After having lunch in Fairbanks we continued on to Gold Dredge 8 to pan for gold and to see part of the Alaskan pipeline
Riding the train to the site to pan for gold. We received a lot on instruction on the train on how to hold and to rotate the pan to separate the gold pieces from the dirt.
Panning for gold. It take a bit of practice but I was able to get $9 worth of gold specs and Jim panned out about $15. We took the gold home in a small plastic container.
Getting the gold weighed.
The staff at the gold panning facility waving goodbye to the group
Here are some photos of the pipeline.
We arrived at the hotel in Fairbanks in the late afternoon. We had the rest of the day to explore the city. Both Jim and I were tired and had dinner at the hotel and passed on visiting this city. Hopefully we didn't miss too much.
The next morning we were back on the bus and headed to the Fairbanks airport where there was a charter plane waiting to take the group to Dawson which is a city in the Yukon area of Canada. Unfortunately it took us a lot longer to get off the ground due to equipment ( computers not working at the ticket counter) so the flight staff had to check us in....one at a time. It didn't matter, though, because as we learned chartered planes are not subject to the on time departure times that commercial airlines are subject to when departing an airport.
We eventually arrived in Dawson and were transported by bus to the hotel. We would be here for the next two nights. We were supposed to travel down the river surrounding Dawson via paddleboat ( the Klondike Spirit) but the river was frozen and the paddleboat tour was canceled. We had some lunch and decided to go to the show at Diamond Tooth Gerties. Below are some photos of the show.
The show was good and the place reminded us of a saloon that you would see in a wild west town.
None of the streets in Dawson were paved and it really had the feel of a town from the Wild West. Other than a few restaurants, a visitor's center and a small downtown area there was not much more to this town.....except for the ice cream shop the tour director recommended. Of course we had to try it out. It was good but not as good as we expected.
There was not much to do since the paddleboat (the Klondike Spirit) tour was canceled so we decided to walk around town and see what was there. Some of the businesses were closed and had not opened for the season. I think we were a week too early. There was a tour later that evening that took you up to a viewing area
at the top of the mountain but we missed the signup and decided to relax
that evening. I was not feeling that well so a good night of sleep was
what I needed. Jim picked up some dinner and we ate in the room.
The next morning we headed towards our final destination of Skagway.....on the bus of course. It was going to be a long bus ride so there were six stops to break up the trip. The stop for the night was in Whitehorse and was a quick overnight before continuing our trip to Skagway. Here are some photos of the six stops on our way to Whitehorse.
Emerald Lake
Another view of Emerald Lake
We continued on our way. The next stop was something we did not expect. It was a sandy beach in the middle of nowhere!
We stopped for lunch in a place only known by the touring companies. It was a good lunch and it gave us a chance to stretch our legs.
The bus continued on to Whitehorse where we spent the night. I was still not feeling well so we had dinner at the hotel and turned in early. The hotel was the only hotel that was not a Westmark Hotel
(owned by Holland America) The Westmark was being renovated so we stayed in a Best Western called the Best Western Goldrush.
The next morning we left Whitehorse and headed towards Skagway. We stopped at a shopping village and were able to get a coffee and visit some shops before boarding the bus towards the border of Canada and entering into the US. Here are some photos of the sites from the bus on our way to the US border.
This photo shows where there was a landslide earlier in the year.
Leaving the Yukon...and Canada
The border patrol held us up after they made us get off the bus and show our passports....all 48 of us. As we waited for clearance to cross the border the officer requested the tour director to collect the passports.....again....because they only counted 45 passports. That cost us in total about an hour at the border. These agents need to learn how to count.
As we crossed the border we stopped for a photo opportunity. The sign said Welcome to Alaska....and the US. Yahoo.
We continued on to Skagway to our hotel. The first thing we had to do after we were dropped off was to go upstairs to be tested for Covid before boarding the cruise a day or two later. Skagway was cute and another tourist town. There was a train ride...the Summit Train excursion...that we would be boarding the next morning. Jim and I were tested and headed out to a brewery for lunch. I checked my email within an hour of being tested and was informed that I tested positive for Covid. Jim tested negative but that ended the trip...for both of us . I did call my doctor in Florida but she was unable to help other than to schedule a telehealth visit when I returned. We never did board the train the next morning nor the ship that would be cruising through Glacier Bay National Park and the inside passage and end in Vancouver. It was a blessing, though, that I found out before being allowed to board the ship heading into Canada. In the US we only had to quarantine for 5 days but in Canada it would be 10 days.
There was no clinic or hospital or doctor that I could visit to get help in Skagway so we decided it was best to get home and get to the walk in clinic that was open on Sunday...the day we arrived back home to see if I could get some help there We called the travel agent and were able to be re-booked out of Skagway to Juneau early Saturday morning on a turbo prop that seated 3 people besides the pilot. We quarantined in the hotel until we left on Saturday. The hotel, owned by Holland America, fed us and provided the room until we left. The hotel shuttled us to the small airport and the driver told us that all workers in Skagway were covered by their employer with Medivac insurance. It would cost $80,000+ to be Medivac'd to Anchorage for medical help!!
Here are some photos from the prop plane ride.
Dave, our pilot.
I have to admit the view from the prop plane was awesome and Jim and I enjoyed the scenery. We waited in Juneau for our next flight to Seattle and then overnight to Minneapolis and our final destination to Ft. Myers. I had KN95 masks, masked up and stayed away from others as much as I could until I arrived home the next day. Our luggage missed the transfer from Alaska Air to Delta but Jim went back to the airport the next day when it arrived. It was not a big deal since we were home and had all the supplies and clothes we needed...except medicine for Covid.
Once we arrived home I immediately drove myself to the walk in clinic and was told that I had missed the date for monoclonal antibodies as well as the Covid pill. The doctor said to go home, take Mucinex D ( which I ordered and had delivered from Amazon the next day) and recover for the next two weeks or until I tested negative. I was pretty sick and slept most of the week without any contact from anyone except Jim (my wonderful boyfriend) who made sure I had food in the house and checked on me to make sure I was ok. My neighbor and good friend, Angela, a Jersey girl, left food at my front door as well. Thank goodness for great neighbors! Funny.... in all the time I spent with Jim....he never tested positive!
I finally tested negative the following Sunday. It wasn't the end to the trip that we had expected but I was never so glad to be in my own bed recovering. Maybe the cruise through Glacier Bay National and the inside passage will be in my future but for now.....no more traveling for a while.
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