June 17 - June 23 Alaska Hwy to Chicken Alaska

We ended last week in Fort Nelson as we had just got started on the Alaska Highway. This week we are finishing the week by crossing into Alaska.  The amazing views of the mountains from many different angles has been a highlight of this trip. We continue to see many wild animals as we drive along and have been pestered with mosquitoes in many places.

With our travels we have seen several spectacular views of mountains and where you can see for many miles.

As we started out of Fort Nelson we had heard about a great cinnamon roll at one of the wayside in the travels. So we had to commit the sacrifice and find out for ourselves!

We couldn't resist stopping to get the big cinnamon roll.  It was the size of a 5 inch plate. The owner even warmed it up for us. We sat down at a table and devoured it in just a few minutes. She guarantee me that it was the low calorie model.

There were several bridges on the highway with the steel super structure. Only a couple of the bridges are from the original construction of the road. 

As we traveled many of the mountains had snow on them at the summit.

Dall sheep were at the side of the road as drove by.  They were just waiting to get their picture taken. They come to the side of the road for the minerals that are there is the story.

We had to stop at TOAD RIVER.  It was a cute little stop with a store.

The ceilings and walls were covered with ball caps from all over the world that people had gave them to put up.

Snow covered mountains sides were everywhere. The northern Rockies are a great place to visit and tour.

We camped at Laird Hot Springs. It was a beautiful area that had a hot spring where you could enjoy the water & relax.

Traveling on we ran into a heard of buffalo. There was near 100 of them on the road and along side the road.

We also saw brown bears along the road.

Grizzley bears were almost up to the truck.

On Monday we reached the border of the Yukon.

Watson Lake was filled with several places to visit.

The sign forest is huge!  There were signs from everywhere.  Some were wooden & some metal. People had made signs to put up from whatever they had handy. They told us that wood signs do not last in the weather up here.

We crossed the continental divide.

The bridge over Nisutlin Bay was a work of art.  It was one of the longest bridges in the area.

We went to the George Johnson Museum.

Whitehorse was the next destination.

We toured the Klondike Riverboat

Whitehorse is famous for its part in the Klondike gold rush in 1898. The train was a part of bringing people into the Yukon.  This old White Pass & Yukon Train was on display in town.

As we continued on the Klondike Highway north following the Yukon river, we found even bigger cinnamon rolls. They were about the size of Dennis' ball cap. But after one sugar high we decided to pass on this one.

The roads were a mixture of frost heaves, gravel, & actual pavement. Going around the corners you never knew what the road would be like. You can see in this picture what a roller coaster ride you could have.

The town of Carmacks has a ceramic tile mosaic welcome sign.

Bridges were plentiful along the way, but there are only a few bridges that cross the Yukon river. This one on the Klondike Hwy is one of them.

We stopped at Five Finger Rapids.  Dennis walked the 235 stair steps each way to get to the rapids.

 The rapids were pretty. They were one of the bad areas for the riverboats and those who took smaller boats through them in the gold rush.

We arrived in Dawson City, it became a city of over 30,000 people during the gold rush with very little facilities. The story is the merchants made more money than the miners in this town. It is now a town of less than 2000 residents.

We went to The Dawson City Museum. This is a picture of how the miners lived at the time.

 We went to Diamond Tooth Gerties. It has a small casino that has a show 3 times a night with cancan girls. The show was packed and we had a good time.

 We drove to the midnight dome above Dawson. It is the highest point where people come to party on the longest Sunlight day of the year.We were told that if the sky is clear on June 21st you can see the sun all night.

 We had our picture taken with the Yukon River in the distance.

 There were old abandoned gold dredges all over the area. They were used to mine for gold in the area, you can still tell today the area that they dug up.

 To continue our journey we had to get on a ferry to cross the river for the Top of the World Highway.  There were several motorcycles on the ferry with us.

 The scenery included the folded mountains.

 We traveled the Top of The World Highway. The road was an adventure with gravel, pavement, potholes, dirt, & spectacular views.

 The customs at the border is in Poker Creek Alaska.  This is the Most Northerly Land Border in the USA.

The Welcome to Alaska sign was laying in the grass as we changed roads to the Taylor Highway, which takes us back to the Alaska Highway.

We stopped for the night in Chicken, Alaska .  It is a very small town & has chicken displays everywhere. 

June 10 to June 16 Saskatchewan to Alaska Hwy

We started this week at Gull Lake in central Saskatchewan. Traveling from the prairies to the mountains and then back to prairies and back to mountains. We have witnessed great views of  Canadian agriculture, mining, oil and gas and more mountain views than we can remember. Finally today getting to the Alaska Highway and starting this part of the trip. We are also adjusting to all of the time zone changes!

 Our campsite at Gull lake campground.

 We continued to travel west on the Trans Canada Hwy and entered Alberta Canada.  There is a time zone change at the border. 

One of the iconic places along the road were tepees.  They told about the groups of people who lived there in the past.This tepee was moved to Medicine Hat after the Calgary Olympics.

 We camped at Calaway RV Park outside Calgary. It is connected with a family fun theme park.  The winds were extremely high so the theme park was closed.

 The campground sites were large & had views of the mountains in the distance.

 We went to Banff National Park. The park is very large & there were several places to see.

 We went to the park museum.  

 The museum had lots of history of the park & displays of several native animals.

 Next was the Buffalo NationsLuxton Museum.  It covered Indian history of the area.

 They had several displays with Indians showing different aspects of the lives & culture of the area.

 We toured the cave & basin.  The cave & basin springs was a hot spring. There were pictures & displays that showed the history of the springs & we walked the paths.

 There are 8 animal over passes on the Trans Canada Highway in the park where animals can cross the road safely.  The over passes are covered with grass & plants to look like the surrounding area.  By the animals going over the road there is less chance of them getting hit. There are also over 100 tunnels under the road for animals to move through. 

 One of the beautiful mountains that we saw for miles was called castle mountain.  

 There was an animal over pass example set up at one of the rest areas in the park. They also have built several passes for the animals to cross safely under the roads. The display showed how they are both built.

We had our picture taken in front of Castle Mountain.

 In the park there are lots of waterfalls. This was Johnson Falls Canyon lower Falls.

 We went to Yoho National Park & learned about the spiral tunnels that are used today to give trains safe passage thru the mountains.

 We found several beautiful waterfalls.

 We ran into snow on some of the paths. The area had received a large snowfall just before we arrived in the park.

 There were Mountain goats on the roadway near the campground.

 We climbed to the ice field glacier. It was very big. very cold and windy. The path was steep & rocky.

 Sunwapta Falls was a long hike.

Athabasca Falls waterfall was only about 40 feet high but had cut thru the rocks creating spiral potholes for the water to flow through.

 Nancy made a new friend. He was beary happy to have a new friend!

At The Forest Interpertive Center Visitor Center museums was a branch that had grown into a loop.

 Half way to Dawson Creek a real bear ran in front of our truck.

 In Dawson Creek we had our picture taken at the mile 0 marker, which sits in the middle of the intersection.

 We also had a picture taken at the start of the Alaskan Highway at the visitor center.

 There was an old grain elevator that had been rescued from the area & moved 6 blocks in town.  It is now a art museum with photos & art. 

Throughout Dawson Creek the history of the town is displayed with painting on the store backs.

 The navigator statue of the Alaskan Highway is in town as well.

On the way to Fort Nelson 2 large black bears crossed in front of the truck.

 We went to the Fort Nelson Heritage Museum.  It was just a short walk from our campground.

 There were animals native to the area on display & several antiques.

 There was a building filled with old automotive vehicles & items.

Fort Nelson has a bear as their welcome sign.