Glaciers, Bears & Wildfires, Oh My

Our plan upon leaving the Yukon was to head down the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. There are some interesting things to see along here, plus then I wouldn't have to drive the same stretch of the Alaska Highway again. So we turned off the Alaska Highway, somewhat thrilled to be leaving the land of frost heaves, only to be stopped at a roadblock because of a wildfire that was burning pretty much right along the Cassiar. We had arrived 5 minutes late and would have to wait for the next pilot car. So we did, and it was quite an experience to be piloted through a basically active wildfire area. We couldn't stop, for obvious safety reasons, so our only pictures are kinda blurry due to the motion of the car. It is definitely eerie to see a forest like this:

But I saw forests in Yellowstone only 5 years after fire, and it is definitely true that they grow back quickly. Hopefully that will happen here as well.

One the main reasons to take the Cassiar Highway is that it provides many, many opportunities to see black bear, as you can see:

This momma and her cubs were my favorite, but we didn't get much time to observe them because this big old truck came barreling down the road honking his horn and scaring them off.

Another reason to take the Cassiar is that it also enables you to visit what is probably one of the most isolated towns in the US: Hyder, AK. It is only accessible by road through the slightly more populated Stewart, BC and is so far removed from the rest of the US that it uses Pacific time (instead of Alaskan) and Canadian schools money. (You still have to go through customs, though). The main attraction here is the Fish Creek Viewing Platform run by the US Forest Service. This area is officially part of Tongass National Forest.

Everyone goes and stands on that platform and then the bears come and catch salmon in the creek. We didn't see any bears in the creek (bummer) but we did see tons of salmon doing their spawning thing.

We also got our first good look at the temperate rain forest, which produces massive trees that you find pretty much halfway down the Pacific Coats. They are just so beautiful and majestic.

Another thing you can do here, which is according to Lonely Planet USA is "totally worth the trip," is drive to Salmon Glacier, which is purportedly the largest glacier in the world accessible by road. The forest service ranger assured us that it was a lovely, hour-long drive. Now, I had already known the road was about 17 miles long. You think I would have put those two pieces of information together and realized something was amiss, but no, I just accepted the road guide she handed me and off we went on our merry way. The first views along the drive were beautiful.

Um, until I looked down and happened to notice just how high above the valley we'd gotten.

And these people clearly have a different definition of "maintained road" than I, because my idea of maintenance involves more than one lane, seal coat (at a minimum) and guard rails. But it was too late to turn around, so we soldiered.....er, snailed?....on.

It was probably one of the scariest things I have ever done, but it was kind of one of those no-turning-back-now moments (especially since I'm lucky to do K turns when there are four lanes and the worst that can happen is you bump someone's mailbox). The view at the top, though incredibly buggy, was so worth it. I guess the Lonely Planet writers weren't just being cliche after all.

Coming next, the rest of our stay (in way more populated) southern BC, including the gorgeous Minter Gardens & Vancouver.

Wildlife in the Wild

Without further ado, here are the best shots of the wildlife we saw on our Denali bus trip. Some of them are not of great quality, because while my camera's nice, it's not that nice. But it was absolutely amazing to see all these animals behaving as if we weren't even there. Truly the experience of a life time.


A female moose, sort of in the center of the picture. Not the most exciting shot, but this was the first wildlife we saw on the shuttle bus trip.

A pica, which looks like a mouse but is actually the smallest member of the rabbit family.

For some reason, I was having trouble getting the cropped image to upload. But if you look in the middle of the picture, you'll see some black specks, one right near the tree line and another laying down slightly below and to the left. Those are part of a wolf pack we saw. I will work on getting the cropped images up.

A big grizzly bear we spent about ten minutes watching. He was sort of just ambling along, chomping on bushes and berries. Our driver said it was probably a juvenile, and you can kinda see the radio collar around his neck.

A whole bunch of Dall sheep, just chilling, on the cliffs below Polychrome pass. There were about nine of them in all.

A mama moose and her calf, running across the hillside. That little guy was soooooo cute.

A lone wolf running for cover.

You can just make out the caribou standing along the ridge line. We actually saw tons of caribou, but some of those pictures were ones I also had trouble cropping. I also have a few of some big bull moose. If I'm able to solve the problem, I'll post when I can.

Up next, I'll be starting to show you my journey home, which if you followed my live blogging, you know took some, er, interesting turns. Also, I'll be at the National Book Festival in DC next weekend-always one of my favorite trips, and, as long as I get the hotels squared away, I'll be in Vermont on Columbus Day weekend with my grandma. 

Week One Summary

I am currently in a hotel just outside of Spokane, Washington, supremely excited to be sleeping in a real bed and not having to worry about mosquitoes (or grizzlies). And I have real internet access!!!!!!! So, without further ado, here are some highlight pictures!

This is my tent set up at a campsite in the middle of nowhere, South Dakota. I've affectionately nicknamed my tent Emerald. I have a lot of conversations with her over the course of a night, especially when it's windy and I  am encouraging her not to blow over.

                                                    Sioux Falls, South Dakota. So pretty.

The very flat prairie. The climate is so different. Very windy & dry. But beautiful in it's own way.

Badlands National Park. So strange and desolate, but also beautiful. I've never seen anything like it.

Mount Rushmore, which was pretty but sort of underwhelming. I kept thinking that it should look bigger than it does. But the Black Hills are very beautiful.

A huge double rainbow I saw while driving in Wyoming.

Overlooking the plains on the way up into the Bighorn Mountains. The scariest drive ever for me, but also the coolest. I've never been so high (almost 9,000 feet) before. So amazing....it really has given the expression "jaw-dropping" a whole new meaning for me.

Bighorn Canyon....the reward for making it over those crazy mountain switchbacks.

Old Faithful, faithfully erupting. I have so many amazing Yellowstone pictures. I can't believe I only got to see such a small part of it. I didn't get there until later in the day, but that worked out in my favor because twilight is the best time to see wildlife.  I saw tons of animals, including bison, elk, a whole bunch of birds, and of course the best....

Yup, that's a grizzly. Which I observed safely from my car, unlike the other stupid tourists, who were getting out of their cars, with their small children and following the bear into the woods. With their three year old children in tow!!!! C-R-A-Z-Y people!!!!

And here's my parting shot for now, so I can take advantage of this comfy bed I've splurged on tonight-a sunset scene in Yellowstone, overlooking the Madison River....

More later, including an update to my Picasa gallery so you can see all my pictures. Leave me a comment!!!