Into the thick of Summer in Haines Alaska

I cant believe we are already into July.  Summer flies when your having fun in Haines Alaska and Tour Guiding seals the deal!  I'm having a ball taking people to the Schnabel's Big Nugget Mine where we pan for gold and find nice nuggets.  This is a great tour for the young and the young at heart!

We have seen black bears on Porcupine Road...

Bald Eagles in the Bald Eagle Preserve and Celebrities (in the making) at Big Nugget Gold Mine.

Each tour is unique and unpredictable...special in its own way.  I've met interesting people from all over the world.

 I feel fortunate to go out to Porcupine Creek as often as I do because each day the scenery is different....no joke.  With super long days in Alaska the flora and fauna bloom rapidly, and go to seed just as quickly as they come.

I have seen Lupine and Wild Iris all over the last week or two, and I have already seen the Fireweed start to bloom, which is the sign that summer will be coming to a close before we know it.  

Haines Alaska is a beautiful wonder to behold.  I love guiding these tours, it is a historical journey of the Dalton Trail and I have the privilege of reliving the adventure of the Porcupine Creek Gold Rush of 1898, on every tour.  It is amazing to think of the determination and dedication the pioneers of this wild frontier possessed, giving us the luxuries we have today.

It takes us 30 minutes to drive to Porcupine Creek from Haines.  In 1915 they bragged that it only took 4 hours in the first cars of the area.  That was fast compared to the month long trek of the Gold Prospectors of 1898.  They would pull their gear in sleds while the rivers were still frozen.  Most of the prospectors made the 34 mile journey by foot, totaling 350 walking miles after they went back and forth, hauling multiple loads of gold mining and camping gear for the summer.

That's all for now folks....Happy Forth of July!  Celebrate our freedom to follow the American Dream!