Prisoner of Hopes

Category: travels

  • Chena River Discovery: Travel Goals Alaska

    Chena River Discovery: Travel Goals Alaska

    I’m making the bold claim that the Riverboat Discovery cruise is the best value in Fairbanks. I was impressed start to finish. We skipped it on our last visit, because it seemed like just a short ride up the river. We come from Mississippi River country and have been on our share of river boats…

  • Fairbanks?: Travel Goals Alaska

    Fairbanks?: Travel Goals Alaska

    Honestly I don’t know what to think of Fairbanks. It has some amazing spaces and yet it always seems a little sad, a little dated, and a little down on its luck. It is an enigma. Our hotel, the Westmark Fairbanks has clean and bright public spaces. We head to the park because our room…

  • Pioneer Park: Travel Goals Alaska

    Pioneer Park: Travel Goals Alaska

    After a quick flight from Dawson City to Fairbanks Alaska, we find our hotel room isn’t quite ready. So we hop on the free shuttle and head to Pioneer Park. It is as good a place as any to spend an afternoon in Fairbanks. We’ve been here before and know that we will have options…

  • Gold Rush: Travel Goals Canada

    Gold Rush: Travel Goals Canada

    Not far outside Dawson, Yukon Territory is the site of the first gold discovery. You can walk to the creek where it all began. If you ask a local the story of how it happened you will get a dozen different answers. What everyone agrees on: The location was Rabbit Creek (later named Bonanza Creek).…

  • Dawson City: Travel Goals Canada

    Dawson City: Travel Goals Canada

    Our plane lands in a small field outside Dawson City, Canada. Just before landing we have a spectacular view of the Alaska Range including the mighty Denali. As we make our way into town, we pass mountains of mine tailings. The earth was ravaged here in the early quest for gold. Dredges sliced and diced…

  • White Pass Rail: Travel Goals Alaska/Canada

    White Pass Rail: Travel Goals Alaska/Canada

    Today we are leaving Skagway so we are up early. We grab breakfast at the local coffee shop and head to catch the transport to the White Pass Railway. I am excited about the trip over the White Pass. This is the way that hundreds of Gold Rush miners walked with their supplies. Canada required prospectors…

  • Mountain Hike: Travel Goals Alaska

    Mountain Hike: Travel Goals Alaska

    After spending the morning in Skagway, I want to spend some time in the woods. The lower lake trail is touted as a two mile loop trail around a mountain lake. To get to the loop, there is a steep trail up the mountain beginning across the railroad tracks from the Skagway Hotel. Our new…

  • Departing Japan: Travel Goals Japan

    Departing Japan: Travel Goals Japan

    Saying goodbye is bitter sweet. After a month of life in Tokyo there are things I have come to love. Unexpectedly, what I think I will miss most is the Japanese toilet. The heated seat, the heated water bidet, the sound machines make even public restrooms a comfort. I will also miss the cleanliness. People…

  • National Garden: Travel Goals Japan

    National Garden: Travel Goals Japan

    It is our last day in Tokyo as we visit the National Garden of Japan in Shinjuku. The garden sits within 15 minutes of our house. We didn’t visit before because of the cherry blossom festival. There were huge crowds and timed entry for weeks. Today, things are back to normal and we can walk…

  • Takao: Travel Goals Japan

    Takao: Travel Goals Japan

    Today we planned to travel to Nagano to see the snow monkeys. But when we woke up, we just were not feeling like a long train ride in order to catch a bus in order to hike. Perhaps earlier in the trip it would have been worth it, but with only two days remaining in…