The Binker Files

Alaska!

It took a Herculean effort that included a 3:00AM wake-up, two taxis and three airplanes, but the boys & I made it to Alaska!  We're taking the scenic route to the Yukon, through Skagway, Alaska,  following the same route that tens of thousands of people took in 1897 during the Klondike Gold Rush, which is fitting, because Mark is involved in a modern day gold rush of sorts. 

We flew into Juneau, where Mark met us at the airport, after a 350-mile drive and a 6 hour ferry ride of his own.  It was definitely worth all the effort it took to get here.

I have wanted to visit Alaska since I was Silas' age and it is even better than I imagined it to be - towering, snow-capped mountains, beautiful, lush forests (Southeast Alaska is a temperate rain forest) AND an ocean!  Incredible.

Arlo's first night in a hotel room.

Mendenhall Glacier.

After a night in Juneau, we boarded a ferry to take the Inside Passage to Skagway.  This was spectacular, one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had.

Besides the breathtaking scenery, we saw seals, eagles, porpoises and humpback whales.

The captain stopped the boat so we could watch two whales as they breached, they put on an amazing show for us!

 

Levi became as wild as the animals we were watching, we had to keep a close eye on him to be sure he didn't go overboard.

 

 
Skagway, Alaska.

Skagway, though super touristy, is a beautiful place. Because it was the starting point for many hopeful gold seekers when they set off over land for the Klondike River in the Yukon, much of the town is preserved as the Klondike National Historic Park, which really brings the history of the area to life.

The Moore Homestead.

The nefarious Soapy Smith's place.  Both boys were very interested in his antics.

Si & Levi both became Junior Rangers. 

We spent four nights in Skagway, back in the Airstream.

Smuggler's Cove.

A detour on our hike to Lower Dewey Lake.  Mark & I are still trying to wrap our minds around the idea of hiking in grizzly and black bear country.  But, as my friend Deb told me, more people are killed by rattlesnakes each year than bears!

It is very hard to leave Alaska, but Mark has to get back to work, so we're off to the Yukon!

A Post from Mark - The Black Hills

The Black Hills cover an area of South Dakota and Wyoming that is absolutely worth seeing...lots of history and really cool places to see, and a must for a future family Airstream adventure.  I've been spending the last few weeks here trying to look for gold.

If, like me, you aren't familiar with the area, I'm sure you've at least heard of some the area's former resident Outlaws:

Calamity Jane, the Sundance Kid and Wild Bill Hickock...all called this area home.

I love Wyoming (but had never been to the northeast corner or South Dakota before), and jumped at the opportunity to spend some time working in the area.  Places like Deadwood, Sturgis, Devils Tower, Mt. Rushmore (just outside of Keystone) are all within an easy hour or so drive (or ride on your Harley) from one another. 

The Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota.

I have been based in Spearfish, SD , which is probably one of the nicest little towns I'd never heard of.  It's home to Black Hills State University, and has a population of about 10,000.  It has a nice feel, and easy access to the surrounding Black Hills National Forest...Public land hiking, running & biking are at your doorstep, which is not bad for a town on an interstate highway.

A late winter here has made working nearly impossible, but has fortunately allowed for some sight seeing. 

Heavy wet snow makes incredible mud.

This vehicle was abandoned in the middle of the only access to where I was working.  Fortunately we had an excavator on hand to remove it.

 

We found this sticker inside the truck, along with a lot of empty beer cans.  I imagine it took a lot of both to muster the courage to drive through that mud hole.  I actually had the opportunity to meet the truck's owner...exactly as imagined.

Just up the road in Wyoming is Devils Tower, AKA Bear Lodge.  This is a text book example of columnar jointing (cracking), which is the result of cooling and shrinking magma.  Theodore Roosevelt made this our very first National Monument, in 1906.  This is also a very sacred place for at least 20 Native American tribes, whose stories about it's formation vary but usually involve a large bear.  It's one of those things you have to see to really appreciate.

Near Hulett, WY.

It's hard to take pictures of yourself.

The Bear.

Just south of Spearfish is the famous western town of Deadwood.  It has many historical buildings which seem to house mostly hotel-casinos and restaurants.  Very cute, but very touristy.

Deadwood's Upper Main Street.

A few miles down the road is Lead.  Lead is home to the world famous Homestake Mine, which, before its closing in 2002 was the oldest, largest and deepest mine in the Western Hemisphere.  I believe over 40 million ounces of gold was produced over the 125 year mine life.  Somewhere down below within the underground workings, more than 8000 feet beneath town, is now the home to the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL), where extremely rare nuclear physics processes are studied.

The "Homestake Cut", view from downtown Lead.

Just yesterday I managed to squeeze in a quick afternoon trip to see Mt. Rushmore - which is really an amazing in situ sculpture.  I've always wanted to see it, and finally had the chance.  The park has a great visitor's center and is open late, as they do a lighting ceremony every evening at sunset.  $10 buys a year pass.

Notice the contact between the intruded granite and folded meta-sediments at the base?   No?

How about now?

Me, George, Thomas, Teddy & Abe.

Mountain goats all over the place, and not afraid of people.

People for scale.  I think the faces are scaled to represent a person that stands something like 465ft.

I'm not sure if the people on George are doing maintenance or if they are part of the CyArc digital preservation team.   CyArc (check out their website and watch the Wired Science video clip), was on-site photographing and scanning the park while I was there...anyone looking for a new career?

Oh, and Dances with Wolves was filmed in and around the area (Brad will like to know this).

 

The people spoke, and I listened.  I hope you all enjoy this.  Mark

Scenes of Toronto

We're back home now in our little city, but really enjoyed our time in the great big city.  

Mark, Silas & Levi on the shore of Lake Ontario.

Silas' favorite part was "the whole city - Chinatown, riding the subway, all of the museums", he really can't narrow it down.

 Silas and the view from the CN Tower.

Besides the hotel room, Levi's favorite part was "the dead body with the toes sticking out" which was an Egyptian mummy at the Royal Ontario Museum.  We all enjoyed that museum which had a lot of other interesting things besides mummies, like dinosaur bones and a bat cave.

Silas & I both really enjoyed Chinatown, the largest one in North America.  We spent a lot of time here just walking around, checking out the stores for the "perfect toy", people watching and eating delicious dumplings, one of very favorite things to eat, at Mother's. 

One thing I did not enjoy was the Toronto Zoo.  I am not a big fan of zoos anyway, but we had a city pass that included tickets and it was really hyped up.  I read some reviews that suggested winter was the best time to visit, as it was less crowded and the animals are more active.  If that is true, I'd hate to see the place in the summer!  This pretty much sums up the Toronto Zoo:

But, there was one good part, we were able to see a polar bear.

Just like Levi, we spent my birthday driving 650 miles.  Toronto was great, but it so good to be home!

Toronto

Levi's 4th birthday (also known as his chocolate chip birthday) wasn't very fun.  We spent 11.5 hours in an embarrassingly large rental car driving to Toronto.  Luckily, Tiny loves hotel rooms, so his special day was brightened after we checked in and had a large chocolate dessert delivered to our room. 

Mark will be taking classes and attending a convention here, the boys & I decided to tag along and make a vacation out of it.  Being in a city this big is such a change for us, Toronto is considered one of the most multiculturally diverse cities in the world and the population here (2.5 million) is twice the population of the entire state of Maine. 

We have a long list of things to see and do, but Silas and Levi demanded that our first stop be the Ontario Science Center.  We spent a long day there yesterday, it is a great place - really interesting exhibits and lots of hands-on fun and experiments, we all really enjoyed it.