The Hawker Hub: Alaska Day #7

This is the first day that actually had a little rain. There were low clouds over the mountains. We went on a jeep tour to the Crow Creek Gold Mine. Doug tried panning and got a few flakes. We didn't go to the river, just in a barrel in the town. We saw where they have the shaker, and sluice boxes, etc. We went in buildings that were the original ones from the 1800's. We went 6 wheeling in a Pinzgauer, all over the mountain, and saw lots of trails, and waterfalls. We never saw any bears or moose (which have been at our B&B during the day) After the tour we went to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, and saw lots of moose, elk, bears, reindeer (caribou) bison, etc. They are taking care of the injured ones there at the refuge. The sun came out and it was sunny the rest of the day. We drove 10 miles away, and walked to a glacier called Byron Glacier. I think this is probably the highlight of our whole trip. It was so blue and beautiful. Hard to describe. We were the only ones there for awhile. It is massive and so calm. We walked up on it as far as we dared. There is a warning to not go too far, because the ground could cave in under us. I will never forget the beauty of that place. It is forever engraved in my mind! Sadly to say, but we had to come back to our place and pack up. It has been a great vacation. Lots of memories. I took hundreds of pictures and will post them on Flickr soon.