the name Deadhorse and starting calling the place Deadhorse - it stuck although both names are used. Prudhoe Bay is actually the name of the bay on the Arctic Ocean that Deadhorse is on and where the oil was found. We arrived just in time for lunch at one of the camps, a hot shower (what do you say when they tell you it costs $10 to have a shower in Deadhorse - well thank you very much I'd love one!) We then headed for our tour to the Arctic Ocean.
Since 9-11, you can no longer go to the Arctic Ocean by yourself as it is on BP's property and there is not security just in case of sabotage plans for the oilfield, so you book with the tour at $49 a head. However, this was a very pleasant surprise as we really did think twice about spending that just to go to the ocean but the tour was actually 3 hours long, with informative narrative by our guide on the oilfield, the discover and development, the wildlife and other interesting facts. We toured the town, the tundra, and the ocean shore. Also along for the tour was a group of Amish people, which was a surprise but they were very interesting people. I would have loved to chat to them more after the tour to find out what they think about all this oil development but they had to leave right after the tour and head back as they had accommodations at Wiseman 226 miles away! Our tour group also included two ladies from the University of Alaska and an interesting couple who were biking the Dalton. Now, biking the Dalton, on a tandem bike is amazing enough but these two are doing it to raise awareness for the abilities of people who are legally blind. The lady had 100% vision loss in one eye and 90% in the other, and the gentleman had a degenerative disease that was gradually narrowing his vision so he could only see like looking into a narrow tunnel - and they biked from the most southern point of road in South America to the Most northern point of North America by Road Deadhorse! Just amazing. On our tour, we saw Caribou, a lot of different types of ducks and Canada Geese, and a fox. The guide thought there was a good sight of seeing a grizzly but we never did - they often do on this tour! When we got to the ocean, the guide had just finished telling us about how this is an arctic desert and they only see 5 inches of precipitation - then the heavens opens and we got torrential rain - just buckets of it. At least we got a few minutes of paddling in the ocean and some photo ops done before it poured and we had to run for cover in the tour bus.
When we got back to Deadhorse, we drove around to find the sign that said "End of the Dalton Highway" and the general store. We looked around and had a great conversation with a local who had worked for BP for 40 years up here! He gave us his card and said if we email he'll send us some more information. We were able to use our phones in Deadhorse so we called each set of parents to let them know we made it and were safe. Not accommodation or camping right in Deadhorse so we head back up the bone rattling road to a place called Last Chance (70 miles from Deadhorse) to camp for the night before we headed back down the highway. It turned out to be a lovely place to camp, we had it to ourselves, the wind was blowing so now bugs and the sun came out and created a beautiful rainbow right over out little guy trailer.
We are pretty tired from our adventure and very short night last night so its off to bed.
It's a little cloudy this morning but off we go, maybe the weather will cheer up as we go along. So this is the Dalton Highway. The biggest surprise is what good condition it is in for a lot of the way. Some of it is chip sealed, some is paved, some is gravel in good condition, some is gravel in not such good condition, some of it is a mud road! It is like someone wanted to experiment with all kinds of road surfacing and how it would react to the climate, permafrost and heavy trucks. Each few miles the surface of the road changed.
The constant along the road of course is the Alyeska pipeline that winds its way north, at times right beside the road, then off in the distance, under the road (never over it), up hills and down dale, just like the road. There are some huge hills along this road and if we had not got our transmission problem fixed we would not have been able to do it. Blessings and thanks to amazing Zak again and again!
We soon came to the first major stop along the highway - The Mighty Yukon River. There is a visitor centre here with information panels about the pipeline, the river and the bridge. This bridge is a little freaky - it has a 7% grade slope - going north it's a downslope. The Pipeline crosses the river here too. We wondered around and read all the information panels and admire the river and bridge. Then we popped into the visitor centre and had a great chat with Dottie the interpreter. She has a great passion for the north, the Dalton Highway and the Arctic and it was very interesting talking to her about our plans and what we might see up there for animals and plants. We again, promised to stop on our way back to let her know what we saw as to wildlife.
There is a little place called the Hotspot Cafe just past the Yukon River that we dropped by to see. It is amazing to me that people are able to establish businesses in such remote locations. This is a little motel and eatery with tables inside and out with a small gift shop. While we were there, quite a few people also found it. Of course, they are in The Milepost so people can find them.
Traveling north again, we drive rolling terrain with evidence of past forest fires, lots of fireweed and interesting rocks. One such rock is Finger Mountain at Mile 98. Just a few miles later (Mile 115) we arrived at the Arctic Circle. It is very different crossing the Arctic Circle here than it is when you cross on the Dempster Highway. On the Dempster, you are already on the tundra and can see for miles and miles and miles. Here on the Dalton at the Arctic Circle, there are still trees and bushes and you cannot see for miles. We did our photo ops here and met some interesting people - some were turning around here, some were going all the way like us and some had already been up and were on their way back down. We drove around the little campground and it is very nice but it is too early to stop today and we have many more miles to go as we need to get as far as we can today. We might stop here for the night on the way back as it would be cool to say you spent the night at the Arctic Circle!
Coldfoot at mile 175 is an interesting spot. They have accomodations (camp style) and a buffet for lunch and supper where you get soup, salad, main meal, dessert and beverage for one low price. We met a young man there from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, who was conducting a survey on why people venture up the Dalton and what they hope to get out of it. We agreed to do his survey, it will be interesting to read the results when the study is complete. I am sure there are many reasons people head up this way - sense of accomplishment, adventure, curiosity, insanity...
As we mosey along, the speed limit along here is usually 50 mph but mostly you are not traveling that speed, the terrain is changing and the trees are getting more stunted. This far north, they have what they call continuous permafrost so it does not thaw. There are lots of little pools of water where the surface permafrost thaws in summer but only down perhaps a foot. There are patches of deep magenta fireweed, splashes of yellow from the Potentella and clumps of fluffy white from the Arctic Cotton. I just love the arctic cotton - it looks like someone is growing bunny tails all along the highway! The Brooks mountain range can be seen from quite a long way off and as you get closer and closer those mountains are quite striking. Earl's favourite one for photos was one called .....
that is sharp and jagged with interesting shapes, shadows and colours. There are also beautiful rivers and creeks that are glacier fed so they take on that aquamarine colour just like at home in Toad and Muncho.
Wildlife was a little sparse at first, but as we got closer to Deadhorse, we saw muskox down by the river, two snowy owls (two separate sightings) that were just breathtaking and two little fox kits who were playing by the roadside. When we go close to them, the ran across the tundra so fast in a zig-zagging pattern as if they were thinking "Oh, no! Mom warned us about playing by the road. We'd better get home!"
So, here's the thing! The further we got up the Dalton, the more rough the road got until we were grinding along at about 20 mph (the journey takes a long time at that speed). The road is narrow and there is not a lot of places to pull over but you have to try get as far as you can, stop and let the big trucks go by. The other name for this road is the Haul Road because they haul supplies for the oil and gas fields up here. Just like the Alaska Highway, one road in, same road out! We finally stopped for night or tried to at about 1:30 in the morning! But the bugs were so bad and the area we stopped on was at such an angle we could not stay in our trailer. We tried to sleep in the truck but were not succeeding so we pushed on further at a snails speed and finally found a better place to sleep in the little guy at 4:30 a.m. Needless to say "Happy Camper" were not words to describe me just 4 hours later when Earl woke me to say we needed to press on if we were going to get to Deadhorse by our 3 p.m. appointment for the tour to the Arctic Circle.
The last 60 miles of this road is total washboard! You cannot go past 20 mph without shaking yourself, the truck and Little Guy trailer to bits. At least you get to feast on the scenery - beautiful tundra that is already getting a tinge of its Autumn colours in places. There are the bluffs that are just beautiful where we saw muskox and lovely reflective ponds and ducks. We also saw long-tailed Jaegers that have a weird flight pattern - they look like they are tethered like a kite, they hover over the Tundra finding voles and then drop to the ground to capture their prey - quite fascinating to watch.
After many, many innards shaking miles we arrived at Deadhorse or Prudhoe Bay. Deadhorse is the camp and although people preferred the name Prudhoe Bay, somehow when the post office was officially awarded it was named Deadhorse after the company that shipped materials originally for the pipeline. People would see all equipment with the name Deadhorse and starting calling the place Deadhorse - it stuck although both names are used. Prudhoe Bay is actually the name of the bay on the Arctic Ocean that Deadhorse is on and where the oil was found. We arrived just in time for lunch at one of the camps, a hot shower (what do you say when they tell you it costs $10 to have a shower in Deadhorse - well thank you very much I'd love one!) We then headed for our tour to the Arctic Ocean.
Since 9-11, you can no longer go to the Arctic Ocean by yourself as it is on BP's property and there is not security just in case of sabotage plans for the oilfield, so you book with the tour at $49 a head. However, this was a very pleasant surprise as we really did think twice about spending that just to go to the ocean but the tour was actually 3 hours long, with informative narrative by our guide on the oilfield, the discover and development, the wildlife and other interesting facts. We toured the town, the tundra, and the ocean shore. Also along for the tour was a group of Amish people, which was a surprise but they were very interesting people. I would have loved to chat to them more after the tour to find out what they think about all this oil development but they had to leave right after the tour and head back as they had accommodations at Wiseman 226 miles away! Our tour group also included two ladies from the University of Alaska and an interesting couple who were biking the Dalton. Now, biking the Dalton, on a tandem bike is amazing enough but these two are doing it to raise awareness for the abilities of people who are legally blind. The lady had 100% vision loss in one eye and 90% in the other, and the gentleman had a degenerative disease that was gradually narrowing his vision so he could only see like looking into a narrow tunnel - and they biked from the most southern point of road in South America to the Most northern point of North America by Road Deadhorse! Just amazing. On our tour, we saw Caribou, a lot of different types of ducks and Canada Geese, and a fox. The guide thought there was a good sight of seeing a grizzly but we never did - they often do on this tour! When we got to the ocean, the guide had just finished telling us about how this is an arctic desert and they only see 5 inches of precipitation - then the heavens opens and we got torrential rain - just buckets of it. At least we got a few minutes of paddling in the ocean and some photo ops done before it poured and we had to run for cover in the tour bus.
When we got back to Deadhorse, we drove around to find the sign that said "End of the Dalton Highway" and the general store. We looked around and had a great conversation with a local who had worked for BP for 40 years up here! He gave us his card and said if we email he'll send us some more information. We were able to use our phones in Deadhorse so we called each set of parents to let them know we made it and were safe. Not accommodation or camping right in Deadhorse so we head back up the bone rattling road to a place called Last Chance (70 miles from Deadhorse) to camp for the night before we headed back down the highway. It turned out to be a lovely place to camp, we had it to ourselves, the wind was blowing so now bugs and the sun came out and created a beautiful rainbow right over out little guy trailer.
We are pretty tired from our adventure and very short night last night so its off to bed.
Day 15 - Fairbanks to 20 miles up the Dalton Highway
Day 15 - I'm dreaming of a White Christmas On the Road Again!
We are packed up ready to do the Dalton Highway but first we must buy new tires for the Little Guy Camper and get rims put on a 2nd spare tire for the Little Red Truck. We decide to backtrack just a little before we head to Fairbanks for tires and go to the Santa Claus Store at the North Pole. It is a lovely store with all sorts of ornaments, presents and other delights to tempt you to spend money. We took a good look and yes we brought a few things. One of the special things we found was a candle holder made out of a wine bottle with the phrase "Come Away with Me" etched on it. This is our song, and certainly the way we live with our little adventures we take. It comes with a one of those electric candles but I think it would take a real one too.
We ate lunch at the coolest little diner. It is called Little Richards and it is in a railroad card and billed in the Milepost as the Northernmost Railroad Car Restaurant. The meal was delicious and the service was outstanding.
In Fairbanks, getting tires proved to be a little tricky but with some perseverance and some shopping around we found what we were looking for, got them mounted and then got the rim of the truck spare. We dropped by the visitor centre one more time for last minute advice, download pictures and check on e-mail before we would be out of range for several days.
With all this going on we did not leave Fairbanks to head to the Dalton till about 6:30 p.m. We headed on the Steese Highway, then connected to the Elliot Highway. On the Elliot Highway, there is a little place called the Arctic Circle ??? where we met the Carlson's. They homesteaded there and raised 23 children (18 adopted) - WOW! They were the most interesting and kind people and we had a lovely chat with them about our plans to go up the Dalton. We promised to stop by on our way back and let them know how we made out.
We arrived at the start of the Dalton and took the appropriate pictures in front of the sign with a clean vehicle and trailer and smiling faces! We were not sure how far we would go as it was already getting late. This part of the highway is a good road but we stopped at Mile 20 and took pictures of a beautiful sweeping valley and the sun was setting - looked gorgeous, there was a little breeze so there were not too many bugs - we decided to stay the night there. Earl got some fantastic shots of the sunset and flowers and I started reading the book I bought from the Carlson's written by their daughter about their life. It is a good read. A good night's rest will prepare us for the drive ahead. We will have to make many miles if we are going to be in Deadhorse by 3:00 on Sunday.
We are packed up ready to do the Dalton Highway but first we must buy new tires for the Little Guy Camper and get rims put on a 2nd spare tire for the Little Red Truck. We decide to backtrack just a little before we head to Fairbanks for tires and go to the Santa Claus Store at the North Pole. It is a lovely store with all sorts of ornaments, presents and other delights to tempt you to spend money. We took a good look and yes we brought a few things. One of the special things we found was a candle holder made out of a wine bottle with the phrase "Come Away with Me" etched on it. This is our song, and certainly the way we live with our little adventures we take. It comes with a one of those electric candles but I think it would take a real one too.
We ate lunch at the coolest little diner. It is called Little Richards and it is in a railroad card and billed in the Milepost as the Northernmost Railroad Car Restaurant. The meal was delicious and the service was outstanding.
In Fairbanks, getting tires proved to be a little tricky but with some perseverance and some shopping around we found what we were looking for, got them mounted and then got the rim of the truck spare. We dropped by the visitor centre one more time for last minute advice, download pictures and check on e-mail before we would be out of range for several days.
With all this going on we did not leave Fairbanks to head to the Dalton till about 6:30 p.m. We headed on the Steese Highway, then connected to the Elliot Highway. On the Elliot Highway, there is a little place called the Arctic Circle ??? where we met the Carlson's. They homesteaded there and raised 23 children (18 adopted) - WOW! They were the most interesting and kind people and we had a lovely chat with them about our plans to go up the Dalton. We promised to stop by on our way back and let them know how we made out.
We arrived at the start of the Dalton and took the appropriate pictures in front of the sign with a clean vehicle and trailer and smiling faces! We were not sure how far we would go as it was already getting late. This part of the highway is a good road but we stopped at Mile 20 and took pictures of a beautiful sweeping valley and the sun was setting - looked gorgeous, there was a little breeze so there were not too many bugs - we decided to stay the night there. Earl got some fantastic shots of the sunset and flowers and I started reading the book I bought from the Carlson's written by their daughter about their life. It is a good read. A good night's rest will prepare us for the drive ahead. We will have to make many miles if we are going to be in Deadhorse by 3:00 on Sunday.
Friday, 26 July 2013
Day 13 and 14 - Fairbanks
Day 13 and 14 - Up a Lazy River!
Well, last time I blogged, I left you at me doing laundry and Earl having a nap on Day 13 of our adventure. With all the 'necessary chores' done, yes, Earl thinks napping is a necessary chore, we headed off to see what trouble we could get into in Fairbanks, Alaska.
We really like where our campground is because it is just a 10 minute drive on the Richardson Highway and we are right there in Fairbanks with access to the downtown or the Airport Drive that take you most places we want to go.
We were looking for the information centre and thought it was in the Pioneer Park so we went there first. Well, the information centre wasn't there, just a little kiosk with info mostly about Pioneer Park. Earl tells me this park used to be called AlaskaLand but it has been updated with some new attractions. We had a lovely time roaming the grounds, looking at all the pioneer homes from the early days of Fairbanks. Each little house has a plaque to tell you where it was moved from and it's historical significance and each little house has artifacts, souvenirs or local crafts for sale. My favourite was the Bag Ladies and Earl had a hard time getting me out of their. I thought I showed remarkable restraint considering I wanted to buy about $500 worth of stuff and spent less than $25! We also took a delightful train ride pulled by an old locomotive round the park and explored the air museum where I got a great book for my students for their study of the history of flight we will do in September.
And then, we went to the Alaska Salmon Bake! Oh my goodness. I know, we had brought food to cook at the camp, but who can resist Prime Rib, Wood Fire Cooked Fresh Salmon, Salad Bar, Drinks and Dessert all for one reasonable price. It was absolutely delicious. There were tables set up inside but we chose the ones outside as it was a beautiful evening. What a treat!
After supper, we took our chances that we could get in to the Vaudeville type show they have, but it was sold out so we went back to the truck. We then found where the Discovery Sternwheeler was so that we could find it tomorrow and then finally found the visitors centre (20 minutes before closing) - turns out it is in downtown in a beautiful building with lovely flowers and local art on the grounds. We asked our questions about the Dalton their and got their counsel and now know what we have to do in order to actually get to the Arctic Ocean. We have to apply for security clearance at Homeland Security 48 hours in advance and the site is on line. So we will do that!
Our adventures for the day are over because I couldn't stop yawning (remember I didn't have the nap) so back to our cosy little campground for the night. We are nestled among many very large rigs. It looks quite funny but we get to meet a lot of people that way because people want to know "Does it Pop Up?")
The next day dawned rainy and cool. We were hoping it would clear up because today we go on our Riverboat Tour and behold by noon it was sunny and hot. We did a little shopping at Fred Meyers to find a new SD card reader as ours has stopped working and some supplies for going up the Dalton highway. Then we headed to the Discovery centre and boarded the Sternwheeler with about 300 others (there were 12 tour buses lined up) and off we went up the river. This is a very well organized tour and you don't just float up the river. We had a float plane demonstration, visits with sled dogs and watched them practicing, then we went to the Chena Village which is a model of an Athabaskan Native Indian Village and fish camp.
The guides at this village were all young people of Athabaskan heritage and they were very interesting speakers. I had a lovely chat with a young man after about the preserving of their language as he appeared to be fluent in his native tongue. He told me that they had challenges with this just like other First Nations people (this is an issue for our First Nations Tribe at Fort Nelson). His tribe have just signed on with Rosetta Stone and have developed a course for the young people to learn the Athabaskan language. He told me however, that he was lucky as his family worked hard to make sure they preserved the language in their family so he has learned the language from his Grandfather along with other skills.
While we were at the village, we also go a chance to buy the book about Granite the Dog Sled and his owner Susan Butcher. Together they won three consecutive Iditarod Races. There is a statue in honour of Granite in the village and information panels about Susan Butcher's history in dog racing. Susan Butcher died of cancer in 2006 but before she did her and her husband got the story down for her children. The book is the story she wrote about Granite her lead dog before she passed away. I got the book dedicated to my students and signed by Susan's husband, youngest daughter and sister who were there at the village. It will be fun sharing this with my students.
On the way back, the commentator 'gave our ears a rest' and let us drift along admiring all the beautiful houses along the waterfront, the ducks, seaplanes and other watercraft. They fed us salmon snacks as we floated along 'up a lazy river'. What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. We roamed around the gift shop after but things were quite expensive. I did get a great t-shirt and we bought the video of the trip. We went to one of the riverside restaurants for supper, explored the Alaska Bowl Company and then headed back so we could get ready for tomorrow. Big day!
We are heading up the Dalton Highway. We have gotten our security clearance and a space on the shuttle one we get to Deadhorse to go to the Arctic Shore - you cannot go there on your own! We are well stocked with bug dope, spare tires, extra gas, food - very few services up this way. Earl is very excited and I am a little nervous but off we go.
So friends and family, there will be a pause in the blog for a few days as we will not have access to phone, cell or internet until we return (we think in about 4 days) if all goes well and we do not encounter any difficulties.
Wish us luck!
Well, last time I blogged, I left you at me doing laundry and Earl having a nap on Day 13 of our adventure. With all the 'necessary chores' done, yes, Earl thinks napping is a necessary chore, we headed off to see what trouble we could get into in Fairbanks, Alaska.
We really like where our campground is because it is just a 10 minute drive on the Richardson Highway and we are right there in Fairbanks with access to the downtown or the Airport Drive that take you most places we want to go.
We were looking for the information centre and thought it was in the Pioneer Park so we went there first. Well, the information centre wasn't there, just a little kiosk with info mostly about Pioneer Park. Earl tells me this park used to be called AlaskaLand but it has been updated with some new attractions. We had a lovely time roaming the grounds, looking at all the pioneer homes from the early days of Fairbanks. Each little house has a plaque to tell you where it was moved from and it's historical significance and each little house has artifacts, souvenirs or local crafts for sale. My favourite was the Bag Ladies and Earl had a hard time getting me out of their. I thought I showed remarkable restraint considering I wanted to buy about $500 worth of stuff and spent less than $25! We also took a delightful train ride pulled by an old locomotive round the park and explored the air museum where I got a great book for my students for their study of the history of flight we will do in September.
And then, we went to the Alaska Salmon Bake! Oh my goodness. I know, we had brought food to cook at the camp, but who can resist Prime Rib, Wood Fire Cooked Fresh Salmon, Salad Bar, Drinks and Dessert all for one reasonable price. It was absolutely delicious. There were tables set up inside but we chose the ones outside as it was a beautiful evening. What a treat!
After supper, we took our chances that we could get in to the Vaudeville type show they have, but it was sold out so we went back to the truck. We then found where the Discovery Sternwheeler was so that we could find it tomorrow and then finally found the visitors centre (20 minutes before closing) - turns out it is in downtown in a beautiful building with lovely flowers and local art on the grounds. We asked our questions about the Dalton their and got their counsel and now know what we have to do in order to actually get to the Arctic Ocean. We have to apply for security clearance at Homeland Security 48 hours in advance and the site is on line. So we will do that!
Our adventures for the day are over because I couldn't stop yawning (remember I didn't have the nap) so back to our cosy little campground for the night. We are nestled among many very large rigs. It looks quite funny but we get to meet a lot of people that way because people want to know "Does it Pop Up?")
The next day dawned rainy and cool. We were hoping it would clear up because today we go on our Riverboat Tour and behold by noon it was sunny and hot. We did a little shopping at Fred Meyers to find a new SD card reader as ours has stopped working and some supplies for going up the Dalton highway. Then we headed to the Discovery centre and boarded the Sternwheeler with about 300 others (there were 12 tour buses lined up) and off we went up the river. This is a very well organized tour and you don't just float up the river. We had a float plane demonstration, visits with sled dogs and watched them practicing, then we went to the Chena Village which is a model of an Athabaskan Native Indian Village and fish camp.
The guides at this village were all young people of Athabaskan heritage and they were very interesting speakers. I had a lovely chat with a young man after about the preserving of their language as he appeared to be fluent in his native tongue. He told me that they had challenges with this just like other First Nations people (this is an issue for our First Nations Tribe at Fort Nelson). His tribe have just signed on with Rosetta Stone and have developed a course for the young people to learn the Athabaskan language. He told me however, that he was lucky as his family worked hard to make sure they preserved the language in their family so he has learned the language from his Grandfather along with other skills.
While we were at the village, we also go a chance to buy the book about Granite the Dog Sled and his owner Susan Butcher. Together they won three consecutive Iditarod Races. There is a statue in honour of Granite in the village and information panels about Susan Butcher's history in dog racing. Susan Butcher died of cancer in 2006 but before she did her and her husband got the story down for her children. The book is the story she wrote about Granite her lead dog before she passed away. I got the book dedicated to my students and signed by Susan's husband, youngest daughter and sister who were there at the village. It will be fun sharing this with my students.
On the way back, the commentator 'gave our ears a rest' and let us drift along admiring all the beautiful houses along the waterfront, the ducks, seaplanes and other watercraft. They fed us salmon snacks as we floated along 'up a lazy river'. What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. We roamed around the gift shop after but things were quite expensive. I did get a great t-shirt and we bought the video of the trip. We went to one of the riverside restaurants for supper, explored the Alaska Bowl Company and then headed back so we could get ready for tomorrow. Big day!
We are heading up the Dalton Highway. We have gotten our security clearance and a space on the shuttle one we get to Deadhorse to go to the Arctic Shore - you cannot go there on your own! We are well stocked with bug dope, spare tires, extra gas, food - very few services up this way. Earl is very excited and I am a little nervous but off we go.
So friends and family, there will be a pause in the blog for a few days as we will not have access to phone, cell or internet until we return (we think in about 4 days) if all goes well and we do not encounter any difficulties.
Wish us luck!
Wednesday, 24 July 2013
Day 13 - Tok to North Pole, Alaska!
Day 13 - "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!"
Greetings from the North Pole. We are camped at Riverview RV park among many very LARGE rigs at North Pole Alaska. We ate supper at the Elf Inn and drove past Santa's Workshop to get here! This is a fun place, our camping spot is 10 minutes out of North Pole and 10 minutes out of Fairbanks. But I'm getting ahead of myself! Let me tell you about yesterday's journey first!
We had a leisurely breakfast at Fast Eddies, after a delicious and free hot shower. As you probably notices we updated the blog while we were there. Then we headed to the visitor centre in Tok which is a lovely little place with an interesting video about the Alaskan wildlife and places to visit. There are kiosks set up with information about each major place to visit - Fairbanks, Anchorage, the Denali; Valdez etc. Earl picked up a great t-shirt highlighting Tok as both the coldest (-71F - brrrr!) and hottest spot in Alaska and I picked up fun postcards for my students there too.
We are still having trouble with my little red truck, especially on hills, and with the engine racing in park so we asked the people at the centre about a recommendation for a good mechanic. They directed to one who said they couldn't help but he directed us to the Amazing Zack of Z Transmissions. We have an appointment for tomorrow morning. So we headed up the Alaska highway to Delta Junction which is the end point of the Alaska highway. So now I can say I have driven the whole of the Alaska Highway! We even got certificates for Earl, myself and Corona the wonderdog to say we drove to the end of the highway.
I must say the drive from Tok to Fairbanks is a little boring with not much to break up the monotony. Earl was falling asleep so I took over and found then I was all tired. We stopped for a rest and some refreshment and felt better. A little further along we did see some scenery worth the photos and climbed out to admire the Chena River Delta - its is quite beautiful and the hills all around have this orange tone to them.
We stopped just before North Pole at the Knotty Shop as the Milepost said is was the place to stop. They have some cool animals made from burls and lots of souvenirs. We also got a free ice cream because we had out Milepost with us - yum! Corona was happy too!
Then we pushed on to North Pole and set up camp, at supper at the Elf Inn and happily went to bed in our little trailer. Before we went to supper we had a bit of a scare. We dropped by the office to ask for a recommendation for supper and where the Safeway was so we could get some food to make at camp tomorrow, and unbeknown to us, Corona got out of the truck while we were gone! We headed down the road toward our supper destination and I looked in the back seat to say something to Corona and he was gone! Thank goodness he had not gone too far, we turned around and headed back to camp and the people at the office had him and had already phone our cellphone (which was off because of roaming charges) that is on his dog tags. Thank goodness we noticed right away though, we would not have known where we lost him! His was in a bit of trouble and he does not like being called a bad dog so he wouldn't make eye contact with us the rest of the night. Silly dog!
After a good supper and some chats with our neighours we went to bed and woke up to a bit of a cloudy and cooler day but it soon brightened. Earl headed into Fairbanks to meet with Zak about the transmission. Corona and I stayed at camp, tidied up a bit, and sat and relaxed. Earl was back by lunch with some good news. Oh, we were so worried we needed a new transmission and a disreputable company could have said we needed one and we would have just paid it and probably have cut our holiday short as the quote for a new transmission was at least 2500 dollars! As it turns out, Zak the Amazing Transmission Dude, shook his head, marveled that the truck made it this far and said that we did not have a connection to the part of the engine that coordinates the motor and the transmission ~ the wires that plug into it were there but there was nothing to plug it in to!!!!! It tells the motor when to change gear and idle etc. We are not sure if it never was in this truck - we got it second hand, did others have the trouble we're having and thought it needed a new transmission and sold it? Anyway, he ordered a $59 part from NAPA who delivered right away, Zak the Amazing put it in, only charged us for half hour of labour ($45) and said we can have a nice summer and our truck will run much better now. He did check to see if we had done any permanent damage but none showed up on the scan! He adjusted a few things and we were done.
Oh, this is such a relief. We really were thinking perhaps our holiday was over. Now we are busy doing laundry (well Earl is napping and I'm doing laundry and catching up the blog) and then we can make plans as to what's next. The Dalton, the Denali, perhaps a train trip or a flightseeing tour! We will let you know!
Greetings from the North Pole. We are camped at Riverview RV park among many very LARGE rigs at North Pole Alaska. We ate supper at the Elf Inn and drove past Santa's Workshop to get here! This is a fun place, our camping spot is 10 minutes out of North Pole and 10 minutes out of Fairbanks. But I'm getting ahead of myself! Let me tell you about yesterday's journey first!
We had a leisurely breakfast at Fast Eddies, after a delicious and free hot shower. As you probably notices we updated the blog while we were there. Then we headed to the visitor centre in Tok which is a lovely little place with an interesting video about the Alaskan wildlife and places to visit. There are kiosks set up with information about each major place to visit - Fairbanks, Anchorage, the Denali; Valdez etc. Earl picked up a great t-shirt highlighting Tok as both the coldest (-71F - brrrr!) and hottest spot in Alaska and I picked up fun postcards for my students there too.
We are still having trouble with my little red truck, especially on hills, and with the engine racing in park so we asked the people at the centre about a recommendation for a good mechanic. They directed to one who said they couldn't help but he directed us to the Amazing Zack of Z Transmissions. We have an appointment for tomorrow morning. So we headed up the Alaska highway to Delta Junction which is the end point of the Alaska highway. So now I can say I have driven the whole of the Alaska Highway! We even got certificates for Earl, myself and Corona the wonderdog to say we drove to the end of the highway.
I must say the drive from Tok to Fairbanks is a little boring with not much to break up the monotony. Earl was falling asleep so I took over and found then I was all tired. We stopped for a rest and some refreshment and felt better. A little further along we did see some scenery worth the photos and climbed out to admire the Chena River Delta - its is quite beautiful and the hills all around have this orange tone to them.
We stopped just before North Pole at the Knotty Shop as the Milepost said is was the place to stop. They have some cool animals made from burls and lots of souvenirs. We also got a free ice cream because we had out Milepost with us - yum! Corona was happy too!
Then we pushed on to North Pole and set up camp, at supper at the Elf Inn and happily went to bed in our little trailer. Before we went to supper we had a bit of a scare. We dropped by the office to ask for a recommendation for supper and where the Safeway was so we could get some food to make at camp tomorrow, and unbeknown to us, Corona got out of the truck while we were gone! We headed down the road toward our supper destination and I looked in the back seat to say something to Corona and he was gone! Thank goodness he had not gone too far, we turned around and headed back to camp and the people at the office had him and had already phone our cellphone (which was off because of roaming charges) that is on his dog tags. Thank goodness we noticed right away though, we would not have known where we lost him! His was in a bit of trouble and he does not like being called a bad dog so he wouldn't make eye contact with us the rest of the night. Silly dog!
After a good supper and some chats with our neighours we went to bed and woke up to a bit of a cloudy and cooler day but it soon brightened. Earl headed into Fairbanks to meet with Zak about the transmission. Corona and I stayed at camp, tidied up a bit, and sat and relaxed. Earl was back by lunch with some good news. Oh, we were so worried we needed a new transmission and a disreputable company could have said we needed one and we would have just paid it and probably have cut our holiday short as the quote for a new transmission was at least 2500 dollars! As it turns out, Zak the Amazing Transmission Dude, shook his head, marveled that the truck made it this far and said that we did not have a connection to the part of the engine that coordinates the motor and the transmission ~ the wires that plug into it were there but there was nothing to plug it in to!!!!! It tells the motor when to change gear and idle etc. We are not sure if it never was in this truck - we got it second hand, did others have the trouble we're having and thought it needed a new transmission and sold it? Anyway, he ordered a $59 part from NAPA who delivered right away, Zak the Amazing put it in, only charged us for half hour of labour ($45) and said we can have a nice summer and our truck will run much better now. He did check to see if we had done any permanent damage but none showed up on the scan! He adjusted a few things and we were done.
Oh, this is such a relief. We really were thinking perhaps our holiday was over. Now we are busy doing laundry (well Earl is napping and I'm doing laundry and catching up the blog) and then we can make plans as to what's next. The Dalton, the Denali, perhaps a train trip or a flightseeing tour! We will let you know!
Tuesday, 23 July 2013
Day 12 - Dawson City, Yukon to Tok, Alaska
Day 12 - "I'm on Top of the World"
Well, we packed up but really not that fast. We wondered round Dawson again. We are always reluctant to leave this great little place - so much history and beauty. We finally lined up for the free ferry about three and after just a 45 minute wait we were on! The ride across the Yukon river is not very long but enjoyable and then we start the long climb up the top of the world highway. It is just a breathtaking view that just keeps getting better and better the higher you get. Our little truck did not do too bad up these hills but something is not quite perfect with the transmission yet. We will have to stop in Fairbanks when we get there and may have to do a transplant - ouch - an expense we were hoping not to have.
When we arrived at the top of the world we met a couple from Edmonton and exchanged favours for taking couple pics of us at the cairn. Corona was not very happy about climbing the shaky rocks but we did manage to get a picture of him. Sue of course had to sing at the top of the world - a great Carpenters song - "I'm on top of the world looking down on creation and the only expectation I can find, is the love that I've found ever since you've been around, your what's put me at the top of the world!"
We crossed the border serviced by a very cranky border guard but we got across fine! Now we are in Alaska and the adventure really begins. It is hard to describe just how beautiful the scenery is but we will try to include pictures so you can see. There has been a lot of forest fires in this region in recent years and the Fireweed is just amazing. We stopped for supper in Chicken, Alaska and the special board said they had BBQ Chicken on special or a Chicken Breast and Caesar Salad - however, when we ordered they were out of Chicken! I thought that was funny - Chicken Alaska is out of chicken - they didn't find it as funny. We had fish instead!
Off we go again, with a few stops for photo ops - one at a gold dredge by the side of the road and one to take pics of a baby moose with her mama back lit by the sinking Alaska sun. Our final stop for the day is in Tok where we stop for the night - we stayed at Fast Eddy's RV and Restaurant - a great deal at only 17 dollars with free showers and quiet wooded sights. Ah, a good nights sleep was great and now we will head to Fairbanks.
The internet has been hit and miss but as soon as we can we catch up the blog so stay tuned!
Well, we packed up but really not that fast. We wondered round Dawson again. We are always reluctant to leave this great little place - so much history and beauty. We finally lined up for the free ferry about three and after just a 45 minute wait we were on! The ride across the Yukon river is not very long but enjoyable and then we start the long climb up the top of the world highway. It is just a breathtaking view that just keeps getting better and better the higher you get. Our little truck did not do too bad up these hills but something is not quite perfect with the transmission yet. We will have to stop in Fairbanks when we get there and may have to do a transplant - ouch - an expense we were hoping not to have.
When we arrived at the top of the world we met a couple from Edmonton and exchanged favours for taking couple pics of us at the cairn. Corona was not very happy about climbing the shaky rocks but we did manage to get a picture of him. Sue of course had to sing at the top of the world - a great Carpenters song - "I'm on top of the world looking down on creation and the only expectation I can find, is the love that I've found ever since you've been around, your what's put me at the top of the world!"
We crossed the border serviced by a very cranky border guard but we got across fine! Now we are in Alaska and the adventure really begins. It is hard to describe just how beautiful the scenery is but we will try to include pictures so you can see. There has been a lot of forest fires in this region in recent years and the Fireweed is just amazing. We stopped for supper in Chicken, Alaska and the special board said they had BBQ Chicken on special or a Chicken Breast and Caesar Salad - however, when we ordered they were out of Chicken! I thought that was funny - Chicken Alaska is out of chicken - they didn't find it as funny. We had fish instead!
Off we go again, with a few stops for photo ops - one at a gold dredge by the side of the road and one to take pics of a baby moose with her mama back lit by the sinking Alaska sun. Our final stop for the day is in Tok where we stop for the night - we stayed at Fast Eddy's RV and Restaurant - a great deal at only 17 dollars with free showers and quiet wooded sights. Ah, a good nights sleep was great and now we will head to Fairbanks.
The internet has been hit and miss but as soon as we can we catch up the blog so stay tuned!
Day 9, 10 and 11 - Dawson City Music Festival
Day 9, 10 and 11 - Where did you get that hat?
The Dawson Music Festival Day dawned sunny and bright. We did some sightseeing around the town - Dawson City is a great place for walking around. The buildings are all heritage buildings with false fronts and lots of character. Front Street is right along the river with lots of quirky stores and restaurants. The visitor's centre is like a museum itself and has very knowledgeable staff to help you decide on what to do.
Earl met up with an old friend from the Milepost "Amazing Dave" who does the graphics among other things and had a good visit with him. Then we found the information booth, picked up our passes and the program. We did not know many of the names listed this year except The Sojourner's (black gospel group) and Al Simmons (children's entertainer) but that's what music festivals are all about - find new artists (or old ones you never heard of)!
The DCMF has six venues - hmmmmm - which is fine I guest except often you find yourself wanting to be at more than one place at the same time! Friday night we chose the Palace Grande as our first concert experience as the Sojourners were part of the program. The concerts started with a unique violinist who uses a loop pedal to record herself and build her music. By the end of her songs, it sounds like a whole group of violins playing together. Her music was soft, gentle and lyrical and just lovely. Oh but then, the Sojourners got up on that stage ~ their close harmonies, wonderful lyrics and great patter and rapport with the audience make these three fellows just wonderful to experience. They sang Sue's favourite song of theirs - "People get ready - there's a train a coming, don't need no baggage, just get on board!" This is a very famous Negro Spiritual (even Rod Stewart does a cover of it) but I like the Sojourners version the best - so soulful and amazing! The last band at the Grand for the opening concert were called Drea and the Naysayers. It was fun to see their excitement! They are a local band that got called in at the last minute when a band from Toronto cancelled at the last minute! They were an indie rock band but with a good sound and lots of fun. They were very humble and grateful about the opportunity this was for them and that was great to see.
We had a break before the concerts at the Mainstage so we headed to our favourite eating spot in Dawson City - The Drunken Goat! This is the most delicious Greek cuisine with great service and atmosphere. We ate more than our fill after a modest wait for a table (very popular place) and then headed to the Mainstage Tent for more fun and music. There were a variety of bands up tonight and there was not one we didn't enjoy tonight. We have to say though, our favourite artist of the whole weekend was not a headliner at all! His name is Derek Durrham and he played with Wanda Jackson and the Trilliums Thursday night, several other artists and workshops and his own band the Beauties! He played bass, guitar, keyboards, piano, drums - sometimes two at the same time! He was everywhere, and so talented - oh he sang too! He was fascinating to watch and we told him he needs his own show. Another great things about Derek was how much he loved our dog! Just thought Corona was the greatest dog he'd ever seen. I think this illustrates just what we like about festivals. You get to really interact and talk with the artists and they are all so personable. We had a lot of fun at this festival.
I won't bore everyone with a blow by blow of the whole weekend, but suffice it to say it was wonderful. From the Old Time Religion Workshop to the great fun with Al Simmons, to meeting some great folks from all over the world we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves
On Saturday, Earl found a vendor booth selling hats that were made of fun fur - looked like costumes for Where the Wild Things are! So of course, Earl bought one and wore it into the tent. Caused quite a stir. Earl was handing out cards all weekends for the people who sold the hat to anyone who said 'nice hat' - quite a few. On Sunday, the lady who had the booth told him she had almost sold out and gave him matching arm warmers (like leg warmers but for the arms) He really does look like the monsters from Where the Wild Things Are - he is ready for Hallowe'en - the kids will love it!
Then on Sunday afternoon, we finally got to see Al Simmons (so many artists - so many venues) and it was the funniest show I have seen in a long time. He puts on a great show but his best song is "Where did you get that hat?" throughout which he dons some pretty crazy hats he has created. My cheeks were just aching by the end of the show. "Where did you get that hat?" is now Earl and I's favourite song and it is a bit of an ear worm that rolls round and round your head! After Al Simmons, was a great band called the Brass Knuckle Society - all brass instruments plus an accordian with a Big Band sound from the forties and so much fun!
The evening concert was amazing as well, and closed with a group from Iqualuit, Nunavut called the Jerry Cans - they now how to party! They have a very East Coast Sound with fiddle and accordian but with some Innuktatuk language and throat singing thrown in. The closing was fun too, with all the artist and the audience singing Hit the Road Jack! I think I may be hoarse for a week from singing and shouting and wahooing!
And so, our festival time has come to a close. We are glad we did both. They were very different - Atlin much more family oriented and the DCMF more geared to a 20's/30's crowd but we had fun at both and found new artists and music to keep us going for a quite a while.
Tomorrow we leave Dawson City for the Top of the World Highway that will take us to Alaska.
The Dawson Music Festival Day dawned sunny and bright. We did some sightseeing around the town - Dawson City is a great place for walking around. The buildings are all heritage buildings with false fronts and lots of character. Front Street is right along the river with lots of quirky stores and restaurants. The visitor's centre is like a museum itself and has very knowledgeable staff to help you decide on what to do.
Earl met up with an old friend from the Milepost "Amazing Dave" who does the graphics among other things and had a good visit with him. Then we found the information booth, picked up our passes and the program. We did not know many of the names listed this year except The Sojourner's (black gospel group) and Al Simmons (children's entertainer) but that's what music festivals are all about - find new artists (or old ones you never heard of)!
The DCMF has six venues - hmmmmm - which is fine I guest except often you find yourself wanting to be at more than one place at the same time! Friday night we chose the Palace Grande as our first concert experience as the Sojourners were part of the program. The concerts started with a unique violinist who uses a loop pedal to record herself and build her music. By the end of her songs, it sounds like a whole group of violins playing together. Her music was soft, gentle and lyrical and just lovely. Oh but then, the Sojourners got up on that stage ~ their close harmonies, wonderful lyrics and great patter and rapport with the audience make these three fellows just wonderful to experience. They sang Sue's favourite song of theirs - "People get ready - there's a train a coming, don't need no baggage, just get on board!" This is a very famous Negro Spiritual (even Rod Stewart does a cover of it) but I like the Sojourners version the best - so soulful and amazing! The last band at the Grand for the opening concert were called Drea and the Naysayers. It was fun to see their excitement! They are a local band that got called in at the last minute when a band from Toronto cancelled at the last minute! They were an indie rock band but with a good sound and lots of fun. They were very humble and grateful about the opportunity this was for them and that was great to see.
We had a break before the concerts at the Mainstage so we headed to our favourite eating spot in Dawson City - The Drunken Goat! This is the most delicious Greek cuisine with great service and atmosphere. We ate more than our fill after a modest wait for a table (very popular place) and then headed to the Mainstage Tent for more fun and music. There were a variety of bands up tonight and there was not one we didn't enjoy tonight. We have to say though, our favourite artist of the whole weekend was not a headliner at all! His name is Derek Durrham and he played with Wanda Jackson and the Trilliums Thursday night, several other artists and workshops and his own band the Beauties! He played bass, guitar, keyboards, piano, drums - sometimes two at the same time! He was everywhere, and so talented - oh he sang too! He was fascinating to watch and we told him he needs his own show. Another great things about Derek was how much he loved our dog! Just thought Corona was the greatest dog he'd ever seen. I think this illustrates just what we like about festivals. You get to really interact and talk with the artists and they are all so personable. We had a lot of fun at this festival.
I won't bore everyone with a blow by blow of the whole weekend, but suffice it to say it was wonderful. From the Old Time Religion Workshop to the great fun with Al Simmons, to meeting some great folks from all over the world we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves
On Saturday, Earl found a vendor booth selling hats that were made of fun fur - looked like costumes for Where the Wild Things are! So of course, Earl bought one and wore it into the tent. Caused quite a stir. Earl was handing out cards all weekends for the people who sold the hat to anyone who said 'nice hat' - quite a few. On Sunday, the lady who had the booth told him she had almost sold out and gave him matching arm warmers (like leg warmers but for the arms) He really does look like the monsters from Where the Wild Things Are - he is ready for Hallowe'en - the kids will love it!
Then on Sunday afternoon, we finally got to see Al Simmons (so many artists - so many venues) and it was the funniest show I have seen in a long time. He puts on a great show but his best song is "Where did you get that hat?" throughout which he dons some pretty crazy hats he has created. My cheeks were just aching by the end of the show. "Where did you get that hat?" is now Earl and I's favourite song and it is a bit of an ear worm that rolls round and round your head! After Al Simmons, was a great band called the Brass Knuckle Society - all brass instruments plus an accordian with a Big Band sound from the forties and so much fun!
The evening concert was amazing as well, and closed with a group from Iqualuit, Nunavut called the Jerry Cans - they now how to party! They have a very East Coast Sound with fiddle and accordian but with some Innuktatuk language and throat singing thrown in. The closing was fun too, with all the artist and the audience singing Hit the Road Jack! I think I may be hoarse for a week from singing and shouting and wahooing!
And so, our festival time has come to a close. We are glad we did both. They were very different - Atlin much more family oriented and the DCMF more geared to a 20's/30's crowd but we had fun at both and found new artists and music to keep us going for a quite a while.
Tomorrow we leave Dawson City for the Top of the World Highway that will take us to Alaska.
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