N is for North to Alaska

Stewart Granger

John Wayne

American actors John Wayne and Ernie Kovaks, British actor Stewart Granger, a beautiful French actress named Capucine, a big shaggy dog, and a young American named Fabian starred in the comic western movie North to Alaska 50 years ago. The cast seemed like an unlikely mix, with John Wayne actually playing a parody of himself, but it worked. The title song, performed by Johnny Horton, became a hit, and some say it was Horton's most popular song ever.

In 2007, Dick and I went "north to Alaska" on a cruise aboard Holland America's Zuiderdam, which visited Skagway, Ketchikan and Juneau. While the ship was docked in Skagway, friends picked us up and took us, as the song says, "across the majestic mountains" to the Canadian city of Whitehorse, Yukon. (Dick rode part of the way on the White Pass and Yukon Railroad, which I had been on previously.)

It was a super vacation. The ship's route took us from Vancouver, BC, up the Inside Passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland, and also between Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) and the mainland, then up the Alaska Panhandle. The scenery was spectacular, with icebergs large and small, glaciers large and small, eagles, seabirds and orcas (killer whales).

Photos by Richard Schear and Kay Davies

Posted by Kay for

ABC Wednesday

Skies Along the Yukon

On the road from Skagway, Alaska, to Whitehorse, Yukon.

We picked up my husband after his train ride, then continued to head for Whitehorse, stopping along the way to view the sights, as did busloads of tourists.

Perched high atop a tree, barely visible except as a lump against the sky, an eagle patiently waits for the fish thrown on the driveway for him every day by the staff and volunteers at Muktuk Kennels.
These dogs are so friendly they happily maintain eye contact with people, but don't try this without permission from a dog's owner because some animals see eye contact as a challenge. Here, this dog enjoys time with Marilyn.

In the background, Murd can be seen visiting with several dogs at once.

Dick stops taking pictures long enough to skritch one of the dogs behind the ear.

Volunteers at Muktuk give the animals plenty of love. That's their job, along with feeding and walking and cleaning and other chores, and the dogs return their love in abundance.

When we told our friends Marilyn and Murd Nicholson we'd be in Skagway, Alaska on a cruise with Holland America, they offered to meet us at the ship and take us to Whitehorse, Yukon, where they live, so I'm happy to present these photos of northern skies for this week's edition of Skywatch Friday.

Dick chose to ride the historic White Pass & Yukon Railroad part of the way, because he'd never been on it before. I rode with Marilyn and Murd, and enjoyed the Arctic scenery from their car. After stopping to fetch Dick after his train trip, we carried on to Whitehorse, where we were treated to a brief tour of the city, including The Barber Shoppe, which is Murd's family-friendly hair salon located in the Westmark Whitehorse Hotel. Even if you don't need a haircut, you'll enjoy a tour of The Barber Shoppe just to see all the interesting things Murd has gathered in his years in the north.

The highlight of our day, however, was a visit to Muktuk Kennels where we all enjoyed playing with Frank Turner's friendly sled dogs. We saw an eagle waiting for the Muktuk volunteers to show up with the fish they gave him every day for lunch, and we learned about the 1,000-mile international sled dog race, the Yukon Quest (which Frank and his dogs have been known to win).

It was my second trip to Whitehorse and Skagway, but Dick's first, and we definitely agreed it was a wonderful day but much too short.

Photos by Kay Davies and Richard Schear

Be sure to check out Skywatch Friday, and then you can see more sights and sites from around the world at My World Tuesday, plus imaginative bloggers at work on Mellow Yellow Monday as well as ABC Wednesday.

Scenes as I've seen 'em

above, Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China

above, rainy day in Alaska

above, taken from a panga in the Galapagos Islands

above, in the Galapagos Islands

above, on the Pacific Coast of Mexico's Baja Peninsula

above, in Costa Rica

above, in Tenerife, Canary Islands

above, marine iguanas inland, Galapagos Islands

above, the jungle, Costa Rica

above, Galapagos Islands

above, specially bred sled dogs, and Dick, in Whitehorse, Yukon

Almost invariably, when we travel, Dick sees the scenery and I see Dick's back. Never content to walk beside me, seldom remembering to offer me his arm or his hand, my big, strong, healthy husband is usually walking some steps ahead of me: sometimes a few steps, sometimes a great many steps. So I'm working on a chapter for An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel entitled: "The back of Dick's back"!