The Long Road Home

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There aren't many places in the world where you can see so much natural grander than the drive from Anchorage through the Yukon, British Columbia and the Canadian Rockies.

It took us 10 days to drive from Anchorage to our home in Minnesota. We drove from about 6 am until 2pm everyday. This part of the blog shows a selection of photos from that journey. Driving through the Yukon is quite the journey. The three territories contain one-third the area of Canada, yet the Yukon only has 0.1% of the total population. It was common for us to see grizzlies and moose along the road. The Yukon government has great small campgrounds along the road, so stopping for the night is convenient and comfortable (if you enjoy a campfire by a nice lake with very few amenities).

After the Yukon came the northern part of British Columbia. We particularly enjoyed a short 45-mile side trip into Stewart-Hyder. In Hyder, AK the National Forest has built a bear viewing platform where grizzly and black bears can be observed as they fish for chum and pink salmon. This summer the salmon run was late, so we saw some spawning without the bears. We did, however, see several black bears along the road.

The next highlight for us was driving through the Canadian Rockies of Jasper/Banff National Park along the Icefields Parkway. This was one of the most amazing drives we have ever experienced.

Once we hit northern Montana we were amazed by the beautiful wheat fields and stacks of hay bales. The grain elevators and train cars were heaped with grains. We knew the economy in North Dakota was good, because of the oil industry, but the quantity of oil activity was beyond our comprehension. As we approached Williston, North Dakota there was construction happening everywhere. There were trucks building roads, hauling oil pipeline and heavy equipment. The amount of construction for the oil industry in Saudi Arabia in the early 1970s was comparable to this. Unbelievable. If anyone needs a job, you should head for North Dakota.

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Photos

Camping on Honeymoon Lake
This is a small campground within Jasper National Park.

Portage Glacier
This Glacier is along the Stewart Highway as you come into Anchorage.

Pine Lake in the Yukon
This was near one of our campsites in the Yukon. We spent every night while driving through the terriorty in one of these govenment campgrounds.

Bear Glacier
Bear Glacier along the Stewart, BC/Hyder, AK spur road. We drove in here to see the bears fishing.

Mount Robson
This is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies (12,972 ft). It is near the western entrance to Jasper National Park. We were lucky to have a clear day to see the entire peak.

Lake Louise
This is a very small lake within Banff National Park. There are some big lodges built on this lake for the tourists.

Bow Glacier
This Glacier is along the Icefields Parkway in Banff.

Banff National Park
This is the oldest National Park in Canada and is open all year round. Tourists come in the summer for the scenery and in the winter for skiing.

Icefields Parkway
When you drive along the Icefields Parkway the scenery is all around you.