Day Twenty Two - Homeward Bound

Saturday June 14th 2008
Drive from Great Falls to Helena to Pocatello
412 miles – estimated 8 hours of driving



And we drove and drove and drove and were thrilled to be home at a reasonable hour. Hugged our daughter and our doggie and I went to bed.


Receipts:
Best Western – Great Falls MT
Exxon – Great Falls MT
McDonalds – Great Falls MT
Teton Truck Stop (gas) – Roberts ID
McDonalds – Idaho Falls ID

Wildlife & Birds:
Wasn’t even looking by now, just ready to be home.

June 15 Sun Sleep

Photo set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157605669078783/


Total number of animals spotted in the wild on the trip:
21 moose
7 caribou
8 black bears
4.5 grizzly bear
2 coyotes
1 humpback whale
pod of orcas
1 red fox

Various beaver, porcupine, elk, mule deer, bison, antelope & snowshoe hare
Numerous harbor seals, steller sea lions, sea otters, bighorn sheep, dall sheep, & mountain goats

Image: Grizzly Bear in Anchorage Zoo



We kept a Moose Log on our trip:
1 Moose in Yukon after haines junction - Nick has pictures
2 Moose in Alaska ouside of Tok Momma & baby - Nick has pictures
1 Moose in Alaska outside of Tok - no pictures
1 Moose in Alaska outside of Delta Junction - Jenny has pictures
2 Moose in AK outside of Delta Junctions Mile 294 Momma & baby - Nick & Jenny have pictures
1 Moose in AK outside of Fairbanks Mile 302 - Nick & Jenny have pictures
2 Moose in AK Denali park, blonde momma and baby - Jenny has pictures
2 Moose in AK Potter Marsh, no photos
1 Moose in AK Rabbit Creek Rd, with dandelion - Jenny & Nick have pictures
2 Moose in AK on the road to Seward, far apart from each other
1 Moose in Yukon past Muncho lake - Jenny has pictures
2 Moose in British Columbia past Toad River Momma & baby - Jenny has pictures
1 Moose in Alberta - no pictures

Day Twenty One - Onward to Great Falls MT

Friday June 13th 2008
Drive from Westlock to Edmonton to Calgary to Great Falls
567 miles – estimated 11 hours of driving


Image: Scooter on the lookout

This was another big driving day. The best part was that we finally found INTERSTATE! WHOOOOO HOOOOO. Before we found the interstate we stopped at the sign for the Devonian Gardens so Nick could prove it existed.


Another stop was for a Tim Hortons. We’d seen a lot them throughout the Canadian part of our trip and had to find out what it was. It is a coffee and donuts place kinda like a Starbucks.


Although both Edmonton and Calgary beckoned us to come and explore what they had to offer, budget constraints and a desire to get home kept us on the road.

Best Western in Great Falls
1700 Fox Farm Road,
Great Falls, Montana, 59404
Receipts:
Best Western – Westlock AB
Petro Canada – Aldersyde AB
Petro Canada (souvenirs, snacks) – Aldersyde AB
Tim Hortons – Leduc AB
Dairy Queen – Clairesholm AB
Applebee’s – Great Falls MT

Yes, we really did eat at a familiar chain once we crossed into the U.S.A. I won’t miss the international service charge that we got hit with for every transaction on a credit or debit card. Nor will I miss an exchange rate that favored Canada. Why did I have to go during the one time it would benefit them the most? It was also interesting to hear about how many Canadians were planning vacations in Hawaii because of the exchange rate.

Photo set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157605668576783/

Day Twenty - Back to Westlock

Thursday June 12th 2008
Drive from Fort St. John to Dawson Creek to Westlock
391 miles – estimated 8 hours driving time


We were on our way out of town when we were stopped for a traffic jam due to construction on a bridge. So we're sitting there waiting and I look out my window and notice smoke, then flame, then fire, then really big fire. All the while I am hoping that there is nothing explosive in close proximity to the fire. I was very grateful when the traffic started moving and we got away from it.


We crossed many, many bridges on our drive north. Every single roadbed on every single bridge was made of metal. Because of the bridge construction just outside of Fort St. John I finally got a decent picture of the roadbed. It's not a solid piece but a grid. EEP.


Image: Alberta Pool Elevator

A pool elevator...? What the heck is a pool elevator? I know a grain elevator is a building for storing grain, but pools?!? I wonder just what they are up to in Dawson Creek.


As we made our way back into Alberta I began to appreciate the restfulness of the flatter scenery. The green expanses and the stands of trees were very welcoming. I would really love to go camping at Lesser Slave Lake sometime in my future. It is a HUGE body of water. Of course, I want to go camping everywhere I went so ….


Westlock was a familiar face and I was very glad to be so close to home. We once again stocked up on goodies from their grocery store and had a last dinner at JD’s Roadhouse.

Best Western Westlock
10520 100th Street
Westlock, Alberta T7P 2C6, Canada

Receipts:
Best Western – Fort St. John BC
Shell Canada – Fort St. John BC
Shell Canada – Slave Lake AB
JD’s Roadhouse Café – Westlock AB
Sobeys (grocery) – Westlock AB


Image to right: Lesser Slave Lake

Wildlife & Birds:
Ravens
Northern (Yellowshafted) Flicker
White Crowned Sparrow
American Kestrel
Red Winged Blackbird
Common Tern
Franklins Gulls
Magpies
Green Winged Teal
Lesser Scaups
Brewers Blackbirds
Robins
Swallows
Mule Deer
Moose

For more from this flickr set see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157605662555510/

Day Nineteen - back to Fort St. John

Image: Signpost forest in the town of Watson Lake

Wednesday June 11th 2008
Drive from Watson Lake to Toad River to Fort St. John
556 miles – estimated 11 hours driving time


Image: An accidental self portrait
Considering how many photos I uploaded to flickr, deleted, or stored on my computer this self portrait is very much a statement on who I was and what I was doing on this trip.


Back on the road again... Frost heaves in the pavement can be quite steep, thankfully the Alaska-Canada highway people put little flags on the side of the road marking the heaves. If the flags are on both sides of the road then you know it stretches across both lanes. I heartily approve of this custom!


Image: Adorable and young mule deer, spotted close to Fort St. John.


Image: The art of clouds
There weather was perfect for driving most of the time we were on this trip. It was cloudy with bits of rain and bits of sun. Not so much sun that we needed air conditioning, nor so much rain that we couldn't see. It was PERFECT.


Image: Of course, it wasn't always perfect, not bugs but the smeared remains of hail on our windshield


Image: Black bear by the side of the road minding his own business, but willing to pose for pictures. Yes of course we stayed in our car.

Toad River Lodge is a place you can get gas, grub and souvenirs. It is completely dotted with trucker hats. They’ve been nailed to the walls and ceilings it is a stupendous array. They are also coated with a nice layer of dust. Still, by the time you’re here in the middle of nowhere dust is not longer a concern.


Image: Momma and baby moose


Image: Big Horn Sheep

Most of the wildlife in these photos were spotted in the Muncho Lake vicinity. I'd love to spend more time in this National park!


Image: And another moose...


Image: Bison

I always think of Bison as being part of the Yellowstone ecosystem. I was a bit shocked to find them here in northern Canada.


Image: Black bear

Eyup it really is. It is missing the grizzly bear hump, is substantially smaller and has the lighter colored muzzle. Other photos show his sleakness so go check out the photoset. Black bears come in all kinds of colors. Brown or Grizzly bears come in a variety of shades too, though never, as far as I know, black.



Image: Remains of a Moose v Car argument

This was a day of driving and looking. I was definitely noticing man made stuff more on the way back than on the way up.

Image to right: Caribou

Best Western Coachman Inn
8540 Alaska Road
Fort St John, British Columbia V1J 5L6, Canada

Receipts:
Belvedere Hotel – Watson Lake YT
Petro Canada – Watson Lake YT
Great Northern Oil (gas) – Toad River BC
Toad River Lodge (lunch) – Toad River BC


Wildlife & Birds:
Black Bears
Mountain Goats
Bison
Caribou
Moose
Bighorn Sheep
Mule Deer
Elk

Image at right: Bighorn Sheep

The small photos are not clickable. They are included in the photoset in the link at the bottom, and come in larger sizes on Flickr.

Common Mergansers
White Winged Crossbill

It’s a little funny that I noticed more mega-fauna than I did birds. Possibly because it is HARD to identify birds at 50 mph.

More photos can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157605667495195/

Day Eighteen - Back to Watson Lake

Image: Evidence of the Fox encounter

Tuesday June 10th 2008
Drive from Haines Junction to Whitehorse to Teslin to Watson Lake
370 miles – estimated 7 hours of driving


Image: The fabulous Stardust Motel


Image: Exhibit at Teslin Cultural Center

By now we knew our money was running very, very low so more McDonalds fare was required. We got lucky in that I had signed up for a Best Western rewards card before my sabbatical started. This card covered the hotel in Golden BC. I used one visa card for the whole trip so it’s reward program paid for the hotel in Great Falls MT. Thank heavens my car gets 45 mpg when you’re going 50 mph, and 38-43 otherwise. I was impressed that excepting the car repair we did this whole trip on close to $4000.


This was another long day of driving. We stopped in Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre watched a video about the local people and poked around their exhibits. Then wandered down to the building where a local artist was working on another boat. Unfortunately he wasn’t there, but his loquacious nephew was. We got to look through a scrapbook of his uncles work and he explained about the boats. It was fascinating. I was particularly struck by the beauty of Teslin Lake, it is a long lake that is quiet narrow.

One of the ponds we suddenly stopped at had a few birds that were obvious but then looking, and looking we realized that there was a small flock of Bohemian waxings. This waxing is another new bird for my list, and one that I have longed to see.

Image: Statues sure to fake you out if you don't know any better.

Belvedere Hotel
Box 370,
Watson Lake: Yukon Y0A 1C0

Receipts:
Stardust Motel – Haines Junction YT
Fas Gas – Haines Junction YT
McDonalds – Whitehorse YT
Nisutlin Trading Post (food) – Nisutlin YT
Cultural Center (souvenirs) – Teslin YT

Wildlife & Birds:
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Rusty Blackbirds
American Wigeons
Robins
Bohemian Waxwings!!
Ravens
Mew Gulls
Canada Geese
Barrows Goldeneye

Image to the right: Teslin Lake

Day Seventeen - Back to Haines Junction

Monday June 9th 2008
Drive from Anchorage to Tok to Haines Junction
610 miles – estimated 12 hours of driving


This was quite the drive. Again, road work, lower speed limits and stopping made this into a 19 hour drive. What was particularly weird was having it be either twilight or daylight for the entire drive. The owner of the Stardust motel was fabulous. I called when I realized that we were not going to get there till after 10:00 p.m. He said which room we’d have and left the door open for us. We paid in the morning. THANK YOU Mr. Stardust man.


On our way to Anchorage we started listening to the unabridged version of Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. On our way out of Anchorage we finished it. Interesting book, certainly made me want to do more yoga.


There were a lot of these road cuts in Alaska, each adorned with messages in white rocks.


We came into Alaska and went to Tok then north to Fairbanks, and then south to Anchorage. On our way out of Alaska we went northeast out of Anchorage to Tok and then began retracing our steps. This meant that we got to see more of Alaska including the enormous, and awe inspiring Matanuska glacier. As the day wore on and we were greeted at every turn by beautiful scenery I finally gave in and slept part of the time. I’d wake up and WOW another stunning vista. It became a running joke. Nick nudged me at one point for a stunning vista plus rainbows.


Image: Matanuska Glacier

At Glennallen AK we pulled over at a diner/gift shop. I was craving a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and while it wasn’t on the menu, the cook/owner made it for me anyway. He had overheard me commenting on it’s absence from the menu. Here is where Nick scored the moose poo earrings for his sister. After lunch we hit the road again. Our last souvenir stop was at Tok.


Crossing the border into Canada this time was much weirder they were really worried that we might have guns, or knives, or ammo, and that clearly we intended to kill their wildlife.


Image: Con artist at work

So we’re driving and driving and this shabby, and damp looking red fox runs up the bank and out into the road. He then stops and heads right for our car. I was rolling the window down to take pictures when Nick barked for me to roll it back up. Good thing I minded because that naughty fox jumped at my window. I had the paw print to prove it for weeks. He then turned and headed for the next car coming towards us. And then we found out why the fox was behaving badly. The people in that van tossed bread out to the fox in order to get the fox to stick around. We pulled up and I suggested they shouldn’t feed it or try to pet it because it might have rabies. They were definitely trying to touch it. I feel bad that humans cannot control their personal desires long enough to understand that they have signed the death warrant for that fox. He will run out on the road looking for food and the driver will not see him and that will be the end of him.


Image: Monolithic domes in Gakona Alaska-home to the Igloo Cabins...

Stardust Motel
Box 5342
Haines Junction, YT, CA



Receipts:
All Alaska Gifts & Crafts (souvenirs) – Tok AK
Hitchin Post (lunch) – Glennallen AK
Young’s Chevron – Tok AK






Image: Home for Beaver


Wildlife & Birds:
Pond By Road in Yukon
Pacific Loon
American Wigeons
Red Tailed Hawk
Ring Necked Duck
Bufflehead
Ravens
Rusty Black Birds
Mallards
Cliff Swallows
Northern Shovelers
Lesser Scaup
Solitary Sandpipers
Trumpeter Swans
American Wigeons
Northern Pintails
Green Winged Teals
Northern (Yellowshafted) Flicker (Taiga)
Beaver
Red Fox

Out of Alaska: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157605628539816/
To Haines Junction: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157605633348348/