3rd Day through Canada

Day 2 in Canada had taken us form the Banff-Jasper National Parks, over the Continental Divide towards Prince George , British Columbia.

There is where the rains began.

And that's when we discovered we might have made a mistake in our plans:
the road from there to Dawson Creek had been washed out by rain!

We might have to travel back the way we came for 6 hours and catch a parallel road in Alberta heading north (on the east side of the Rockies!).

But luck came our way. The department of transportation declared that that night that there was a good chance they could guide us through, single file, with pilot cars, over temporary bridges that had been built over the last few days, and on the undestroyed portions of the road. So off we go, single file....through roads and bridges half intact... as the folks heading south wait for our caravan to pass on through.

Till, finally, we get a clear road while the oncoming traffic has been made to wait for our caravan to be guide through!

And so our leisurely 400 kilometer, 240 mile, 5 1/2 hr trip for the day has turned into a 12 hour trip!

And that is ow we arrived in Dawson Creek, about 1/3 the length of Canada. from south to north.

So, with a little celebration....

we are now in Dawson Creek, the official beginign of the Alaska Highway.......

looking forward to what tomorrow might bring:

WHO'S IDEA WAS IT TO COME ON THIS TRIP, ANYWAY?

Bears along the road

From Banff, our trip towards Kodiak took us west of the Rockies to Prince George, BC.

Lots of wildlife along the way: 9 black bears and one brown grizzly.

Here are some of them.

They just crossed the road like if they owned it.

Came towards the cars like we weren't there.

Good thing they used their teeth on plants, not us.


And cute some were, with their fuzzy hair.


But the little ones were cutest of all.

Made you think of getting out to play.

Canada's NW National Parks

Here are some picture of our first day in Canada.
We crossed from Glacier Nat Park in Montana into Alberta....
then to Calgary and towards Banff.

Lots of green farmer's fields from the border to the big city of Calgary.

But, finally we are in Banff National Park. What a place!

They build bridges over the roadways...not for cars, but for animals!

They have fenced out the wildlife, so the animals cross on their own "overpass" above the road!

They claim to have decreased road kill by 80%.

Did you notice the French on the sign?

Well, when you cross to British Columbia, it is back to English only.

And at last, the resort at Banff! What a great place to stop and enjoy an ice cream!

More about the trip on the next blog.

Trip up the AlCan

As you might have noticed, there have not been many blogs this summer.


Truth is, this Alaskan family did what many Alaskans do: travel the Alaskan Highway through Canada.


Thought we'd show you some of the sights along the way. The last blog we did as of our ferry trip back to the island. We'll start off with with some of the animals we saw.


Elk were along the trip...but no where as concentrated as in Wyoming/Montana.


Hope you enjoy our trip's pics over the next few blogs.



They are right next to the road.
They are cute.

And they get BIG !

Whale show

We just returned after a 6,000 mile trip from South Texas, through Yellowstone, up the Alcan highway and then on the ferry to Kodiak. We'll probably show some of those pictures in the next few days. But here is what we recently saw.

No, its not the geysers of Yellowstone. Its a pod of whales seen form the 131 miles (9 hours ride)on the ferry from Homer to Kodiak. At one point we saw 17 spouts at the same time. There were at least 24 whales in the group and probably over 30. In fact about 1 hour later, another pod of similar size came along.

So, can we tell what type they are? Lets give it a try. Compare them to the handy dandy identification sheet.



Here we go.

First check spout. Its single and then spreads out into a "fan";

not 2 spouts in a "V"-shape. Do you a gree?

Then check the tail when they dive. You see it clearly. So that rules out the first bunch on the sheet which don't show much of the tail.

The tails are somewhat V shaped. So, is it a Humpback or a Right whale?

If you ask me, could be either one....because early in the dive, the peripheral tips point down (like a Humpback), but at the last minute they point up (like a Right whale). Hard, isn't it?

So I give up on the tail. Could be either one from the tail, but I would have favored a Right.

Fortunately a few swim parallel to the ferry. And there is the answer: the dorsal fin has a small beak on the back!!

So we saw 40 to 60 Humpbacks on one day! That's our story, and we're sticking to it!!