Alaska Road Trip - Part Six

Day Fourteen: Prince Rupert, BC to Jasper, AB

After getting dropped off by the ferry in Prince Rupert, we decided to continue on even though it was early (2:00 AM early). Had a sleep on the floor of the ferry while they were playing such fine pieces of cinema such as "Grown Ups 2". We plugged away for a few hours in the fog before my head nods stopped keeping rhythm to the music and more to my breathing. Caught some zeds (Oh Canada) on the side of the road for a few hours and had some guy follow our lead in a Volkswagen Minivan. How cliche, British Columbia. Took a quick stop at Hazelton - really cool little town with some a nicely kept-up downtown area. Our goal was to get to Jasper for the night so we knew we had to get back on the road. 

Day Fifteen: Jasper, AB to Calgary, AB

The home stretch. We took the Icefields Parkway down from Jasper to Banff. Great way to cap off the trip. Sometimes you forget what's in your backyard, it is really amazing to be this close to the Rockies. Plenty of roadside stops on the way through the parks. Got back home to Calgary only to be treated to snow (a lot of snow) the next day. Never thought that we would be heading south from Alaska to find snow.

 

HUGE thanks to Napier Outdoors and the SUV tent. It made our lives so much easier having this. Between the easy setups and staying out of the rain at 3:00 AM, the tent was a treat. You can take a look at their line of products at www.sportzbynapier.com.

Mona is also updating her blog with her photos from the trip. Her website is www.foxandfen.com, make sure you have a peak at her incredible photos.

Alaska Road Trip - Part Five

Here we took our trip from road to sea. It took a little bit of back tracking through Canada but it was well worth it to get to the "panhandle" of Alaska.

Day Eleven: Tok, AK to Haines, AK

We spent a good portion of the day retracing our steps back through Canada. It wasn't until after Haines Junction, YT where we started to hit some new territory. From Haines Junction, we started heading south. It wasn't long before the sun had set and we were a little concerned we wouldn't make it to the U.S. border entry in time but we got there with an hour to spare. It was unfortunate that this part of the drive was in the dark because there seemed to be some stunning landscapes surrounding us. 

After getting back into Alaska, there was still a fair drive until we reached Haines, AK. Winding roads in the dark always bring surprises. At one point it looked like there was a dog running on the highway. I thought that was a bit odd as we were pretty far from the nearest town but I was impressed by this dog's ambition. As we got a little closer, I realized that this was quite a large dog. Now, it was the size of the dog that impressed me. A little closer yet and it became apparent that this wasn't a dog but a small bear. Not very impressive - there are bears everywhere in Alaska. 

Day Twelve: Haines, AK to Juneau, AK

We had the luxury of free time before we had to hop on the ferry. Driving around Haines, we saw a strange mural with a disturbing looking bear which I assume was our travel buddy from the night before. Had an average breakfast and looked at some bald eagles crapping patriotism over everyone. With a few more hours to kill, we slipped out of town and continued to look at the coastal scenery. Ended up trespassing and driving up a steep private road only to find a very disapproving man chase us down in an ATV. Further down the road we found some spots lacking in angry landowners that we were able to wander about.

The ferry ride was a quick trip. It's odd to think that the capital of the state has no road access. Fortunately their ferry system is quite comprehensive. It needs to be as it's really the only way to get into a lot of these coastal communities. The sun had set by the time we got into Juneau, so we would have to wait until morning to have a look around.

Day Thirteen: Juneau, AK to Prince Rupert, BC

We were at the will of our ferry's schedule so we had to budget our time accordingly. Juneau was a nice little community although it is very much catered towards tourists. Many cruise ships dock here. I'm not sure what it is about tourist towns but the abundance of jewellery shops always strikes me as odd. We walked around downtown and looked at a few shops then grabbed some king crab legs to eat. That may have been the most rushed meal I've had because we nearly had to leave after getting our food to get to the ferry. 

We got on the ferry in the evening and had our first stop at Petersburg, AK. It was a quick stop here but gave us enough time to take Lissie out for a quick play. After Petersburg, our next stop would be Ketchikan, AK. It wasn't until morning when we got there so we had scouted out a good spot on the floor of the ferry to crash. 

The ferry would stop for a good part of the day in Ketchikan, so we were able to check it and its surroundings out. Totem Bight State Park is just outside of the town and it was worth the stop. Perfect way to kill a few hours and spend our last day in Alaska. One more stretch on the ferry before being dropped off in Prince Rupert.

Check out Mona's fantastic photos from our trip over at her blog: www.foxandfen.com

Special thanks to Napier Outdoors, who provided our SUV tent: www.sportzbynapier.com