Back to The Yukon

I rode thirty miles to a campground after the fourth of July celebrations finished up. On the way out of town I met this master carver working on a totem pole.


The scenery was amazing and there was no traffic.


The view from camp.


This was amusing.


The next day I crossed the border into Canada and climbed the Chilkat Pass.





On the climb up, a car pulled over to tell me about a small shack on the other side of the pass that I could stay in for the night. Sure enough, a few miles down, there if was, the famous Green Shack.


I moved right in.








There was a fantastic wood stove and a nice sleeping platform. So cozy on a cold, windy day. This was the view.


The neighbors came by to see what was up.


The previous visitors left this message.


This was mine.


I left a nice pile of kindling for the next visitor.


From the Green Shack, I made my way to Haines Junction, home of the famous muffin sculpture.


Smoked king salmon and pasta for dinner. Yum!!


I build a fire every night to keep the mosquitoes away. Yukon campgrounds provide free firewood. They also have the cleanest outhouses I've ever seen.


There is a neat chapel in town built from an old World War Two Quonset hut.





It's finally sunny but still cold, around freezing at night. The east coast should send us some of their heat!

The midnight sun is amazing. I took this at 10 PM.


This is 11:30 PM.


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Location:Destruction Bay,Canada

July 4th in Haines

I spent one more day in Sitka and went to visit the old Russian Bishop's House from the 1820s when Alaska still belonged to Russia.


The original bishop built this desk.


Here is the Orthodox chapel.


I went to an eagle sanctuary where they rehabilitate raptors.


This is the old orthodox cemetery; kinda creepy!


I took the ferry back to Juneau and stayed in the Mendenhall Campground next to the glacier again. I rode over to take a closer look at it.


This was the view ten paces from my campsite.


The next morning, I took one last ferry to Haines.


I was here three years ago but didn't see a whole lot due to all the smoke from forest fires in the north. I stayed at a nice oceanside campground.


I met Francois, a traveller from Toulouse, France. We hung out during the chilly evenings around a campfire and on the fourth. Thanks for the company, Francois! I hope our paths cross again soon.


I went to the hammer museum, which was much more interesting than one would think.





These are toast hammers from the 20s and 30s that were used to tap on a glass before offering a toast.


This one was cute.


And, out front.


I got a kick out of this local. Shorts and rubber boots. Only in SE Alaska.


I went out to enjoy Mojito Mondays at a restaurant in the old army fort. They were very tasty!


This is the row of what was the officers' quarters.


The fourth was classic Americana at its best. There was a parade and all sorts of races in the park.


This was a fire hose battle.


The Hammer Museum sponsored a hammer race to see who could hammer in a railroad spike the fastest using a special sledge hammer.


Three women participated including me. I got the thing pounded in in 58 seconds and got second place in the ladies category but beat quite a number of the men.


My strategy was to take much shorter, more accurate swings since I saw all the other contestants wasting energy taking huge swings and missing. My short quick taps set a good clanking rhythm and the crowd spontaneously started singing, 'I've Been Working on the Railroad' as I pounded away. Oh so very,very cool. I didn't win but I'm the only one who got a song.
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Location:Haines, Alaska

I Love Soggy Sitka

I'm in Sitka, Alaska and have totally fallen for the place. What a great town! I'm staying at the local youth hostel to give my gear and me a chance to dry out. I'm sharing a three bed room with a mother and daughter from Gustavus. I remember meeting the girl at the coffee shop when I was in Guatavus several days ago.

This morning, I went to Sitka National Park and got a great tour from one of the rangers. Early in the 20th century, totem poles were collected from abandoned Haida and Tlingit villages and put here in the park. They are just wonderful to see in the wet, drippy forest.









I stopped by the science center to checkout the cool critters.


This is a crab.


They have one of the few full orca skeletons in the world. Note the tiny vestigial pelvis towards the tail end.


I looked around in the local book shop to warm up and got a kick out of the sign.


Sitka was the capital of Russian Alaska so there is a unique combination of Russian, Tlingit, and American culture here. I climbed the hill to where first the Tlingit and then the Russians built fortifications. This is where the transfer of ownership from Russia to the US tool place. There are mountains behind the clouds, I'm told.


There were a couple of old Russian cannons.


The Russian Eagle is still visible on them.


I stopped by St. Michael's Orthodox church.


Father Michael was in the middle of prayer but invited me to stay and look around.





Afterwards, I had a pint of local beer at The Pub.


Finally, I went to one of the last concerts of the Sitka Music Festival.


The festival is several weeks of chamber music concerts. An excellent quartet of Julliard grads played a Beethoven quintet, an interesting modern piece by an Australian composer whose name escapes me, and an early Dvorak work. The acoustics of the building were fantastic as was the view of the foggy bay through the big windows behind the performers. It's amazing to hear music of this caliber in such a small, out of the way place. What an amazing day! I love Sitka!!
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Location:Sitka, Alaska