It was a great trip. We have been back home for a week now, and reflect very positively on our trip to Alaska. The truck's computer says that we drove 11,172.1 miles from our driveway to Alaska and back to our driveway. And we averaged 14.3 miles per gallon - even though we were towing our travel trailer at least 90% of the time.  

So, here are a last few pictures from our return route down through the states. 

Pelicans on the North Platte River in Wyoming

Indian Paintbrush - It was still Spring in the Mountains

Unknown Wild flowers

Mike on the Memorial Falls Trail, Little Belt Mountains, Montana

Wild Orchids along the Memorial Falls Trail

Immature American Dipper

Adult American Dipper

Buffalo, WY

Another fan of Native American art

One last butterfly

And one last Rainbow at sunset - outside of Casper, WY

 

We spent the long Canada Day (July 1^st) weekend in Mount Robson Provincial Park in British Columbia. Mount Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. The glacier fed Fraser River flowed through the campground that was encircled by towering peaks. We continued on to the Icefields Parkway, one of the most beautiful roads of mountain scenery in the world. The parkway connects Jasper and Banff National Parks. Even the flat tire on the drive did not detract from our appreciation of the area. It gave us an opportunity to pause and take in our surroundings. We camped for a few days in Banff National Park. Dennis created a sense of community in our rain soaked camping loop by keeping a fire burning in the cast iron stove in our group shelter.

Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia

Fraser River  Trail

Jasper National Park, Alberta

Fraser River

Icefields Parkway

Flat tire repair on the Icefield Parkway

A rainy day in the town of Banff

 Our travels continue. 

We left Alaska after four weeks of traveling. We were in Canada for one night and then drove back into Alaska, where we spent several days in Haines and Skagway. These are Alaskan communities that can only be reached by air, boat or by driving through Canada. We drove to Haines and took a ferry to Skagway. We traveled to the White Pass and up the Klondike Highway. 

This trip has been an interesting blend of wild and settled environments, of European and Indigenous cultures. The Klondike Highway was on the wild side. We are now taking our time moving south through British Columbia. The Cassiar Highway was another immersion in spectacular wilderness.

 

Matanuska Glacier, Alaska

Kathleen Lake in Kluane National Park, Yukon, Canada, on our way to Haines, AK

Chilkoot Lake, outside of Haines, AK

Chilkoot Bay, Haines, AK

Totem images around Haines and Skagway

Chilkoot Bay from the Battery Point Trail, south of Haines

Dennis on the Battery Point Trail

Looking up the fjord from our ferry to Skagway

And looking back down the fjord back towards Haines

Giftshop window in Skagway

Scenes along the South Klondike Highway heading into Canada from Skagway.

A young Grizzly Bear walking past our campsite on the South Klondike Highway

Sunrise on Lake Tutshi, South Klondike Highway

Life along the Cassiar Highway

Cutting hair down by the river

Butterfly

Raven

A gay unicorn swimming in Lake Tyhee, just east of Smithers, BC