Alaska and Canada 2025

 

We drove to Alaska this year thru Canada From May 22 thru July 13. We entered Canada at Osoyoos and camped as a campground just before the crossing. Our route in on the map below. Shortly before leving the US I purchased a Starlink Mini to have internet in Canada and Alaska when out of normal service areas. It worked real good and enabled us to have Cell service everywhere.

At our first campground before crossing we saw birds and flowers. This is some kind of fleabane

A Killdeer trying to lead up away from the nest.

The babies in the nest are well camoflaged.

A tree squirrel

Another Kildeer

Yellowheaded blackbird

Overlooking a lake on the first day of travel north

The second night we stayed at a campground operated by a trump worshiper. He cooked a barbeque for everyone in the campground. That was mainly us.

Young Horsetail.

Speedwell Veronica

Serviceberry

We camped at this provincial park for 20 CD per night. It was quiet except for the buzzing of mosquitoes. We had internet there because of the Starlink. It was cloudy and misting rain.

The name of the lake.

In Dawson City we stopped by the Alcan sign.

We saw several black bears on the Alcan.

Some bison too.

And caribou

And more bison

Just one of the many mountains visible from the car

Jacobs ladder. We saw these all thru the north country

And elk

And Dall sheep

Suspect this is another fleabane

A memorial on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.

The stone marker at the site.

At one provincial campground we saw Calispo orchids. Not a very common plant.

Early morning reflection on a lake by the road.

Coyote

We finally reached Alaska

And saw more black bears

And some tan bears

Moose. Sad story: this is the moose that caused John to fall out of his truck and suffer a  long lasting injury.

Starflower

Moose tracks outside the guardrail on the highway

We parked down there in a small pullout to walk up the road to get a view of the glacier there. The moose tracks were on the narrow strip on the outside of the guardrail.

There was a glacier view at that location.

Starflower. These were at the campground in Anchorage and many other places.

Moose in the campground in Anchorage. Anchorage has a lot of forest parks that are full of moose.

Tree swallow

This is not in the park. It was in an estuary with a boardwalk for bird watching. We saw the tree swallow and some geese and this moose lying under the boardwalk

A starflower next to a northern blackberry

Marsh marigolds

Baby Canada geese.

Starflower

Bunchberry. a relative of the dogwood tree.

Red Baneberry

Same thing

Tall mountain blue bells

Wild geranium

In a different forest preserve we hiked up this stream and back down the other side looking for moose. We did see one near the end crossing the road near the parking lot.

Quiet ocean south on Anchorage on the way to Homer.

We camped right on the beach in Homer within walking distance of the restaurants.

a gull about to hitch a ride on an eagle.

The mountains across the bay from out camp on Homer spit.

We took a nature excursion to see puffins

And saw see otters.

And arches. We felt right at home.

Common Murres

Pigeon Guillemot

Comorant

This is the laundromat at the campground.

Harbor seal eatting a halibut

Wild lilly

Bearberry?

This moose was easy to spot. The visitor center was closed.

Unidentified duck

Labrador tea

A small random lake we saw on a driving excursion on a rainy day.

More Jacobs ladder

We stopped by Deana Swaneys house on a lake for a visit. This is their boardwalk to the lake. She is the author who wrote the book on hiking in Valley of Fire.

Cup mushroom

Deanna's back porch

Deanna's lake cabin

Thimbleberry flower.

Moss

Cup mushroom

On the way to Denali we passed a braided river.

A rock ptarmagin

Moose by the road in Denali park.

Ravens nest on a bridge.

Another moose by the road in Denali

This moose was by our camper one morning

Mother moose

The sun came out and clouds went away so we took a flight around the mountain

This glacier on the mountain is where some of the flights land so you can walk around on the glacier some.

tree squirrel

Shrubby cinquefoil

Wintergreen

Common Merganser

Type of saxifrage

Touch me nots

The campground in Denali had ice cream

Later on in Fairbanks we saw a field of Sandhill cranes.

Tree swallow nests

Wild iris

Grebe

Tree swallow

Grebe

Red necked grebe

Tall mountian bluebells with pink ones too.

Old light fixture in a train car museum

Old steam shovel

The train we rode around the park in Fairbanks on. 

Baby robins about to leave the nest.

Santa's gift shop at the North Pole.

The actual North Pole

Back to th sandhill cranes in Fairbanks

This is the office of the campground we stayed at in Fairbanks. The mosquitos were terrible.

After leaving Fairbanks John an I split up and we headed on to Valdez Alaska. You go over a pass that is above tree line.

Before the pass we took a short drive out the Denali Highway which is a east/west shortcut back to Denali if we were going there.

We only followed the road as long as it was paved. Most of it is dirt.

There was fantastic scenery along the way

White-winged scoter

Dropping down into Valdez we pass several waterfalls.

Harbor in Valdez. We camped one block away from here.

Eagles were plentiful in Valdez

We took an excursion to a glacier and to see wildlife

Iceberg

Humpback whale tail

Two otters on an ice floe

Harbor seals

Colorful character on the excursion boat.

Harbor seal on ice

The glacier

Another puffin taking off

Stellar sea lions

Arctic tern at Valdez harbor

Western oyster catcher around the valdez harbor

Wild? domestic columbine

Leaving Valdez we saw our first Grizzly

We camped on this lake in a campground where grizzlys congregate. we didn't see any

Anemone flower

chickweed

Mountain avens

Mt Charleston blue flew all the way to alaska

western swallowtail

The tent camping area at the campground has an electric fence around it.

Bear tracks on the lakeshore

Yellow paintbrush

Lupine

On the way to Haines AK

Famous hammer museum

Harbor in Hanes

Hanes pass

False lily of the valley

Thimble berry

Slug

Columbine

Our campsite in Haines

Loon on the road into Haines

In whitehorse BC we camped in town and took an excursion to Skagway on a bus and a train, This is a totem pole on the way

The skagway train

Bear on the road

Sign post forest

The famous Cassiar highway route back south (not the alcan) its very remote and only has gas about every 200 miles. No cell phone service for 400 miles. Except if you have a starlink, no problem,

This is what they call a narrow dangerous road. Nice

this is on the pass into Stewart alaska. There were many grizzlies in the area. We didn't see any but counted 33 piles of bear scat in the road over the pass. The saying about bears shitting in the woods does not apply here. They do it in the road.

Another arctic blackberry

Triple rainbow.

Another glacier from the road

The lake we camped at when we saw the triple rainbow

Common Yellowthroat. First time for me

Wolf in the estuary

Fighting finches

Our only grizzly cubs. Almost got hit by a logging truck while crossing the road.

A campground on a First Nation reservation

Replica of a native village

Hiking thru a rain forest

Ferns and Devils Club

Queens cup flower

Foam flower

foam flower

Trail near Mt Robson CA

Mt Robson

One sided wintergreen

Wild geranium

Wild strawberry

Orchid

Twinflower

On  a 6 mile trail to a lake in Mt Robson park.

Butterfly different from ours

Single Delight

Speedwell

Near Jasper NP a fire devastated a lot of forest around there

Moss Campion

Moss Campion

Another Avens kind of flower

White heather

Yellow paintbrush

White heather

Cinquefoil

Spotted saxifrage

At the top of the tram on a windy day

Moss campion

Moss campion

White heather

Milkvetch

Chickweed

Looking down to our campground from the top of the tram

Deer along the road

Two baby eagles on the nest

Athabaska falls

Camping on the Icefields parkway

Mid day in the campground was kinda crowded.

Tourists on the glacier at Ice Fields parkway

Mt Athabaska

White thistle

Columbia glacier

Golden saxifrage

Spotted sandpiper

Pink wintergreen

Orange paintbrush

HIking to the columbia glacier. The sign shows where the glacier was in 1982 which was the last time we were there. 

This is the 1992 marker and is as far as you can go without a guide.

Golden saxifrage

Alpine avens

Viewpoint on a trail on the opposite side of the valley from the glacier

Anemony flower

Spruce cones

The trail above timberline

Looking across the valley to the columbia glacier

Mountain dandelion. Not common and orange in color

Two chairs someone hauled up the trail for a viewpoint

Mountain avens in seed

Bow lake

Young grizzlies 

Mamma grizzley

Front door of the Fairmont Lake Louise

Moraine lake

Moraine lake

Moraine lake

When we arrived at the hotel they had a birthday cake for Brenda

Also a bottle of wine, box of chocolates, and a souvenir glass.

We stayed on the 7th floor which is the gold floor. Special

Free continental breakfast was better than usual

Custom omelettes included

Nespresso machine in the room

 

Bathroom in our room. Notice a tub and a shower.There was a digital bathroom scale under the sink

The living room

Bedroom

Snack tray in the room

Lobby

Some kind of rein orchid

Us in front of the hotel

One sided wintergreen

The trails to the closest lake was very crowded.

The tea house at the second lake. It is like a starbucks except they have tea. Long line to get in.

The tea house is on this lake

Penstemon

Ground squirrel

Marmot

Red Saxifrage

White heather

Other side on the lake where the tea house is

Twinberry

Death Camus

Butterwort

Our Keycard for the 7th floor