Wildlife – Page 24 – Wandering Dawgs

Day 47: Driving the Haul Road

July 4, 2013June 17, 2026Posted in Alaska, WildlifeTagged Alaska Pipeline, Arctic Circle, Coldfoot, Dalton Highway, moose

Day 47: July 1, 2013

If you are a fan of the show Ice Road Truckers you have heard of the Dalton Highway. If not, the Dalton Highway is the road the truckers take to get to the industrial camp at Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean. The road begins 84 miles north of Fairbanks and ends 414 miles later in Deadhorse on Prudoe Bay. The road was originally called the Haul Road because all of the supplies for Prudhoe Bay were hauled by truck to get there. The Arctic Circle is about at about milepost 115 on the Dalton Highway.

The highway is mostly dirt and gravel with some paved sections. The road follows the Alaska pipeline and was built because of the pipeline. The scenery changes as you go along from birch and spruce forest to tundra. Purple wildflowers bloomed in many of the fields.

Our first view of the Alaska Pipeline from the highway

The Bureau of Land Managment manages a small campground and picnic area at the Arctic Circle. When we arrived two young women from the visitor’s center in Coldfoot were set up under a tent with mosquito netting. After having our pictures made, we received a certificate for crossing the Arctic Circle! We ate lunch there and decided to continue on to the Visitor’s Center at Coldfoot, another 60 miles north.

Signpost at the Arctic Circle on the Dalton Highway, Alaska

The visitor’s center had a lot of interesting displays including a display showing the location of the Arctic Circle all around the world. At the Arctic Circle we were farther north than Moscow, Helsinki, and Stockholm. For both of us we were farther north than we had ever been in our lives.

By the time we finished at the visitor’s center we had been gone from our campground for 7 1/2 hours and had to drive all the way back. With so many miles to go, we only stopped a couple of times on the way home.

It started raining on a dirt portion of the road when we were almost at the end of the Dalton Highway. Henry said driving on the wet dirt road was the worst driving he has had to do this whole trip. When we got back to Fairbanks, we had to stop for road construction at 9:00 at night. Fourteen hours after leaving the campground, we arrived home and collapsed into our chairs. A long day but well worth it.

Day 38: Back in the Yukon

June 27, 2013June 17, 2026Posted in RV Parks, Wildlife, YukonTagged black bear, Haines Highway, Whitehorse3 Comments

Day 38: Saturday, June 22, 2013. Haines, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Pioneer RV Park, Site 55. 244 miles traveled.

Blondie and I took one last walk around Haines before we got ready to leave.

After one last look at our beautiful view and saying goodby to our friends in Haines, we continued on our journey to see the rest of Alaska. There were no eagles to be seen as we passed through the Eagle Preserve beside the Haines Highway.

We went through Canadian Customs and entered British Columbia. When we spotted a black bear in a field of dandelions, Henry pulled over to the side of the road and backed up so I could get a few pictures. That was no easy feat towing our trailer!

From British Columbia we entered the Yukon and spent the night in Whitehorse. There was another Titanium in the park just a few spaces from us. We rarely see other Titaniums and try to meet the owners when we can. The owners of this one were from Ontario on their way to Alaska.

Day 37: A day cruise to Juneau

June 26, 2013June 17, 2026Posted in Alaska, Birds, Glaciers, Lighthouse, WildlifeTagged Alaska Fjordlines, Eldred Rock Lighthouse, harbor seals, humpback whales, Mendenhall Glacier, oystercatcher, steller sea lions3 Comments

Day 37: Friday, June 21, 2013. Aboard the Fjordland from Haines, Alaska to Juneau, Alaska

There have been many WOW moments on this trip but our trip to Juneau has them all beat by far.

At 8:30 am we gathered at the dock with our friends Ted and Ruth Ann to board the Fjordland for an all day cruise to Juneau. The boat has comfortable seats inside the cabin and a nice viewing platform in the rear for wildlife viewing and photography. Our captain was very knowledgeable about the area and he and his daughter kept an eye out for wildlife. He would slow down or stop when there was something interesting to watch.

We took the Fjordland to Juneau from Haines

Our first wildlife came when we saw hundreds of steller sea lions at a rookery along the rocks.

There were so many whales we lost count. Some were too far off to see very much detail but we were fortunate to see some up close.

We passed by glaciers and waterfalls and even a lighthouse on the way to Juneau.

The boat docked a little outside of town so we boarded a bus to take us downtown. We enjoyed lunch at the Red Dog Saloon before doing a little shopping and sightseeing in the capital of Alaska. Next was a stop at the Mendenhall Glacier to see a glacier up close.

After touring the Mendenhall Glacier we boarded the bus for our ride back to the dock. We enjoyed a delicious bowl of seafood chowder with smoked salmon while we rested up from our hard day of sightseeing. Whale sightings continued and our captain took us close by the Eldred Rock Lighthouse we had passed on the way to Juneau. Want to buy it? It’s for sale!

Our trip on the Fjordland was the Fjord Express to Juneau cruise offered by the Alaska Fjordlines. I highly recommend it. It sails from either Haines or Skagway to Juneau.

Day 36: Fresh Crabs for Dinner

June 22, 2013June 17, 2026Posted in Alaska, Birds, Tourist Attractions, WildlifeTagged Bald Eagle, Dungeness Crab, Haines, Hammer Museum, Oceanside RV Park11 Comments

Day 36: Thursday, June 20, 2013

One of the things on my list of things to do in Alaska was to eat some fresh crabs right from the dock. Thanks to Joyce, the great owner of the Oceanside RV Park where we are staying, I crossed that off my list on Thursday night.

I went for an early morning walk around the harbor and then hoping to see some more Bald Eagles, we drove a few miles down the road to Chilcoot Lake in Chilcoot State Park and along Mud Bay Road to the seafood cannery.

I walked around Haines Harbor in the early morning

Then we went down to the dock to help clean today’s catch of 38 Dungeness Crabs.

A trip to the Hammer Museum sounded like a fun way to spend the afternoon before dinner.

Finally, it was time to eat!

Owner Joyce and the camp host getting ready to cook

Joyce, the owner of Oceanside RV Park, often puts on a crab boil or salmon bake for her guests. Joyce organizes everything, teaches everyone how to clean them, and then cooks them. Everyone brought a covered dish and paid for however many crabs they wanted. After we ate our fill of our six crabs we picked the rest and froze it for later in the trip.

Joyce is one of the hardest working RV park owners we have ever seen and goes out of her way to make you feel at home. If you are going to Haines, Oceanside RV Park is the only place to stay. This is NOT a paid advertisement! She doesn’t even know I’m posting this.

Day 35: Laid back in Haines, Alaska

June 20, 2013June 17, 2026Posted in Alaska, Birds, WildlifeTagged Bald Eagle, Haines, Nature, whales4 Comments

Day 35: Wednesday, June 19, 2013

We didn’t have to travel far to see the sights today. Back at the campground, people emerged from their RV’s with coffee cups in hand in search of birds, whales, and vessels passing by. Someone shouted “Whale” and started pointing. Binoculars and spotting scopes came out and we all watched to see where they are. Far across the water we watched three whales as they spouted and breached.

Later, we drove along Mud Bay to a cannery to get some smoked salmon. No work was being done so we decided to come back another day to watch them at work. The local IGA had just received it’s weekly shipment so after we stocked up there we spent the rest of the day enjoying the views from our campground.

We’re in site 13 at the Oceanside RV Park overlooking the ocean

Have I mentioned how hot it is here? After traveling through Canada wearing sweatshirts, jeans and wool socks for days, we arrived in Alaska and had to change into short sleeves and shorts. Many people in the campground sat in their chairs sunbathing.

Blondie finally got to go swimming when we took her down to the beach.