Jeff disagrees, but if I could only go back to one place we’ve been this trip, it would be Jasper National Park. If truth be told, I’m trying to figure out how we can back here sooner rather than later, like August. Jasper is stunningly, consistently beautiful. We could have stopped every half mile to take photos. We had absolutely perfect weather—blue skies, occasional clouds. There weren’t even that many people. I loved that the viewpoints have signs that name the mountain, the height, and point directly to it. We got out to see Athabasca Falls. It certainly is not the highest or widest we’ve seen, but it comes through a very narrow channel and is thus impressive. I loved how many glaciers we could see from Icefields Parkway. Banff is a continuation of the views, ... read more

After staying at a rest stop last night, we took a short drive from just west of Ft St John down to Chetwynd. Along the way, we stopped at the WAC Bennett and Peace River Dams, both with visitor centers. After arriving, we drove around town just a bit to see their carvings. Chetwynd, of course, is the chainsaw carving capital of the world, and has some very impressive carvings. I think the boys appreciated being in early. We had lunch from KFC (bad choice, by the way—no gravy for the potatoes, no biscuits, green cole slaw) and the boys played the rest of the afternoon, at least when they weren’t yelling at each other or whining at us. Conversation of the Day (as overheard from the boys’ room): L: We’re also going to the local ... read more

Today was again a drive day, as most of the rest of our trip will be. I am very glad to be done with the frost heaves between Delta Junction and Whitehorse. Very, very glad. Tonight we stopped at Campground Services in Watson City, YK, the one with all the signs. We called to see if they had availability, and she told us to go to site 93 if we didn’t make it before their office closed. We didn’t, but there was already someone in 93, so we drove around trying to figure out where to park. A nice elderly guy from North Carolina helped point us to a reasonable site. He and his wife and dog left May 21, are still on their way out to Alaska, and hope to make it home in time ... read more

We left Denali this morning under a complete downpour, and were so glad we saw the park when we did. Fortunately, the rain didn’t last a long time, and the drive to Fairbanks wasn’t very long at all. Our first stop was Museum of the North on the campus of UAF. There were two main exhibits—a natural history portion and an art museum. Liam was very impressed that there were things in the first that he was allowed to touch—mammoth bones, small animal skulls, furs. There were many intricate native carvings. Upstairs, some of the art was traditional, but much of it was native—beadwork, masks, etcetera. There was a huge outhouse covered in license plates and a variety of other pieces. There was also a room called “The Place Where You Listen”, which translates the motion, ... read more

Sorry it’s been a couple days. Our last campground offered wi-fi, but at a price. At this point in our trip, we’re pretty much not willing to pay for anything extra. I’ll be adding those blogs after I put this one in. Today was another driving day. We retraced our drive from two days ago and were fortunate to see Turnagain Arm at higher tide. It was again very hazy/smoky, so we still didn’t see much. We didn’t see any Dall sheep, either. At Anchorage, we transferred onto Parks Highway, which Milepost’s describes as running “through some of the grandest scenery that Alaska has to offer.” For many, many miles, we were confused. Really, it didn’t look any different than northern Minnesota, aside from wider shoulders. Once we neared Denali though, the views improved. The haze ... read more