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<\/a>\nThe totem was the British Columbia \u201cIndian\u2019s\u201d coat of arms. They were carved from western red cedar and each carving tells of a real or mythical event. They were not idols nor were they worshipped.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nWe took a day to sail over to Victoria, to visit Butchart gardens.
\nThis has got to be the biggest most spectacular botanical garden I have ever seen.
\nIt got started in 1906 by Mrs. Jennie Butchart to fill up an exhausted quarry pit near their house and it grew and grew under her hand and later under her children and grandchildren\u2019s direction.\u00a0 Nowadays, over a million bedding plants in some 900 varieties bloom from March through October.<\/p>\n
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nWe also got to spend a bit of time in Victoria itself. I was amused to see the \u201cMILE 0\u201d sign. It reminded me of a similar sign for a different road in Key West.<\/p>\n
We went to the Empress Hotel in the hopes of trying their famous afternoon tea\u2026but at $65.00 a pop we decided to skip it\u2026<\/p>\n Back to Vancouver to board our cruise ship, Holland America\u2019s Zuiderdam.<\/p>\n We were trying out a \u201cnew\u201d itinerary, which includes the Yukon. This is a novelty because it was not usually part of Alaskan voyages. It is an interesting addition especially for people whose ancestors may have been involved in the Klondike gold rush. The downside is that, because of this added land portion, we did not get to see the glacier fields, which is one of the highlights of an Alaska cruise. But we got so see some amazing things nonetheless and covered a lot of ground visiting British Columbia and the Yukon in Canada and Alaska in the USA.<\/p>\n Heading for the Inside Passage<\/p>\n We see the first snow capped mountains And our first signs of icebergs!!! The colors are ever changing\u2026 as we unknowingly cross the border into the US First stop: Juneau, Alaska!<\/p>\n We choose an excursion into the Tongass National Forest. It is said to be the largest national forest in the USA at 17 million acres (69,000\u00a0km2). It was interesting to see the markings of where the glacier had been through the years. There are many streams left over from the passage of the glacier, allowing salmon to swim up, some of them for their last voyage, which explains their reddish color.<\/p>\n Suddenly, we came to a clearing that opened up to the Mendenhall glacier. It is a huge mass of ice (about 12 miles (19\u00a0km) long) and the compression is what makes it look blue.<\/p>\n The second part of this excursion was whale watching. This was without a doubt the most exciting part of the trip for me. The whales we saw are humpback whales. One of the larger\u00a0rorqual species, the adults range in length from 12\u201316 metres (39\u201352\u00a0ft.) and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms (79,000\u00a0lb.). The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. An acrobatic animal known for breaching and slapping the water with its tail and pectorals. Males produce a complex song lasting 10 to 20 minutes, which they repeat for hours at a time. There were a lot of them!! Having said that I must recount an amazing phenomenon that we got to witness first hand. Our guide called it bubble net feeding. Too soon it was time to go back to our ship en route for Skagway, (still in Alaska) where we will leave the ship to embark on a long land journey. The name Skagway\u00a0is derived from\u00a0sh?ag\u00e9i, a\u00a0Tlingit\u00a0idiom\u00a0which\u00a0refers to rough seas in the\u00a0Taiya Inlet, that are caused by strong north winds. Skagway is also part of the setting for\u00a0Jack London’s book\u00a0The Call of the Wild\u00a0and for\u00a0Joe Haldeman’s novel\u00a0Guardian. A picturesque touristy port, the main street features wood sidewalks and stores that remind us of the gold rush days. It is the starting point for the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad. The train ride on this narrow gauge railroad, which brings us back to the mining days, is the main attraction. Built in 1898 during the Klondike gold rush, the tracks climb 3 000 feet in 20 miles, and feature steep grades of up to 3.9% as well as cliff hanging curves of 16 degrees. It passes through and over 2 tunnels, several bridges and trestles.<\/p>\n After the train ride we switch to a bus\u2026. and drive all the way into the Yukon.<\/p>\n We had an amazingly entertaining driver who managed to make this long ride exciting\u2026even a stop at Carcross.<\/p>\n Need I comment on the scenery?<\/p>\n Just outside of town is a huge eagles\u2019 nest with a couple of juveniles standing guard. We stopped by an old log building called the Montague roadhouse, a staging post providing stables, storage, meals and accommodation, during the Klondike Gold Rush, but I was more interested by the flora that the history of the place\u2026<\/p>\n We followed the Yukon River, which is not only a major migration corridor but was also the principal means of transportation during the Klondike Gold Rush.<\/p>\n We came across some local humour\u2026<\/p>\n And interesting vegetation<\/p>\n During this long ride we heard a lot about the shooting of Dan McGrew and the cremation of Sam McGee, (http:\/\/www.poetryfoundation.org\/poem\/174348<\/a>), but mostly their creator, the poet Robert Service (http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Robert_W._Service<\/a>).<\/p>\n Finally we reach our goal! Dawson city! We are at the heart of the Klondike Gold Rush at the confluence of the Klondike River and the Yukon River.<\/p>\n We are quite far north if you just consider that this photo was taken at 10h55 PM!<\/p>\n The city is small but quaint, flowers have been planted everywhere<\/p>\n The waterfront is very well landscaped and allows us to see very clearly the joining of the two rivers. There are a few tourist attractions such as the paddleboat ride, And a museum that recreates the life of the gold diggers.<\/p>\n There is also a newly built center devoted to the native culture You can also visit Robert Service\u2019s cabin. One of the more questionable activities is having a drink called the \u201cSour toe cocktail\u201d at the local drinking hole. This is a drink that contains an actual alcohol preserved human toe.\u00a0 A little poem accompanies the ritual, as follows: \u201cYou can drink it fast, you can drink it slow. But the lips have got to touch the toe.\u201d (I did not do it.)<\/p>\n And it was time to leave again, direction Fairbanks, Alaska! We arrived at the airport there to a whopping 100 F!! Apparently this is not uncommon. We had very little time to spend there but did take a walk along the river.<\/p>\n The next morning we boarded the famous McKinley Explorer train en route for Denali Park! These are the two story domed cars with panoramic views upstairs and a fine dining restaurant downstairs.<\/p>\n The scenery along the way is spectacular.<\/p>\n But arriving to the park was the ultimate goal! Denali National Park and Preserve\u00a0is a\u00a0national park\u00a0and preserve located in\u00a0Interior Alaska, centered on Denali (Mount McKinley), the highest mountain in\u00a0North America. The park encompasses more than 6 million acres (24,500\u00a0km\u00b2). After a night\u2019s rest in a lodge we set out on a school bus tour in the park.<\/p>\n The scenery was as breathtaking as the wildlife we were able to see.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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\nWe started with a walk in the woods.<\/p>\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n
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\nUnfortunately my photo technique is not quite what it needed to be to make memorable shots.<\/p>\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n
\n\u201cA group of whales swims in a shrinking circle blowing bubbles below a school of prey. The shrinking ring of bubbles encircles the school and confines it in an ever-smaller cylinder. This ring can begin at up to 30 metres (98\u00a0ft.) in diameter and involve the cooperation of a dozen animals. Some whales blow the bubbles, some dive deeper to drive fish toward the surface, and others herd prey into the net by vocalizing. The whales then suddenly swim upward through the “net”, mouths agape, swallowing thousands of fish in one gulp. Plated grooves in the whale’s mouth allow the creature to easily drain all the water initially taken in.\u201d
\nOur guide used an underwater microphone to pick up the vocalizing and thus knew when the wales were about to come up. Do I need to say it was SPECTACULAR to see all those huge whales coming up and out of the water at the same time?!!!!<\/p>\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n
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