WXPort 

 

Your complete
online news, information,
and recreation guide to
Lake Allatoona!

Be sure to visit our Lanier edition.

 



Google WWW Lakeside


 

HOME       LAKE MAP      ABOUT US       CONTACT US       CLASSIFIEDS     ADVERTISE        SUBSCRIBE    

BUSINESS DIRECTORY
Want to add your business?

Lake Information

Columns

 

 

Vanderford's Travels
By Bill Vanderford

The best cruise option to see more of Alaska

Traveling Alaska: Third in a three-part series covering the places and people of the largest state in the U.S.

Simply cruising the Inside Passage to Alaska had always appeared a bit boring to me until Holland American Lines introduced me to a new way of seeing our last frontier with a different twist! Instead of beginning my trip on a huge luxurious ship all the way from Vancouver or Seattle, I flew directly into Anchorage for a couple of days of jet lag adjusting and nearby sightseeing.

Though I arrived late in the evening, the Holland America folks were there to both greet me and give me a first class ride to the immaculate downtown Westmark Anchorage Hotel. The check-in was quick and painless, and I was soon sleeping like a baby in a huge, comfortable king-sized bed.

After a filling breakfast in the hotel restaurant on one of my meal vouchers, a comfortable van had us headed south from Anchorage along the picturesque Turnagain Arm toward Girdwood and the fabulous Hotel Alyeska. This magnificent property is probably the top year-round destination in Alaska because of its location and the spectacular surroundings. Though well known as a premier ski resort in winter, it is encircled by snow capped mountains and gorgeous glaciers during summer, and the cable car ride to the top offers breathtaking vistas.

Following a mouth watering lunch, we hopped back in the van for a short ride to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center at Portage. This is the one place in Alaska where you can see many of the animals that roam this huge state in a zoo type atmosphere, and moreover learn much about their habitat and range.

Early next morning, we were transferred a short distance to the Alaskan Railroad station and boarded the spacious McKinley Explorer train for the ride north to Denali through a constantly changing landscape. Exciting conversations were filled with anticipation for the coming day in Denali National Park.

This was my third time to take the Tundra Wilderness Tour into the park, but my excitement was as high as the first time. It was a perfect, warm day with plenty of sunshine, and the animals were out in numbers. We sighted 22 grizzly bears, caribou, moose, too many Dall sheep to count, numerous smaller animals, both golden and bald eagles, and experienced some unforgettable views of Mt. McKinley.


 

The next morning, I was fly fishing for Arctic grayling with a couple of family groups in a tiny stream that flowed through the tundra. Though none of us had any gear, the good folks at Denali Fly Fishing Guides provided all we needed along with the expertise, and we all caught a number of these rare fish.

Before we boarded the train to continue north to Fairbanks, I had to hike one last time down into Horseshoe Lake, which is near the Denali train station. This unbelievable oxbow lake is one of those places in the world that never leaves your memory because of the purity of its scenery. It’s quite a hike with all the camera gear, but certainly worth the time and effort.

It’s a long train ride from Denali to Fairbanks, and after the first 50 miles, much of the view is quite flat and boring. Nevertheless, it was good to be back in Fairbanks again ... especially since we had the opportunity to visit the historic Gold Dredge No. 8 and the Eldorado Mine to do some successful panning for gold.

On the way out of Fairbanks, we stopped at the always Christmas town of North Pole, Alaska to get in the mood for the rest of our bus trip to the Yukon. However, we made an unexpected stop to photograph a female moose standing in a roadside lake.

Riding in a bus is normally not very thrilling, but the constant search for wildlife and the fact that this was one part of Alaska I had never seen made it interesting for me. As we headed out into more wilderness, the surroundings were changing and I could tell that we were climbing slightly from 400 feet at Fairbanks to the eventual 1,600 feet at Tok. This long trek was made easier by a stop at Rika’s Roadhouse which was built in 1910 on the banks of the Tanana River. It is a living homestead museum complete with a barn, live animals, garden, antique farming tools, and a sod-roofed museum.

To Alaskans, Tok is better known as the “Sled Dog Capital of Alaska” and was named after a husky pup that was the mascot of a construction crew during WW II. It is located about 200 miles southeast of Fairbanks at the junction of Glenn Highway and the Alaska Highway, and is the main overland entry city from Canada.

Just before crossing the border into the Yukon Territory of Canada on our trip from Tok to Dawson City, we stopped for about an hour at Chicken, Alaska. This wide spot in the Top of the World Highway was intended to be named after the Alaskan State Bird (the Willow Ptarmigan), but none of the locals could spell it, so an old miner said, “Just name it Chicken ... they’re about the same!” 

Since I didn’t crack any jokes with the very straight faced Canadian Customs officials, our entry into the Yukon was painless, and soon we were aboard the local ferryboat  crossing the Yukon River into Dawson City. We immediately boarded the Yukon Queen for lunch and a familiarization ride up the river to see salmon traps, a small village, and a steamboat graveyard.

Walking the dirt streets and boardwalks of Dawson City with its high store fronts, bawdy saloons, and frontier atmosphere gives all visitors a feel of the gold rush days in the 1890s. That period was glorified in stories and poetry by Jack London and Robert Service whose houses still stand as monuments of that time.

Walking the old streets, visiting the ancient riverboats and houses, and sampling the food and nightlife was most interesting. I also had the opportunity to play the Top of the World Golf Course, which overlooks the Yukon River and is the most northern golf course with grass greens.

The long trip aboard the bus from Dawson City to the Yukon Capitol of Whitehorse on the Klondike Highway is broken up by some spectacular scenery beginning with the Tintina Trench. This geological marvel is a visible horizontal fault line that creates a huge valley running from Watson Lake in the Yukon all the way to Alaska.

Whitehorse is on the west bank of the Yukon River and has been the Capitol of the Yukon since 1953. It is a bustling city with walking and bike trails that offer splendid views of the river and surrounding areas.

The morning air was permeated with excitement as we boarded the bus on the last leg to Skagway. We soon passed through Miles Canyon and made a photo stop at Emerald Lake, but were only a short distance from Carcross where we would continue via the famous White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad (www.wpyr.com). This relic from the past was built in just 26 months during the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush and is considered one of the greatest engineering accomplishments in history. Connecting the port of Skagway to Carcross in the Yukon it traverses 67.5 miles climbing 3,000 feet in only 20 miles and has grades of  3.9 percent, frightening turns of 16 degrees with sheer dropoffs, two tunnels and narrow bridges. Views are spectacular, but don’t look down.

About halfway into the train ride, we crossed into British Columbia and stopped for some famous Gold Miner’s Stew at Bennett, BC, Canada. Yukon locals warned us that because of the difference in prices due to taxes and fees, BC means “Bring Cash!” However, we were only in BC for a short distance before we again crossed into Alaska at White Pass and down into Skagway.

The Tlingit Indians had called this place Skagua (Place of the Wind), but gold miners quickly changed it to Skagway and said it was the “Home of the North Wind.” Once a lawless town that was built on dreams of miners seeking their fortunes, it is now a tourist attraction and port to many cruise ships. One of those is the luxurious, 780-foot Volendam owned and operated by Holland America Line that would be my home for the next five days.

 

Prior to departure, I was fortunate enough to catch a boat over to Haines for the Eagle Preserve Float Adventure. We were whisked swiftly down a flat but extremely fast river passing an Indian village and observing many bald eagles along the way. It was a quick trip with great photography that ended with chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate to warm us from the cool and windy environment.

The next day found us touring the gorgeous fjords, glaciers, and ice fields of Glacier Bay in the Volendam. Though this area was still solid ice only 250 years ago it is now liquid. The raw beauty is impossible to describe with mere words.

Visiting Ketchikan, Alaska always brings back a host of wonderful memories from my many trips to this unique place. Though known as “The Salmon Capitol of the World” during better times, this tiny Tlingit fishing village has been reborn and continues to survive due to the cruise ships. Adventures that once revolved around fishing are now more about experiencing the wildlife and beauty of the area. Therefore, myself and some friends hopped aboard a DeHaviland Beaver float plane and flew to Prince of Wales Island to see black bears feeding on salmon. It was a great trip, but the dark skies and rain didn’t allow perfect photos.

The rest of the voyage into Vancouver, BC, Canada was a perfect time to lay back and enjoy the ambience, great food, and fabulous service aboard the immaculate Volendam of Holland America Lines. This time allowed a winding down period complete with wonderful conversations among newfound friends about our unforgettable experiences on a trip of a lifetime!

Alaskan trip information:

• Holland American Lines – www.hollandamerica.com

• Westmark Anchorage Hotel –  www.westmarkhotels.com/anchorage

• Hotel Alyeska – www.alyeskaresort.com

• Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center – www.alaskawildlife.org

• Tundra Wilderness Tour – http://alaska.org/denali/tundra-wilderness-tours.jsp

• Denali Fly Fishing Guides – www.denaliflyfishing.com

• Gold Dredge No. 8 – www.golddredgeno8.com

Bill Vanderford has won numerous awards for his writing and photography, and has been inducted into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Guide. He is a member of SATW, NATJA, OWAA, SEOPA and GOWA. He can be reached at 770-289-1543, JFish51@aol.com or visit: www.fishinglanier.com.
 

HOME       LAKE MAP      ABOUT US       CONTACT US       CLASSIFIEDS       ADVERTISE        SUBSCRIBE  

3292 Thompson Bridge Road #250       Gainesville, GA 30506         770-287-1444        fax:770-287-1445

 webmaster:
s.nish@creativeinconline.com