Alaska - Post Trip Review

This has been an interesting summer. We crossed into Canada on June first, already having had the first minor catastrophe. Three days before we crossed, we had to replace our slide-in camper because of "wind damage". Less than half way through the trip our traveling companions had lost four trailer tires. And, before we got back into the lower 48 I had hit a bear and killed my bumper (probably the bear too).

The trip had more good than bad. I could have hit a moose rather than a bear, then I might be telling this tale while in traction. We saw amazing scenery, both in Canada and in Alaska. The Canadian Rockies are awesome and if you arrange your route to take advantage of them you can be awed for days. We saw a lot of wild life, more in Canada than Alaska. Although I had expected to see even more wildlife, the only thing I missed out on was a wolf. Waterfalls, glaciers, ice fields, and views of the mountains from high and low were plentiful.

We did a lot. Went fishing for king salmon, got skunked. Went shopping for souvenirs, got broke. Went looking for cheap restaurants, got stymied. That's three strikes and I'm out. However, went hiking for views, found them. Wanted to see animals in their habitat, saw them. Looked for the remnants of the gold rush days and found them all over (gold already removed).

Here are a few travel facts/tips for you:

While driving through Canada, do not let you American mind interpret the speed limit signs. Canada is posted in kilometers per hour,not MPH. 100 Km/H is approximately 60 MPH.

You'll hear about the terrible roads. Not so, the highways in Canada and Alaska were good. Not great and you better keep you eyes open for pot holes, frost heave, and road work (endless), but very drivable (at 45 to 60 mph). Between excellent marking
by the road crews and knowing what to be on the watch for, there is little excuse for bad road troubles (if you plan a trip, talk with people who've made the drive).

Fuels costs in Alaska were about the same as in the lower 48. Fuel costs in Canada are steep. Converting liters to gallons and adjusting for the exchange rate ($.95 to even while we were there) diesel prices ranged from $just under $4.00 per gallon to as high as $6.00 in more remote spots. Gas was comparable.

There are plenty of fuel stops along all the paved highways we traveled. Same goes for food and campgrounds (or spots for overnight stopping).

Canada is expensive. Prices for everything in were high, not on a par with the states at all. Beef was reasonable, but chicken sold at steak prices. Cheese was twice the price of the states (even for the same brands). WalMart only pretends to be a discount store in Canada. Restaurants are 25% to 50% higher.

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park, a part of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park World Heritage Site, is a striking landscape. The first time I saw it, probably 30 years ago, I was awed. Now, after returning from Alaska and Canada, it is reduced to just beautiful.

The parks valleys were carved by glaciers, all of which have melted completely or receded to a mere fraction of their original grandeur. They are still awesome. You just can't look at a living glacier without being impressed. By the way, there are a lot of forest fires in the West right now, making for haziness in all shots of anything at a distance.

This is Wild Goose Island, the most photographed spot in the park. I had to elbow my way through the tour bus crowds to claim a spot from which to get you this picture. My apologies to the little old lady whose walker I kicked out from under her in my rush.

The park, having considerable snow fall in the winter, has snow melt to feed its streams and rivers all summer.




The most fun I have while driving through places like this park are the impromptu encounters with the animals. I had this impromptu visit with this mountain goat and kid along with dozens of other tourists. Once somebody spots an animal and stops their vehicle, then everyone stops to see what they've found. Often this ends up as a traffic snarl. I kind of wonder if the animals don't get a kick out of watching those funny looking things with the round legs stop and unload all those parasites that live inside them. Then all those parasites run around willy nilly carrying little boxes that go click. Just a thought.

Nope, not a prairie dog. This is a type of ground squirrel indigenous to mountainous areas. They love to pose for the camera, although if you don't tip they get a little testy.

There are many things to see in GNP. There are endless hiking trails. Many animals, including grizzlies (not my favorite to encounter on one of those hiking trails). Glaciers, waterfalls, and unlimited scenery. Unfortunately it is also a very busy park. Several of the spots I wanted to show Sharon were so crowded we couldn't find parking. Maybe we'll try it again sometime, out of season.

Hyder, Alaska

Well, I guess you can probably see that Hyder is not a really big place. Actually the last tally gave them 87 fulltime residents. But to their credit, they didn't let small numbers stop them. They have two liquor stores and three bars. They also have two RV parks for us tourists on wheels. One of them even has electricity (and WI-FI).


But I didn't come here for the bars. One attraction was the fifth largest glacier in North America, the Salmon Glacier. Your are looking toward the head of the glacier. It splits as it comes toward the camera and goes both left and right. It has to be at least 4 miles long. But it wasn't really the glacier either...

And believe it or not it wasn't to catch any of these Chub salmon which are plentiful in Fish Creek. What I did come for was a fishing lesson......


From this guy. The salmon in Fish Creek, during their run from late July to early September, draw the big Alaskan brown bears (Grizzlies). They come to fatten up for the winter by eating their fill of salmon. I was as close as 10 yards to some of these flesh eaters, watching them catch, tear apart, and devour 15 to 20 pounders.

In case you thought I was nuts enough to stand on the creek bank taking this picture, think again. I was on an elevated viewing platform (with about 100 people that I was sure I could out run).

Skagway, Alaska

Skagway was once the gateway to the Klondike gold rush. Now it is beautifully restored as a National Historic Site. The National Park Service has done an amazing job in restoring around 20 buildings (and still going).

The cry of "gold" brought tens of thousands of would be prospectors through Skagway on their way to the gold rich creeks around Dawson City in the Yukon. They came North to Skagway by boat out of Seattle and then made their way North by foot and then hand made boat for 700 miles. It was an unbelievable journey and many died along the route or once they reached Dawson and found all the claims taken.

But lets see Skagway now. This is the old train station which has been renovated and is used as the Park's visitors center. There is something for everyone in this town.

Here is entertainment for the men. This is a lady of the evening, I assume also renovated by the Park Service.




And here is a carriage ride for the ladies.










Here is a train ride for the entire family.










And here we go back to the men. This is the Mascot Bar, restored perfectly (except the bottles are empty). In Skagway's heyday there were more than 30 drinking establishments. The only business that was more pronounced in Skayway than bars were ladies of the evening.

There is a lot of fascinating history here and throughout Alaska. If you would like to read about the entire history of Alaska then get yourself a copy of James Michener's book "Alaska". It is a fascinating, partly fictionalized, history of Alaska from the land bridge with Russia to statehood.