North to Alaska and Back
Today we drove about 90 miles on the Richardson Highway to Valdez, site of the 1989 oil spill, the largest oil spill in North American history. It was our most beautiful drive so far. The views of glaciers, rivers, waterfalls, and towering mountains along the way were AMAZING!
At mm 40 a large black bear loped across the highway, leaping over the guard rail.
At mm 29 we stopped to see the Worthington Glacier. Jay and I walked to the overlook. Then I hiked up to the base of the glacier and touched the ice, just to say I touched a glacier.
jkfrese
43 chapters
15 Apr 2020
Day 27: Richardson Hwy to Valdez AK
July 16, 2017
Today we drove about 90 miles on the Richardson Highway to Valdez, site of the 1989 oil spill, the largest oil spill in North American history. It was our most beautiful drive so far. The views of glaciers, rivers, waterfalls, and towering mountains along the way were AMAZING!
At mm 40 a large black bear loped across the highway, leaping over the guard rail.
At mm 29 we stopped to see the Worthington Glacier. Jay and I walked to the overlook. Then I hiked up to the base of the glacier and touched the ice, just to say I touched a glacier.
At mm 16 we passed through Keystone Canyon beside the Lowe River rapids.
At mm 14 and 13.5, we stopped for pictures of Bridal Veil Falls and Horsetail Falls, respectively.
As we pulled into the campground, I noticed a dark brown bunny, but I didn’t think too much of it. Then, as we were setting up, I saw a black bunny and then a gray one. Turns out the town has an abundance of feral rabbits! One of the locals told us that the ex-mayor started it all. Apparently the town is divided concerning the bunnies: the lovers and the haters. The local is definitely a hater. Sandy is a member of the lover camp. Pilgrim is neutral.
We lucked out again with our campsite. It was right on the harbor, so we could see the boats going in and out of the port. The cry of the gulls and the smell of the sea air reminded me of the Jersey shore.
1.
Day 1: Harrisburg, PA to West Branch SP, Ohio
2.
Day 2: On to Pokagon SP, Indiana
3.
Days 3 and 4 On to Illinois and Wisconsin
4.
Days 5, 6 & 7: On to Maple Grove, Mn and Fargo and Minot, North Dakota
5.
Days 8 & 9 - On to Saskatchewan,
6.
Day 10 - On to Alberta
7.
Day 11 - Elk Island National Park
8.
Days 12 and 13 - On to Dawson Creek, British Columbia
9.
Day 14 - Alaska Highway to Fort Nelson, BC
10.
Day 15 - On to Muncho Lake, BC
11.
Day 16 - On to Watson Lake, Yukon
12.
Day 17 - On to Whitehorse, Yukon
13.
Day 18 - Whitehorse, Yukon
14.
Day 19 - Whitehorse, Yukon
15.
Day 20: Klondike Hwy to Dawson City
16.
Day 21: Dawson City
17.
Day 22: Dawson City
18.
Day 23: On to Chicken, Alaska!
19.
Day 24 - On to Kenny Lake
20.
Day 25: Wrangell-St. Elias NP
21.
Day 26: Kenny Lake Area
22.
Day 27: Richardson Hwy to Valdez AK
23.
Days 28 & 29:Valdez
24.
Days 30 & 31: On to Anchorage
25.
Day 32: Katmai National Park
26.
Day 33: Lake Clark National Park
27.
Day 34: On to Talkeetna
28.
Days 35 - 38 Denali National Park
29.
Days 39, 40 and 41 - Fairbanks AK
30.
Days 42, 43 & 44 - Bettles, AK
31.
Days 45 & 46 - Tok to Kluane Lake
32.
Days 47, 48, 49 - Kluane Lake to Boya Lake
33.
Day 50 - Boya Lake to Iskut, BC
34.
Days 51 & 52 - Stewart British Columbia and Hyder Alaska
35.
Days 53, 54, 55 - Smithers to Jasper Park
36.
Day 58 - The Icefields Parkway
37.
Days 56 & 57 - Jasper National Park
38.
Days 59 and 60 - Banff NP
39.
Days 61, 62 63 - Banff, Alberta to Minot, North Dakota
40.
Days 64, 65, 66 - North Dakota to Minnesota
41.
Day 67 - Duluth, Minnesota
42.
Days 68, 69,& 70 - To Mackinac Island
43.
Days 71 thru 78, The Last Chapter!
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