We've  been on the road for just over 2 weeks and have come over 4000 miles to Alaska. We are in Fairbanks tonight and will be here for a few days before going on to Denali National Park. The following pictures are all from crossing Canada - which was very nice. 

Claresholm, Alberta, Canada had been the site of the largest Canadian pilot training camp for WW2 and then into the 60's. We camped in the city park, and this was there as a memorial to pilots who served the nation.

Birds of the Carson-Pegasus Campground at McLeod Lake, Alberta.  

Common Loons

Male Horned Grebe in breeding plumage

Male Mallards

Red-Necked Grebes

Strawberry-Banana-Blueberry Pancakes for dinner.

We arrived at Muncho Lake, British Columbia on a very cold, windy, and overcast afternoon with light snow flurries. We were completely enamored and wandered the shore all afternoon and then again in the morning. 

Mike

Dennis

Spring bud with ice and snow

Chipmunk

Close-ups of ice on the lake

Dennis being overwhelmed

Our campsite

Mew Gull on top of a pine tree

Sleepy Camper in the Casita

And then we drove on to Liard Hot Springs, where Mike soaked for an hour while Dennis looked for birds. 

Solitary Sandpiper

Raven in a Birch tree

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Greater Yellowlegs

And then later on to Watson Lake campground in The Yukon, which was still covered with snow and ice, and in which we were completely alone. 

Tree Bark

Male Spruce Grouse, in breeding plumage

And in flight

Canada Jay

Warbler ? 

Male Caribou at the side of the road

And a Black Bear at the side of the road.

And in The Yukon distance is measured in Caribous.

It has been five years in the planning and now we are finally on the road to Alaska. The trip was delayed by broken bones, moving to New Mexico, the pandemic and border closings. We expect the trip to last about three months and cover 10,000 miles. We are taking our time. It has been a week since we left Las Cruces and we have just arrived in Canada. We will drive the Alaska Highway across Canada. We will often be traveling and camping in remote areas, but we will post to the blog as often as we can. Wish us well!

Mike in the woods at Manzano State Park, Mountainair, NM

We were concerned about wildfires in the Northwest, but encountered a massive forest fire before we even left New Mexico.

Cancer Root

Dennis along a creek in Sugarite Canyon State Park, 

Raton, NM

Golden Banner

Lake Maloya, Sugarite SP

Broad-Tailed Hummingbird

Wild Iris

Bald Eagle in flight

Spotted Towhee

Deer bedded down against the wind

Apple Blossoms in a rest stop in northern Colorado

Sunrise along the North Platte River with geese 

in Douglas, WY

Interstate Highway 90, a railroad train, and the Crazy Mountains, in western Wyoming

Mike at Hauser Lake, Devils Elbow Campground, outside of Helena, MT

Mountain Bluebirds

Male

and Female in flight

Merganser (we think)

Pine 

Dried Weeds

Lake Hauser

Ranchland along the highway in southern Alberta, Canada

And we found our Spirit Guide in a Walmart in Billings, Montana