Mining for gold in Alaska was once what made Alaska a place to explore. It put the once nearly deserted state that has the land mass of most countries on the map.
You can find remnants of Alaska's past in areas like Juneau still sitting deep in the woods. This mining car is one of several historical reminders that Juneau was part of the writing of Alaskan history when it comes to gold.
For Alaska, the gold boom started in 1870 or so with the first big loot being discovered in Juneau.
The old White Pass train travels the scenic Yukon Route multiple times daily in Skagway, Alaska. The locomotive and passenger cars are on what is called a narrow-gauge rail that originally linked Skagway to Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon.
Read MoreNugget Falls sits to the right of Mendenhall Glacier and actually flows from another nearby glacier known as Nugget Glacier in Alaska.
Read MoreOn the way to Eaglecrest, 12 miles from Juneau, Alaska, motorist pass this house of skis on Douglas Island. Eaglecrest is a 1,540 foot vertical mountain that is a popular area for skiers far and wide.
Read MoreAlaska... “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity” ― John Muir, Our National Parks
This is Gold Mine Creek… In 1880, Joe Juneau and Richard Harris found large pieces of quartz mixed with gold in this very same waterway. Juneau later created the Treadwell Mine which became the largest gold mine in the world.
Read MoreThe mountains in Alaska jut from the earth sharply and are kissed by the crisp cold air as the warmer air below makes its way up. Snow from the top then mixes with the warmer air on its trickle down and creates even more fog, preventing you from seeing the peeks.
Naturalist and father of our National Parks once stated, John Muir stated, “The mountains are calling and I must go.” No truer words were spoken as he was considered a “Wilderness Prophet,” which was his nickname. Muir was one of the true explorers of Alaska in search of beauty, which he became engulfed in.
Some mornings you wake up barely breathing. The next morning you wake up to see what takes your breath away.
"The most beautiful gift of nature is that it gives one pleasure to look around and try to comprehend what we see." - Albert Einstein
Photo: I took this in Alaska - Twin mountain tops high above the frigid ocean #alaska, #sonyalpha
Inside the small island community of Ketchikan, Alaska you will feel at home.
The population rings in at 8,208. During fishing season, that number grows to about 12,000 seasonal residents. The island is locked in by water.
One local resident told me, “Remember hearing about that bridge to nowhere project? This is the town that wanted that bridge built because it was not a bridge to nowhere.” As the man talked more about the proposed bridge he pointed across the waterway and said, “See, that is our airport (pointing towards an airport about 200 feet across a narrow waterway), we needed that bridge because you currently have to take a ferry to get to our small airport which helps our local economy.”
So now you know, the bridge to nowhere was actually a bridge to the Ketchikan airport and to homes on the neighboring island.