Following the discovery of gold in the Yukon in 1897 it was decided to construct a railway from Skagway to Whitehorse, the transfer point from rail to steamboat. The railway, which traversed 110 miles and cost $10 million to build, provided work for 35,000 men and was completed in 1900.
The journey took us through famous locations like Dead Horse Gulch where 3,000 pack animals met their end, the victims of neglect by 'stampeders' (prospectors).
Constructed in 1901, the Steel Bridge was the tallest cantilever bridge in the world.
It was used until 1969.
A timber bridge - hard to imagine how it was constructed!
Our next day brought with it a highlight of our cruise - the magnificent Hubbard Glacier. The captain of our ship took us close to the glacier and then made a 360 degree turn to allow everyone on board fantastic views. Hundreds of passengers lined the open decks from the early morning in readiness for our sighting of the blue-coloured glacier. It was freezing up on deck but well worth the effort. What an amazing sight!
The Hubbard Glacier is located off the coast of Yakutat, 322 kms north-west of Juneau. It is 122 kms long and its face is up to 121 metres tall!
'Calving' of the glacier creates icebergs in the surrounding waters
There are approximately 100,000 glaciers in Alaska, of which only 616 have been officially named. As we sailed towards our final cruise destination, Seward, we saw many, many more.
The next morning on our way to Anchorage we saw more snow-covered mountains and glistening lakes. We stopped for an hour at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center which provides spacious accommodation and quality care for injured and orphaned animals on its 200 acres of land. Animals include brown and black bears, moose, caribou, deer, wood bison, lynx, porcupines and raptors including a Bald Eagle who can no longer fly. The centre also houses an infirmary, conference room, gift shop and kiosk. What wonderful conservation work!
Jim with a bison pelt
Male moose shed their antlers annually - this one's new antlers are not yet fully grown
Infirmary
Conference Room
Young caribou
Adult caribou
And so to Anchorage where we stayed right in the city which has a population of around 300,000. We spent time at the city's arts and crafts market with its interesting food stalls where Jim tried real reindeer fried rice. Then it was on to the Alaska Experience Theatre where we watched films on the history and beauty of Alaska, and the earthquake of 1964 which devastated the region. Whilst taking this in we were taken for a ride in our seats which jerked from side to side in a re-enactment of the earthquake that was one of the most severe ever recorded.
The Alaska Museum is large and modern and houses a number of permanent and temporary exhibitions including an avenue of glass cases displaying artefacts from the many indigenous Alaskan tribes, and two halls containing fossils, information and brilliant paintings of Alaska's ice age history.
The city markets from our hotel room
At the markets
Anchorage Museum:
First nation people's artefacts
A sculpture of mini submarines representing numbers of submarines
in the USA over a period of decades
In the Natural History section - bones of bison, horse and mammoth
Anchorage CBD
Dinner at Hard Rock Café
And so we move on from Alaska...
Beautiful! Makes me want to go there even more now.
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