Pages

Friday, August 11, 2006

North to Alaska and South to Texas Epilogue

May 16 - August 7, 2006 Longview TX to Longview TX Log 12,261 Miles
Alaska Day 1-83 Epilogue:
We had a fantastic summer. We started our trip with the Discovery Texans Rally at Shallow Creek and ended 83 days later back here in Longview TX. We traveled 12, 261 miles in the D and probably another 1200 or so in the Jeep. We went from summer to spring to winter and back to summer. It was just a little traumatic returning to 100d F. days. Most of our days were in the 65d range with the nights in the 40’s. We followed the Klondike Gold Rush Trail from Skagway- Dyea and the Chilkoot and White Pass to Dawson City. We missed the strike though by over 100 years. However we found that the Canadians and Alaskans are still mining for gold from the many tourists that cover this route. We panned for gold on the Klondike and north of Fairbanks. We found about $9.00 worth of gold specs, which is more than most of the original seekers found. We walked on glaciers and watched whales feed in the Gulf of Alaska. We fished for halibut off the Kenai Peninsula. We were in the 4th of July parade in Valdez with our trikes and Jake. We took a dogsled ride with an Iditarod veteran. Jake swam in everything from mountain streams and lakes to the mighty Yukon River. We took 4, 218 digital pictures and 13 hours of video which we plan to use to make a DVD that we will share with you soon. For those of you who are worried about the cost of diesel these days, we spent considerable less than a two week cruise would have cost. We found that our mobile condo has the best back yard and view in the world, and we are counting the days until we can continue our Journey.

Walldog, Willie and Jake
Herb and Wilma Stark

No comments: