Alaska Travels 1997

As Dad and I continued on our Alaska trip that year, we came upon a nice trail (5 Finger Rapids Trail) as we were driving down the Klondike Highway from Dawson City. The trail is just north of Carmacks and leads thru a pretty dwarf spruce forest down to the Yukon river. Once at the river we were able to see 5 large islands of rock that protrude up from the river---the 5 fingers---and form a set of rapids. Later while travelling the Alaska Highway, we saw a coyote and black bear as well as some funny road signs. On the way home, we visited Yellowstone National Park where we hiked a trail that led thru a field of hissing,bubbling geysers. Dad has posted videos of these adventures on my page!
Butch

Camping in Denali Park Sept 1997

On our 1997 trip to Alaska, Dad and I did an overnite backpacking trip in Denali State Park. We hiked the Little Coal Creek trail which starts off of the Parks Highway and climbs steeply up into the foothills of the Alaska Range topping out onto a plateau after 3 miles. We set up camp by the shores of a small partially frozen lake. The snow depth was about 3 inches here,down from 6 inches a few days ago on our first hike in the area.Dad had to kick thru the ice to get water for supper. I darted inside the tent as soon as it was erected in order to escape the wind which was blowing at a steady clip across the snowfield. The tent was warm by comparison and I remained inside most of the evening! Dad witnessed a glorious sunset over the Alaska Range,the setting sun bathing the mountains in a warm orange glow. Even the summit of Denali,sometimes referred to as Mt Mckinley,was visible. Dad then returned to the tent and fed me and began to cook his own supper. Without warning, a gust of wind lifted the tent partway off the ground and it was a struggle to keep the tent floor even. The winds grew more intense overnite at one point bending the tent nearly in half. Rain was pelting the tent as well and a stream of water was running across the floor of the tent. It was a stressful nite for us both as we were afraid that the high wind would rip the tent to shreads,leaving us exposed to the elements on a dark and cold nite in the mountains! Fortunately the tent held and suffered only a bent pole. We made it safely back to the trailhead the next day. I`ve posted a video clip on my page of this adventure titled "Sunset Denali State Park Alaska".

Butch

1997 Alaska Trip---Hiking on a glacier

On our 1997 trip after Dad and I finished hiking the Chilkoot Trail, we drove from Skagway,Alaska back up into Canada via the Klondike Highway. The Klondike Highway rejoins the Alaska Highway and from there we continued up into the main part of Alaska (Skagway is located in the Alaska Panhandle and is not connected by road to the rest of the state). Once in mainland Alaska, we drove to the small town of Tok where we exited the Alaska highway and drove on down the Glenn Highway. On the Glenn Highway a short distance past the town of Glennallen we stopped at the Matanuska Glacier. Here Dad strapped on his crampons and off we went across the icefields of the glacier. Dad kept me on leash so that I wouldn`t slip into any deep cravasses---cracks in the ice of the glacier that can be hundreds of feet deep. We had fun hiking up the small ice mountains of the Matanuska Glacier and then on down into the valleys. We spent a bit over an hour exploring here. Dad posted a video clip of the Matanuska Glacier hike on my page. Be barking more details later!
From across the Bridge,
Butch

Alaska video clips 1997 trip

Woofs from across the Rainbow Bridge,
Hi everybody. When I was back on earth with my Dad, we would take a trip to Alaska once a year,usually in Sept. In 1997 Dad and I set out on our 2nd Alaska trip. We drove thru the US as far as North Dakota then crossed into Canada at the Saskatchewan border. From there we travelled across Canada to the province of British Columbia arriving at the small town of Dawson Creek where the Alaska Highway begins. We travelled the Alaska Highway up to Skagway,Alaska where Dad and I stopped to hike the Chilkoot Trail. This Trail was used by miners trying to reach the goldfields during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-98. Dad posted some videos from this trip on my page. One shows me at the start of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek,one shows me as we reach Canada`s Yukon Territory and one shows me crossing a shaky wooden bridge which spans a swift river on the Chilkoot Trail.I was a bit scared there! Dad didn`t have a computer or digital camera back in 1997, so he had to get the video clips by shooting them off of the tv while watching an old videotape. In all, I went to Alaska 5 times with my Dad before crossing over the Rainbow Bridge in 2000. I`ll bark more about this trip later. Dad will also be adding more clips from this trip.
Butch

Exploring Monument Valley

Dad took me to the Grand Canyon in Sept 1996. This was my second long trip with him since he adopted me the year before. On our way out to the Grand Canyon, we took a scenic tour thru Arizona and did some hiking in Monument Valley. Monument Valley is located on the Navajo Indian Reservation and contains many scenic buttes and rock spires. Picture 12 in my photo book shows me here!
Woofs from across the Bridge,
Butch

Doggie tourists aboard the space station

I`ve had many adventures since crossing the Bridge in 2000. In my latest adventure, my pal Dekker and I paid a visit to the Space Station. The views here were superb! Looking forward to more adventures soon. It`s exciting being a doggie angel! The photo is #15 on my page.
Woofs from across the Bridge,
Butch

My Grand Canyon trip in 1996

Woofs from across the Bridge!
In late Sept 1996, Dad took me on my first trip to the Grand Canyon. We began this journey by travelling south to Virginia where we spent a few days backpacking in Shehandoah National Park. We then proceeded down the Blue Ridge Parkway where Dad and I hiked to the top of Sharp Mountain for some incredible views. We then proceeded west on Interstate 40. In New Mexico we witnessed a lunar eclipse in the desert near Gallup. Dad then took me to the 4 corners area where the states of Arizona,Colorado,New Mexico and Utah meet. Dad is currently scanning pix from this trip and is posting them on my page. As things turned out, this was my only trip to the Grand Canyon with my dad. I was his "Alaska" dog and we travelled 5 times to Alaska together before I crossed the Bridge at the end of our 2000 Alaska trip.

Butch

Happy New Year!

Woofs and sincere wishes for a very Happy New Year to all my friends on Dogster! I decided to celebrate New Years Eve 2005 at Times Square in New York City with my doggie angel pals,Lady and Dekker. We`ll all be taking many exciting trips from across the Rainbow Bridge in 2006. Photo 8 on my Dogster page shows us in Times Square.

Butch

A year on Dogster

I`m sooo happy to have been on Dogster for a full year! I`m really enjoying life here across the Rainbow Bridge and I go on lots of nice journeys with my pup pals up here. I do miss my Dad,though, and thank him for posting me on Dogster.

Woofs from across Rainbow Bridge,
Butch

Guardian Angels aboard the Shuttle

Woof,

After clearing things with the TOP DOG, my pal Dekker and I decided to tag along aboard the shuttle Discovery as guardian doggie angels (photo 11) to ensure the crew`s safe return. The views up here are fantastic! We brought along our own milk bones just in case the astronauts forgot to pack any dog biscuits in their provisions. We`ll be sniffing around inside the space station shortly.
Enjoying fantastic journeys across Rainbow Bridge,
Butch