Mt Robson and Jasper

We camped for 2 nights in Mt Robson.  A beautiful area about an hour from Jasper.  The afternoon we arrived we saw this

We have seen lots of rainbows but this was the first one we've seen that just laid across the mountain like this.  No arch or bow to it.  Just laying on the mountain.

One day we hiked to a few water falls.

We have heard so much about Jasper, Banff and the Canadian Rockies that we were excited to get there. The weather was very cloudy with on and off rain so the beauty of the high peaks of the Rockies was lost, but what we did see was beautiful.

Elk grazing along the road

This fox greeted us as we entered the campground.

In spite of the clouds and rain Jasper was gorgeous.

Then on our way to happy hour we were greeted by this bull elk.

Our view for happy hour

Another great day!

Cassiar Highway and Hyder

From Watson Lake we had a decision to make.  Take the Cassiar Highway south to Stewart/Hyder or continue on the Alcan.  Either way you spend a lot of time driving in British Columbia.  We picked the Cassiar because we had heard it is more beautiful than the Alcan and we wanted to go to Hyder, AK to see more bears.  There are only 2 ways to Hyder; by boat or by road thru BC.  We had also been told that we would see lots of wild life driving the Cassiar.  Turns out the drive was spectacular. We did see several animals; 3 black bears, 4 domestic horses and a goat!

It was a very long drive (8 hours) from Watson Lake to a campground.  Once again there were no hook up sites available so we boon docked with no problem.  Next day we drove another 2 hours to a Provincial campground about an hour from Stewart.  Then we jumped in the car and dove the hour to Stewart/Hyder.

We paid to go out onto the well protected walkway hoping to see bears feeding on the thousands of salmon that were spawning.  I mean there were tons of salmon, many of them dead already, but no bears.

So we drove up to Salmon Glacier.  Beautiful!!

We went back to the viewing platform later to see if any bears were around.  Nope.  The ranger said the bears were really quite full and that most of the bear activity is in July.  Too bad for us.  But the day was not a complete loss as far as bear sightings were concerned.  We watched a black bear cross the street in town.  They are that plentiful that they just wonder thru town.  Awesome.

A few notes on Hyder.  It is in Alaska so is on Alaska time.  Stewart is in Canada and on Pacific time.  Our car clock changed time zones when we crossed into Alaska from BC.  Later we learned from the mail clerk at the post office in Hyder where we had had out mail sent that even though they are in Alaska, they all stay on Pacific time.  It is just easier that way.

There is no customs check point from Stewart, BC to Alkaska USA.  Don't know why, but there isn't.  There is a Canadian customs check point coming out of Alaska to BC.  So take your passport.  We did, no problem.

Watson Lake

Watson Lake is a small town where you need to decide if you are taking the Alcan highway east or the Casiar Highway south.  We went south toward Steward and Hyder.  More on that in the next post.  About the only thing Watson Lake has is a huge area called sign post forest.  People from around the world have hung signs saying where they are from.

The place is massive.  It is estimated that over 60 thousand signs have been posted.  I think that is an understatement.  Naturally, we added ours.

Breweries

Just a note about breweries in Alaska.  I found a publication that listed 30 breweries here.  By my count we have made it to 18.  Sadly, we are out of time.  These people brew some very fine suds.  What comes to the lower 48 is good but they keep the really good stuff here.  We have truly enjoyed the breweries and the variety of beers they offer.  We've had great conversations with owners, brew masters, bar tenders and patrons of the establishments. Locals tend to hang out at the brewery.  They need all these breweries as the winters are very long and cold.  I also very much appreciate that Diana is more than willing to go and be my designated driver.  She's a keeper!

Denali Brewing Co. in Talkeetna

Whitehorse

If you are going into or out of Alaska by car, truck or RV you are going through Whitehorse.  From Whitehorse we were planning several longer days of driving through the Yukon, BC and Alberta.  So we decided to spent about 5 days resting and catching up on things.  Very glad we did.  Most folks that came through the campground were there for one night then on their way.  Too bad for them. Whitehorse has some very interesting things to see and do.
The Klondike was a paddle wheel steamer that transported people and goods on the Yukon River.  We got to walk through the Klondike II.

The Yukon Quest is a 1000 mile sled dog race.  It runs from Whitehorse to Fairbanks one year then Fairbanks to Whitehorse the next and is held in February each year.  Whitehorse is either the start or the finish depending on the year.  I have been following the Quest for many years.  The better known 1000 mile race is the Iditarod that runs in March from Anchorage to Nome.  The races are very different with the Quest being more difficult, in my opinion.  We have been to the Quest headquarters in Fairbanks so it only seemed right to stop in at Whitehorse as well.

The best attraction in Whitehorse is the Beringia information center.  It is the first detailed illustration of the Bering sea land bridge we have seen.  This land bridge, as it is called, ran the entire west coast of Alaska and connected to Russia.  A very big"bridge".  More the size of a continent.  It is believed that over many thousands of years with various warmer then colder periods that this is where people and animals came to the Americas.  It was very educational.

Finally, in Whitehorse we saw the worlds largest weather vain.

Yup, they put an actual airplane on a post and it rotates with the wind.  Very cool.

Tok to Skagway

We left  Tok and headed toward Destruction Bay on our way to Haines.  The Alcan highway is a very rough paved/gravel/dirt/mud pothole filled path.  Going was very slow and a little nerve racking but we had no problems. No pictures of the road as we were bouncing the entire way. We got to Destruction Bay and stopped in a campground.  They had no spots with any hook ups but they had one with no hook ups by the bay.  We have been traveling prepared to go several days with no hook ups so this worked great.  After the long day we just needed a place to sit and relax.  We found it!

After the view and a great night sleep we were off to Haines.  The road was paved, very smooth and a much easier dive.
Haines is a quiet little town but does offer some interesting attractions.  It is also small enough to walk all over with no problem. We visited a brewery and a distillery several times.  The campground we were in had a crabfest one evening.  Diana was a very happy lady.

There is a bald eagle sanctuary in Haines that is a great place to learn about bald eagles.  We have seen hundreds while in Alaska but it was cool to see them up close.  All the birds here were injured and are unable to live in the wild any more.  But they are great educators.

Don't feel too bad for them.  Even in the wild a bald eagle spends 90% of its day perched and just looking around.

Another interesting attraction was the hammer museum.  Yup, they have one.

It was fascinating!  We spent about 1.5 hours in there just taken back by all the types of hammers.

We had not planned on going to Skagway.  But when we got to Haines and realized we could take a ferry to Skagway we checked into it.  Now Skagway is only about 15 miles from Haines...by ferry.  It is about 300 miles by road.  So for a small fee (seriously it was not bad) we decided to add Skagway to our trip.  This of course meant we had to get Harvey on the ferry.

Me driving Harvey onto the ferry.

This is a very narrow and steep ramp.

No problem!  40 minutes later we were off the ferry and in Skagway.

Skagway is a touristy town that is a stop for all the cruise lines.  In fact, we had been there on a cruise several years earlier.  In the summer, anywhere between 5 to 10 thousand people a day arrive and depart, depending on how many ships arrive.  We were there for 3 days so got to see much more this time.  Not many pictures but we did have one small mishap...

Tok to Skagway

We left  Tok and headed toward Destruction Bay on our way to Haines.  The Alcan highway is a very rough paved/gravel/dirt/mud pothole filled path.  Going was very slow and a little nerve racking but we had no problems. No pictures of the road as we were bouncing the entire way. We got to Destruction Bay and stopped in a campground.  They had no spots with any hook ups but they had one with no hook ups by the bay.  We have been traveling prepared to go several days with no hook ups so this worked great.  After the long day we just needed a place to sit and relax.  We found it!

After the view and a great night sleep we were off to Haines.  The road was paved, very smooth and a much easier dive.
Haines is a quiet little town but does offer some interesting attractions.  It is also small enough to walk all over with no problem.We visited a brewery and a distillery several times.  The campground we were in had a crabfest one evening.  Diana was a very happy lady.

There is a bald eagle sanctuary in Haines that is a great place to learn about bald eagles.  We have seen hundreds while in Alaska but it was cool to see them up close.  All the birds here were injured and are unable to live in the wild any more.  But they are great educators.

Don't feel too bad for them.  Even in the wild a bald eagle spends 90% of its day perched and just looking around.

Another interesting attraction was the hammer museum.  Yup, they have one.

It was fascinating!  We spent about 1.5 hours in there just taken back by all the types of hammers.

We had not planned on going to Skagway.  But when we got to Haines and realized we could take a ferry to Skagway we checked into it.  Now Skagway is only about 15 miles from Haines...by ferry.  It is about 300 miles by road.  So for a small fee (seriously it was not bad) we decided to add Skagway to our trip.  This of course meant we had to get Harvey on the ferry.

Me driving Harvey onto the ferry.

This is a very narrow and steep ramp.

No problem!  40 minutes later we were off the ferry and in Skagway.

Skagway is a touristy town that is a stop for all the cruise lines.  In fact, we had been there on a cruise several years earlier.  In the summer, anywhere between 5 to 10 thousand people a day arrive and depart, depending on how many ships arrive.  We were there for 3 days so got to see much more this time.  Not many pictures but we did have one small mishap...