ALASKA - Part 3
We are now at Thursday, with just over a week left on our trip. We drove to Chicken, Alaska. A gold mining town that has a bar, a gift shop, a campground or two, a gas station and a diner kind of place. We arrived, set up camp and then a few of us went onto the internet to do various things like Skype, emails or in our case, look for jobs. We also had ice cream. After dinner we headed into the bar, which was across the road from the campgrounds. There were 2 others in the bar when we arrived, and the barkeeper was not that friendly until drinks started being ordered. The novelty of the bar is what’s known as the panty cannon, which is a small cannon they set off with female underclothes stuffed into it. The females who donated their underclothes to the panty cannon were then to find the biggest piece they could and staple it onto the ceiling of the bar. Around 11pm the panty cannon was set off with a loud bang, and Brian got into a discussion with one of the locals about Obama and whether he should be president or not. Kade and I headed back to camp soon after, and then the others came back within the hour. Some were a tad noisier than the others There was a chance of the northern lights that night and our goal was to stay up until 3 or when we saw them. They started around 1.30am with some green across the sky, and after that half the group went to bed. Around 2, more green came out and then some red/orange color that made it look like the sky was on fire. I had around 6 layers on by this stage, it was so cold, and had the tripod set up to take pictures. We went to bed around 3am, as the fog and ice crystals started to set in.
The next day started off slow as people were up late the night before looking at the lights, but we eventually made our way to Dawson City. When we got to Dawson City, we set up our tents and then headed across the river on the ferry to grab lunch and look around, and then grocery shop. Dawson City is a small town so we managed to see most of it on that day. We headed back to the campground after grocery shopping and had dinner. Kade, Raf and myself sat around the campfire as the others went out to a local bar to have the Sour Toe, which is totally disgusting – you order a shot of your choice and pay to have a severed human toe put in it. If you drink it and the toe touches your lips, you get a certificate. Sarah, Sandy and Brian did the toe. “Drink it fast, Drink it slow, As long as your lips touch the toe.”
Saturday was a free day. Brian and Danni went to do a hard hike, Raf and Denise went into town to do an easier hike, Chris went to do his laundry and Sarah, Sandy, Kade and I stayed at the campground to shower. Showering 4 of us took 4 hours. First you had to chop wood. Then you had to put the wood into the bottom of a cast iron barrel thing and light it. Then you had to wait for the water to boil. Then you had to mix it with some cold water and then pour it over yourself. Fun :) This was our first shower in around 4 days and we all enjoyed it immensely. It took around 30 minutes for each person to shower, including washing hair. The shower was known as the prospectors shower. After we were all clean, Sandy, Kade and myself headed into the city to see what was happening. We met up with Sarah and Chris, who were going to get a photo taken of them in old school outfits, and Kade and I headed back to the camp and rebuilt the campfire. We sat around it for the rest of the night, just relaxing.
On Sunday we drove back to the campground at Whitehorse, as it is a convenient campground for the ferry we were going to take the next day. We went out for dinner to the pub, had burgers and then filled in Brian’s evaluation sheets. We then headed back to camp for one last campfire. We sat around talking for a few hours and headed to bed, all ready for the ferry the next day.
On Monday we had to cross the border back into America, as the only way to access Skagway is through Canada. We got through with not too many issues and had a nice drive to Skagway. When we got to Skagway, we had 7ish hours to kill before the boat boarded at 5.15pm. Sandy, Kade and I went looking at the shops and at all the free things we could get – coins, pendants etc. We made a few purchases – including the bestest puffin socks ever – and went back for lunch. After lunch we went shopping and looking again, and made it back to the ferry dock at 4, an hour before we were due to meet the group. No one was there yet so we thought we were first for once, instead of last was seemed to be the case always. It wasn’t that we were late, we were just ready on time, like if we were to leave at 8.30, we would be ready to leave at 8.30, not 8.20 like the rest of the group. So we sat around for 40 minutes before Brian walked off the ferry and said the rest were on it, had been since before 4. So we were last again. We got on the ferry at around 5.15, dumped our bags and went to help get the stuff from the van that we needed (food, sleeping mats etc). We were all sleeping on the solarium on the ferry, there was around 100 sun lounge chairs that people could sleep on, under the lights and heaters, and the ceiling and sides were made of glass and the front faced the back of the boat and was open so we could walk onto the deck. The ferry was an absolute blast. We had an awesome time. The first night we went to the pub for a few drinks, and then I went to bed early, a bit tired. We woke up the next day, read, napped, watched whales playing and porpoises diving. A great day in other words.
On Wednesday we were awoken with an announcement that there was a pod of killer whales playing near the boat, so we got up in a hurry to watch. What a great way to wake up. The day consisted of sleeping, reading, the usual stuff. The ferry had a movie theater where they played a choice of 6 movies, and Sandy and I wanted to see The Last Song, but they were playing other movies. We went downstairs and asked if they could play the movie after the one they were about to play which was How to Tame your Dragon. The guy said he would put it on for us instead of the dragon movie. That suited us fine, until he made an announcement to the boat that they were going to put on The Last Song because a couple of young romantic girls came up and requested a romantic movie to watch. We got paid out a little for that by the rest of the group, but we got our movie so that’s all that mattered. Kade and I had dinner at the cafeteria that night, and then headed to the bar for a bit. We then went to have hot chocolate with Sandy and Chris, and then the boys went to bed and Sandy and I stayed up talking till something like 3. We went to bed and proceeded to get around 5 hours sleep (if we were lucky) before getting woken up by announcements. The rest of the day was spent looking at photos and sorting them, getting each other’s photos, napping, showering, reading, looking at more whales and dell porpoises. That night we had dinner together in the restaurant and then went upstairs to have a few drinks before heading to the bar. We had to finish the bottle of Malibu we had bought so we shared it with Sandy and Chris. We then headed down to the bar to hang with the others, and when the bar closed Sandy and I had some water and talked till 4am. We had to get up at 6 to be off the ferry at 7, so we were pretty tired on Friday.
When we were up and packed on Friday, we got off the ferry and drove to Seattle. Some of the group went up the Space Needle, then we all went to Pikes Place Market. We had lunch at one of the seafood places there and then went to look around before we headed back to the hotel. We got to the hotel at 2ish, checked in and made plans to meet at 8 for dinner. Kade and I got the bags we put into storage and went to repack them to certain weight limits for traveling the next day. We were allowed 32kg each total over 2 bags, and we had 2 bags of excess baggage. That finally got nearly completed after a lot of standing around feeling tired on my behalf. Sandy and Chris came into visit around 6ish and stayed till we met for dinner at 8. Brian took us to Chipotle for dinner, a Mexican fast food place that has great burritos. We all got one, and they were HUGE. After dinner, Sarah, Chris and Sandy hung out in our room while we finished packing, just talking and stuff like that. Around 10 Sandy and I started to crash, so we took a few things to Brian that we didn’t need any more and then around 11 said goodnight to everyone. We woke up at 5.45 with me saying a few naughty words as I realized the alarm didn’t go off, like it was supposed to at 5. Kade and I quickly got dressed and headed to the lobby with our bags, got the free shuttle to Seattle Airport and checked in for our flight. Boarding was at 7.30 and we got though security at 7, so plenty of time. When we arrived, as we had so many bags, we got someone to help us with them who had a cart and he got us through the line and checked in straight away so that was good. The flight was uneventful, there was no one in the spare seat next to Kade and I so that was nice. We got to LAX, found 2 spare trolleys, got our bags and went over to wait for V Australia to open their check-in counter. We got there at around 11 and they opened at 2.30, so not that long of a wait. We checked in and only had to pay excess baggage for 1 bag as the guy behind the counter made a mistake, but when we realized he didn’t he didn’t want us to pay the rest even though we offered but he had put it through already, so that was nice. We then went through security, no issues, and up to the gate to wait until 9.40 when boarding starts. It is now 7.30 and Kade has gone to get a burger and a hot chocolate for me. We realized around 20 minutes ago that sometime between security and now we have managed to lose our boarding passes, so hopefully they have been handed in, otherwise we need to get more printed out – no big deal, just a slight annoyance. I think it may have been after security when we put everything down to fit things like laptops back into bags and put shoes on, that’s the last time I remember having them in my hands.
I know I can’t post this now, I will when we get home and have the internet, so I will finish now and start again when we are back with how our flights went. We worked out it was 36 hours from leaving Seattle to arriving back in Brisbane. Considering I’m running on around 12 hours sleep for the past 3 nights, I’m hoping I will sleep on the plane for a bit.
PICTURES TO COME NEXT TIME I FIND THE INTERNET - hopefully tomorrow, as our internet doesn't get connected for 7 - 10 days...
The next day started off slow as people were up late the night before looking at the lights, but we eventually made our way to Dawson City. When we got to Dawson City, we set up our tents and then headed across the river on the ferry to grab lunch and look around, and then grocery shop. Dawson City is a small town so we managed to see most of it on that day. We headed back to the campground after grocery shopping and had dinner. Kade, Raf and myself sat around the campfire as the others went out to a local bar to have the Sour Toe, which is totally disgusting – you order a shot of your choice and pay to have a severed human toe put in it. If you drink it and the toe touches your lips, you get a certificate. Sarah, Sandy and Brian did the toe. “Drink it fast, Drink it slow, As long as your lips touch the toe.”
Saturday was a free day. Brian and Danni went to do a hard hike, Raf and Denise went into town to do an easier hike, Chris went to do his laundry and Sarah, Sandy, Kade and I stayed at the campground to shower. Showering 4 of us took 4 hours. First you had to chop wood. Then you had to put the wood into the bottom of a cast iron barrel thing and light it. Then you had to wait for the water to boil. Then you had to mix it with some cold water and then pour it over yourself. Fun :) This was our first shower in around 4 days and we all enjoyed it immensely. It took around 30 minutes for each person to shower, including washing hair. The shower was known as the prospectors shower. After we were all clean, Sandy, Kade and myself headed into the city to see what was happening. We met up with Sarah and Chris, who were going to get a photo taken of them in old school outfits, and Kade and I headed back to the camp and rebuilt the campfire. We sat around it for the rest of the night, just relaxing.
On Sunday we drove back to the campground at Whitehorse, as it is a convenient campground for the ferry we were going to take the next day. We went out for dinner to the pub, had burgers and then filled in Brian’s evaluation sheets. We then headed back to camp for one last campfire. We sat around talking for a few hours and headed to bed, all ready for the ferry the next day.
On Monday we had to cross the border back into America, as the only way to access Skagway is through Canada. We got through with not too many issues and had a nice drive to Skagway. When we got to Skagway, we had 7ish hours to kill before the boat boarded at 5.15pm. Sandy, Kade and I went looking at the shops and at all the free things we could get – coins, pendants etc. We made a few purchases – including the bestest puffin socks ever – and went back for lunch. After lunch we went shopping and looking again, and made it back to the ferry dock at 4, an hour before we were due to meet the group. No one was there yet so we thought we were first for once, instead of last was seemed to be the case always. It wasn’t that we were late, we were just ready on time, like if we were to leave at 8.30, we would be ready to leave at 8.30, not 8.20 like the rest of the group. So we sat around for 40 minutes before Brian walked off the ferry and said the rest were on it, had been since before 4. So we were last again. We got on the ferry at around 5.15, dumped our bags and went to help get the stuff from the van that we needed (food, sleeping mats etc). We were all sleeping on the solarium on the ferry, there was around 100 sun lounge chairs that people could sleep on, under the lights and heaters, and the ceiling and sides were made of glass and the front faced the back of the boat and was open so we could walk onto the deck. The ferry was an absolute blast. We had an awesome time. The first night we went to the pub for a few drinks, and then I went to bed early, a bit tired. We woke up the next day, read, napped, watched whales playing and porpoises diving. A great day in other words.
On Wednesday we were awoken with an announcement that there was a pod of killer whales playing near the boat, so we got up in a hurry to watch. What a great way to wake up. The day consisted of sleeping, reading, the usual stuff. The ferry had a movie theater where they played a choice of 6 movies, and Sandy and I wanted to see The Last Song, but they were playing other movies. We went downstairs and asked if they could play the movie after the one they were about to play which was How to Tame your Dragon. The guy said he would put it on for us instead of the dragon movie. That suited us fine, until he made an announcement to the boat that they were going to put on The Last Song because a couple of young romantic girls came up and requested a romantic movie to watch. We got paid out a little for that by the rest of the group, but we got our movie so that’s all that mattered. Kade and I had dinner at the cafeteria that night, and then headed to the bar for a bit. We then went to have hot chocolate with Sandy and Chris, and then the boys went to bed and Sandy and I stayed up talking till something like 3. We went to bed and proceeded to get around 5 hours sleep (if we were lucky) before getting woken up by announcements. The rest of the day was spent looking at photos and sorting them, getting each other’s photos, napping, showering, reading, looking at more whales and dell porpoises. That night we had dinner together in the restaurant and then went upstairs to have a few drinks before heading to the bar. We had to finish the bottle of Malibu we had bought so we shared it with Sandy and Chris. We then headed down to the bar to hang with the others, and when the bar closed Sandy and I had some water and talked till 4am. We had to get up at 6 to be off the ferry at 7, so we were pretty tired on Friday.
When we were up and packed on Friday, we got off the ferry and drove to Seattle. Some of the group went up the Space Needle, then we all went to Pikes Place Market. We had lunch at one of the seafood places there and then went to look around before we headed back to the hotel. We got to the hotel at 2ish, checked in and made plans to meet at 8 for dinner. Kade and I got the bags we put into storage and went to repack them to certain weight limits for traveling the next day. We were allowed 32kg each total over 2 bags, and we had 2 bags of excess baggage. That finally got nearly completed after a lot of standing around feeling tired on my behalf. Sandy and Chris came into visit around 6ish and stayed till we met for dinner at 8. Brian took us to Chipotle for dinner, a Mexican fast food place that has great burritos. We all got one, and they were HUGE. After dinner, Sarah, Chris and Sandy hung out in our room while we finished packing, just talking and stuff like that. Around 10 Sandy and I started to crash, so we took a few things to Brian that we didn’t need any more and then around 11 said goodnight to everyone. We woke up at 5.45 with me saying a few naughty words as I realized the alarm didn’t go off, like it was supposed to at 5. Kade and I quickly got dressed and headed to the lobby with our bags, got the free shuttle to Seattle Airport and checked in for our flight. Boarding was at 7.30 and we got though security at 7, so plenty of time. When we arrived, as we had so many bags, we got someone to help us with them who had a cart and he got us through the line and checked in straight away so that was good. The flight was uneventful, there was no one in the spare seat next to Kade and I so that was nice. We got to LAX, found 2 spare trolleys, got our bags and went over to wait for V Australia to open their check-in counter. We got there at around 11 and they opened at 2.30, so not that long of a wait. We checked in and only had to pay excess baggage for 1 bag as the guy behind the counter made a mistake, but when we realized he didn’t he didn’t want us to pay the rest even though we offered but he had put it through already, so that was nice. We then went through security, no issues, and up to the gate to wait until 9.40 when boarding starts. It is now 7.30 and Kade has gone to get a burger and a hot chocolate for me. We realized around 20 minutes ago that sometime between security and now we have managed to lose our boarding passes, so hopefully they have been handed in, otherwise we need to get more printed out – no big deal, just a slight annoyance. I think it may have been after security when we put everything down to fit things like laptops back into bags and put shoes on, that’s the last time I remember having them in my hands.
I know I can’t post this now, I will when we get home and have the internet, so I will finish now and start again when we are back with how our flights went. We worked out it was 36 hours from leaving Seattle to arriving back in Brisbane. Considering I’m running on around 12 hours sleep for the past 3 nights, I’m hoping I will sleep on the plane for a bit.
PICTURES TO COME NEXT TIME I FIND THE INTERNET - hopefully tomorrow, as our internet doesn't get connected for 7 - 10 days...
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