Part 2 - Canada - Alaska Highway

 We made it to the Alaska Highway!

The start of the Alaska Highway (new sign at road side) - Dawson Creek, BC

Alaska Highway - Mile 0 (original monument in the middle of street in old town) - Dawson Creek, BC

The Alaska Highway begins at Mile 0 in Dawson Creek, British Columbia.  It transverses 613 miles in BC and continues in the Yukon Territory for about 577 miles and the final 232 miles into Alaska ending at Mile 1,422 in Delta Junction, Alaska.  Some refer to the Alaska Highway as the "Alcan" Highway.  ALCAN was the military's name for the pioneer road at its completion in 1942, an acronym for Alaska-Canada military highway. The road officially opened for public transportation in 1948.

Our official Mile 0 Certificate

As we drive the Alaska Highway we begin to experience interesting places, animals and last minute mandatory stops.

Old curved Kiskatinaw wooden bridge built in the 1942/3, was the fist curved wood bridge build in Canada, but is now bypassed for a more modern bridge, 

 We saw a surprising amount of wildlife on the roadside while driving :

Stone Sheep

Mama Moose with two babies

Wood Bison

Black Bear

Some days don't go as planned. Not far from where we began our day we were forced to stop and camp beside the highway because of an semi-truck accident that forced a road closure until the next morning (which turns out to be one of our favorite camp spots with mountain views and river front).

Our camp spot as we wait out the road closure. Rough life but someone has to do it.

After we spent a restful stay by the river we woke up to slowly moving traffic so the road was open. We packed up and got in line. We only had about 60 miles to our next destination - The Liard River Hot Springs which is the second largest known thermal spring complex in Canada. We stripped down to our swim suits and soaked in the oasis of warmth. It's amazing how relaxing your body feels after an hour soak in pools ranging from 108 to 120 degrees F.

We continue our drive through Canada and reached the Yukon - Mile 635

One planned stop had us prepping for the stop even before we left home.  The infamous Sign Post Forest located in Watson Lake, Yukon. For years travelers have stop at this very spot to secure their memento sign before traveling on.  It all began in 1942 during the construction of the Alaska Highway when the US Army Corps of Engineers erected a mileage post noting other places in the World, when an homesick soldier added his hometown sign to the post and that began the tradition as it continues today.   

Only one small row of hundreds of posts throughout the forest

We made room for our license plate (4th from bottom (AZ Flag)) and squeezed it onto the post
right above our friends, Vivian & Lee (LakeGal) who were here in 2024.

Our next stop was in Whitehorse, Yukon (mile post 918), is where we caught up on laundry,  relaxed for a couple of days and did some day touring.  We visited Miles Canyon known for the turquoise Yukon River cutting through dark basalt cliffs with a 1922 historic suspension bridge spanning its edges. 

SS Klondike National Historic Site: This site commemorates the era of Yukon River sternwheeler transportation. The SS Klondike operated from 1937 to 1955, primarily hauling freight like silver-lead ore between Whitehorse and Dawson City and then a cruise ship.  During our visit the vessel is undergoing significate restoration so we were unable to tour the interior but the outside sure is impressive. We are glad they are keeping this oldie in good shape.

Miles from Whitehorse and continuing on down the road we encounter the ghost town of Silver City along the south shore of Kluane Lake. The story of Silver City started with the gold rush with the first claim being staked in 1903. The region itself had over 2,000 claims and Silver City was the community that serviced the prospectors and families. Today there are a number of building remains scattered among the trees. History tells that some of these buildings were barracks of the North-West Mounted Police.

Remains of original building in Silver City

Silver City 

Remains of Silver City and surrounding area

The area around Kluane Lake was so beautiful we decided to make camp at water's edge with the pink wildflowers blooming all around (sweetvetch).  Perfect choice for a quiet, beautiful nights rest.

Kluane Lake Campsite

Lake side with mountains in the background. 

After approximately 1,221 miles through Canada on the Alaska Highway we have arrived in ALASKA!!!!

Woo-hoo!!!!! We've made it.

After saying Good-bye to the Yukon and hello Alaska we travel a couple hundred miles more to the end of the Alaska Highway in Delta Junction, Alaska. 

Mile 1422 - the end of the Alaska Highway

Our official end of the Alaska Highway certificate

After miles of pavement, gravel roads, rough permafrost heaves and potholes mixed with gorgeous scenery and interesting places we have made it to the end of the Alaska Highway.

Mile Marker 1,422.....but our adventures haven't ended they have just begun in Alaska.

Join us next time when our tour starts around Alaska.

Alaska or Bust - Canadian Travels

CANADA, eh ! (Part 1)

As we begin our travels into Canada from the border crossing, we are welcomed with grand views of Waterton Lakes National Park (Canada's sister park to Glacier NP) with miles and miles of mountainous wilderness. For many days we experienced this same type of Canadian beauty overload of high snow capped mountain peaks and green river valleys.

We knew we wanted to visit Lake Louise in Alberta's Banff National Park so that was our first scheduled stop. Lake Louise is known for it's iridescent turquoise waters and the dramatic glacier-fed backdrop. During our visit it was the start of the summer tourist season and the area was packed with visitors all wanting that perfect shot of the lake and mountains. We walked along the lake edge and the historical Chateau Lake Louise built in the early 20th Century by the Canadian Pacific Railway. We loved the grandeur of the whole area. But just as appealing was the sister lake near by, Moraine Lake, which also has the iridescent turquoise water and beautiful snow capped mountains, with less people. (Side Note: you do need a shuttle reservation to tour these lakes and we lucked out and scored two cancellation seats for our next day visit.) 

Lake Louise from the Chateau's shoreline

Us at Lake Louise

Lake Louise

Fairmont's Chateau Lake Louise

Chateau Interior

Lake Moraine

Lake Moraine

Lake Moraine looked amazing from all angles

This is not the only place where we were amazed at the beauty. We then make our way from Lake Louise northward to Jasper through Jasper National Park on the Ice Field Parkway, which dishes out the most exquisite vistas in the Canadian Rockies.  This highway is known to be one of the best scenic drives on the Earth and it did not disappoint. 

200 miles of this scenery was unbelievable  

Columbia Ice field:   The Columbia Ice field is the largest ice field in North America's Rocky Mountains astride the Continental Divide with in the Jasper/Banff NP. The ice field is about 125 miles square in area, 328 to 1,198 feet in depth and receives up to 280 inches of snowfall per year. (The photos do not portray how massive it really is.)

Tangle Falls, just past the ice fields, is a stunning multi-tiered water fall at approximately 157 feet tall

Mount Robson - The  highest peak in the Canadian Rockies - 12,972 feet

As we transverse out of the rugged snowy Rocky Mountains we begin to drop down into more of a  tempered climate of the mid-Canadian coastal mountains and find a much different terrain of greenery and vast forests. One such area is the Ancient Rainforest/Chun T'oh Whuduiut Provincial Park.  This park protects the only inland temperate rain forest in the World. We wondered along one of the trails that meandered us through 1,000 year old Western Red Cedars and various large plants, mosses and fungi. These giant Cedars are similar to the large redwoods in California just slightly smaller.  Within the forest it was damp and muggy leading to the perfect habitat for these plants and trees to thrive. 

Nice boardwalk 'trail' through some of the forest

See how large the trees are

Huge leaves. These plants love the rainforest climate. 

Continuing on, we had read about a little town in British Columbia called Chetwynd that was known for the annual chainsaw carving competition and has earned the well-deserved title as the 'Chainsaw Carving Capital of the World'.  As we arrived into town, the streets, parks and various businesses are lined with carvings like an outdoor gallery from previous years competitions. They boost over 150 sculptures but we only saw a small portion and were blown away with the artwork.

Title - A Hornet's Storm

Title - Protected Depths

Title - Guardian of the Wild

Title - Warrior's Landing

This first half (part one) through Canada was 1,150 miles, 6 days and 2 provinces to get to the start of the Alaska Highway. Up next is our start of the Alaska Highway, a 1,422 mile journey starting at Dawson Creek, British Columbia (Mile 0) and ends at Delta Junction, Alaska (Mile 1,422). 

Thanks for joining us on this continuing adventure.