Alaska and the Gold Rush Territory

Most humans know that there was a gold rush in California in 1849. They did not know that there was gold located in the soil. Of course gnomes all over North America knew that the gold was there. Being garden creatures, we know a lot more about soil than the humans. There were  also gold rushes in other places, too. Some of these were Wyoming, Nevada, and Alaska. Since I found myself on on the Klondike Highway a few days ago, I decided to check out the history of the gold rush in Alaska while I was there. 

Here I am boarding the train in Skagway, AK

In order to get to many of the places to pan for gold, people had to take a train from a place in Alaska called Skagway to go up to another place called Fraser. The train is called the White Pass & Yukon Railway. 

Me aboard the White Pass & Yukon Railway in Skagway, AK before we depart

The White Pass Railway was built in 1898 at the start of the Alaskan Gold Rush. It took only two years to build 110 miles along a break in the mountains called The White Pass. It was a $10 million project. To read more about the history of the White Pass Railway, you should see their website. While I was about the train, I looked out over the mountains. It was very, very foggy. There were times I could not even see the outside! When I could, I usually did not even see the ground below me. We were so close to the edge of the mountain! It seemed like one swift kick of the wind would send us all tumbling down! Thank goodness we made it safely to Fraser. 

This was the clearest view I could see on the entire train ride! 

This is what it looks like on a clear day!

Once we got off of the train, we were in a town called Fraser, AK. There are a lot of meadows in Fraser. People used it as a campground before heading off to pan for gold. They also used   it to buy supplies and rest. 

Then I went off to search for a place to pan for gold. I had no idea which direction to go, but of course that is part of the adventure. I knew I had to look for water. The gold rushers used water to sift through the dirt to find the gold. The water separates it from the dirt because they have different densities. Plus, it is shiny. You can see shiny stuff in water. Eventually on my trek through the Alaskan wilderness, I heard the sound of a rushing stream. As I approached, I realized that it was not just a stream at all. Instead, it was a camp for people to pan for gold! They had carts to bring the dirt to camp and set up to pan. 

There was an old man who looked like he was here in 1898 panning for gold because he was so old. OK, maybe that was an exaggeration because humans don't live as long as gnomes. He was still old. He told me and the surrounding group of people that gathered how to pan for gold. 

Then, it was my turn. I placed the pan in the water and got all of the dirt very water. The correct  term is saturated, meaning that every piece of water is soaked. Then you swish it around. The crazy old man told me that it was called the "golden swirl."  You should read more about the details on how to pan for gold at this website. 

Well, you are going to ask if I found any gold on this adventure. Just like most of the gold rushers, I only found two little flakes! It was not even worth the train ticket to Fraser! The only way the people made money during the gold rushes was to sell equipment. Levi Strauss is a great example! He made jeans to sell to the gold rushers and he made a fortune!

At the end of my adventure, I got back on the train to ride back to Skagway. I felt defeated and sad... 

... until I found a statue. Now I can be a part of the Klondike Gold Rush forever!

VA SOL USI.8b

- Gravy

The Continental Divide

I went to the Continental Divide in Alaska! Doesn't that sound fancy? On the day we went, it was drizzling and foggy. I wish I had a supergnome power to control the weather. We were traveling along the Klondike Highway. The Klondike Highway was used to get people up to the gold rush in Alaska in 1898. It crosses over from the United States and into Canada! I had to hide in a backpack since I don't have a passport. Some people can be very gnomist. 

Me at the Klongdike Highway memorial. The Continental Divide is behind me in the fog!

Back to the Continental Divide... Closer to us in Virginia, the Continental Divide is located in the Rocky Mountains. But, did you know that the Rockies stretch all the way up to Alaska? It runs from northwestern Canada along the crest of the Rocky Mountains to New Mexico. In South America, the Continental Divide lies along the Andes. I had no idea what the Continental Divide was.  I asked Mrs. Fleenor, and she is going to tell us below.

Can you see anything in that picture? It looks like water running down the side of a mountain!

- Gravy

I told Gravy that the Continental Divide divides the flow of water between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. In other words, it determines the direction in which the rivers in North America flow. Rain or melted snow that drains on the east side of the Continental Divide flows toward the Atlantic Ocean. Meanwhile, the west side drains towards the Pacific Ocean. Not all rivers actually make it to the oceans though. Some empty into the desert instead. Others flow into each other. When one stream of water flows into another, it is called a tributary.

The reasons the water is running down the mountain in the picture above is that is flowing east on this side of the Continental Divide. On the other side of that mountain peak, the water will be flowing west and going down the other side of the mountain. 

Mr. and Mrs. Fleenor with Gravy at the Continental Divide along the Klondike Highway

Corresponds with Virginia Standard of Learning (SOL) USI.2b
- Mrs. Fleenor

How Mrs. Fleenor and Gravy Met

Mrs. Fleenor and Me at Mount Vernon in 2007

One day, I was at a truck stop. I hitched a ride from Canada down to Upstate New York on a truck. It was the first time I had ever been to the United States, so I got off the truck to look around... and to get a snack.

I saw a woman in the line in front of me. She had Pringles chips in a can. I love those things. I thought that maybe if I was nice to her we could share. But then I saw her backpack and she put her chips in there. I made a dash for the bag and jumped in. It was the dirtiest place I had ever been. There was a water bottle with clean water, but the outside was smeared with mud. She had gardening gloves and a trowel, too. I knew that she must be a gardener, so I stayed hidden so she would take me home. I felt her lift the backpack up onto her shoulders, and off we went!

About half a can of Pringles later, the woman flung the backpack onto the ground and I landed with a thud. She reached in her bag and put on her gloves and grabbed her trowel. Being a gnome who loves gardens, I just had to peak out and see what it was like. 

Peaking out of the backpack, I saw the weirdest thing I had ever seen. It was not a garden at all. Instead, there were all of these muddy people digging squares into the ground. They were sifting the dirt through a screen, too. It was not a garden at all, but an archaeological excavation. I had snuck into the backpack of an archaeologist!

I hid back down into the backpack. I was thinking of an escape plan when the woman stuck her hand in the bag. She was fumbling around for her water bottle. I tried to shove it into her hand, but I tripped over the empty Pringles can. The woman took my hat! No respectable garden gnome can be seen without a hat. The woman yelped as she realized she had a hat in her hand. I took this as my chance sneak out and introduce myself. I needed my hat back.

Smiling up at the woman, I bowed down and introduced myself as Gravy Griswold Gnomikin the first. As I reached out to shake her hand, the woman smiled down at me and said her name was Mrs. Fleenor. Then she said, "So you're the one who ate all of my Pringles." I was guilty as charged. I was also surprised that she knew what I was. Most people swear that they have never seen a garden gnome before and that we don't exist. I really think that there is something wrong with their vision. 

Mrs. Fleenor and I became very good friends after this. I went with her on her travels and got to visit so many different locations! We went to archaeological sites, museums, and parks. Now she is not an archaeologist, but a teacher. She still takes me to all the places she goes. Check out our blog so you can see where we travel to! You might even learn a thing or two. 

     -Gravy

About the Gravy Gnome Website

Mrs. Fleenor and Grampy Gnome at Pike's Peak

Hello. My name is Mrs. Fleenor. I am a sixth grade teachers who likes to travel and explore the places around me. The best part about traveling is getting a chance to experience the history behind the places I go with a first hand look. Some of the places I have been to in Virginia are Jamestown, Mount Vernon, and Montpelier. I have also been all over the country and to foreign nations, too.

Gravy and I made this webpage in order to teach people about the places that we have been. The cool thing is that a lot of the stories we have to share can teach you about things you will learn in history class. The SOL will be at the bottom of those pages so that you can see.