On Monday the 14th June, an excited group of adventurers met at the Calgary airport for a flight to Whitehorse in the Yukon to begin a 17-day ‘trip of a lifetime’, hosted by Anita Dyck and Val Umscheid of Kaleidoscope Travel & Cruise. The group arrived after a picturesque evening flight and settled into their accommodations at the hotel. The next morning our motor-coach arrived at the hotel to take us on a tour of this lovely city, the capitol of the Yukon, which included the famous Miles Canyon, and the fascinating SS Klondike. In the late afternoon, everyone enjoyed a welcome dinner hosted by Anita and Val, and then it was off to ‘the best entertainment in the Yukon’, The Frantic Follies, where a good time was had by all. And now we started north passing the Five Finger Rapids on our way to Dawson City, and what a unique experience awaited us – it was like stepping back in time! Dawson itself is an historic site, and the ‘tales’ of the Klondike, are abundant and totally believable. During our 2-day stay, we visited Bonanza Creek, where gold was first discovered. 
Everyone tried their luck at gold panning and we toured Dredge Number 4, which is 48 stories high and was transported to the Klondike piece by piece in the early 1900’s. It is now a National Historic Monument and has been retired from duty. Today much of the area is still being mined. An evening was spent at Diamond Tooth Gertie’s, the oldest casino in Canada. We returned to our hotel at midnight, and found it very strange to stroll in broad daylight. And now it was west to Alaska on the Top of the World Highway. It certainly is aptly named, the scenery is awesome – at one time we were literally in the clouds. Along the way we lunched at the remote settlement of Chicken – made famous by the book ‘Tisha’. We rested overnight at Tok and were able to see some Alaskan sled dog puppies, which have helped make this town the ‘sled dog capitol’ of the world. As we continued west the next morning, we stopped and viewed the Trans Alaska Pipeline, and the end of Alaska Highway, before we had lunch at an historic roadhouse – Rika’s Roadhouse. 
After lunch we spent some time at North Pole, Alaska – where Santa lives? – and then it was on to Fairbanks for our overnight stop. That evening we were well entertained at the Golden Heart Review in Pioneer Park. The following day was July 4th and we were able to enjoy some special celebrations. A highlight of the trip was a 4- hour cruise aboard a sternwheeler on the Tenana River.We stopped at the kennels owned by Susan Butcher (4 times Iditerod winner) and watched a team of sled dogs practicing by pulling an ATV – it was amazing to watch. We also docked at an Athapascan fish camp, and saw how the natives catch and preserve the salmon. We then spent some time on shore at an Athapascan village and were shown how life is today, as well as how it was in the past. It was so interesting. That evening we enjoyed a traditional salmon bake at Pioneer Park. As we left Fairbanks and headed south to Denali Park the scenery as always was spectacular. We arrived at the town site of Denali in time for lunch after which we boarded a private bus and toured the very famous Denali Park. The driver’s knowledge was amazing, and he shared the history of the park, including the facts of Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America. That evening we stayed at the new and beautiful Grande Denali Lodge. The Lodge is built high on the mountain overlooking the whole area – the view is breathtaking.
The following morning we departed for Anchorage. 
The lunch stop was at Mary’s McKinley View Lodge, which claims to have the best view of the famous mountain. And sure enough, there it was – magnificent – towering over the landscape at 20,320 feet high. A large portion of the lunch stop was spent photographing the incredible view. Later that evening we enjoyed a Bon Voyage party at our hotel, and met 4 passengers, who flew in from Calgary to join us for the cruise portion of the trip. Wednesday, July 7th, 2004 was the day we embarked on the second and equally exciting part of our adventure. We awoke that morning to a beautiful clear day, and traveled to Whittier where the ‘Spirit’ was docked and awaiting our boarding. She is a beautiful ship of the Carnival Cruise Line, and at 1 o’clock we were able to board and begin the eating frenzy, which accompanies all cruises. This continued for the next seven days! Fabulous were the sights we saw during the cruise. The first day we awoke to the ship being surrounded by 16 tidal water glaciers in the College Fjord. 
Small icebergs, which had broken off as they calved, were floating everywhere and it truly was a sight to see. We sailed south to Skagway, where some of group rode the White Pass and Yukon Railway, which re-traces the passage taken by the ‘stampeders’ on their search for gold. For the next 3 days we sailed the Inside Passage taking shore excursions at Juneau, Sitka and Ketchican. We all chose to do and see different things at each port, including salmon fishing, white water rafting, flying in a helicopter over the famous Mendenhall Glacier, whale watching, shopping and exploring these wonderful destinations. The final day at sea was spent enjoying all the special activities found on a cruise ship such as last minute duty free shopping, pool side entertainment or the final spectacular evening show. Some preferred to just relax and whale watch or take pleasure in the passing scenery. 17 days later on Wednesday, 14th June 2004, we sailed into Vancouver, BC. New friendships were formed and old friendships renewed. Everyone agreed that it had been a memorable ‘trip of a lifetime’.