The first day’s drive got us across the border and started us back along the famously jarring Alaska Highway to Whitehorse. Crossing into Canada was again smooth and pleasant, and the officer we dealt with was quite friendly and helpful.
In our quest to find the hot dry air sooner rather than later, we would again make good time getting through Canada. Kluane Lake in the Yukon was one of our favorite locations on this part of the drive; the lake seems to go on forever, and the surrounding landscapes are endlessly beautiful.
Our day was filled with sunshine and gorgeous mountains until we arrived in Whitehorse to spend the night.
It was late morning on the second day when we made a pit stop, and I noticed a dark mass at the edge of the lake in the valley. Looking through the telephoto lens, my hopes were fulfilled – a moose was there with her baby nearby.
Scanning the rest of the lake, I spotted a second moose, also in the water eating.
This would prove to be an excellent day for wildlife viewing. A short time later, we saw this mama black bear with three cubs!
We sat and watched for a few minutes while they grazed. Mom would move around, and the cubs stayed pretty close.
At one point she got away from them a bit, and the first two cubs caught up with her pretty quickly.
The third cub, however, suddenly realized that they had all disappeared on him. He let out this funny, god-awful sound calling out to mama, and bolted over to her and his siblings. Very funny and cute!
We stopped for gas later on, and were greeted by this Karelian Bear Dog who hung around the Jeep while we filled the tank.
Ken thought he was begging... so he gave him a chunk of a bagel. Shh... don't tell anyone! Ken fed a dog!
A little further down the road we came up on these stone sheep along the roadside. The Milepost had warned to be on the lookout for them in order to avoid a collision, so we were prepared and cautious around the blind curves… and I was prepared with my camera.
On occasion, I’m not paying close enough attention to what I’m doing. Here’s what happens:
This is more like what I was going for!
There was beautiful scenery around every bend, which we didn’t see as much of when we passed through the first time, because of… you guessed it – the weather!
We also saw an elk calf, another group of stone sheep, a caribou and a moose before we stopped for the night in Fort Nelson.
Once we reached Fort Nelson, the landscape flattened out quite a bit and we were in farm country – pretty, but not overly exciting as compared to the rugged landscapes we’d just spent close to a month in.
The weather turned rainy, and got rainier from Fort Nelson to Prince George. As such, the view was mostly the same for the entire day, and even less exciting than the day before. I almost didn’t even get the camera out, but in the spirit of documenting our travels, I did take three pictures which all looked like this!
The next morning we left Prince George behind us and found the sunshine again for most of the day, with only a few patches of rain in the afternoon. The first half of the day’s drive was scenic and fairly relaxed along BC Highway 97.
That all went to hell in a hand basket soon after we got on Trans Canada Highway 1, a thin ribbon precariously perched along the rocky walls of Fraser Canyon above the Thompson and Fraser Rivers. This winding road is mostly one lane in each direction, thankfully with several widened sections for passing lanes, but allowing no room for error.
Adding to the already treacherous nature of the road was the fact that it was like being in an unpredictable wind tunnel – brutal and unforgiving. The constant gale-force wind pounded us from the canyon side of the road most of the time, only to periodically ricochet off the cliffside as if trying to blow us off the road and hundreds of feet downward to a watery death! Hating cliffs and edges the way he does, Ken was less than thrilled. Strings of profanity accompanied every squally blast of wind, and it was white knuckles all the way!
We pulled off at a parking area, and as if we needed verification, this sign was there to greet us.
There are seven tunnels along this road, because when you can’t go around a mountain, you must go through it.
A short time before reaching the U.S. border, we
were out of the canyon and the road smoothed out.
Interestingly and surprisingly, when we crossed the border into Washington, the American officer we spoke to was not the least bit friendly, in contrast to the Canadian officers we had dealt with. Perhaps I was silly to think that one of “our own” might welcome us back home rather than appear unwelcoming and unpleasant, but I was quite surprised by his cold demeanor. I hate to think of how that individual treats Canadians crossing the border.
Shortly after getting back on American soil, we saw this sign. Napoleon Dynamite fans will appreciate this.
We were delighted to arrive in Bellingham, Washington, where we would spend the night after a long hard day of driving.
Be sure to check out the four photo albums for this post, divided according to sections of the drive through Canada.
Eagle Trail SRS to Whitehorse - Alaska Highway
Whitehorse to Fort Nelson - Alaska Highway
Fort Nelson to Dawson Creek to Prince George
Prince George to Bellingham, WA - BC Highway 97 and Trans Canada Hwy 1
Your pics are very easy to view now.
ReplyDelete