Alaska!

I crossed the border this morning about 8:30 AM after questioning by a very nice border guard -- easiest border crossing I think I've ever had! 

The landscape is changing again -- the trees are different and they are shorter, much shorter. I think these are black spruce, and they can't be more than about 15 feet tall.

It was a long way into Tok, the first town you come to of any size, and I stopped here for lunch, at the insistence of my sister Jane. Ever since I first started planning this trip, she said I had to stop there because she and her family had stopped on their trip (in the middle of winter 1991) and liked it so much. So I had my first meal out -- and I must admit, it tasted really good (a chicken ranch burger and onion rings -- and a diet Coke!).

After lunch, I sat in the parking lot for a while, knowing that I had some major decisions to make right now. I need to be in Fairbanks on Saturday to see a friend, but today was only Tuesday.  That meant I had 3 1/2 days to play with. What to do.  So after looking at the map, and remembering a conversation with the campground host from last night (who said the weather for the next few days would be awful in Fairbanks but beautiful in Valdez) I'm on my way to Valdez. On the way, I'll stop at the Kennecott copper mine (the area where many of the mystery novels that were part of the inspiration for this trip are set), then perhaps do a cruise out of Valdez on Thursday. That leaves Friday and part of Saturday to get to Fairbanks!!Seems like a great plan, especially since tonight's campground is an especially beautiful one.

There was some wildlife today, a bear, a couple of moose (one with a baby) but the moose ran from the sound of cars and there was no way to get a photo -- it was funny to see them literally running away!!  Most of all today was mountains.  From the Canadian side, the Wrangel St. Elias National Park is beautiful, but from the Alaskan side, down the road between Tok and Glenallen, it is spectacular. Mount Drum is the second highest mountain in Alaska (Mt. McKinley is tallest), and that and a companion whose name I don't know yet, were the focus of that drive. I took about 100 photos of the mountain -- every few miles I'd pull over to take a picture.

All along, I've been watching for Tundra Swans in the lakes. No luck till this afternoon, when I saw a pair in a lake near the road. They were still pretty far away, so I got out the super duper long lens, and propped it on the edge of the car window, and got these photos. I can't wait to play with the one of the swan extending it's wings. I actually have 2 or 3 of this; glad I was in the right place at the right time with the right equipment!

There's been quite a bit of road construction, and I've been behind several of these -- it's really interesting talking to the sign holders.  They are all quite talkative, and when you get them going, it sure passes the time in a fun way!

Tonight's campground is the most beautiful I've been in. It's about 14 miles out of my way outside of Glenallen, but it looked really nice in the Milepost, and it's just lovely.  I'm listening to the creek just at the back of the camper, and on the ground just behind the van is a pile of moose nuggets -- I wonder if the moose will come by tonight?!! What a place to have dinner!!

Whitehorse

Do you know how you can tell a big town?  It has a McDonalds AND a Walmart! Yes, even in Canada Walmart is in every big town.Whitehorse has both, plus several other good-sized stores, and I was able to get resupplied. I even managed a piece of salmon and asparagus for dinner last night – yumm.

Started the day at church – best place to start a Sunday I think. There was a United Church of Canada in town; that's a combination of Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational. And since I'm a Presbyterian, I went to that service. It was a bit different from ours at Shepherd of the Valley, especially since the service started with an announcement of birthdays for that week, and singing Happy Birthday! The music was all familiar and well-loved, the sermon connected music to the Bible, and at the end, the pianist/organist had something prepared that played automatically on the organ and he went and played the piano making it a piano/organ duet. Amazing!! And as we left the church, the pastor gave everyone a big hug, including me!! She was quite a character….

Since it was a beautiful day, and I knew that I'd be back in Whitehorse later in the summer, I decided to do the outdoor attractions. Who knows, the next time I come through, it might be raining! Miles Canyon is the spot where the Yukon River narrows between two rock walls. It's a beautiful place, and the river is an amazing color of green; it's the same color that I remember from the glaciers in Glacier Bay and around Juneau. I hiked a little along the river at a point where there is a pedestrian bridge. It's a suspension bridge, the kind that really make me nervous because they sway, but I gritted my teeth and crossed it. I'm glad I did, because the view from the middle of the bridge was so worth it. (Ted, I managed it OK, even with another person on it at the same time – memories of the Carbon River Glacier hike….) I also walked a little along the river closer to town, where the river is much wider. I'm wondering if I'll be back there when the salmon reach Whitehorse – about mid-July…..

Miles canyon

River from the bridge.

The dreaded suspension bridge.

The campground where I stayed was a Good Sam park – and although it was crowded, it was really clean and well appointed. That's the second time I've stayed in a Good Sam park, and I think I'll look for them when there is a choice.  My neighbors next door were from Whidbey Island WA, and we got to be friends over the two nights I was there. I don't do campfires, but they had one, and invited me to join them. I'd been planning dinner about 6 PM, finally managed to eat at about 8:30!  Both nights! But it was really fun to talk with Nola and Fred, and they had some good suggestions for side trips, plus Nola is a huge reader and I got some really good suggestions (and downloads) from her.Here are more photos of the river looking back to Whitehorse. 

The little minivan between the bigger rigs!!

I left early Monday morning, planning to camp alongside the Kulane Lake in one of the campgrounds there. I pulled into the one I had chosen, and parked in the place the manager suggested (he said he wouldn't charge me since I didn't need any hookups and nobody else was there).  As I looked around, all I saw were men in what looked like a work camp.  There were no women ,I couldn't find a bathroom, and there was not much else around. I started to get very uneasy¸ and finally just left and found another campground. When I walked into the office of that one, the manager was a woman, and there was another woman sitting at a table in the room sewing on a Bernina. Talk about feeling right at home!!

I had wanted to camp on the lake because Jane told me it was the most beautiful place she had ever seen. I have to agree – the south end of the lake as I drove around just took my breath away. There were ranks of tall mountains, glaciers, the lake, and not any traffic.  I can't think of anywhere else I've been that was more beautiful.

South end of Kluane Lake

View from a rest stop

Tonight (Monday) is very windy and cool, and there isn't much of an internet connection – e-mail and banking only the manager told me, so I'm writing now but will post tomorrow.

Tomorrow I cross the border and I'll be back in the USA.  Not sure just where I'm going to go, since I'm a bit early here, but I'm sure I'll find something to occupy me!!

Whitehorse

After 6 days of driving, it was time for a rest day, and Whitehorse seems like the perfect place for it. It's the capitol of the Yukon, its most populous city (67,00) and there's lots here to see. The Yukon river runs through it – an amazing body of water, especially for someone from New Mexico where the Rio Grande flows about 500 feet wide and about 3" deep. The Yukon is a very "Grande" river.

The trip here was long, and somewhat eventful in that I saw lots more animals. First up was another black bear, but I've seen lots of them and didn't take a photo.  A bit further on, I came upon a whole herd of buffalo, on both sides of the road, and as I watched, two of them crossed the road!!  This herd had quite a few babies, as you can see in the photo.

I had been told that the least expensive (??) gas was in a place called Contact Creek – a slightly wider place in the road with a gas station where the guy came out and filled my tank for me.  About 20 minutes before that, I came upon 3 bears on the side of the road, but these looked different. Grizzlies!! The difference was obvious, from the color of their fur to the shape of their back. I was surprised to see 3 of them together, thinking they were loners, but when I asked the man at the gas station about it, he said it was a sow with 2 cubs. Those were mighty big cubs!!  But he said they stay with Mom for 3 years, and that she would be "dumping them in another month and starting all over again."

The first crossing of the Yukon was at the little hamlet of Teslin, but the bridge was huge! And it had the kind of surface that made it hard to keep the car going straight across it. It was some kind of metal grating and I was really glad that there were no other cars on the bridge at the same time.

Right now my car is filthy.  The dust on the road (there were several long gravel patches today) is pretty bad, and mixed with spitting rain, they really mess up a car!  Today I have to find a car wash somewhere, plus I have to get the bugs off the front before I can't see the bumper any more. And maybe I'll find a diet Coke somewhere, too!   Haven't had one for two days now.

It I wanted to tell you a little about gas.  I knew it would be expensive and I was right. I've stopped looking at the price when I fill the car up, because I just don't want to know!!  But when I got ½ tank a couple of days ago (I don't let it get much under ½ tank because stations are few and far between – sometimes 70 miles)it was $66 Canadian – and the dollars are just about even. Whew, glad I don't do this all the time!!

After a day today in Whitehorse, I'm going to drive just a couple of hours to the Kluane Provincial Park and spend some time at Destruction Bay. My sister Jane said she thought it was about the most beautiful place in the world – I'm going to check it out. Then it's on to Fairbanks, hopefully on Friday, and spend Saturday there, and on to Denali next Sunday.

Bears, and....

Note: Tthis was written on Friday evening, but no opportunity to load it. I'll have another one about today (what a day!!) tomorrow. 

I  had begun to wonder if I would really see any wildlife along the road – there are cars and trucks and huge campers whizzing along the road, albeit at long intervals. I was afraid that the traffic would have scared them all into the forest beyond the road.

But today, oh today, I saw plenty.  I hadn’t gone more than about 15 minutes down the road from Fort Nelson when I saw some black things moving in the distance .  Bears!! Two of them.  And they let me take their picture.  Twenty minutes later, there was another one on the other side of the road!  I was ecstatic! I hadn't seen a bear in the wild since my last trip to Alaska 20 years ago when I visited my sister in Fairbanks. We did the Denali trip, and saw 4 bears on that trip. 

Another 45 minutes, and there was a moose browsing among the trees at the treeline. He let me take his picture too (luckily there was nobody in sight behind or in front of me).  These photos were all taken from inside the car – I DO know better than to get out when there is wildli

fe close by!!

This was the shortest day of the trip (Fort Nelson to Liard Hot Springs) but it took me much longer to get here than I expected; I kept stopping by the side of the road to see the sights. They were amazing. The road is changing.  It's still that two lane ribbon with wide enough shoulders, but now the trees are a little closer to the road, and there are often cliffs on one side.  At the top of Steamboat Mountain, you could see just forever – the mountains and valleys went on and on.  Soon after that, the road went through a canyon with steep walls on both sides, and down into a lovely valley. 

Oh, wait, there's something by the side of the road, and it's at a turnout.  A Stone sheep (a relative of the bighorn sheep).  The angle wasn't too good but then I noticed the man in the other car looking behind us – there up on the hill was a whole herd of Stone sheep.  This called for my super long lens, and my monopod (a tripod with only one leg – easier to carry, but it steadies the camera just fine).  Stayed here watching the sheep for quite a while; I'd never been so close to animals like this. 

All day, it seemed like I never drove for more than about ½ hour without pulling over to see something.  Next up was Muncho Lake.  I think if it had been a sunny day, I might have stayed longer, but it was cloudy and cold.  The lake was still beautiful with its green glacial water. It was almost like a piece of jade.

A little further down the road (after a sign that said watch for buffalo) whoa, the biggest darn buffalo I've ever seen. Holy cow, he was huge.  I didn't stop there (I was afraid to) so went a little further along where a couple of big rigs were pulled over. We all marveled at its size, and I got out the monopod and long lens again, but he had moved up into shrubs and wasn't as visible. So I turned the car around and drove past him again, stopping only for about 10 seconds to get the photo, then turned around again and continued on.

Next stop was my destination for the day, Liard Hot Springs. I'm in a Provincial Park in a primitive campsite (no hookups, pit toilets, but I'm prepared for all that).  After lunch and a nap, I walked down to the hot springs and spent a very nice
1 ½ hours soaking.  The water is quite hot – about 108^o so I was in and out and in and out, but it was so relaxing. I forgot to take my camera with me, so I'll be going back again tonight to get some pictures. I can't let this site go unphotographed – that would be unthinkable!!

 This last photo was taken from the path back from the hot springs to the campground.  It was about 9:30 PM, and the sun was nowhere near going down.  Luckily it clouded over and rained a little during the night, and I managed to sleep till almost 6 AM!  

To Whitehorse tomorrow!!

On the Alcan

Today was one of those just perfect days -- cool, sunny, not too windy and I was finally on the Alcan Highway. Did you know that the original was built (1942) in just 8 months?  1500 miles of clearing forest, building roads, crossing rivers and creeks and brooks and ditches... I saw a short film about it this afternoon and was simply amazed. World War II was the impetus for a lot of things, and this is one of them. But back to yesterday.

Saw my first wildlife; there was a moose grazing along the treeline( the road is cleared about 100 feet back on both sides) but I didn't see it until it was too late to take a photo. But there were also these sweet geese next to a pond-- there were about 6-8 geese and a whole bunch of goslings -- and just two of the geese were watching over the goslings. It was like a preschool!!

I had lunch in Prince George (after visiting a quilt shop!) at the Fort George park. It was a lovely municipal park with walking paths, gardens, and picnic tables. Such a pleasant place to eat a meal. 

The park was right along the Fraser River

I love pasque flowers -- used to grow them when I lived in Seattle.

A bit later in the day, I passed the Bijoux Falls Provincial Park, and this waterfall so close to the road that I just couldn't miss it.

A bit later in the day, I arrived in Chetwynd, a town known for it's carved wood sculptures. There were several hundred of them, and I couldn't photograph each one, but these appealed to me.

There's actually a baby eagle in the nest at the top (a carved one!!)

I got into Dawson Creek pretty late, found a campsite (on an old baseball field -- at home plate!) and ate a quick dinner. It was still light out (about 9 PM) so I went looking for a grocery store and found a Safeway not too far away. Got some fresh veggies (and apples and pears!!) for the haul up the Alcan, and filled up with gas. So this morning I was ready to get on the road fairly early. (When I woke up this morning, the sun was already up, and it was only 4:30 AM. I'm going to have to find a way to get used to this!!)

Mile 0 sign.

This is what it looks like -- long stretches of empty highway with the trees cleared back about 100 feet on each side.

Something has been killing a lot of the trees --- whole hillsides are mixed dark and lighter green and this rust color of the dead evergreens.

The day ended with a visit to a quilt shop here in Ft. Nelson, a trip to the visitor center, and the local museum.  Now it's time for bed, but it's still light out.  The sun is down and it's the twilight kind of light, but I can see all the way up to the road from my campsite and that's about 300 yards away.