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We left the Alaska Highway at Haines Junction and followed the Haines Highway south, crossing back into Alaska around mid-day. Interestingly, the Border Patrol agent at this crossing "grilled" us more than at any other crossing – he even wanted to know how much money we had with us!

The Haines Highway is another beautiful road. About 25 miles from town, we entered the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, the annual gathering site of more than 3,500 bald eagles from mid-October through December. The 4,800-acre preserve was established in 1982 to protect and perpetuate the world’s greatest concentration of bald eagles and their critical habitat. We saw many bald eagles in the Haines area, even at this time of year.

We also saw an operating fishwheel on the Chilkat River, about 10 miles north of town. Fishwheels are interesting contraptions, developed by the Indians to harvest fish more efficiently. Many Alaskans, native and otherwise, live off the land, relying on fish, wildlife and other wild resources for food, shelter, clothing, transportation, handicrafts and trade. This is referred to, in Alaska, as subsistence living. Congress formally acknowledged the social and cultural importance of subsistence hunting and fishing by both natives and non-natives when it passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980. This law protects the rights of Alaskans to engage in a subsistence way of life. Each summer and fall they plant gardens, fish, harvest moose or other game and gather berries. During winter months they travel by dog team, snowmobiles and snowshoes. They harvest wild fur animals for income, meat and clothing. Hides and fur are sewn into warm clothing to ward off the severe Alaska cold. The land provides wood for firewood, drying racks and cabin logs, as well as for making sleds and snowshoes. The land also provides sod and mosses to insulate shelters and bark for baskets, dyes and handicrafts. Alaskans are to take only what is needed and when it is needed. They are to treat all living things with respect and they are not to damage the land without cause. They are even allowed, during designated time periods, to hunt and fish in Alaska’s national parks. This really is still a wilderness in many ways!

We checked into the Haines Hitch-up RV Park for 4 nights and found it to be one of the better maintained parks we’ve stayed in. Haines is an interesting little town although we didn’t get to fully enjoy it because we both came down with colds. This area was once a stronghold of the Chilkat Tlingit Indians until Jack Dalton came along in 1897 and turned an old Indian trade route into a toll road for miners seeking an easier way to reach the Klondike. The Dalton Trail quickly became such a heavily used pack route to mining districts north of Whitehorse that the army arrived in 1903 and established Fort William H. Seward, Alaska’s first permanent post. Most of the old fort’s buildings are still there with several now housing shops and restaurants.

Haines is not a typical tourist town. There are few cruise ships that dock here which makes it feel more like a real town. And the shops and restaurants are all owned by locals, rather than by corporate conglomerates (more about that later when we reach Skagway). Haines has spectacular scenery, quick access to rivers and mountains and is reportedly drier than other coastal towns with only 53 inches of rain annually, although it rained a lot while we were there! All of this prompted Outside Magazine to plaster a photo of Haines on its cover in 2004 and declare it one of the country’s "20 best places to live and play."

We enjoyed Haines, especially watching a grizzly fish for salmon in the Chilkoot River late one afternoon. We also visited the Chilkoot Lake State Recreation Site, 5 miles north of the ferry terminal, and found beautiful campsites on the lake without hookups – maybe for our next visit!

We were scheduled for the 4:45 a.m. ferry from Haines to Skagway on Saturday, September 1. We checked in with ferry terminal personnel early in the day, giving us the opportunity to sleep in another hour so we didn’t have to be in line to board until 3:45. The Matanuska would carry us 16 miles up Lynn Canal, North America’s longest and deepest fjord, to Skagway in one hour. Unfortunately, it was still dark at that time of the morning so we couldn’t enjoy the scenery.

We arrived in Skagway around 6:00 a.m. and disembarked. We had reservations at the Mtn. View RV Park but, upon arrival, found it to be less than desirable so we only spent one night there, then moved to Garden City RV Park for two nights. At least there, we would have wifi.

Sunday was a beautiful day so we took a morning drive to Dyea (die-YEE) at the foot of the Chilkoot Trail. Dyea was once Skagway’s rival city because it was the trailhead for the shortest route to Lake Bennett, where stampeders began their float to Dawson City and the goldfields. However, after the White Pass & Yukon railroad route was completed in 1900, Dyea quickly died. Today the town is little more than a few old crumbling cabins, the pilings of Dyea Wharf and the Slide Cemetery, where 47 men and women were buried after perishing in an avalanche on the Chilkoot Trail in April 1898. The road to Dyea offers a wonderful view of Skagway including its waterfront and the peaks that surround it. Skagway, like all the other Alaskan coastal towns, is in a beautiful, beautiful setting.

After a quick lunch, we boarded the White Pass & Yukon train for a 3-hour, 40-mile round trip to White Pass Summit and Lake Bennett, elevation 2,888 feet. Riding in a replica coach, our narrated tour included tunnels, wooden trestles, cascading waterfalls, historic sites and spectacular scenery. It seems that every railroad has its own colorful beginnings. For this route, it was gold after George Carmack, Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie struck gold in the Yukon. The few flakes they found in Bonanza Creek barely filled the spent cartridge of a Winchester rifle but it was enough to trigger an incredible stampede for riches – the Klondike Gold Rush.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer on July 17, 1897 broadcast the discovery with headlines of "Gold! Gold! Gold!" The news spread like wildfire and the country, in the midst of a depression, went crazy. 100,000 gold-crazed men and women steamed up the Inside Passage waterway and arrived in Dyea and Skagway to begin the 600-mile treacherous overland trek to the Klondike to seek their riches.

Some prospectors chose the shorter but steeper Chilkoot Trail which began in Dyea. Others chose the longer, less steep White Pass trail believing that pack animals could be used. Both trails led to the interior lake country where they could continue their journey by boat. You see, in order for a prospector to enter Canada, he/she was required to carry a ton of food and supplies (yes - 2,000 pounds!), enough to last them for a year. Canada did not want vagrants entering their country. So, those who chose the Chilkoot Trail had to make many trips up and down the trail just to get their supplies over the steep pass. Those who chose the White Pass Trail expected easier going with their pack animals. However, both trails were filled with hazards and harrowing experiences. Over 3,000 horses died on the White Pass Trail because of the tortures of the trail and the inexperience of the stampeders. Hence, this trail also became known as the Dead Horse Trail.

In early 1898 two men, who had the same vision for a railroad over White Pass, met by chance in Skagway. Construction began on May 28 on the northernmost railroad in the Western Hemisphere. The route climbs from sea level in Skagway to almost 3,000 feet at the Summit (the Canadian/US border) in just 20 miles and features steep grades and tight curves. Less than 14 months after construction began, the tracks had reached the summit’s Lake Bennett and the beginning of the water route to the Klondike. It is said that this $10 million project was the result of British financing, American engineering and Canadian contracting.

On Monday, we visited the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Visitor Center located in the original 1898 White Pass & Yukon Route depot in Skagway. We viewed the 30-minute film "Days of Adventure, Dreams of Gold" and took a 45-minute ranger-led walking tour of the town’s historic district. We particularly enjoyed the tales about Jeff "Soapy" Smith, a villainous character who controlled this lawless frontier town. He was finally removed from power in a gun fight with town hero Frank Reid.

Skagway is a tourist town – plain and simple. More than 400 cruise ships visit here each summer and turn this village into a boomtown. Up to 5 ships a day stop here and, on the busiest days, over 8,000 tourists – over 10 times the town’s resident population – march off the ships and turn the main street into what looks like New York City sidewalks. Locals say it is the modern-day version of the Klondike Gold Rush with stores in town like the "Alaska Fleece Company". When we arrived, we couldn’t understand why there were 25 jewelry stores in town. Our ranger guide explained that all the shops in town are owned by cruise lines. The ships offer classes on "how to select the best diamonds" then steer the passengers to shop at certain stores in town for good deals. When the season is over, the shops are boarded up and the workers head for the Caribbean, where they set up winter shops. It never dawned on me that this could be the case! Jerry suggested that the town might be renamed "Skamway". However, in spite of all this, we loved our visit here. It is a beautiful little town in a beautiful setting and we would definitely visit again.

We ended our stay in Skagway with a delightful dinner at the Skagway Fish Company. On Tuesday morning, September 4, we headed north on the Klondike Highway to Whitehorse. The weather was nasty and White Pass was socked in with fog so photos were not an option. But it was a beautiful drive that we’d like to make again on a pretty day – lots of lakes and rivers and we even saw a bear. Near Whitehorse, we saw the Carcross Desert, affectionately known as the smallest desert in the world, a remnant from a large glacial lake. We also made a stop at beautiful Emerald Lake whose rainbow-like colors result from blue-green light waves reflecting off the white sediment of the lake bottom. The white sediment, called marl, consists of fragments of decomposed shell mixed with clay. It is usually found in shallow, freshwater lakes that have low oxygen levels during the summer months.

We made a 2-hour stop in Whitehorse to get a haircut by a barber we discovered on our way north. Murd Nicholson is, to say the least, a character – besides being a great barber. Unfortunately, I left the camera in the motorhome several miles out of town or Murd’s photo would be on the web! We also picked up some groceries and had lunch at Kentucky Fried Chicken. Speaking of the cost of things in Canada, two chicken strip dinners with sodas totaled $22.

From Whitehorse, we headed east on the Alaska Highway and spent the night at Yukon Motel and RV Park on the banks of Lake Teslin. On Wednesday, we were thrilled to finally be able to pick up Sirius satellite radio again for the first time in two months. Our drive to Watson Lake was made much better by the sounds of golden oldies. We checked into the Downtown RV Park where we had stayed on our trip north. Along the way, we spotted a number of wildlife specimens including a moose in Swan Lake. Moose are hard to spot and even harder to photograph but we got this one! We also saw a mama moose and her baby on this stretch. Fall has definitely arrived in the Yukon. The aspens are turning a beautiful gold and within 2 weeks, should be at their peak.

On September 6, we left Watson Lake about 9:15 after checking to make sure our sign in the Signpost Forest was still intact – and it was! It was another overcast day – there are many of those in this part of the world - but we did see bison today and managed to get several pictures. We also saw deer and black bear around Liard Hot Springs, a place we will plan to stop on our next trip. We also want to come back to Muncho Lake, one of the largest natural lakes in Canada. The provincial park is beautiful and full of wildlife. The Toad River runs through part of the park and is a beautiful emerald green color. We saw 3 more bears after leaving the park – a mama and two babies. They were beautiful and fun to watch.

Our stop for the night was in Fort Nelson at the 5th Wheel Truck Stop. We stopped at 3 RV parks before we found one that we were willing to spend the night in, if that tells you anything about Fort Nelson. There is absolutely no reason to EVER come here again.

We were happy campers when we reached Dawson Creek as this is Mile "0" on the AlCan Highway. It was here that we could officially call our journey to the north complete. We spent the night at the Northern Lights RV Park and left out on Saturday morning for our final three days of travel to Vancouver where we would spend time with friends from our Mexico caravan, Don and Marleen Lawler, and meet my brother and sister-in-law from Memphis.

This has truly been the trip of a lifetime, an adventure that we will never forget. We have met many wonderful people along the way and witnessed a "country" that many only dream about. The feedback from our friends, as we published each segment, was so heartwarming. We truly are blessed beyond compare. As we end our Alaska journey, we are sure of one thing. We will come back.

For now, best wishes to all those who have traveled with us. Happy trails to you . . . til we meet again!