ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Saturday, July 30, we visited the El Dorado Gold Mine, a once flourishing mine from which millions in gold was extracted. Today, the operation is still a gold mine as a tourist attraction. The El Dorado is run by the Binkley family, a third generation Fairbanks family who also operates the Discovery River Boat attraction that I bored you with in my last discourse from Fairbanks. The Binkley family enterprise and resourcefulness reminded me of the Walter Knott family of Knotts Berry Farm fame. The Binkley children have followed their parents and grand parents in the business and three generations are active in the business. Mrs. Binkley, the matriarch of the family, is in her 80's and still involved in the business. (On our river trip she waved to the boat from the yard of her home as we made our way down the river.) Mr. Binkley died last year. I was impressed with the value conscious efforts of the family in providing what seemed to me a fair “bang for the buck” in both the river boat and the mining adventure. Both operations seemed to reflect a personalized pride of ownership, family unity and dedication to the business not only as the source of their livelihood but as a genuine reflection of their Alaskan roots and good citizenship.

We were loaded onto a bus for the approximate twenty minute ride to the mine. Once there, we were taken by train through a mine shaft to familiarize us with the interior of a mine, how it is reinforced and the role of the permafrost in the mining operations. At the El Dorado, there are two phases, hard rock mining of the ore and the placer operation. The mined ore is taken to a staging area where it is crushed (smaller mines who do not maintain crushing facilities take their ore to a smelter where it is crushed and processed). Once the ore has been retrieved and crushed, the process of removing the gold from the bulk ore is achieved through the placer process, concludes with the panning of the gold . In the presentation, once the ore “sifting” and placer process has been concluded, the final step of panning the gold or retrieval of the actual flakes of gold or on a very lucky day in the life of a gold panner, a gold nugget is retrieved.

After the staff had concluded their presentation, showed us how to pan for gold and developed “color” in their pan, we were taken inside to tables for panning the small bag of ore that each of us was given as we entered the building. Everyone was guaranteed to get some gold and, as far as we know everyone did, with the average being somewhere between $10-$15. Ken and I did our panning and in the process, together retrieved a few grams of gold, valued at approximately $22.00. I confiscated Ken’s gold and he had our combined “pan” made into a pair of earrings which were assembled in front of us to assure us that the earrings were from our very own panned gold. I will wear them in remembrance of our day at the mine.

On Sunday, we drove approximately 50 miles out of Fairbanks to Chena Hot Springs. One of the recent fires in the Fairbanks area came perilously close to the hot springs, but luckily it was spared, thanks to a little rain and the great fire fighting efforts of the fire crews who worked long and hard to control the fires in Alaska. A fire in 2001 also came very close to the hot springs which is a garden of Eden in the middle of nowhere surrounded by beautiful forests filled with wild animals. As we walked around the park, fresh animal tracks could be seen in the dirt, providing credibility to the many “beware of bear” signs. We did not go prepared to enjoy the hot springs but we should have. People were enjoying the hot pools. The remote location is large with a hotel, cabins, RV sites, restaurant and acres of beautiful foliage. The facility has its own hot houses and gardens which supplies garden fresh vegetables to the restaurant. A Sunday barbecue was in progress which turned out to be one of the best “food” bargains of our trip as well as tasty. A choice of barbecued beef ribs, chicken, hamburgers with potato salad, macaroni salad, cold slaw, chips and a drink (more than we could eat) for $8.95 each. Inexpensive for Alaska..

After our visit to the hot springs, we drove into an area where good panning creeks were said to be located. Ken stopped at a creek along the road and joined some fellow “panners” in trying their skill at finding a few ounces of gold (gram, specks?). One panner was from Redding, California. He and Ken shared prospecting stories as they tried their luck in the creek. Both were able to claim a few signs of color in the pan, but no significant find.

Monday, was devoted to clean up in preparation for starting our trip South and return home. Our planned Monday departure was delayed for Ken to see a chiropractor in hopes of getting his back tuned up for the trip home.

Tuesday, after Ken’s trip to the “chirp”, we reluctantly departed Fairbanks and started the long road home. A stop off at the North Pole, another tourist spot, just outside of Fairbanks completed what we both felt was an enjoyable stay in Fairbanks. We both agreed that Fairbanks had a good tourist attitude with friendly people. For us, it reflected what we identified as Alaska’s pioneer spirit and what we thought Alaska would be. The traditions of the past and the native culture seemed to have been proudly preserved and respected.

We had intended to do a short drive on Tuesday after Ken’s visit to the Dr., but it was a beautiful clear day, Mount Denali and its mountain range were alive in a rare spectacular distant view which prompted us to keep going and enjoy a clear day in which it seemed you could “see forever”. Thus rewarded, we drove into Tok, the “jumping off” place for the return trip through Yukon Territory.

The next morning, Wednesday, we fueled and prepared for our departure over the Top of the World highway to Chicken and Dawson City en route to White Horse. Ken had planned do the Top of the World Highway to Dawson City on our way into Alaska. However, that area was ravaged by wild fires that created road closures and hazardous driving conditions. Thus, we had set this destination for our return trip. Our inquiry at the visitor center Tuesday night seemed to solidify our proposed itinerary but Wednesday morning the smoke seemed much worse. En route to our turnoff, Ken expressed reservations because of the smoke and wondered aloud whether we would be able to see the beautiful view in the smoke. When we reached our turn off point, Ken decided there was just too much smoke to warrant our endurance of what we knew would be mostly gravel and dirt roads. It was a difficult decision for him (and one that I stayed out of) because the Dawson City stop had always been a “big item” on his itinerary. We both felt that the decision to stay on the Alaska Highway was okay because we had not really been able to enjoy the view from White Horse to Tok on our trip into Alaska because of the smoke.

We remembered that the Alaska highway between White Horse and Tok had a lot of maintenance and repair work that would require breaks in the pavement and considerable travel on dirt and gravel roads. However, On the way down, we stopped at a RV Resort on Klhune Lake which we thought must surely be beautiful but we were unable to see more than 25 feet in front of us. What we didn’t recognize was that the break in travel gave us a chance to relax and revamp. This time, we did the drive all in one day and by the time we reached White Horse, our patience with dirt and gravel roads had been maximized. We knew that the Top of the World Highway was 60% gravel but we had forgotten just how much of the Alaskan Highway was under construction. A new road is being built between White Horse and the Alaska State line and construction goes on for miles and miles. It will be nice when it is finished, but I do not recommend that stretch of road until the new road has been completed. In retrospect, we thought that the Dawson City route was probably not any worse, but our choice had been motivated by smoke and not the road. However, in talking to those who did the Dawson City route, their experience was as traumatic as ours so it sounds like “a wash”.

To make matters worse, there are frequent gravel breaks in the pavement that appear suddenly and create a hazard from flying rock. One Alberta driver passed us just as we were entering a gravel break, creating a “rock storm” that pitted our windshield. He was clearly driving recklessly and speeding in a maintenance area. Ken is very even tempered and rarely gets upset with the stupidity of others but when it comes to his “precious coach” his patience is impaired. He tried to catch the man but alas, he was soon out of sight. Fifty miles down the road at the Canadian border, he, and approximately 30 other “escaping” Alaska RV tourists waited for clearance to enter Canada. Ken and another man who had undergone a similar incident with the same man went up to the “offending driver” and asked for his name, address and license number. The driver apologized and had the good sense to not make any excuse or employ an “attitude”. I was reluctant to have Ken pursue the matter because in Los Angeles, it would invite a “shooting” but our presence at a border crossing tended to provide everyone a “level head’.

We arrived in White Horse at 730 PM, tempers short, patience exhausted with both car and coach covered with dirt and rocks. We parked at Wal Mart, had a sandwich and let our tired bodies relax. After our dusty, dirty and challenging drive from Tok, we decided to spend an extra day in White Horse for clean up and rejuvenation.

Thursday, Ken washed the car and the coach, while I caught up on my e mail. In the afternoon we drove up to the fish ladder where we watched as Chinook salmon were helped over the ladder of the falls into the hydroelectric company dam for their return to their spawning grounds in the Yukon river and its tributaries. There is a nearby hatchery that releases the baby salmon into the surrounding streams and rivers in an effort to maintain the balance of nature. The young salmon then travel hundreds of miles down stream, sometimes as far as the Arctic ocean before returning to the site of their spawning to lay their eggs and meet their maker. Once the salmon reach fresh water, they do not eat and when the eggs are laid in a nest by the female, the male fertilizes them and the female covers the nest and the two die. The spawning salmon are between 3 and 6 years of age. On average 600-700 salmon return to their spawning grounds each season. When we visited the fish hatchery and ladder on our way to Alaska, the salmon were not yet running. Our revisit rounded out our education on the spawning habits of the Chinook salmon.

After dinner in a decent “pasta” restaurant, we prepared for the next dayt’s exodus and a return stop over at” Muckluck Annies”.

Saturday we stopped overnight at the Junction of Highway 37 and 2 and Sunday we will proceed to Dease Lake en route to Prince Rupert. Highway 37 has about 40 miles of gravel road but travel via this road to Prince Rupert reduces travel miles significantly. Ken wants to stop in Stewart for some salmon fishing. The road is not a primary highway but is said to be a beautiful drive with several “spurs” of interest en route.

We are on our way South but there are still items on our (Kens) itinerary that require attention. Until our next report, have a good week.