August 22, 2009 - Email from Mom and Dad

We are now at Mile "0" of the Alaskan Highway. That's the good news. We've gone on it the entire way except for one little stretch when we took the Cassier Highway. The bad news is we are 2700 miles from Harrisburg, PA. where the RV goes and another 3000 or so to get to Denver. We hope to be in Harrisburg by next weekend, Aug. 29. At least I hope to. Bill isn't committing. I think he's not ready to end the trip and I'm more than ready. I feel like I've seen and done it all.

Here's what we've done since I've last updated you:
We've been a a little town named Chicken, Alaska to Top of the World Highway, to Dawson City, Yukon; to Eagle, Alaska; to Whitehorse, Yukon; to Teslin, Yukon; to Liard Springs, B. C.; and now to Dawson Creek, the end of the Alaskan Highway or the beginning depending upon which way your'e going.

We've been on a tour of a gold dredge in Dawson City where the gold rush began at Bonanza Creek; we took a boat trip down the Yukon River to Eagle, Alaska; we also took a train trip through the Yukon; and a dip in Liard Hot Springs which is very hot.

We have seen wild animals stuffed (everyone up here seems to think it's great to have a museum full of stuffed moose, grizzly bears, black bears etc., etc.), fenced in (Yukon Wildlife Preserve in Whitehorse) and in the wild along the highway. We have seen grizzly bears, black bears, moose, bald eagles, golden eagles, ravens, trumpeteer swans, ptmarigans, puffins, surf scoters, blue heron, common murre, salmon (lots of different varities), porcupines, beavers, dall sheep and stone sheep, whales, stellar sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, musk ox, snowshoe hares, caribou, and wood bison to name only a few.

We have been to two live performances, one was Diamond Tooth Lil's, the other was Frantic Follies, both were good. I liked Frantic Follies in Whitehorse the best though.

We've noticed the fireweed are turning to seed now, the aspen are turning to gold, and the days are getting shorter. It was actually dark before 9:00 p.m. tonight. We haven't seen that in a long time. That must mean fall is coming and winter can't be far behind. It's time to come home. Hope to see you all soon. Love, Sharon