North to Alaska - July/August 2009

March 24th - London

2009-10-10T07:20:00.000+01:00

No sooner have I finished my Singapore to Macau blog (the link is at the bottom of this blog), than I am on the 'treadmill' of my next blog, this time for a drive from California to Alaska.

First credit is due to my old school chum, Peter W, for his suggestion of the North to Alaska title. Thanks, Peter.

Once again we will be joined on this drive by our great friends, Bob and Thelma Howells, who will be driving their Toyota Landcruiser. Both our cars are currently in a 40ft container being shipped from China to Long Beach, California.

The cars are due to arrive at the end of this week. They will then have to clear US customs before the cars will be taken to Malibu, ready for the drive to Alaska.

I'll give a detailed route itinerary once we have settled on the exact route.

March 26th - London

2009-10-09T22:45:00.000+01:00

I've now posted two maps of our planned route. The first shows our route from Malibu to Skagway, Alaska. The second takes the route into Canada, through the Yukon and back into Alaska and via Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay and then down to Anchorage.

There are a few places where we haven't made a decision where we will be staying, mainly whilst we are on the drive from Malibu to Seattle. We have booked up in all those places where there is very limited accomodation available, especially in the wilds of the Yukon and Alaska.

We are booked on the three main ferry routes we are taking: Port Hardy to Prince Rupert, Prince Rupert to Skagway and Skagway to Haines.

It appears the cars have arrived in Long Beach, or are about to arrive, as our agent is sending all the customs documentation down to Long Beach on Monday. It will be interesting to see how long US Customs take to release the cars. When we sent the car to the States in 2005 for the Panamericana, it took two weeks.

April 5th

2009-10-08T07:17:00.000+01:00

Good news!

We have just heard from our US shipping agent that both Bob's and my car have been cleared by US customs and are being released early next week. I have arranged for the cars to be collected from Long Beach and taken to Malibu for storage.

April 9th - The cars have arrived in the States

2009-10-07T08:00:00.000+01:00

After a year of planning this trip, we have the final piece of the jigsaw in place: the cars are safely parked up in Malibu, California.

I say ready, but that's not quite true as there is a lot of work that needs doing to my Landcruiser to get it properly prepared for the 4,000 miles of driving up to the Arctic Ocean. The most urgent repairs to be done are on the front brakes, which have warped discs, causing quite severe brake judder. This has been a recurring problem on the Landcruiser. After heavy braking on mountain passes the brakes get very hot and the discs can then warp This has happened before in China and South Africa. The current discs have been skimmed once and it is now time to fit new ones, which I will do in May.

Returning to the events of yesterday. When my son Edward went to collect the cars from the shipping agent, just south of Los Angeles, things did not go as I had planned!

When we drove the car on its final leg of the SE Asia tour, from Behai to Macau, we ran the car very low of diesel. We did this because it is a requirement when shipping a car in a container that it has very little fuel in the tank. Well, I didn't realise just how little fuel there was in the tank, when I left the car with the agent in Macau, because as Ed drove the car out of the Los Angeles container depot it ran out of diesel! Now, starting a diesel after it has run out of fuel can be a problem, as was the case yesterday. He had the car towed to a garage, filled it up with diesel, but try as he might the car wouldn't start. He called me in London and I phoned Chris, who has prepared the car for all the events we have done, to find out what we could do to start the car. The solution to the problem was that, unknown to me, there is a priming pump that allows you to prime the system with diesel and expel any air. Once I had phoned Ed back with the solution he managed to get the car started.

Bob's Landcruiser was loaded on to a tow truck and Edward led the truck across Los Angeles and up the coast to the house in Malibu, where the cars will be stored until we start the event in July. I'll post a photo of the cars in my next posting.

With the cars in the States, we are getting very excited about the trip. We have always wanted to drive up to Alaska and now that will become a reaility, in just a few months time.

May 12th - Latest News

2009-10-06T08:14:00.000+01:00

Here goes with the latest news on our North to Alaska trip.

The car has been garaged at the house in Malibu awaiting my ace technician, Chris, to arrive and carry out a load of work to get it ready for the start in late July. There are three main jobs to do. Fitting of new discs to the front brakes to overcome the brake judder from the existing warped discs. A general service and check of the car and finally the fitting of the windscreen stone guard that I bought on the internet from a company in Australia.

Well, the discs have been fitted and the final part of the servicing, the oil and filter change will be done, by the Chevron garage just down the road from the house, later on this week. That has left the fitting of the stone guard.

The stone guard is designed to stop the worst of flying stones on gravel roads from hitting the windscreen. Apparently the Dalton Highway, the 600 miles of gravel road from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay, is notorious for windscreen breakages. These are caused by the oil company trucks throwing up stones as they travel up and down to the North Shore oilfields.

Well, to make sure the guard was fitted how I wanted, my son Ed e-mailed me photos of the guard placed on the windscreen, prior to permanent fitting. The two photos below show the guard in the 'down' position to give protection and then in the 'up' position when the guard is not needed.

A photo looking through the windscreen with the guard in the 'down' position. You can just see Bob and Thelma's Landcruiser parked in the garage.

The latest news on the route is that we are now fully booked at all the overnight stops where there is limited accomodation avaliable. This was especially important for the stops in the Yukon at Beaver Creek and Haines Junction, and then in Alaska at Wiseman and Prudhoe Bay.

May 13th - Picasa Collage

2009-10-05T11:35:00.000+01:00

Just managed to set up Picasa 3 so that I can edit photos easily and post direct to the blog. Here's my first attempt a collage of photos showing the stone guard on the Landcruiser

June 2nd - London

2009-10-04T21:06:00.000+01:00

With just under six weeks to go till we fly out to California, all the final preparations are being made. Virtually all the key hotels and ferries have been booked, with only those hotels in California and Oregon to arrange. As we haven't finally decided on our route to Seattle we most likely will leave the bookings until the last moment.

We are giving some thought to what we will do after we finish the tour in Anchorage. We had planned on shipping the cars back to the UK, but Bob made a comment some time ago about driving across Canada, and that has set me thinking!

We are looking into the possibility of shipping the cars from Anchorage to Vancouver, storing them there over winter, and then in April/May 2010 driving from Vancouver to, St.John's, Newfoundland, which is as far east as you can go!

We will keep everyone updated as our plans develop.

June 28th - An update

2009-10-03T10:33:00.000+01:00

With just over three weeks to go till we fly out to California, we are now hoping that BA do not have industrial action! If they do, and our flight is affected, I'm not sure what we will do as our flights are booked with air miles and a free companion voucher courtesy of BA American Express.

The likelihood that we will get an alternative flight within the time before we start the trip on July 29th, is not very great. We will just have to hope the discussions on pay are resolved.

Turning to our plans following on from this drive, we have now found out that there is a ro-ro service from Anchorage to Tacoma, Washington state. The terminal in Anchorage is a short drive from our hotel which makes it very easy for us to deliver the cars on Monday August 24th. The ship leaves on Tuesday and takes under three days to get to Tacoma. We have found a storage facility in Tacoma who will store the cars until the end of the year when they will be driven across the border into Canada. They will then be stored at my cousin's house on Salt Spring Island until we return in April 2010, to drive across Canada to Newfoundland.

July 9th - Latest news

2009-10-02T08:37:00.000+01:00

We heard yesterday that the talks between BA and their staff had broken down, though there were still contacts using ACAS, the arbitration service. The good news is that were there to be a strike a month's notice has to be given. This means that our outward flight in less than two weeks' time is in the clear but the return from Los Angeles at the end of August may not be.

Turning to happier matters, we leave from London on July 21st for Los Angeles and then have eight days to do our final shopping and car preparation, before we start the tour. The first four days up the west coast of the US is an easy drive on good roads. We want to take each day as it comes and not be constrained by booking of hotels in advance. The drive to Seattle is only about a thousand miles. An average of 250 miles a day leaves us with plenty of room when it comes to deciding where we want to stop each night.

I'll make one final posting before the 21st

July 20th

2009-10-01T14:22:00.000+01:00

Our fears over an industrial dispute at BA were unfounded. At the moment both sides are in talks at ACAS, so with a bit of luck our return journey at the end of August will not be affected.

I've just checked in online at BA.com. Unfortunately we couldn't get the seats we wanted on the upper deck, so we have had to settle for seats on either side of the aisle.

It's strange how events unfold in places we are about to go to. In February we had the political unrest in Thailand a few weeks before we arrived in Bangkok. This time I have just heard on today's morning news that there are terrible forest fires east of Vancouver. We have got to hope they don't occur in the Whistler region, which might make driving problematic.

Further updates will be posted from California.

July 23rd - T minus 6 and counting!

2009-09-30T15:38:00.000+01:00

With all the media comment on the 40th anniversary of the moon walk of July 1969, I thought the title for the first posting from the US was rather appropriate!

Yes, it's only six days to go, and I am now down to the last few things to do on the car before we head for the San Francisco region next Wednesday.

I've just fitted the stickers I had made for the cars showing the route all the way up the west coast of N.America.

The route from Malibu to Anchorage

The flight over on Tuesday was very uneventful and we arrived at LAX fifteen minutes early. Unfortunately the drive up to the house, which should take about an hour, took twice as long because a power outage in Malibu had stopped all the traffic lights, and the resulting jam up the Pacific Coast Highway was horrendous.

Today we head into Santa Monica to do some last minute shopping for items such as bug jackets to help protect us from the mosquitoes which live in the tundra regions of Canada and Alaska.

It's looking like our son, Edward, will be joining us for one week of the trip. We are making arrangements for him to fly to Fairbanks and then drive with us to Prudhoe Bay and back to Fairbanks, from where he will return to Los Angeles.

On Sunday our friends Bob and Thelma will be flying in and staying with us until we leave on Wednesday.

To counter the criticism I have had from members of the family that I do not post enough photos of people, I will post a group photo before we head out.

July 28th - Ready to go!

2009-09-29T04:46:00.000+01:00

With less than 24 hours to go till we set off on the first leg of our Alaskan adventure we all donned our North to Alaska tee shirts and posed for a photo in front of the cars.

The photo was taken by our great friends, Les and Barbara Moss. We 'persuaded' them to pose in front of the cars.

Tomorrow we leave at 7am for the 400 mile drive up the coast of Southern California to our first night's stop in Sausalito, just over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The drive will take us past Hearst Castle, Big Sur and Carmel. On the assumption we arrive at a reasonable time tomorrow evening, I will post my first blog from the hotel in Sausalito.

July 29th - Day 1 - Malibu to Sausalito

2009-09-28T03:17:00.000+01:00

A truly great day's driving all the way up Highway 1, along the Pacific Coast to San Francisco and then across the Golden Gate Bridge to our hotel in Sausalito.

We left the house at 7.15am in overcast weather, not like the weather we have been used to over the past week! In fact in a few miles we encountered a steady drizzle from the low cloud and fog that is so common along the Californian coast.

The road approaching Santa Barbara with the morning rush hour traffic

The weather didn't clear until we headed inland at Santa Barbara crossing the mountains to Lake Cachuma, the site of the 1984 Olympic rowing competition.

We decided to stop for breakfast at the very quirky Madonna Inn outside San Louis Obispo.

The Inn is a favourite place for honeymoon couples and is garishly decorated and fitted out. Bob and I had a hilarious few minutes in the men's room. There was a gigantic urinal that looked like a shower. It had water running down from above over the stone wall behind. We joked if we should get in it, but decided not to! Bob wondered if the water running down to flush the toilet was from the men's room on the floor above!

Shortly after leaving the Inn we turned off Highway 101 onto Highway 1, that follows the Pacific Coast shoreline. It is one of the great drives in the United States. One hundred and fifty miles of stunning scenery with the road often running high above the ocean.

We passed the world famous Hearst Castle, built by the newspaper magnate William Randolf Hearst. Eighty miles further on is Big Sur a famous resort on the road, where we had stayed many years ago at the Ventana Inn.

Our drive then took us to Carmel, Monterey and then Santa Cruz, where we stopped for drink on the beach.

Bob and myself enjoying the sun at a beachside cafe in Santa Cruz.

The final 70 miles up the coast to San Francisco was an easy drive, and we arrived at a very foggy Golden gate Bridge at about 6pm.

Our hotel was just across the bridge in Sausalito a very pretty town overlooking the bay.

Looking across the bay towards The Bay Bridge, Alacatraz and downtown San Francisco.

In all we drove 420 miles, taking just under eleven hours. A great start to our North to Alaska trip.

July 30th - Day 2 - Sausalito to Rogue River, Oregon

2009-09-27T03:57:00.000+01:00

The longest day's drive of the whole tour, over 430 miles, but what a drive it was!

We left Sausalito overcast by low clouds and headed due north on Highway 101. Bob & Thelma were 'doing their own thing' by driving the coast route all the way to Eureka on Highway 1. We had driven that route on a couple of occasions before, so decided to use the 101 to Eureka and then follow it up to Crescent City before driving on the 199 to Grants Pass in Oregon and our hotel, the Weasku Inn, on the Rogue River.

The 101 at the beginning was just like all the other major freeways of the States: heavy traffic and pretty uninspiring scenery. That all changed about 100 miles north of Sausalito as we drove through a large wine growing region, with one winery after another.

The road then wound through magnificent pine clad hills with giant redwoods.

We decided to stop at the Benbow Inn a hotel we had stayed at many years ago for a coffee It is unlike most American hotels we have stayed in, as it has a very European feel to it.

The drive on to Eureka on the coast is through the giant redwood forests. The trees are truly a wonder of nature, growing to nearly 400ft in height and living for up to two thousand years.
We arrived in Eureka at at 2.30pm and called Bob & Thelma who were about an hour behind us. We took a few photos of the town as well as the harbour where the deep sea fishing fleet is moored.

While we were walking around the town Wendy noticed this van. A new occupation for me??

Shortly before we left California we saw this elk on the side of the road, our first of the trip.

Entering Oregon.

After another 50 miles we arrived at our destination, the Weasku Inn on the Rogue River a favourite haunt of the stars, including Clarke Gable, Carol Lombard, Bing Crosby and Walt Disney.

July 31st - Day 3 - Rogue River Oregon to Newport, Oregon

2009-09-26T02:10:00.000+01:00

We had breakfast at the Weasku Inn overlooking the Rogue River in brilliant sunshine.

One of the guests came up to us and asked us where we were going. When we told him we were headed for the Oregon coast he said we had to make a detour and go and see Crater Lake. He said it was one of the most spectacular sights in the US.

So, off we went heading north-east instead of north-west! It was an easy drive of about 100 miles to the lake. The road rose up to over 7,000ft through lovely pine forests.

The lake is the result of a collapsed volcano that took place about 7,000 years ago. The view from the crater rim is truly amazing. Cliffs of nearly 2,000ft rise up from the lake to the rim of the volcano. The water is a vivid blue and apparently the cleanest fresh water in the world. This is due to the fact that the lake is only filled by rainfall and melting snow. No rivers empty into it.

We spent an hour at the crater and then drove out of the park, following Bob and Thelma.

Our drive to the coast took us north-west to Eugene, the second city of Oregon, before driving about 60 miles to Florence on the Oregon coast. The temperature fell from the high nineties to the low sixties at Florence. The coast is often shrouded in fog, as was the case when we went down to the beach. Hardy souls were attempting to enjoy the beach with the fog rolling in from the ocean.

Our final fifty miles of driving took us up the coast to our overnight stop in Newport. A view of the Pacific Ocean from or hotel window.

We drove total of 347 miles today bringing the total so far to 1,206 miles. Not bad for three days on the road.

Tomorrow we head for the Columbia River gorge near Portland, the capital of Oregon. We then drive due north to Washington state and two nights in Seattle.

August 1st - Day 4 - Newport to Seattle, Washington

2009-09-25T02:33:00.000+01:00

It's quite incredible how the climate along the Pacific coast differs from that a few miles inland. Here in Newport, we woke to another foggy day with the temperature a very cool 15 degrees Celsius, whilst inland they are having a heatwave. We heard that Seattle is experiencing temperatures of over 40 degrees. The cool temperatures are due to the cold waters of the Alaskan current that flow down from Alaska all the way to southern California.

We left our hotel for a 30 mile drive up the coast to Lincoln City. We then drove north-east for about 100 miles to Portland. As we headed inland the temperature rose by 20 degrees to 35 degrees Celsius. Another very hot day in store.

One of the great things about these drives is that there is always the unexpected around the corner. Who would have thought you would fine an aeropsace museum in the middle of farm country, with a Boeing 747 parked by the road!

We drove through some flat farmland where the combine harvesters were at work, throwing up great clouds of dust as they cut the corn. We stopped at one of the farms that was selling fantastic fruit - cherries, strawberries, plums, apples, apricots, nectarines etc. etc. The fruit tasted so different to that that sold in the UK. It was a delight. Whilst at the farm shop Bob noticed this extraordinary 'double decker bus' parked in the fields. An ancient bus with a VW Caravanette roof stuck on top. Quite a sight!

At around 1pm we skirted Portland on our way to see the Columbia River Gorge. The Columbia River, which forms the boundary, between Oregon and Washington State, has carved it way through the landscape over millions of years. We had some wonderful views of the river from the art deco rotunda at Vista House, Crown Point which was built in 1918.

We then drove on to see the Multnomah waterfalls that cascade down the side of the gorge from a height of over 600ft.

At this point we parted company with Bob Thelma who had decided to drive across country to Seattle avoiding the I5 freeway. We took the fast route and arrived at our hotel in the centre of Seattle at about 6pm. A view of the city as we neared the centre.

Another 350 miles drive has brought the total to over 1500 miles. We now have two nights here in Seattle which will give us a full day tomorrow to see the city. Then, on Monday we head to Whistler and our first night in Canada.

August 2nd - Day 5 - Seattle

2009-09-24T03:43:00.000+01:00

Our first 'rest' day of the trip, which has given us a chance to see Seattle for the first time. Our hotel, the Inn on the Market, is next to the famous Pike Place market and overlooks Puget Sound and really is a great place to stay in this wonderful city. The view from the terrace at our hotel of Puget Sound.

Our day started with a vist by Rebecca Ogle-Davis and her two children, Elias and Sadie. Rebecca is the daughter of our great friends, Ivor & Sally Davis, from Ventura CA.

Rebecca showed us the market and told us all the places to visit and where to eat. She was a mine of information. The Pike Place market is a great experience and the location of the very first Starbucks. A group of musicians was playing at the front of the cafe.

Some of the fruit and vegetable displays of the stalls were amazing.

We said good bye to Rebecca and headed to the Space Needle, built in 1962 for the World Fair. We took the monorail from the centre to the Needle a short five minute ride.

The needle is over 500ft high and the views of Seattle from the top are spectacular. We were given a great display of aerobatics by the Blue Angels, the US Airforce air display team, equivalent to our Red Arrows.
From the Space Needle we had a snack in the Olympic Sculpture Park, where large sculptures are on display. Here is one of a large series of rusty steel plates. I can't say they were to my taste in sculpture!

From the sculpture park we walked to the cruise terminal on Union and Washington Lakes. It was a very enjoyable trip, seeing the house boats and then the palatial mansions of the many billionaires who live in Seattle including Bill Gates of Microsoft. Here are a few photos from the trip.

A final photo as we came back to the terminal of the Seattle skyline.

Tomorrow we head for the Canadian boarder just south of Vancouver and then about a hundred miles to Whistler, the sight of the 2010 winter Olympics.

August 3rd - Day 6 - Seattle to Whistler, Canada

2009-09-23T07:42:00.000+01:00

The shortest drive of the trip so far, a mere 221 miles.

We left Seattle at around 10am for the 100 miles up I5 to the border with Canada. It was an easy run with quite heavy traffic leaving Seattle, but by the time we reached Blaine, at the border, the traffic was quite light. The crossing into Canada was accomplished in just a few minutes.

The border with Canada.

The drive then took us through the outskirts of Vancouver and then up Hwy 99 to Whistler, a total of 110 miles. Downtown Vancouver as we drove through the suburbs.

With Whistler being the site of the Feb 2010 Winter Olympics the road from Vancouver has been upgraded for most of the way and it is now an easy drive along the wonderful western coast of British Columbia.

We arrived in Whistler at about 2.30pm and went with Bob and Thelma to see the sites they have bought to build two houses just above Whistler. They are located in a wonderful position lookingdown into the valley. Me, Thelma and Bob scrambling over the building site to see the views from the top.

We then drove the last few miles to our hotel, the Westin Resort, which is located next to Whistler Village. After checking in, we drove to the edge of Lake Alta to take a walk and have some exercise after sitting in the car for over four hours. Down by the lake were a large number of families enjoying the sun and the water. There was a rather disconcerting sign by the water warning bathers of Swimmers' Itch!

The lake with Whistler Mountain in the background.

We then drove back to the village and watched the mountain bikers coming down the slopes. In the summer the mountains are used as the ultimate mountain biking experience and it is great fun to watch the bikers doing incredible jumps as they descend the mountain.

We ended the day having a very good meal at a local restaurant. Tomorrow we drive to visit my cousin on Salt Spring Island while Bob & Thelma stay an extra day here in Whistler and then head for Victoria on Vancouver Island. We will meet up with them again in a couple of days.

August 4th - Day 7 – Whistler to Salt Spring Island

2009-09-22T00:20:00.000+01:00

We left Whistler for the short drive back down Highway 99 to the ferry terminal at Horseshoe Bay. The ferry goes from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay on Vancouver Island, crossing the Inside Channel. The journey is about one hour and forty minutes.

We arrived at the terminal with plenty of time to spare and tried to alter the booking for Bob & Thelma from today, by 24 hours, as they were staying an extra day in Whistler. No such luck as all the reservations had been taken. We just had to hope they wouldn’t have a problem.

While we were waiting I noticed this magnificent Chrysler Imperial parked in the line waiting to board the ferry. They don’t make cars looking like this any more!

We boarded the ferry, the Coastal Renaissance, with several hundred other cars.

It was a very smooth crossing, with the one disappointment of not seeing any killer whales, which are often seen from the ferry. On board the ferry.

We arrived on Vancouver Island at about 2.30pm and had just over an hour to catch the ferry from Crofton to Salt Spring Island. The drive south was only about 30 miles and we easily made it to Crofton to catch the 3.50pm ferry. Waiting in line for the ferry at Crofton.

The crossing was just 20 minutes and on the way over we were asked by the captain to join him on the bridge. He had seen the stickers on the car and was interested in our travels. He even allowed me to take the helm, but only on the understanding I wore his captain’s hat!!

We disembarked and drove the final 20 miles to my cousin’s house. It really is in the most beautiful place imaginable. The house overlooks several islands and ferries pass through the channel on regular intervals. I could easily stay here for a long, long time! The view from the patio overlooking the islands and the channel that runs between Salt Spring Island and Vancouver Island in the distance.

Basil farms apples and also has a few sheep that graze on the property. The orchards as you drive into the property.

Basil’s son Ian looks after the farm and before our evening meal I went with Basil to feed the sheep. He showed me two that he rescued after their mother had abandoned them at birth. Four times a day he fed them with milk from a baby bottle, and now they are five months old and healthy looking animals.

We discovered that tomorrow is Basil and Margaret’s 59th wedding anniversary, so we will be able to celebrate with them.

August 5th - Day 8 - Salt Spring Island

2009-09-21T03:13:00.000+01:00

We have just one full day here with Basil and Margaret, so we started the day with a guided tour by Basil of his house and the shoreline. The house sits on a headland called Isabella Point and over the past couple of years Basil and Ian, his son, have built a boardwalk which runs around the house on the rocks above the sea. A couple of photos showing Wendy and Basil on the walk.

Two boats passing by with a section of the boardwalk in the foreground.

Basil has two peacocks that strut around the place. This one likes to sit on the rail that surrounds the patio.

The shoreline with the saltwater swimming pool in the foreground. The pool is refilled by the high tides.

We walked through the forest to Isabella Point and passed this Arbutus tree with its beautiful red paper bark that is continually peeling off the tree.

Ian’s dog, Max, that came with us on the walk.

In the afternoon we went to Ganges, the main town on the island to do some shopping and then have a meal to celebrate Basil & Margaret’s wedding anniversary. Ganges has a very pretty harbour which serves as the ‘runway’ for the seaplanes that are constantly landing and taking off for the other islands, as well as Vancouver.

The end to a perfect day.

August 6th - Day 9 - Salt Spring Island to Courtenay

2009-09-20T06:23:00.000+01:00

We are only staying two nights with Basil and Margaret as we have very little time to cover all the places we are staying on our long drive north.

Before we left, Basil showed us his amazing model railway. He has built the whole thing himself. It is the most incredible system I have ever seen. I hope the photos do it justice.

A train approaching with its headlight on!

Our all too brief stay with my cousin has come to an end. What a wonderful time we have had at their idyllic home. They both have treated us so kindly, we cannot thank them enough. We can't wait to return in 2010 when we hope to embark on our cross Canada drive.

We said our goodbyes on the patio and took this photo of us all.

We drove the 30kms to the ferry at Versuvius back to Vancouver island at Crofton. We arrived just as the 12 0'clock ferry was leaving, so we had to wait an hour for the next one. We have been surprised at how much interest has been shown in our tour. People come up to us wherever we stop and want to know about our travels. Whilst waiting for the ferry a teacher talked to us and then two electricity company engineers came over. It's good fun to talk with people who are so interested in our journey and we often are told things about the country which we did not know and helps to make the trip so much more enjoyable.

Me talking with the electrical engineers.

After we boarded the ferry a woman approached us to ask us about our Indian trip in 2007. She was a resident of Salt Spring but was born in India and was Scottish!

Our drive to our hotel in Courtenay was only about 100 miles and was an easy run on a good fast road up the eastern side of Vancouver Island. We arrived there at about 3pm and ten minutes later Bob & Thelma arrived from their overnight stay in Victoria, the capital of Vancouver Island.

Our hotel, the Old House Village Suites in Courtenay.

August 7th - Day 10 - Courtenay to Port Hardy

2009-09-19T01:49:00.000+01:00

We continue to have great meals. Last night we dined at the restaurant adjoining the hotel and everyone had good food. Steak for me and fish for Wendy. The fish here on Vancouver Island is fantastic. Halibut, salmon, and jumbo sized prawns are on every menu.

We left Courtenay for a short drive up the coast to Campbell River, the 'salmon capital of the world'.

We stopped at a diner on the waterfront to have a late brunch before driving the 150 miles north to Port Hardy. One of the really interesting sights to see are the truly amazing totem poles that adorn many shopping malls, garages and town squares. This one seems to be riding on the top of the car! Apologies for the blurry picture but this was due to the insects that keep getting squashed on the windscreen.

Once we left Campbell River the road narrowed to single lanes and we left most of the traffic behind us. A wonderful drive through pine forests followed. It's one of the great joys of these types of tours to be able to drive on empty roads.

A rare photo of and Thelma being overtaken!

We reached Port Hardy at about 3pm and checked in at our hotel the Glen Lyon Inn, which is perfectly situated right on the waterfront overlooking the harbour.

We then decided to go to the ferry terminal, about 5 miles from the hotel, to see if we could check-in for tomorrow's ferry, which leaves at 7.30am. Much to our surprise we could, and best of all we managed to get a refund for Bob's car. His car was being charged as an over-height vehicle, but by taking off his spare wheel from the roof rack, his car will no longer be surcharged. A saving of $250!

We then drove to downtown Port Hardy for me to fill up with diesel and also to check out a restaurant for this evening. Even though it was located in a dire looking mall that was full of empty shops, it was highly recommended, so we made a reservation.

We drove through Port Hardy main street and down to the pier.

Then a short drive brought us back to the hotel where we loaded Bob's spare wheel into the back of our Landcruiser for the journey to Prince Rupert.

August 8th - Day 11 - Port Hardy to Prince Rupert

2009-09-18T07:26:00.000+01:00

Firstly, an update on how we are going. We have now driven more than 2,000 miles since we left Malibu on July 29th. So, in driving distance we are about halfway. We have visited three US States: California, Oregon, Washington and one Canadian province, British Columbia. We have crossed one border from the US into Canada, with three more crossings between the countries to go. The weather until today has been more or less all sunshine. We knew it couldn't last and now a Pacific low is coming across southern Alaska and north-west Canada, bringing rain. The good news is that it is forecast to pass within a few days.

Today we drove a total of 7 miles and sailed nearly 300 miles by ferry from Port Hardy at the northern end of Vancouver island to Prince Rupert on the west coast of British Columbia. It was a very early start as we had to be at the ferry terminal by 5.30am. In the event we rose early and checked in to the terminal shortly after 5am. We then waited more than two hours before we were loaded.

The ferry left on time at 7.30am. The ferry, the Northern Expedition is a brand new ship, built in Germany to replace the ship that sunk three years ago. Apparently there are still unanswered questions concerning the sinking of the Queen of the North in March 2006 and the enquiry set up to investigate the accident has failed to determine what exactly occurred on the bridge at the time of the accident. Two people died and 99 were rescued.

Waiting to board the Northern Expedition with her bow doors open.

Underway on the top deck of the Northern Expedition.

The sailing from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert follows the Inside Passage a series of channels that winds its way up the western coast. It is the most beautiful cruise you can imagine through wild scenery with mountains towering above the water. The low clouds and mist created a slightly surreal atmosphere.

Here are a few photos which I hope show how marvellous the trip was.

We had been told that there was every possibility of seeing humpback whales, and we were not disappointed. About three hours into the trip there was an announcement from the bridge that a whale was breaching on the starboard side of the ship. Everyone ran to the decks and we then had ten minutes of watching, taking photos and filming this humpback 'performing' very close to the ship.

Two photos taken from the video I filmed of the whale rising out of the water.

We passed several small communities on the way. These were mainly fishing and logging towns with a few hundred people. The majority of other sea traffic in the Passage is fishing vessels with one or two private yachts.

One of the many remote lighthouses on the voyage.

Towards the end of the 15 hour journey we saw some more humpbacks, but no orca whales. Arriving at Prince Rupert in the dark and passing the container terminal.

We arrived in Prince Rupert at 10.30pm and drove about two miles to our hotel. We are staying here for one night and then tomorrow afternoon we technically enter Alaska when we board the Alaska ferry at the Prince Rupert terminal. We clear US Customs at the terminal and then have a 36 hour journey to Juneau, where we change ferries, and then on to Skagway.

August 9th - Day 12 - Prince Rupert to Ketchikan, Alaska

2009-09-17T22:30:00.000+01:00

We have just arrived in Juneau and are waiting for our ferry to Skagway. We have been out of internet contact since Prince Rupert, hence the delay in posting. I have managed to get access here in the terminal so here is the posting for Day 12, two days ago.

When we woke up it was still raining here in Prince Rupert, so we decided to have a drive around the town, as opposed to a walk down the main street, which was only one block away from the hotel.
The view of Prince Rupert from our hotel window.

Prince Rupert main street.

We had a couple of hours after breakfast to spare before we needed to check-in at Alaska Ferries, so we drove first to see the railway museum which turned out to be a tiny converted railway station, not what Bob, the railway expert, was hoping for. We then drove to the civic centre and saw these three magnificent totem poles.

We were quite surprised at the size of the town, which has a population of about 15,000. It was quite a contrast to Port Hardy, both in size and economic prosperity.
The attractive side of Prince Rupert.

Next we went to the court house

Behind it were these very pretty sunken gardens with very colourful flower beds.

We then drove down to the dock where we saw the seaplanes.

Finally we went to see some rapids on a nearby river., which were very shallow and unspectacular.
We drove back to the hotel and on the way passed the City hall a rather interesting bulding with Native American decorations.

We returned to the hotel and checked out and drove down to the terminal. We had to check in three hours before the ferry sailed. We waited in the car in the pouring rain and then about 30 minutes before sailing time, the border opened and we entered the USA. It was all very easy and we had no problems clearing US immigration, although they were interested in our travels and asked us if we did this for a job!
We loaded on to the ferry and then at 3.15pm we pulled away from the dock. We now have a journey of nearly two days to get to Skagway. We are going via several small towns: Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Kake and Sitka before we get to Juneau on Tuesday morning. At each stop we have a chance to go ashore.
Shortly after leaving Prince Rupert we passed this lighthouse with the mountains behind it.

We approached Ketchikan in the early evening and prepared to go ashore to see the town. Unfortunately as we disembarked the heavens opened and we ran for shelter in the terminal. It was our first time on Alaskan soil. The weather did not let up at all, so we decided to abandon our tour of the town and headed back for the ship. Let’s hope the next time we are ashore we see a bit more of Alaska than a ferry terminal!
The adventure continues and as I type this there are shouts from some of the passengers that more whales have been sighted!

August 10th - Day 13 - Ketchikan to Sitka

2009-09-16T22:55:00.000+01:00

After a slightly disturbed night because the ship’s loudspeaker in the cabin broadcast each time we docked. The first place was Wrangell at 4am and then Petersburg at 7.30am. Still, it was great fun to see these out of the way Alaskan towns and it gave a good opportunity to take photos of places rather than of the channels and the surrounding islands.
Here we are leaving Petersburg with the first snow covered mountains we have seen for some time.

Some of the passageways are very narrow and the ship has to steer between marker buoys. This one with seals resting on it.

No sooner did we see the snow on the mountains than the mist descended and we were in quite dense fog! When the fog lifted the stunning scenery continued.

Not long after the fog cleared and we saw our first humpback whales. Most of the time they were some way from the ship but one breached very close to the ship’s bow and Bob took this wonderful photo of the whale leaping out of the water.

Bob took this photo of us enjoying ourselvs.

The next place we visited was Kake, another very small Alaskan town (400 people) in a really remote place. We went ashore and walked a couple of hundred yards to a small store. We only had 30 minutes before the ship departed, so we hurried back with a few minutes to spare. The Taku tied up at Kake.

We were told that a bald eagle had built a nest in one of the pines close to the ship. I managed to film the two chicks, which were nearly fully grown. I had to use maxim zoom to get a picture of them, so the photo is rather fuzzy. I’m no David Attenborough!

We left Kake and soon were amongst several large groups of humpbacks. Mostly they were swimming some distance from the boat but occasionally one would surface nearby and we could take a photo. Hope the whale in this shot is visible at the lower left of the photo!

They are magnificent creatures and when they dive, lifting their tail flukes, it’s a wonderful spectacle.
We also saw a large group of sea lions but unfortunately they were quite far away so my photos did not show them very well.
The next three hours of the trip were through amazing scenery. The ferry wound its way through very narrow channels with a member of the crew at the bow giving directions to the captain. It was very exciting.
At one point Bob and I watched a bald eagle fly across the boat. Sadly, I was too slow with my camera to take a photo. Apparently in Haines, where we will be in a few days time, there are thousands of eagles. I'll try and take some photos there and post them to the blog.
We arrived in Sitka at 8.45pm as the light was fading. We got a taxi to take us to the Channel Club, but we arrived too late for the kitchen staff!!. We took the restaurant courtesy bus in to the centre of Sitka and had a meal at the Westmark Inn Hotel. We returned to the boat at about 10.30pm. We leave for Juneau at just after midnight.

August 11th - Day 14 - Sitka to Skagway

2009-09-15T16:35:00.000+01:00

We travelled through the night from Sitka and arrived in Juneau at 9.30am.

As we approached Juneau we had our first views of the Mendenhall Glacier.

Our next ferry to Skagway wasn’t leaving from Juneau until 3pm, so we had a few hours in which to explore the area around Juneau as well as the town.
Before we left the ferry we thanked Christine, one of the ferry crew, who had been so helpful. Christine came from the south island of New Zealand and was very interested in our drives. We gave her details of the blog and Wendy took this photo of Christine and me just before we left the ship.

We drove off the boat and headed for the Mendenhall Glacier which was about five miles away. As we drove to the glacier it occurred to me that not many UK registered cars can have driven in Juneau. The state capital is completely cut off from the rest of Alaska by the high mountains and the wilderness that surrounds it. You can only get to Juneau by boat or plane.
The glacier is a very impressive sight with the mountains, waterfalls and glacial lake directly below it.

A huge waterfall pouring into the glacial lake at the base of the glacier. Look at how small the people are in comparison to the falls.

The cars in front of the glacier, with Bob, Wendy and Thelma.

We took a lot of photos and film and then drove about ten miles into the centre of Juneau. As we entered the town we saw four massive cruise ships anchored in the harbour.

Thousands of passengers were crowded into the small streets of the city.
We visited the Russian Orthodox church, St Nicholas, which was built at the end of the 19th century. A reminder of the time when Russia owned Alaska.

We visited both the State Capital building and the Governor’s mansion, the recent home of the now ex-governor, Sarah Palin.

Juneau apparently is the only Alaskan city that avoided being burnt down at some time in its history. As a result, it has many old wooden buildings which give the place a special feel. We both enjoyed our walk around the historic centre of the city.

We went back to our cars and drove down to the pot where the massive cruise ships were docked. This one is the Sapphire Princess, a floating city!!

We left Juneau after about a couple of hours to catch our ferry to Skagway at 3.00pm.
Wendy took this photo of the laundry van leaving the ship. I don't think we have ever seen one quite like it before, in all our travels!!

We had another idyllic journey through more fantastic scenery on the six hour journey to Skagway. Here is one of the many glaciers that come down from the Juneau ice plateau.

We arrived at the terminal in Skagway at 9.30pm as four more colossal cruise ships were leaving the port.
We are staying here for two nights. Skagway was the starting point for the gold rush to the Klondike in the late 19th century.

August 12th - Day 15 - Skagway

2009-09-14T23:51:00.000+01:00

Another 'rest day', this time in the Gold Rush town of Skagway.

Skagway became famous when the Gold Rush started in the late 1890's. It was the port from which the prospectors set out into the interior. It was a horrendous journey climbing over the mountains to Whitehorse and then on into the Yukon. Apparently over 3,000 horses and mules died on the journey.

I've just bought a book about the Gold Rush and will post some more when I have 'speed read' the most important facts.

Skagway is very small with just one main street. It now caters for the cruise line passengers and when we walked down to the dock there were four of the cruise ships berthed. Two we had seen in Juneau yesterday. The cruise season goes from April to late September, then Skagway more or less closes down for the winter. All the main shops shut and only a few people remain to brave the harsh Alaskan winter.

The main street could easily be something out of a wild west film set, but I am pleased to say the majority of buildings are original and have been restored. We walked down to the docks where we took some photos of the cruise liners. Each one holds several thousand passengers and it seemed to us that the vast majority were shopping in Skagway. This one is the Norwegian Pearl.

The main street in Skagway.

Looking down the main street with one of the cruise liners in the background.

A couple of photos of the typical Skagway turn-of-the-century buildings.

We walked to a small museum and passed over a stream that was packed with pink salmon swimming upstream to spawn. They come here once a year to spawn and then die. The dead fish then help to provide the nutrients for the next generation of fish. You could see those fish that had been in the stream for some time as once they enter fresh water they start to deteriorate, whilst those that had just arrived looked healthy vigorous fish.

I could see how easy it would be for the bears to feed on the salmon as I could have put my hand in the water and pulled out a fish with no difficulty at all.

We took the opportunity of getting our washing done in a launderette as well as taking Bob's spare wheel out of our car and replacing it on his roof rack.

This afternoon we are taking the White Pass and Yukon Route railway for a three hour ride up into the mountains. The railway was built in 1899 and opened when the gold rush had ended! Skagway's importance declined dramatically after the railway opened and the boom times never returned.

We have just returned from another wonderful meal. This time at the Stowaway Cafe alongside Skagway port. We have had continually good food all the way from Malibu, two weeks ago. Long may it last!

This afternoon we had booked on the White Pass railway for a three hour round trip to the top of White Pass at the Canadian/US border. If anyone gets the chance to come to Skagway they have to do this railway trip. It is one of the great railway journeys of the world. The summit of the pass is about 20 miles from Skagway and the line rises up through the most beautiful and stunning scenery imaginable. The route is an incredible feat of engineering with the line hewn out of solid rock as it clings to the side of the mountains. 35,000 workers built it in two years.

There are long trestle bridges and two tunnels.

As you climb up you go through the tree line to see snow capped peaks with glaciers. Near the top you can actually see the old pathway the gold rush miners trod on their unbelievably tough route to the Klondike in 1898.

Below are some of the photos from the trip.

Tomorrow we get another ferry, this time from Skagway to Haines, which takes about one hour. We then have a short drive which will bring us to the Canadian border, and the Yukon.

To end on a frivolous note, here is a photo of Bob sitting on an outside loo. We were walking to the restaurant when we went past this gazebo with a toilet. Why it was there we have no idea. It wasn't in working order, perhaps it was just a bit of fun.

August 13th - Day 16 - Skagway to Haines Junction, Canada

2009-09-13T18:24:00.000+01:00

Our all too brief stay in Skagway has come to an end and this morning we board our final ferry across from Skagway to Haines.
We took the cars to the terminal, checked them in and then walked back in to town to have breakfast. We struck lucky with a small café off the main street, the Corner café. We had a great breakfast in friendly surroundings.

On the way back to the cars we passed this bench with one of our grandson's name on it!

We walked back to the terminal and in half an hour we were boarded. This time the ferry was called the Matanuska, named after a glacier.

Boarding the ferry behind Bob.

Once again we marvelled, as well as were horrified, by the obscene size of the cruise liners. Four more had docked overnight! We could even see the giant TV screens on the top decks showing movies. What a way to see the world!

Leaving Skagway.

As soon as we had arrived at Haines we drove about five miles to the state park at Chilkat Lake. We drove along the Chilkat River where fishermen were catching salmon.

We then saw several cars parked by the side of the road and across the river we saw our first grizzly!! We learnt from a park ranger that this was a five year old female that they were tracking using a GPS collar to find out where the bear went during the winter. We watched it climb out of the river and then jump back in again. It was a great moment for us all and definitely a highlight of the trip.

We decided to leave the park as we were told it was unlikely more bears would come down to the river until the evening. Almost immediately Bob, who was leading, pulled up and there flying from the shore up into a tree by the road was a magnificent bald eagle. It was only a few feet above us and we were able to take some great photos of it. Another highlight!!

Our drive then took us through Haines, a town of about 600 people. Leaving Haines we drove along the Haines Highway to the Canadian boarder, about 40 miles along the highway.
The Canadian customs house.

We exited the US and crossed back into Canada with no trouble at all. Shortly after we stopped at a lay-by and Thelma road ‘bear-back’ on this marble statue of a grizzly!

The drive now became quite spectacular as we rose up on the edge of the Elias Mountain range and in the Kluane National park. The scenery was truly stunning. We stopped near the top of the first pass and took some photos. Again, I hope they show how beautiful the scenery was.

After about forty miles from the border, we crossed the provincial border from British Columbia to Yukon. The Yukon! The home of the Klondike and all that it conjures up about the gold rush era.

Our drive to Haines Junction, our overnight stop, was about 170 miles in total. We arrived at our hotel, the Alcan Motor Inn, at about 6pm. Haines Junction is a small town of 600 people located at the junction of the Haines and Alaskan Highways.
We checked in and had a drink in a local bar and then decided to eat at the Raven Hotel. This turned out to be one of the surprises of the tour. We had a gourmet meal of the highest quality. It was totally unexpected in such an out of the way place. Our chef, Victor Bongo, signed copies of his cookery book which we both bought. If anyone reading this ever gets to Haines Junction you MUST have a meal at the Raven.
The Raven Hotel with the mountains behind.

Trucks turning at the junction in Haines.

It has been another memorable day for us all.
Tomorrow we drive a further 200 miles to Beaver Creek, just short of the USA border. The day after we re-enter Alaska for the drive up to the Beaufort Sea at Prudhoe Bay, the furthest point north of the tour.

August 14th - Day 17 - Haines Junction to Beaver Creek

2009-09-12T23:38:00.000+01:00

I am writing this from our hotel in Beaver Creek, Yukon, where there is no Internet connection. So I will be posting this tomorrow from Fairbanks, Alaska. Then, for the next five days it will be unlikely that I will get an Internet connection, until we return to Fairbanks.
Today we had a drive of just under 200 miles, heading more or less north-west towards the US border. We left our hotel at about 11am after I spent nearly an hour at a local café posting yesterday’s blog onto the web. Before we left Haines Junction we drove round the few streets that make up this small town. We passed this building, The Museum of Nostalgia!

On one corner was this bizarre antler signpost.

Five minutes later we were on our way.

The drive was again through beautiful wild country, with mountains to our left and wide open country to our right. The pine forests stretched as far as you could see. Every mile or so there was a lake and after about an hour’s driving we came to Lake Kluane.

We took a short detour off the highway down to the lake shore and passed these abandoned cabins. We wondered if they were old gold miners' cabins or merely a derelict resort. We preferred to think they were the former!

Shortly after we came to a very small community called Burwash Landing, which had the Kluane museum of natural history. This small museum was a delight to visit. It showed all the wildlife of the Yukon as well as giving the history of the region, especially the native Indians. Wendy took this photo of the polar bear exhibit. It might be the only polar bear we see!!

Outside there was a display describing a bad wildfire that went through the area in the 1990’s. There was also this mini- bulldozer with a statute of a mining driver at the wheel.

We returned to the highway and continued for the next couple of hours. We stopped when we saw this collection of old vehicles parked in a campsite by the side of the road.

Just before we reached Beaver Creek we saw this sign for a hotel called Buckshot Betty’s.

We ended our journey at Beaver Creek, which is about 20 miles from the US border.

The hotel, which is owned by the Holland America shipping line, is only open for about three months a year during the cruising season. Passengers from the cruise ships do an overland tour before the start, or at th end of a cruise and stay at the hotel. There is a show laid on each evening which we decided to see. It was a musical about the building of the Alcan Highway. At one point Wendy said to me that it was like Andrew Lloyd Webber meets the Yukon! It was fun and the two principals sang and danced really well.

We had a very pleasant meal with guests of the hotel, who were not on a cruise package. They were Jane & Roger from New York and Veronique & Daniel from Switzerland. We posed for a group photo taken by one of the waitresses.

August 15th - Day 18 - Beaver Creek, Yukon to Fairbanks, Alaska

2009-09-11T00:03:00.000+01:00

We heard late yesterday afternoon that our son Edward had arrived in Fairbanks to join us on the drive to Prudhoe Bay. As a result, we decided to leave the hotel early, ahead of Bob & Thelma, to make sure we arrived in Fairbanks soon after lunch.

It was overcast when we left for the 20 mile journey to the US border. It looks like we have left the good weather behind us. Just before we reached the border we saw one of the Holland America groups from our hotel, posing in front of a large Welcome to Alaska sign. We pulled up and they all waved. It made a good photo.

The border crossing was very quick and easy. The customs officer even asked us if we would like to have a special Alcan Alaska stamp in our passports. How many other UK drivers have one of these I wonder?

On this tour we have passed over dozens of rivers and many have bridges like these. I particularly like the second photo where Wendy took the photo of the bridge looking back through the car's wing mirror.

The Alcan Highway, which we have been driving alone for the past three hundred miles, was built in 1942 by the US military as a direct result of Pearl harbour. The Americans realised that Alaska was vulnerable to an invasion by the Japanese, and with the Japanese Pacific fleet effectively blockading Alaska, they needed a land route from the continental US. The 1422 mile road was completed in 8 months. It is one of the great civil engineering achievements of the 20th century.

We reached the end of the highway at Delta Junction, Mile 1422. We went into the visitor centre and bought a certificate stating we had reached Mile 1422.

Outside the centre were some of the original construction vehicles, rusting away in the harsh Alaskan climate.

After Delta Junction we saw our first sight of the Alaskan Oil Pipeline as it crossed the Tanana River.

Standing under the pipeline.

The pipeline runs for over 800 miles from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez on the Pacific coast. We will be travelling alongside it for the next two days, all the way to Prudhoe Bay.

A few miles further on Wendy shouted at me to stop the car as she had seen our first moose in the woods on the side of the road. I reversed up and there, in amongst the trees, was a female moose staring at us. Apologies the photo is not particularly clear but I was on maximum zoom to take the photo from so far away. Another highlight of the trip!

The remainder of our 310 mile journey was uneventful and spoilt by the increasingly heavy rain. We drove into Fairbanks at about 2pm and checked in to our hotel. We met Edward and went out in the car to find something to eat, as the hotel dining room was closed.

Wendy was keen to see the Museum of the North located on the campus of the University of Alaska, and we hoped that there would be a cafe there. Unfortunately for us all the cafe was closed, but the museum is a very special place. Beautifully designed, it is becoming an architectural icon.

We left the museum after about an hour and went through the centre of the town and had a drink at Pikes Landing a restaurant overlooking the Chena River. We will be eating there tonight.

August 16th - Day 19 - Fairbanks to Wiseman

2009-09-10T02:44:00.000+01:00

There have been times on our previous drives when we have said that we have just driven one of the great roads in the world. On the Inca Trail in 2001 it was the road across Peru from the Andes to the Pacific coast. In 2004 in Tibet it was the road from Lhasa to China. In 2005, in southern Africa, it was the drive across the Namibian desert. In 2008 in Mexico it was the road to Copper Canyon. Now, another great road is added to the list, the fantastic Dalton Highway across the Alaskan wilderness.
The highway was built to service the oilfields on the north slope of Alaska. It was only opened to general traffic in 1994. Now sections are paved but much is still gravel and you get a real sense of being in one the ultimate wildernesses of the world. We left Fairbanks in pouring rain and I had a sense of real disappointment that the day would turn out to be a long hard slog in bad weather. How wrong I was! After about 50 miles of easy driving, in heavy rain going north from Fairbanks, we had or first sightings of the pipeline.

Another 30 miles and we reached the start of the Dalton Highway, Highway 11. This section of the road is gravel.

The gravel road with the pipeline in the distance.

At this point the road is good gravel and we soon saw the oil pipeline running close to the road. The pipeline is a truly impressive engineering achievement. For 800 miles it runs across Alaska. The weather continued to improve and we saw our first sunshine. In this photo you can see the pipeline disappearing into the distance as it snakes across the landscape.

Every so often it goes underground and then reappears. When above ground it is supported on legs about 10 feet off the ground.
The trucks servicing the oil fields thunder along the road throwing up dust and stones. My stone guard came into its own on a couple of occasions when stones thrown up by one of the trucks hit it. Here is one of the trucks passing a grader smoothing out a rough section of the road and another climbing a hill towards us.

There were very few other vehicles and as the weather improved we were able to really appreciate what a special place Alaska is. Vast open spaces of virgin land stretch as far as the eye can see. At times we were the totally on our own, with no other vehicles to be seen. It was a wonderful experience.
We made several stops at lay bys to take photos and after about 150 miles we came to the mighty Yukon River.

The bridge that was constructed to carry the pipeline, as well as the Dalton, over the river is the only crossing of the Yukon in Alaska.

Bob & Thelma silhouetted against the river and the bridge in bright sunshine.

We stopped and had a coffee at the café by the bridge and met Craig, from New York, who was driving a BMW motorbike. He was on his way back from Prudhoe Bay. We asked him about the road and our destination, Prudhoe Bay. We were pleased to hear that the road conditions were good, even though there was rain and snow showers in the Brooks Mountain Range. Our muddy car and Ed, myself and Craig by his BMW.

The Brooks Range marks the continental divide. Everything south flows into the Yukon. Everything north, to the Beaufort Sea and the Arctic Ocean.
We continued the drive north and stopped at Finger Mountain. This is named after the tor on top of the mountain that looks like a finger that points directly towards Fairbanks, over 200 miles away.

As we climbed up the rocks near the tor, we saw these beautiful small ground covering plants with red leaves.

The views from the top are simply stunning.

We were now close to one of the true highlights of our tour, the crossing of the Arctic Circle at 66 degrees, 33 seconds north. We stopped at the marker post and took photos of us all in front of the marker with my car just below, and Bob’s car just above the Circle.

There is only one place on the whole highway to refuel and that is Coldfoot, at about 250 miles along the highway. It is principally a truck stop and has very little, apart from a good visitor centre, to recommend it.
Twenty miles further on and we came to our overnight stop at Wiseman. Wiseman sprang up in the early 20th century when gold was discovered nearby. The good times have long gone and now only 15 people live in the community. Our B&B is a very pleasant log cabin, the Arctic Getaway.

We walked along the bank of the river that runs along side Wiseman and then took a look at the ‘centre’. It really is an out of the way place but in a very beautiful location.

The day ended with Bob & Thelma cooking a great chilli for us all.

August 17th - Day 20 - Wiseman to Prudhoe Bay

2009-09-09T04:53:00.000+01:00

Wiseman is about 240 miles south of Prudhoe Bay, so we were over halfway along the Dalton Highway to our most northerly destination.

We estimated it would take no more than about five hours, so we were able to have a leisurely breakfast cooked by our hosts, Uta and Bernie. They talked about life in Wiseman and how they cope through the long harsh winters when temperatures fall to minus 40 degrees Celsius. They have a team of sledge dogs and Edward became firm friends with them in no time at all.

Ed and Pingo, his new-found friend!

We left Wiseman at about 10am and continued along the highway which was mainly gravel with short sections of tarmac. The weather was fine and the countryside fantastic. Even though we have now been driving alongside the Alaskan pipeline for three days, I am still in awe at the achievement of the engineers. This became even more spectacular as we rose to nearly 5000ft going over the Atigun Pass across the Brooks Range. At times the pipeline is rising at 45 degrees.

We passed a sign which marked the furthest north spruce on the pipeline. Sadly, a vandal had killed the tree, but they still want the tree to stand.

Bob & Thelma had gone on ahead and we met up with them at the top of the Brooks Range. Bob took this photo of us as we climbed the mountain pass.

Once over the top we descended to the Northern Slope, the area between the Brooks Range and the Beaufort Sea and the site of the Alaskan North Slope Oil Field. This is the area where the caribou migrate to in the summer in search of summer plants. We saw several small herds and took some good photos of male caribou with their magnificent antlers.

This lone male made a great photo with the Brooks Range in the background.

We were hoping that we would see musk-oxen but were disappointed, mostly because the area where they were most likely to be seen was shrouded in quite dense fog.

For the last 30 miles into Prudhoe Bay the weather was pretty awful. Shortly before we reached our destination we crossed latitude 70 degrees north, the farthest north we have ever been.

We arrived at our hotel, a two storey portacabin, at about 3pm.

We unpacked and then drove round part of the town. It is an enormous industrial complex with heavy machinery everywhere. Apparently there are between 10,000 and 14,000 people working up here on two/three week on and off shifts. I'll post more photos tomorrow when we go on a tour which will take us into the areas which are closed to the public by the oil companies for security reasons, including the Beaufort Sea.

Finally, we have now travelled a total of 3,513 miles, with approximately 900 miles to go until we reach Anchorage, and the end of our tour.

August 18th - Day 21 - Prudhoe Bay

2009-09-08T21:26:00.000+01:00

When we woke this morning it was still raining and pretty bleak. We had an early breakfast so we could drive to the Arctic Caribou Inn (another portacabin hotel) to get on the coach for the tour of Prudhoe Bay and a stop at the Arctic Ocean.

First, an explanation as to why we need a tour bus to see the oilfields and the ocean. The public road stops at Deadhorse Camp, where our hotel is located. The oil fields go from Deadhorse to the Beaufort Sea (Arctic Ocean) and all this land is leased by the oil companies and access is prohibited to the public. The only way you can go into this area is if you work here or are on an official tour.

We checked in for the tour and were shown a 20 minute video, produced by Phillips Oil and BP, about Prudhoe Bay. It was informative, though too much of an oil industry promotional video for my liking. Still, it explained how the field has been developed and what is being done to prolong its life without being detrimental to the ecosystems and environment. It was interesting to learn that there are no offshore wells as there is legal case going on at the moment in an attempt to safeguard the Beaufort Sea.

We drove in pouring rain to the ocean and everyone walked the couple of hundred yards to the water's edge. Photos were taken of us all by the water

.One of the group taking a 'dip' in the ocean!

I was interested and also disconcerted to discover when I felt the water that it was nowhere near as cold as the water around the Antarctic Peninsular, that I 'swam' in last year. In fact we learnt the water here, is 45 degrees. With a temperature as warm as that, it's not surprising to read that the Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing.

The last land between us and the North Pole, some 1,200 miles away.

We walked along the pebble beach and looked for a few stones as souvenirs of our visit. We found three, coloured green, white and red.

After about half an hour we returned to the coach. On our way back the driver pointed out a snowy owl. Ed took this photo with his telephoto lens of the owl flapping its wings.

We collected our car to drive as far north as we could go, the security gates at the start of the oil fields. I stopped the car and took a photo of the Garmin showing us at 70 degrees 13.465 North.

We saw rows of heavy vehicles which are designed to work in the winter months when most of the oil field work is carried out. Ice roads are constructed by spraying water on the gravel roads, which then freezes. This ensures the permafrost is not damaged by the vehicles. They have massive tyres inflated to only 4 - 6 psi, again to ensure minimum damage to the environment.

Just before we returned to our hotel we passed the sign saying the start of the Dalton Highway. We are now 574 miles north of Fairbanks.

Finally a shot from our hotel room. Dare I say ' a room with a view'??

August 18th - Prudhoe Bay - Additional posting

2009-09-07T02:28:00.000+01:00

After I posted to the blog the day before yesterday afternoon, we went on a short drive back along the Dalton Highway to see if we could see any wildlife. About 15 miles out of Deadhorse our phone rang and it was Bob & Thelma who had parked about five miles further along the highway watching a musk-ox.
In five minutes we saw them, and close by was this magnificent musk-ox.

They are wonderful looking animals with large horns and a long shaggy coat. The musk-ox walked up to Bob’s car and then past him. We took more photos as it ran away from us.

We decided to drive further up the road to see if we could ‘intercept’ it again. When it saw where we were it turned away from the river and crossed the road. We found a lay-by and waited for it to approach us. Edward was then able to take some incredible close up photos.

Dare I say it once again, another highlight of the trip?
Finally, a photo of the sun setting at over Prudhoe Bay, at 11pm.

August 20th - Day 23 - Wiseman to Fairbanks

2009-09-06T07:47:00.000+01:00

After the poor weather in Fairbanks and then at Prudhoe Bay, the weather has improved considerably. We rose early to beautiful sunshine and a clear blue sky. It was quite cold and it had been freezing during the night.

We have really enjoyed our two nights here in Wiseman. Uta and Berni have been great hosts. The cabins are ideal places to stay on the drive to and from Prudhoe Bay, as well as staying for the northern lights which we could not see because there is too much daylight at this time of year. If anyone is interested in the Arctic Getaway then you can see why we decided to stay with Uta and Berni at www.arcticgetaway.com

Before we left we took these photos of Uta, Berni and their son Leo, and also one of us all together.

We left at about 9am and stopped at Coldfoot to tank up with diesel. Coldfoot, about ten miles south of Wiseman, is the site of one of the camps consructed for the building of the Alaska pipeline. It claims to have one of the greatest temperature ranges on the globe. A few years ago in winter the temperature fell to minus 80 degrees and then in the summer rose to 96 degrees. A range of 176 degrees!!
Once we had refuelled we headed south once more and almost immediately came across this female moose with its calf standing in the road.

I hope readers won't become bored by my posting of more photos of the pipeline and the stunning scenery, but I can't resist attempting to show how incredible Alaska is.

As you drive along the highway you often meet heavy loads going north to the oilfields. This is a typical wide load that had two escorts warning traffic to move over.

We came to the Yukon River and took a group photo of us all wearing our North to Alaska tee shirts, standing on the bank of this great river.

At about 1pm we came to the end of the Dalton Highway. We have four days of incredible driving through some of the wildest and remote country we are ever likley to experience. It has been unforgettable!

The final 100 miles into Fairbanks was easy driving with only one thing to note that we have now driven over 4,000 miles on our North to Alaska tour.

When we arrived in Fairbanks I immediatel had my tyre repaired and the car pressure washed to get rid of the mud caked on to the underside.

We all went out for a meal at the Pump House a restaurant on the banks of the Chena River. While we were there this paddle steamer went past.

We then took Edward to Fairbanks airpor where he caught the flight to Anchorage and then on to Los Angeles. It has been fanatastic havin him with us for the past week. We hope he will join us when we drive across Canada next year.

Postscript:

After posting last night we decided to drive out of Fairbanks in an attempt to see the northern lights. We drove about ten miles north and parked by the side of the road. As the last evening sunlight was disappearing, it was 12.30am, the lights started to appear. It wasn't the sort of display you see in films about the lights, but good nonetheless. Faint wisps of white and green lights darted across the northern sky. We stayed for about half an hour and then drove back to the hotel. As we drive south the days are getting shorter which, hopefully, will mean better viewing of the lights. The weather forecast is good for the next couple of days.

Today we drive about 125 miles to Denali National Park, where Mt Denali (formerly Mt.Mckinley) the highest point in North America, is located. It's unusual to be able to see the mountain because it is normally shrouded in cloud, but with the good weather we are hopeful of seeing it.

August 19th - Day 22 - Prudhoe Bay to Wiseman

2009-09-06T06:30:00.000+01:00

Our brief stay at the northernmost point of our trip was over and we intended to start the long drive back down the Dalton Highway at 10am. However, when I went outside to load the car I noticed the right rear tyre looked down on pressure. I checked it and sure enough it was nearly flat.
Having all the right tools to change a tyre, especially on a heavy car like the Toyota, makes the task very easy. With Edward’s help we had it done in five minutes. The tyre had a screw embedded in it, causing a slow puncture.

We left the hotel at about 10.30am and soon we were passing the first of several small herds of caribou. They are very nervous animals and are always on the move as soon as you approach them Wendy managed to take this photo before they started to run away.

After seeing the caribou we saw, in the distance a small herd of musk-oxen, the first time we had seen more than one animal.

The first hundred miles of the road is mainly gravel and there are road crews constantly working to maintain the surface which becomes potholed very quickly. There are graders smoothing sections of road all the way along the highway and then there are more major works where you are led through the roadwork section by a pilot vehicle. Here we were held up whilst a truck loaded with gravel dumped his load.

Shortly after the road works we had our first views of the Brooks Range.Yesterday there were snowfalls in the mountains making them a very beautiful sight.

We were now rising up towards the beginning of the Atigun Pass, the highest point on the Dalton Highway at 4,740 feet.

Before the pass we stopped to take some photos of two dirty cars, as well as Bob and myself by the pipeline.

I felt the pipe to see if it was hot, as the oil starts its journey from Prudhoe Bay at 145 degrees Fahrenheit and cools to 115 degrees when it arrives at Valdez, 800 miles later. Much to my surprise the pipe was cold. It is obviously well insulated to stop heat loss, especially in the intense cold of the winter.
The pipeline snaking up the valley to the Atigun Pass.

A photo of the Atigun Pass, near the summit and you might be able to see the road rising up from the centre of the photo towards the right.

Just before the summit we came across this group of Dall’s sheep.

We have read that they are the only white wild sheep in the world. Their white coats give them very good camouflage in the winter. Unfortunately for us there were only ewes and their lambs and no rams. The mature ewes have short pointed horns, whereas the rams have large curved horns, that are prized by hunters.
We drove the remaining 100 miles in about 2 hours, arriving at the Arctic Getaway Inn in Wiseman, where we had stayed on our way north. The car was so dirty I decided to take it down to the river and, with Edward's help, washed it using a bucket and sponge.

Tomorrow we drive to Fairbanks where we will be saying goodbye to Edward, who flies back to Los Angeles. We will be seeing him again when we fly from Anchorage to Los Angeles on the 25th August.

August 21st - Day 24 - Fairbanks to Denali National Park

2009-09-05T04:51:00.000+01:00

Today was one of the shortest drives of the tour, a mere 125 miles. This meant an easy start time of 10.30am. Once again the weather was smiling upon us with sunshine and blue skies. What a contrast to the rain we had in Fairbanks last week.

We had been told by Uta, our host in Wiseman, of a very good bookshop on the outskirts of Fairbanks. I wanted to buy a book I had seen in our cabin in Wiseman called Arctic Homestead. The book is about an American family who decide to move to the Alaskan wilderness in the 1970's, taking advantage of the Homesteading Act, which enabled people to take possession of land they settled on, provided they met certain conditions. The Act is no longer in force. It seemed to have similarities to the life that Uta and Berni have created for themselves in Wiseman. We found the store and I bought the book as well as another one on Alaska.

We left Fairbanks on the Parks Highway that links Fairbanks and Anchorage. Denali National Park is about 100 miles south of Fairbanks.

Following Bob as we approached Denali.

Then we had our first view of Mt Denail. We were still some 40 miles from the mountain.

About 10 miles from our hotel, the Denali River Cabins, we passed through the small town of Healy. Healy has become known around the world as the stepping off point for Chris McCandless, the young American who starved to death in the Alaskan wilderness. His tragic story was made famous by the book, Into the Wild, which was then made into a film starring Sean Penn. I read the book several years ago and long before we thought of doing this trip, so I had a sense of sadness as we passed through Healy.

We passed the entrance to the park and 8 miles further on we reached our hotel. We have two cabins facing the Nenana River.

We had a snack lunch and then drove to the Park to see what tours were available for tomorrow. On the way we had to stop at the railway line to let a passenger train pass that was full of Holland America and Princess cruise line tourists, coming from Anchorage and going to the park.

We booked for a six hour bus tour to mile 53 in the park. There is only one road and you are only permitted, for $20, to take your car up to mile 15. We decided to do the drive in our cars, with the hope of seeing some wildlife. No such luck there, but we had a very pretty drive and then a two mile walk along the Savage River Loop Trail.

On the drive we were able to see Mt. Denali in the far distance, but it was too far away to take a photo. When we go further into the park tomorrow, we are hoping to get some good photos of this 20,000ft mountain. As we drove out of the park we took this shot of the park and the Alaskan Ra.nge in the backgound.

This evening we are northern lights gazing once again. The sky is clear and last night, we were told by a Denali park ranger, they had a spectacular display of the lights.

August 22nd - Day 25 - Denali National Park

2009-09-04T07:17:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, when we were in Denali National Park, we booked for a ride on the shuttle bus that goes 53 miles into the park, to the Toklat River. The shuttle leaves at 12 noon for the six and a half hour round trip ride.

With most of the morning free, I decided to give the car a clear out and start to get it ready for the shipping back to Tacoma, Washington. I sorted out all the maps and travel information we have accumulated and threw away old food and rubbish that has piled up. After an hour the car was more or less finished and now, when we get to Anchorage, the only thing left to take out of the car will be the personal items that we want to take back with us to the UK.

At 11am we drove the six miles to the park entrance and checked in for our shuttle bus.

The drive into park was along the road we drove yesterday afternoon. At mile 15 we entered the area in the park where private vehicles are prohibited. We crossed several rivers that flow down from the Alaskan Range. They are typical braided rivers.

The scenery is magnificent with snowed capped mountains all around.

One particularly beautiful spot is Polychrome Mountain, so-called because of the differing colours of the rocks on the mountain flanks.

Wendy took this photo of me enjoying the view at the Polychrome Mountain overlook.

There are many shuttle buses operating in the park and you can get off your bus, go for a hike, and hop on another bus to continue your journey or return to the park entrance. Here is a bus approaching us with towering mountains behind it.

When we reached the 53 mile point, at Toklat River, we had a thirty minute break. There were caribou antlers on display that you could handle, to see how heavy they were. Here is a photo of a new species of deer, our 'deer' friend, Bob!!

Up to this point in the trip, apart from some caribou, we had seen little wildlife. This all changed on our drive back. Within a few minutes we saw our first grizzly walking alongside a river. Unfortunately within a few seconds it went out of view. We were very disappointed but then over the next hour we saw six more grizzlies, four adults and two cubs.

All the sightings were at quite a distance from the bus, but with full zoom we were able to take some reasonable photos. It was wonderful to watch them foraging for food in the tundra.

A mother grizzly and her two cubs. Apparently she had three but one has died.

A lone bear on the hillside below us.

We spent nearly half an hour watching the bears. The shuttle bus had a schedule to keep to, so we had to move on. Within a few minutes another highlight, a lone wolf running close to the bus!

Within a few minutes the wolf moved out of sight, so on we went. Our next encounter with Denali wildlife was a beautiful red fox. It moved so quickly that we were only able to take one reasonable photo as it climbed on a hill above us, with another bus between us and it.

What a great day it has turned out to be! With only 300 grizzlies in the 6 million acre Denali National Park, we have seen seven! How incredibly fortunate we have been.

We returned to the entrance park to collect our cars. We saw a German registered Landrover that we had seen yesterday in the Park. We went over to the driver, Stefan, who told us he has been on the road for 18 months, having travelled through New Zealand, Australia and now the US. We wished him safe driving and drove to Denali Village for an evening meal at a restaurant overlooking the Nenana River, the same river that flows by the cabins where we are staying again tonight. Tomorrow we drive the final 240 miles of the tour to our finish point, Anchorage. How can four weeks have flown by so quickly!

Finally, I will have to change the heading of the blog to accurately reflect the actual mileage of the trip. We have now driven over 4,300 miles and, with another 250 tomorrow, the heading should read 4,500 miles and not 4,000!

August 23rd - Day 26 - Denali National Park to Anchorage

2009-09-03T02:40:00.000+01:00

The final day of driving had arrived. As we were about to go to breakfast Wendy's phone received a text message from our good friends Sue and Peter to tell us that England had won the Ashes. What a great way to start the day!

We left our hotel at about 9.30am and almost immediately the rain started falling. At times it was quite heavy and the fine views of the mountains we have had over the past week were just a memory as clouds covered everything.

Our drive south on Alaska Highway 3 was about 240 miles. About 50 miles south of Denali we came across Wal-Mike's, an incredible shop selling all sorts of tourist items from antlers to Alaska registration plates and Sarah Palin election posters!

Outside there was a pet caribou grazing on the grass verge. It had wonderful antlers.

About 50 miles north of Anchorage we passed the 4,500 mile mark since we left Malibu, on July 29th.

We then drove through Wasilla, the town where Sarah Palin was mayor before she became governor of Alaska.

Sadly for us the rain never let up and we drove into a very wet Anchorage.

This sign caught Wendy's eye as we drove through Anchorage. Anything but beef burgers!

We arrived at the Comfort Inn, our hotel for the two nights we are staying in Anchorage, at 2.30pm.

Journey's end, The Comfort Inn, Anchorage.

This gave us time to unpack everything from the car and go to a local bar and have a celebratory drink at finishing our fantastic North to Alaska trip. After a few beers and glasses of wine, Thelma produced an atlas of Canada and we started to plan our next trip which will go from Vancouver in the west to Nova Scotia in the east.

Bob then went to find a windscreen repair shop. A stone has cracked his windscreen and a crack is spreading across the glass. Apparently you can drill the glass to stop the crack from spreading.

Tomorrow afternoon we will be delivering the cars to the roll-on/roll-off shipping service that will take them to Tacoma.

I'll endeavour to post my initial thoughts on the whole trip tomorrow, when the adventure finally comes to a close.

August 24th - Day 27 - Anchorage

2009-09-02T02:28:00.000+01:00

Today is the last full day of the tour and we were determined to make the best use of our time until we delivered the cars to the shipping agent at 4pm.

Bob and Thelma had various things they needed to sort out on their car, including a repair to their cracked windscreen, so we spent most of the day 'doing our own thing'.

After all the rain of yesterday we were pleased to see that it had virtually stopped and when I went to take one of the last pictures of the cars outside the Comfort Inn, the skies were starting to clear.

Our hotel is right beside the Alaska Railway station in Anchorage, which is a rather pleasant art deco styled building. It had a great old steam engine on a plinth in front of it.

Close by to the railroad is the Eisenhower Statehood Monument in recognition of President Eisenhower signing the act admitting Alaska into the Union in January 1959.

We walked on into the town and past the historic civic centre where outside was this plaque naming all the towns Anchorage is twinned with. Much to our surprise we saw that one of the towns was Whitby!

Shortly after the civic centre we went to the Catholic Cathedral. It was built in The Alaskan town of Knik in the early 1900's and then moved, by horse-drawn sledge, to its current site in the 1920's.

The central square is a very peaceful place in the centre of the city with beautiful flower beds and a large fountain dedicated to one of Anchorage's benefactors.

As we were walking back to our car to drive out of the city to Earthquake Park, we passed these painted bull mooses. Were these the only ones we would see?

We drove about five miles to Earthquake Park, which is situated on the edge of Cook Inlet and looking towards downtown Anchorage.

Earthquake Park is sited where a large part of the bluffs overlooking the inlet simply slid into the sea, taking many houses with it, when the devastating Good Friday earthquake struck in 1964. Many scientists believe this was the largest earthquake ever recorded.

One of the display notices showed the devastation to central Anchorage. This notice shows 4th Street, with the shops on the left many feet lower than the road.

We had a snack lunch, using up the last of the food we have been carrying with us. We then drove a little farther along the coast and parked overlooking the sea. In the car park was this beautifully restored 1930 Ford. The owner is sitting on the running board. He told me he had three more from the same period, all of which he had restored himself.

As we were getting back into the car a young woman, who had been jogging came up to us and asked about our trip and whilst we were speaking to her we said we had not been lucky enough to see a bull moose. Much to our astonishment she said she had just seen two bulls about half a mile away. Off we went to see if we could find them. After about ten minutes with no luck, we met three people walking the other way. We asked if they had seen the moose, but they said no. It turned out that Barbara was trying to find a moose to show to her visiting great-nephew, Derrik and great-niece, Emma.

So, off we all went in search of the moose. After a few minutes Emma shouted for us to stop, and there in the woods, about 50 yards away, were two bull moose.

It was not easy to take photos through the trees, so I spent most of the time taking video, but we did manage to get a couple of shots, which hopefully will show what magnificent creatures they were.

By now time was getting on as we had to get back to the hotel, join up with Bob & Thelma and take the cars to the shipping agent. We said our goodbyes to Barbara, Derrik and Emma, promising to e-mail them the photos of the moose.

We returned to the hotel and then both cars drove the 2 miles to the shipping agent, where we took this last photo before the cars are shipped out tomorrow. Bob can just be seen unlocking his spare wheel on his roof rack as there is a 7ft height limit for the ship.

This evening we are having our farewell meal in Anchorage. Bob & Thelma fly out at 9am and we at 12.30pm. They are going to see their son and daughter-in-law in Washington and we will be back in Malibu for three nights.

I had hoped to post some thoughts on the whole tour, but that will have to wait till we are back in California.

August 26th Day 28th - Anchorage, a summing up

2009-09-01T16:37:00.000+01:00

As we have just got up early to say our final goodbyes to Bob & Thelma, who are flying out at 9am to Washington DC, I have a few minutes to reflect on the trip.

First, our meal last night at Sacks Cafe in the centre of Anchorage was a great success. Lovely food, good wine and great company made it a fitting way to end the trip. We all agreed we would now suffer our normal 'withdrawal symptoms' when we return to the UK. Having spent the last four weeks spending mainly only one night in each place, you get into a certain rhythm to cope with the constant unloading, unpacking and then re-packing and re-loading of the cars. I know it may sound strange, but we will miss that!

This is the second time the four of us have travelled together, and everyone agreed it was as good, if not better than our first trip across the States, in 2007. We do seem to get on very well with each other and for that we thank Bob & Thelma. They are so laid back it makes them the best of travelling companions.

It has been a memorable trip for so many reasons I find it difficult to know where to start. I suppose the route we decided on, driving to Canada, taking the Inside Passage ferries, then the drive up to Prudhoe Bay and Anchorage, gave the trip a variety that I had not expected. The scenery on the Inside Passage, the people we met on the ferries and the wildlife made that part of the trip something we will remember. The contrast between the Lower 48 and northern Canada and Alaska, could not be greater. You go from one of the most highly developed and densely populated regions of the world to one of the world's least. Yukon has a population of about 33,000 in an area two and half times the size of the United Kingdom! Alaska has a population of 686,000 in an area of 571,000 sq.mls, about seven times that of the UK. The vast open spaces of wilderness are a joy to see.

Next on my 'list' of thoughts, must be the wildlife. We have seen it all, well not quite! We never saw a black bear, polar bear or a lynx but we did see grizzlies, moose, elk, Dall sheep, musk-ox, caribou, wolves, arctic ground squirrel, snowshoe hare, red fox, bald eagle, golden eagle, snowy owl, spawning salmon, humpback whales, porpoises, and seals. In fact I come away from the trip with the memory of seeing all these animals in their natural environment, on a vast scale. To see wolves running free on the tundra is something very special.

Then there are the people we have met. Universally everyone has been very friendly. The stickers on the cars, and my stone guard, have 'attracted' people to the cars, like bees to honey! From Craig, the motor cyclist who was 'doing the Dalton Highway' to Christine on the Alaska Ferry, it has been such fun to talk to them all. Some we have e-mail addresses for and so will keep in contact, others were simply like 'ships passing in the night', but they have helped to make the trip so memorable.

Next must be the magnificent and unforgettable scenery. From Highway 1 up the Californian Coast at the start of the trip, to the wilderness of Alaska, there hasn't been a day where we haven't been awed by the sights we have seen. There was Crater Lake, the Columbia River gorge, Whistler Mountain, the Inside Passage, Skagway railway, the Haines Highway, The Alcan and Dalton Highways and Denali National Park. The list goes on and on!

Now it's all over and we fly back home. Our thoughts now are turning to the the next great adventure, the drive across Canada in the late Spring of 2010.

Finally, my thanks to those who have followed the blog for your kind comments. A special thank you to our travelling companions, Bob & Thelma. To Basil, Margaret and Ian a huge thank you for your wonderful hospitality during our all too brief stay on Salt Spring Island. Lastly, my ever-lasting gratitude to Wendy for her photos (90% of those posted on this blog were hers)and for putting up with my driving and my Victor Meldrew moments!

August 28th - Leaving Malibu, Malibu to Beaver Creek Slide Show

2009-08-31T22:19:00.000+01:00

We fly out from Malibu this evening and before we leave I have started to put some of the photos onto a web album. Here goes with the first album which starts in Malibu and ends in Beaver Creek, Yukon. You can stop the slideshow at any time by clicking on the 'pause' icon at the bottom of the slideshow screen.

August 30th - North to Alaska Slide Show

2009-08-30T07:11:00.004+01:00

The two previous slide shows have used a selection of photos (421 from 3,600 photos) using Wendy's photo record of the trip. This slide show is made from all the still photos I took with my camcorder. The definition of these photos is not as good as Wendy's photos as the maximum number of pixels for the camcorder is less than one megapixel.

Also, as the majority of time I was using the camera to take video, the slide show from my still photos does not make a complete record of the trip.

August 29th - Beaver Creek to Anchorage - Slide Show

2009-08-29T22:41:00.002+01:00

Here is the second slide show of photos from our North to Alaska tour. These photos are from Beaver Creek, Yukon, Canada to the finish in Anchorage, Alaska.