Alaska
On August 17th 1896 George & Kate Carmack, Tagish Charlie and Skookum Jim made the discovery of gold on Bonanza Creek near Dawson City and the Klondike gold rush began. Join us this summer as we travel through the Yukon exploring this wonderful region full of rich Canadian history. Our journey begins in Whitehorse “Land of the Midnight Sun”. Whitehorse is named after the historic rapids on the Yukon River, which resembled the flowing manes of charging white horses. Our first morning will be spent touring this beautiful area with stops at Miles Canyon, Beringia Centre, the Transportation Museum and the SS Klondike. We will enjoy a guided tour of The SS Klondike, an old Sternwheeler that plied the Yukon River for many years taking Stampeders and supplies to Dawson City. This evening we will have a welcome reception at the Yukon Mining Company and then it is off to be entertained at the Frantic Follies, a vaudeville revue of actors, dancers, and musicians that recapture the spirit and enthusiasm of the Klondike gold rush. Next we head north to Dawson City. A full day is planned in this city, a National Historical Site, as we visit an actual Gold Mining Dredge and try our luck panning for gold. There are so many unique sites to see. Perhaps you can tour the historic Commissioners Residence or enjoy a recital of a Robert Service poem at his cabin. Tonight try and strike it rich at Diamond Tooth Gerties Casino, the oldest casino in Canada. Our Journey continues into Alaska over the Top of the World Highway.
Article Published: March 17th, 2005
The journey continues from Dawson City into Alaska, the scenery is spectacular as we travel over the Top of the World Highway on our way to Tok. The next day we will get our first look at the massive Alaska Pipeline where it crosses the Tanana River. Lunch will be served at Rika’s Roadhouse located in the Big Delta Historical Park. Then it is off to North Pole Alaska and a visit to Santa Claus House, full of Christmas goodies. We arrive in Fairbanks this afternoon and attend the Golden Heart Revue at Pioneer Park, a musical comedy about life in Fairbanks in the 1900’s. Next an exciting day is planned as we board the Riverboat Discovery Sternwheeler for a three and a half hour cruise on the Cheena River. We will make stops shore and visit the home and kennels of the Iditarod champion Susan Butcher, and experience a traditional Athabascan fish camp. This evening a special treat, we will dine at an Alaskan Salmon Bake. Now we journey to Anchorage. We will spend time at the historic Mary McKinley View Lodge, which has a “spectacular view of the 30,320 ft tall Mt. McKinley” and enjoy this special lunch stop. The scenery will continue to amaze us as we travel south to Anchorage. Tonight a fun evening is planned, we will have a Bon Voyage Party at our beautiful hotel on Ship Creek. The next morning we continue on to our final land destination of Whittier, where the Carnival Spirit awaits us. We will board this afternoon and set sail at 9:00pm for a 7-day cruise to Vancouver.
Article Published: March 31st, 2005
The journey continues as we set sail from Whittier on the beautiful Carnival Spirit for a 7 day cruises. We will awake the next morning to the breathtaking scenery in College Fjord. There are 16 tidewater glaciers in the fjord all named for the ivy-league schools that funded their discovery. Small icebergs which have broken off the glaciers will be floating everywhere, it is truly a sight to see. Our first port of call is Sitka, the former Russian capital city. You may choose to watch a lively performance of the New Archangel Dancers or visit the bald eagles at the Alaska raptor center. Our next stop is Juneau, Alaska’s capital city. We can visit the mighty Mendenhall Glacier or perhaps take a ride up the Mount Roberts tram for spectacular views of the area. Our third port of call will be Skagway, which was a major drop off point for the stampeders making their way to Dawson City during the Klondike gold rush. The must do excursion here is the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad. Against all odds, an iron trial was born because of the 1898 Klondike gold rush and built through some of the North’s most rugged and beautiful terrain. Ride in the refurbished train cars retracing the original route. As we leave Skagway behind, the Alaskan wilderness unfolds outside your window as you climb the steep grade past the Bridal Veil Falls, Inspiration Point and Dead Horse Gulch.Our final stop will be Ketichan, the salmon capital of the world. Explore historic Creek Street or indulge in the majesty of the Misty Fjord by seaplane. The next day will be spent at sea enjoying the many amenities the ship has to offer, as we sail south through the famous inside passage through a maze of bays, straights and fjords, past an ever-changing panorama of unspoiled beauty.
Article Published: April 14th, 2005
On June 26th Val Umscheid and Anita Dyck had the pleasure of escort a group to the Yukon and Alaska for the 5th year in a row. Our first morning was spent touring this beautiful area with stops at Miles Canyon, Beringia Centre, the Transportation Museum and the SS Klondike. Then it was off to be entertained at the Frantic Follies, a vaudeville revue of actors, dancers, and musicians that recapture the spirit and enthusiasm of the Klondike gold rush. Next we head north to Dawson City to spend a full day in this city that is a National Historical Site. We visited an actual Gold Mining Dredge and tried our luck panning for gold. Later that evening we tried to strike it rich at Diamond Tooth Gerties, the oldest casino in Canada. Our Journey continued into Alaska over the Top of the World Highway, the scenery was spectacular. The next day we got our first look at the massive Alaska Pipeline where it crossed the Tanana River. Lunch was served at Rika’s Roadhouse located in the Big Delta Historical Park. Then it was off to North Pole Alaska to visit Santa Claus House. We arrive in Fairbanks that afternoon and attended the Golden Heart Revue at Pioneer Park, a musical comedy about life in Fairbanks in the 1900’s. Next we had an exciting day as we board the Riverboat Discovery Sternwheeler for a three and a half hour cruise on the Cheena River. We made a stop to visit the home and kennels of the Iditarod champion, the late Susan Butcher, and experience a traditional Athabascan fish camp. That evening we had a special treat, dining at an Alaskan Salmon Bake. Next we journeyed to Anchorage where the scenery continued to amaze us. That evening we had a Bon Voyage Party at our downtown Anchorage hotel. The next morning we continue on to our final land destination of Whittier, where the Carnival Spirit Cruise Ship was waiting for us to board and be off on our Alaska Cruise.
Article Published: August 16th, 2007
On August 17th 1896 George & Kate Carmack, Tagish Charlie and Skookum Jim made the discovery of gold on Bonanza Creek near Dawson City and the Klondike gold rush began. Join us this summer as we travel through the Yukon exploring this wonderful region full of rich Canadian history. Our journey begins in Whitehorse “Land of the Midnight Sun”. Whitehorse is named after the historic rapids on the Yukon River, which resembled the flowing manes of charging white horses. Our first morning will be spent touring this beautiful area with stops at Miles Canyon, Beringia Centre, the Transportation Museum and the SS Klondike. We will enjoy a guided tour of The SS Klondike, an old Sternwheeler that plied the Yukon River for many years taking Stampeders and supplies to Dawson City. This evening we will have a welcome reception at the Yukon Mining Company and then it is off to be entertained at the Frantic Follies, a vaudeville revue of actors, dancers, and musicians that recapture the spirit and enthusiasm of the Klondike gold rush. Next we head north to Dawson City. A full day is planned in this city, a National Historical Site, as we visit an actual Gold Mining Dredge and try our luck panning for gold. There are so many unique sites to see. Perhaps you can tour the historic Commissioners Residence or enjoy a recital of a Robert Service poem at his cabin. Tonight try and strike it rich at Diamond Tooth Gerties Casino, the oldest casino in Canada. Our Journey continues into Alaska over the Top of the World Highway.
