Gateway to the Klondike

Posted on June 11, 2013June 11, 2013 by Dusty Roads

The ship arrived in Skagway in the wee hours of the morning or maybe it was night.

It’s getting harder and harder to tell with the late sunsets and early sunrises the farther north we go.

Skagway is located at the northern tip of Alaska’s Inside Passage.

As we roused ourselves for the day’s adventures we looked out on a busy dock with a rock wall to hold the bank in place.

Above the rock wall on the boulders embedded in mountainside we saw logos and ship’s names painted. The story is that when a crew likes the captain they come ashore and paint the ship’s ID on the rocks, the higher and more dangerous, the more the captain is esteemed.

After breakfast, with the all clear to go ashore, we headed down to find the excursion bus that would take us to the White Pass and Yukon Railroad.

We needed our passports because this adventure would take us into the Klondike region of Canada.

The train would take us through the White Horse Pass. During the gold rush in 1896 there wasn’t a train. The stampeeders ( prospectors) had to either take the Chilkoot Trail which was shorter but steeper or the White Horse Pass that was longer but summited lower at 2885 ft. Both ways were challenging and deadly. The Canadian Mounties waited at Lake Bennett to check supplies. Anyone without enough to survive was turned back at the border.

I can assure you the train was much easier but even today it was easy to see the challenge. We passed huge gullies and mountainsides as the train wound its way to the summit.

We passed over trestle bridges and passed into and out of fog banks and clouds.

Water poured down the mountainsides in everything from torrents to trickles as the snow on the peaks began its spring melt.

Pretty soon we had reached the snowline but even though we were traveling through snow the water continued its downward path. At times we were so close to the mountain side that a foolish person could have reached out and touched the rocks as they flew by…and lost a hand or arm had they been so careless.

At times we could see across the “gulch” where another train ahead of us was already traveling upward or maybe returning downward.

We could see where we would soon be. More than any place else that we’d been, this train ride captured the true wildness of the Alaska mountains.

I admit, I stood in the cold outside the car in an attempt to capture some of the fantastic wilderness that surrounded us. My efforts fell far short of what we actually saw. The fog or clouds (depending on who you ask) only added to the drama of the ride.

Once we arrived at Lake Bennett we had to wait for the Canadian Customs Agents. We were told not to speak unless spoken to, to have our passports out and open and to NOT TAKE ANY PICTURES!

2 Agents boarded and made their way down the aisle. They never smiled. They were quite intimidating. The only time they spoke was to ask a foreign visitor for his visa as well as his passport. He had the visas for his whole family so they checked all of them then left the train.

The bus was waiting to take us to the next stop, a suspension bridge. Everyone headed to the lake to take pictures but the bus driver rounded us up with promises that we’d be back and we could take pictures then. He said we had a schedule to keep.

Scenic Train to North Creek

Posted on October 3, 2012October 3, 2012 by Dusty Roads

OK I have a confession to make before we get started. I don’t know how scenic this train ride was at all. Four of us took the trip, my sister, my mother and my aunt…my mom’s sister-in-law. But let me start at the beginning.

Saturday dawned very gray and overcast. The forecast was for rain and we just hoped it would hold off until we got back home in the afternoon. Everyone met at my sister’s house so we could go to the train station together. Lorna, my Aunt, volunteered to drive because she had the biggest car, an SUV.

The train ride starts in Saratoga, NY and ends in North Creek, NY home of Gore Mountain Ski area. Sandy and I were hoping the foliage would be in high gear but we were about a week too early. As it turned out it didn’t matter anyway. I don’t think anyone spent too much time gazing out the windows. We could call our train ride the Reunion Train. Although we occasionally tried to figure out what river or body of water we were passing, most of the trip up and back was playing “catch up” , reminiscing and just plain having fun chatting. On the trip north the seats faced each other so it made conversation amongst the four of us easy.

When we arrived in North Creek there was a bus to take folks to Gore Mountain if you wanted to ride the gondola to the top of the mountain. That idea got vetoed pretty quickly so we had the option of taking a golf cart up the hill to main street or walking up the hill.

We may have been a band of Senior Citizens but we chose to walk.

North Creek seems to be pretty much the main street and that’s it. We strolled along looking in the windows and checking menus. We had arrived about lunch time. There were lots of tempting menus but we finally settled on Marsha’s. It turned out that it was a good choice. There was that Open Faced Hot Turkey sandwich again! This one was most definitely fresh roasted..delicious. If you get to North Creek you have 3 recommendations for Marsha’s Hot Turkey sandwich!

Lunch over we still had about an hour to kill so we crossed the street to visit a gallery that was located next to a Pizza place with the name of “Pete’s Ahh”. Very creative!

The Gallery was beautiful. So many lovely arts and crafts from photo postcards (very similar to what I do) to paintings, glassware, even clothing. All the items in the shop are on consignment and all of the artists are local. I asked because I thought maybe I could put some of my work in there but they shot that idea down quickly (but nicely). I don’t live in the Adirondacks anymore. They’d take my work if I ever move back.

Near the door on the ceiling were some metal things. I didn’t realize they were pipes. Someone asked what they were and the clerk said “rain”. She walked to the wall and threw a switch and sure enough, it began to “rain” . The pipes followed above a “creek” in the floor where goldfish swim. When the pipes are turned on the water drips slowly like a gentle rain. You walk over the bridges to get to different parts of the shop.

As we left the gallery the rain that had been threatening outside began to come down for real so we headed back to the train station. There was a covered deck with benches and chairs so we settled in to wait for the train.

I didn’t take too long before the train arrived and soon it was all aboard for the return trip to Saratoga. This time the seats were more traditional in rows. We could have sat in a row of 3 with one across the aisle but we chose instead to sit 2 and 2. Sandy and Lorna in the front 2 seats and Mom and me in the 2nd set of seats.

The rain was coming down pretty good now and it was getting very dark for so early in the afternoon. We got back to Saratoga around 6pm and hurried back to Sandy’s so that everyone could scatter to their own homes before the weather got any worse.

Just as Sandy and I were about to address the question of dinner a knock announced the arrival of George and Kelly and the kids. They arrived bearing Pizza..yumm so the question of dinner was solved and I got to enjoy a visit with some more of the family. The 40 balloon “Moon Glow” at the airport was rained out but I had completely forgotten about it anyway.

What a great day with all of the family!

A little Engine that Could

Posted on August 24, 2012August 24, 2012 by Dusty Roads

Back on terra firma I realized I was hungry. A pizza place across from the wharf seemed like a quick solution. The pizza was good but it was the 2nd most expensive pizza I’ve ever had. The most expensive was in Honolulu, Hawaii. But this was 2 slices and a soft drink…$10.00 +. So if you enjoy a slice at Bill’s Pizza expect it to cost you.

So pizza break under my belt I retrieved the car and headed out to find Fore St. I was looking for Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum. I found Fore Street but I couldn’t seem to find the museum. Up and down the street I went then I spotted it. It was just a little sign and it looked like a kind of beat up neighborhood. I followed the signs as the pot-holed driveway wound between run down commercial buildings. I finally pulled into a dirt parking lot that seemed to be the end of the road.

A train sat on the tracks next to the parking lot, the engineer leaning out of the cab talking to another man. I trotted over and asked if I had found the museum. Assured that I was in the right place the engineer said this was the last run of the day and directed me to the museum to purchase a ticket to ride.

The museum was located in another beat up commercial building. I grabbed a ticket and climbed aboard.

The open air car I was in had wooden benches that ran the length of the car. You sat facing out of the windows on the side of the car. I didn’t have long to wait before the “All aboard” sounded and the train began to move.

The conductor came around to punch our tickets explaining to the children how each conductor had their own punch so you could tell who the conductor was on a run by the shape of the hole in the ticket.

Once all of the tickets were punched we were told a little bit about the railroad. Our conductor was a retired history teacher so he loved this part of the trip when he could teach again.

The railroad is a “narrow gauge” railroad. All of the cars they have were purchased from Edaville Railroad when it shut down at one time. Edaville is in Carver, MA right near where I live and almost closed last year (again) but thankfully it was resurrected and some real changes are being made. But Edaville has had an up and down history and during one of the down points much of their “rolling stock” was sold off. It seems that this little railroad in Maine was the beneficiary of Edaville’s misfortune.

The trip took us along Casco Bay, past lovely parks and into a more disreputable section where we came to a stop and everyone piled out. A man was walking his dog but other than that there was nothing here.

The bridge ahead was unsafe so the trip stops there.

A high point of the stop was the osprey nest on top of the bridge supports. There were 3 osprey perched there watching us watch them.

After the brief stop they loaded us back on the train and back we went to the rail yard.

I took a few minutes to explore the little museum.

There were full-sized rail cars, trunks, signal lights and miniature trains, all things train related. A railfan would love this place. The train even had the “little red caboose”.

As it was time for them to close up, I wrapped up my visit. I still had to figure out how to get back out of there.

Boston on a Hot Hot Day

Posted on August 8, 2012August 8, 2012 by Dusty Roads

A couple of weeks ago my friend Nancy and I made plans to meet in Boston for the day. She is a college professor and she only had morning classes. I wanted to get some pictures of Boston landmarks for my photo cards. I figured I’d go into town early, grab as many shots as I could then meet Nancy for the afternoon.

Well, let me just say that going into Boston is never an easy jaunt. In fact it annoys me so much it’s hard to believe people do it daily for work. Trying to be frugal I decided to take the “T”. I timed my departure (I thought I was being so smart) for 9:30 am to miss the rush hour traffic on Rts 24 and 93. Well that part worked . Traffic was heavy but moving and I found a parking spot on the 5th level of the Quincy Adams Parking garage…inside…so the sun would not be turning the car into an oven. So far, so good.

10:00 am I’m in front of the Charlie Card machine and I hear a train pull into the station. I grabbed my ticket and ran for the platform…too late it had loaded and was just pulling out. Boy that was quick! No problem though. Trains run about every 10-15 minutes at that time of day. Sure enough it wasn’t long before another train pulled into the station. It was pretty empty and I got a seat right away. Only 10:15. I expected to be in town by 10:45 which would give me an hour to shoot pics before meeting Nancy.

But here’s where things began to fall apart. We seemed to be waiting longer and longer at each stop. Finally just before we got into Boston proper we stopped completely between stations. Now we got an announcement that there were “switching” problems at Park St. As soon as they got the train in front of us out of the way we’d be on our way. Tick Tock Tick Tock…I could hear the clock ticking in my mind.

Finally moving again we made it to Boylston but then we sat again. By now it was after 11:00 am So much for a free hour for my photo shoot.

Originally I was going to get off at Park St. Take pictures of the Boston Gardens and then walk over to the Aquarium taking pictures as I went. Now pulling into Park it was almost 11:15 and it was HOT…a record setter and HUMID. I decided I might as well take the train to Government Center and switch to the Blue line to get to the waterfront where I was meeting Nancy.

I’m not sure how I messed up. Probably faulty memory since there were no maps posted in the T car I was in but somehow I got twisted around and ended up over by The Rehab Hospital and the old Jail, the Science Museum and Esplanade on the Green Line. I got off and changed platforms to back track.

Finally on the Blue Line I made it to the Aquarium Station. Stepping onto the street was like walking into a solid wall of humid heat.

It was so extreme it took my breath away.

The various trolley companies all have ticket booths right there so I stopped by the Olde Town Trolley booth for a short chat.

JR used to work for them once upon a time so I have a soft spot for them. But aside from personal prejudice I do feel they do the best job for the money.

Ghosts and Gravestones is Olde Town’s Ghostly tour. Love their promos! Halloween all year ’round! But I imagine the young lady was pretty warm in those volumes of skirts.

Leaving the trolleys behind I noticed that Boston has continued to move into the eco-friendly realm with bicycle rentals. A very nice idea.

By now I was soaked with perspiration and feeling very uncomfortable. I found a nice outdoor bar on the wharf and plunked myself there to wait.

My icy cold club soda arrived at the same time Nancy stepped out of the T station. As I went to meet her the waiter reminded me to “stay hydrated”. Got it! I sure will.

It was time to put our heads together and make a game plan to survive the heat.

Essex Steam Train and River Boat Ride

Posted on August 3, 2012August 3, 2012 by Dusty Roads

Just because I’m back home doesn’t mean I’m sitting around resting on my laurels or anything else. No indeed not. It has been a very busy summer so far. I’ve been lamenting that I haven’t once been down to Chatham to chase seals or great white sharks, or to Bristol to check on the Osprey nest. Even my Great Blue Heron at Oliver Mill Park seems to have given upon me. I haven’t seen him at all since the out of control kayaker nearly ran him down.

One of the things I wanted to do this year was check out the Essex Steam Train in Connecticut. I was waiting for the summer schedule when they had a combination train and riverboat ride. It seemed like the best use of time and money to do both. When I saw the schedule online on my return from my mini vacation I jumped on the chance to go.

The cost was quite reasonable. An adult ticket was only $26.00 for the combo. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I came prepared. My GPS delivered me right to the station where signs directed me to the gravel parking area.

I gave myself plenty of time because I wanted to get lunch out-of-the-way and in case I got lost. The Trackside Cafe was open in a vintage railcar.

They had pre made sandwiches in a cooler and hot dogs on a hot dog rotisserie. I opted for the hot dog, a bag of chips and a diet coke. Why is it that hot dogs taste so much better when you’re on an excursion of some kind. Anyway I enjoyed the ambiance of the little railcar while I ate my hot dog then went exploring.

The gift shop was tiny but across the way was a model train museum.

The sign welcomed me to Little River Junction. It had a wonderful model train that you could play with. It wasn’t just a display behind a glass window. The multiple trains could be run at the same time and the various villages lit with glowing windows and miniature attractions. Really fun.

Outside, as I waited for the train , I met a fellow who was dressed rather outlandishly playing a ukulele.

He said hello so I answered. That broke the ice. He is “Ramblin’ Joe” a sort of street entertainer.

I think when it’s busy his role is to keep the waiting passengers entertained and answer questions for them. He is certainly hard to miss!

The train pulled into the station and the passengers from the earlier trip stepped out. Then the engine was uncoupled, driven back to the front of the train and recoupled to take us out for our ride. That process was pretty interesting and brought out the serious train buffs to photograph the whole process.

My seat was in the open air car. Passengers in this car are warned that this is a real steam engine and cinders and soot may fly into the windows and trust me, it did!

I paid special attention to the route and where the train crossed major roads or streets in case I want to “Chase the train” sometime. That’s how you get the great shots of a steaming locomotive traveling down the tracks. We stopped to let people off for Gillette Castle and another stop at Deep River Landing.

We passed several marshes and conservation areas that looked like interesting places to go bird watching but it was hard to get decent pictures from the moving train.

At the end of the line they did the recoupling again and we started back. I was wondering when and how the River Boat came into the equation when I saw the boat from the train window. Pretty soon we were at Deep River Landing again and they were telling us to get off the train for the Riverboat ride.