Long Journey North - Day 4

The fourth day of our trip took us from Dawson Creek in British Columbia to Watson Lake in the Yukon Territory. Both had a combination of awful food, an amazing number of roughnecks, and slightly creepy hotels. However, the drive in between was beautiful, and the wildlife was amazing.

The Alaska Highway begins at Dawson Creek.
Young caribou--first time we slam on the brakes to take pictures...it was a long day.Rock sheep--this picture is hilarious.

The whole gangOur one and only bear sighting...yes, he's in there, in the grass. There were two of them, they were young black bears.

Laird Hot Springs--another highlight of the trip, wish we could have stayed here all afternoon.Buffalo, within ten feet of our car. This was awesome until he looked at us, then it was terrifying.
A few miles later we found his friends.
There were about thirty of them, and while we were watching they decided to run across the road--this is me trying to take a picture while Dave was backing the car up so we wouldn't get hit.

We arrived in Watson Lake around dinner time. It was raining, and the rain continued for the remainder of our trip.

Long Journey North - Day 3

We awoke in Banff to another clear day which suited us just fine as we were set to drive the Icefields Parkway. The drive was reputed as one of the most scenic drive in North America and it didn't disappoint.
Our first stop was Lake Louise. We got there early enough and beat the crowds.
Lake Louise was a highlight of the trip.

Just a bit down the road we stopped and hiked a short distance up to another glacial lake. The color of the water is incredible.
Jes scans the mountainside for bears and marmots (thanks Chris for the binoculars).

Sadly, we didn't see much wildlife on this leg of the trip, save for these mountain goats.
We did however, get to stop and hang out with this giant beaver in Beaverlodge, Alberta.

Long Journey North - Day 2

We got up early again for Day 2 and headed to Banff, Canada. The border crossing was anti-climatic. We had planned extra time to get past customs and as it turned out, we only had to answer one question about whether we had any guns.

Alberta was beautiful.





The kind people at the Banff visitor's entrance gave us a picture of a black bear with our park map...this is the best picture of a bear we got during our trip.







Dave, standing by the Bow River in Banff, relieved that he found a parking spot for the trailer...never drag a trailer 3,000 miles if you can help it.

Jes, walking around in Banff and getting the mistaken idea that all little towns in Canada will be this nice, and have coffee shops.

Dave and Jes at a little Greek place in Banff...little did we know, the best food we'd have until we hit Anchorage.

The Bow River
Walking to fly the Canadian Belle
The Canadian Belle, in all her glory.
The launch of the Canadian Belle...not much to do in Banff.
Street view in Banff

The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel...can't believe we didn't take a picture of this from farther away. It's a huge castle, with beautiful views. We tried to get a drink, but they didn't wait on us. Hmph.

Long Journey North - Day 1

Starting on Aug. 17 through Aug. 23, we drove from Denver, Colorado all the way to Anchorage, Alaska. Here are some photos and comments from the trip...

We left Denver at 5:00 AM, here's our ride at our first gas stop at a very small locale in Wyoming.










A couple pictures from Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument













We needed a break after 14 hours of driving, Denver to Great Falls, Montana.

Hello Friends

This blog is meant to act as a photo log of our year in Alaska and as a way to keep friends and family up to date on the adventures we'll be having...it will also be something to do when the snow starts to fall and it's too cold to go outside. Enjoy the pictures and feel free to comment, we miss seeing you all and want to stay in touch as much as possible!