The port of Valdez, AK with the mountains behind the town. A very beautiful port.
The terminus for the Alaska pipeline. There were no tankers loading but when we came in to Prince William Sound we did see an oil tanker away off in the distance heading South.
Fran getting ready to head down to our vehicle.
The town of Valdez is about the same size as Berrien Springs. Not sure if there was even a stoplight or not. Mainly fishing type industry besides the oil pipeline.
The unloading ramp.
We camped just outside of town. Not a great campground but did have free WiFi and very nice showers. Al woke up Friday morning with a head cold so the rest of the way home he barked alot.
Just after getting started Fran spotted this bald eagle alongside the road. He was very good about posing for his picture.
"you like this pose"?
"Well how about this pose"? He seemed to give us his best profiles.
The following are some of the scenery as you drive on Hwy 4 and then Hwy 1 from Valdez to Tok, AK
Along Hwy 4 one can often see the pipeline when it is above ground. Once you turn onto Hwy 1 heading for Tok you leave the pipeline as it follows Hwy 4 up to Delta Jct. then north.
Just after the Jct with Hwy 4 and Hwy 1 we came across this moose. At first she just watched us between getting mouthfulls of grass but as soon as we started driving closer she took off.
She ran alongside us for some distance until there was an opening in woods then she headed for the bush.
From Tok we were back on the Alaska highway and heading for Whitehorse. This was the section of the highway we missed by taking the detour up to Dawson City. Wish we could have missed this section all together.
Leaving Alaska behind and back into Canada we go.
They are good at taking away your excuse for speeding "because my speedometer is in miles/hour officer".
By far the worst stretch of highway we had the whole trip was from the Canadian border to about Destruction Bay, YT. Frost heaves that would throw you up in the air then potholes when you landed. All gravel so speed limit was 45 mph. Course it was raining and by now I had a super head cold raging so that didn't help.
These were right at edge of highway. In fact cubs were actually on road in front of us while mother was beside our vehicle. I had to pull ahead a ways so Fran could focus on them with telephoto lens.
Just after seeing the gizzly bear we came across this guy. Compared in size he is as big as that grizzly. He was huge for a black bear.
Stopped at bakery as we were told they had huge cinnamon buns. Were big but not the best we have had.
The Alaska highway as one approaches Whitehorse from the West.
Town of Testlin, YT just East of Whitehorse, YT. Kind of rolling hills with lots of forest and occasional farm.
Just before reaching Watson Lake you turn onto the Cassiar highway (Hwy 37) and head South into British Columbia. There are not a lot of facilities along this highway but enough so one could keep the gas tank in the upper half most of the time.
Mainly rolling hills with the mountains off to the right (West).
About 50 miles South of the start of Hwy 37 is this provincial park. By far the most scenic campground we stayed at but no showers just pit toilets.
Our campsite.
The lake. Didn't see or hear any loons but very nice camping.
Back on the road we saw lots of Indian paint brush.
About half way down the Cassiar highway you are again close to the mountains and this is a comon sight.
We spotted this young fox (kit) alongside the road so we stopped to take picture. Turned out there was a den there with 3 kits and the mother fox (vexin?). They all came out but there was too much brush to get a good picture.
Another huge black bear. Either this guy ran real fast and got ahead of us (would be about 100 miles since last sighting) or that first huge bear has a cousin of the same size. I have never seen black bears this size.
This glacier was just before the turnoff to Stewart, BC
Lots of waterfalls along the side of the road,
We took the 62 Km (about 35 miles) detour in to Stewart, BC. Nice scenic trip but not much at other end. Fran did want to drive the couple of miles into Hyder but that is in Alaska and I hate border crossings. And besides we had left Alaska behind already!!!
We aren't sure why they have this statue of a polar bear on main street but he looks kinda cool (or cold as he's turning blue)
Remains of a huge avalanche that must have closed the road for some time.
You can see the huge boulders it carried down and how the trees are all flattened.
On the other side of the road you can see how far up the snow went.
Just before Kitwanga, BC we came across this field of daisies alongside the highway.
Now on highway 16 (Yellowhead) heading for Smithers, BC. I hadn't watched my gas gauge and with the side trip into Stewart our tank was getting mighty empty with no gas stations in sight. We found out that we can do over 40 miles once the low on gas light comes on but I don't think we will push our luck like that again.
A sure sign that you are back in civilization when you are in Canada. This was Smithers, BC and no we didn't even stop to get a donut.
Nice to know where you are at.
Heading East towards Jasper, AB
Just before coming to Jasper.
Well this ends our wilderness part of our trip however we really like the Banff-Jasper highway drive and think the scenery along this highway is as good or better than any seen so far. Come back to join us as we drive the banff-Jasper highway then visit the Black hills of South Dakota and the badlands.
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