Today began the official
trip as planned by Princess Cruises (meaning we were no longer
free to do what we wanted). We were told when to be where and
at 8:30 we were on a tour bus just packed with (gasp) tourists!
Our tour bus driver was hysterical. She was originally from New Jersey, and she looked, acted and sounded like Whoopi Goldberg.
Our first stop was the Eldorado Gold Mine. It was clever. We rode an old narrow-guage train to the mine itself, passing old gold-mining dioramas with live actors. The gold mine owners (man and wife) gave us a demonstration, then, using a huge backhoe, dug up some dirt, dumped it into a huge vat, flooded it with water, then filled "pokes" with the concentrate. We were each given a poke and a pan and set in front of a sluice box. The wife thought she fount a nugget, but she had just dropped her ring into the pan (photo).
Between the two of us, we managed to pan $17 worth of gold, which we got to keep. It was fun.
We were allowed a quick lunch, then it was on the the riverboat. Sternwheeler riverboats played a big part in Alaska's history, and we rode an authentic one through some very scenic locales. It was cleverly arranged too. It passed a dog kennel on the bank and the owner came out with a wireless microphone and a gave a talk on the Iditerod Dog Sled race. The talk is usually given by his wife, Susan Butcher (four-time winner of the race), but she was due to give birth any day. A bush pilot also took off and landed on cue, and we stopped at an Indian village down the river to be educated on local customs.
Touristy, but well-done. Tomorrow is the 200-mile train ride to Denali in glass-domed rail cars.
We're having fun!