Jasper & Banff

Clearly, we saved some of Canada's finest for last. Even with an undesirable weather front upon us, both Jasper & Banff teed up some amazing scenery that shined right through the often overcast and rainy horizons. From the vast Columbia Ice field to the incredibly blue water of Lake Louise, we were both very glad to have sped through the last section to make more time to enjoy ourselves here.

Sierra was pretty excited too as he found out that he was aloud to set his paws in every inch of the parks' back country except a few sections in Jasper where the caribou roam. Hiking again became a huge part of our daily life and the whole family got to enjoy it. Each night, we torched some of the biggest campfires ever to keep warm and Brooks never got tired of chopping the endless supply of wood. The only downside was that we were soon overwhelmed with too many beautiful side trips to choose from.

A dip in the Banff hot springs brought some life back to our legs. However, upon entering the hot pools, we quickly found out there weren't many others that had opted to sport the old school suits...

For the long weekend, Nathalie has returned home for Lara's bachlorette party and Brooks and Sierra are headed to the neighboring Yoho National Park, for a four day back country trek.

Step on it Gramps!

At some point of almost every day, Brooks hears these magic words from his beloved co-pilot, "Step on it gramps!". Well, with a stretch of terrible weather ahead and some familiar terrain, Nathalie finally got what she's been wishing for. Up and over the Top of the World Highway, a ferry ride across the Yukon river to Dawson City and a scenic Highway 2 brought us back to Whitehorse and the stretch of tarmac that we drove on our way North. The windshield got used to the continuous spatter of rain drops and we got used to driving some long stints to keep dry.

We drove the Cassiar Highway again and returned to Alaska's friendliest ghost town, Hyder. This time around, we didn't get skunked at Fish Creek. We saw four grizzlies fishing for some tired chum salmon and some playful ermin (small weasel-esq ferret-like critters) wrestling in the rock beds.

After Hyder, we punched it like Chewy at the wheel of the Millennium Falcon in Empire Strikes Back and whizzed over to Alberta and the much anticipated Jasper & Banff National Parks. We'll spend four days in the parks before heading to Calgary so Nathalie can fly home to celebrate Lara's last hoorah as a single girl.

Wildlife Crossing

As we were heading North to the Top of the World Highway, the portal to Dawson City and the Yukon Territory, we couldn't help but be a little sad that our time in Alaska was running out. Driving late in the evening, we started talking about how we were going to miss seeing Alaska's abundant wildlife on a daily basis. Nathalie clearly had given up as her lead foot made Eeyore whistle down the highway at a non-optimal animal viewing speed.

Just as our spirits were getting low, we were treated to another close encounter with a fox. This time, it was the red arctic fox. Nat, pleased with one final wildlife sighting, floored it again and reached near maximum speed just in time to hit the brakes again for the big cat in the middle of the road, the elusive lynx.

After learning in Denali that a lynx often runs away and then circles back to check you out, we got out of the van and tracked him down in the tall grass. As camouflaged as he was, we did manage to get a few pics and some video footage of the rare creature. Nathalie could hardly wait to watch her cinematography and made Brooks steer while she pulled out the video camera, simultaneously working the pedals. As Brooks watched the road and Nathalie watched the small LCD screen, a moose and its kid darted out ahead of us and we nearly had a freezer full of moose meat for the winter... Not a bad last hoorah for The Last Frontier.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Another bumpy dusty road took us into Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and the towns of McCarthy and Kennecott. The park itself is North America's biggest at 13.2 million acres. It dwarfs it's neighbor (Denali N.P.) in a big way which only has a measly 6 million acres, slightly larger than Massachusetts.

Camped at the base of the Root Glacier, we hiked up to Kennecott. A lucrative old copper mine that would probably still be in business today if getting the metal out wasn't such a pricey chore. Instead, the mine is closed and the mill is falling down, but the town's rich colors paint a pretty clear picture of how lively the town must have been in the early 1900s. Working or not, exploring the intricate rail system and tram cables that stretched 4000 feet above to the actual mine was fascinating.

Another highlight of St. Elias was watching Sierra conquer a ten year old fear of walking on a see-through grated bridge. He had no choice but to cross the foot bridge on the Kennicott river each day we were there. We can't say he ever really enjoyed it, but he did it. Nice work Hairy!

No Regrets in Valdez

The last time we were in Valdez, it was cold and raining sideways which made kayaking through the Prince William Sound and the ice bergs of the Columbia Glacier seem a little less than spectacular. So, we came back and we brought the sun with us.

We had an amazing day on the Sound as we paddled through the ever-shifting ice bergs and watched in awe as the enormous hunks of ice floated and flipped passed us with the tide.

Chasing down sea otters and getting a close look at a pod of orcas was the icing on the cake. It proved, beyond a reasonable doubt, that we made the right choice coming back here.

Following in the footsteps of Joseph Hazlewood, captain of the Exxon Valdez, we turned out the lights on Valdez with a scotch on the rocks at The Pipeline Club, the city's favorite drinkery.

Denali Highway Birthday

After leaving Denali, we decided to try our luck on the Denali Highway--The main artery to the park prior to the completion of the Parks Highway (Anchorage to Fairbanks) in 1971. It's a 135-mile dirt road through some rugged country, but the beautiful landscapes heavily outweigh its wash board and pot-holed surface.

Our route was immediately rewarded with our arrival at The Sluice Box at mile post 88. Outside the bar, a sign hung around the gas pump reading "If you need service, HONK". We did, and five minutes later the bartender showed up on a four wheeler, opened the bar and poured Brooks his birthday brew. The fine Alaskan Summer Ale slid down real nice and we toasted to 32 great years.

Denali & The Great One

At 20,320 feet, Mt. McKinley stands tall as the highest point in North America. Our first sight of The Great One was impressive. But, we savored the moment even more when we later learned that few people are treated with a view of its peaks on a visit to Denali National Park.

There are no trails in Denali, so if you see a place that you want to go to, you strap your pack on and trudge through the tundra to get there. We camped inside the park for three nights, which only left us itching for more.

Tooling around, we did manage to cross a few more animals off our list. Caribou, Dall sheep and a bull moose . . . Check! No wolves, unfortunately, but we did have the very rare lynx cross the road just ahead of us. The event reminded Nathalie of our cat, Animal, and her eyes nearly teared up as she watched the little guy disappear into the spruce forest.

We Left Our Hearts in Homer

After slogging out some wet weather in Valdez, we put Eeyore on a ferry and headed to Whittier. Passing through the Prince William Sound's glacier-laced shoreline, the rain clouds parted ways and we found ourselves on a beautiful Kenai Peninsula. After a couple nights in the Chugash National Forest, we reached Homer, Alaksa and quickly fell in love.

Sunshine and a horizon full of glaciers and active volcanos proved to be the right combination for us. We had intentions of going to Kodiak island, but couldn't resist being so close to Katmai National Park and not going to see its giant coastal bears in an untouched natural environment. You may have heard of the grizzly man, well, this is where that crazy lad met his maker. Nathalie braved the mini 1977 Sessna plane ride over there and we strolled the beaches and observed the bears from as close as you'd ever want to get to one of those hairy beasts. With no fire arms aloud in the park, we had a lot of faith in our guide and his little magneisum flare.

It was an incredible experience. We saw eleven grizzlies and literally sat on the beach with them and watched them play, fish, relax and just do what big damn bears do... Check out our pictures from Katmai, click here.

Our trip bear total now sits at 13 black bears and 19 grizzlies....and we're headed to Denali!

The Deadliest Catch

Forget Dutch Harbour, the Time Bandit and the Deadliest Catch. Those guys battle the seas for the red king crab. Tom & Lorry's Crab Pot (in Homer, Alaska) dishes out the good stuff, golden king crab. It's caught west of Dutch Harbour at depths of up to 1300 feet. Brooks ate at The Crab Pot three times in our short stay and never got sick of gorging himself on the succulent treat. Not to mention, Tom & Lorry are two of the nicest people you'll ever meet. So, if you're headed to Homer, this place is a must stop! We tried to get them to pack up shop and open one in San Francisco, but they weren't budging...too bad.

Jerry & Gloria's Moose

Jerry & Gloria this picture is for you. The elusive moose is a hard one to find up here in Alaska. We've passed about a hundred signs that warn of moose crossing the road for a designated stretch of highway, but never seen one until yesterday. On the road into Valdez, it was hard to miss this beast taking a swim in the marsh off in the distance. Brooks waded out into the water to get a closer shot, but having not showered for a few days, the moose smelled him from far away and spooked. Our next task is to find a male moose (with a helmet) for you guys, so stay tuned.

A Night in the Green Hut

Atop the Haines Highway Summit lies a small green survival shack that Brooks and Gregg discovered on their bike ride south three years ago (almost to the day). The hut is as small as they come, but somehow has room inside for a wood burning stove, two plywood bunk beds, a table and a few chairs. There was no way we could pass this gem and not call it home for a night (at least in Brooks' mind). So, spend the night we did.

On a cold candle lit night, we feasted on designer Asian noodles and flipped through the log books that chronicle the history of the hut and all its visitors. Once the squirrel activity outside settled down, Sierra called it a night and we followed suit shortly thereafter.

Haines Grizzlies

Haines is the place that Skagway would be if there wasn't a daily cruise ship pilgrimage--A small fishing town at the base of some rather large snow-capped hills. To our surprise, it was also the place where our grizzly sightings started to happen with a little more frequency. As the road into town passed through the Chilkat Eagle Preserve, we saw a mother grizzly with three cubs. We watched her catch salmon and retreat to the woods to feed her kids. Only to return shortly thereafter to catch dessert for them too.

The following day, we had intentions of fishing the Chilkoot River, a few miles out of town, until another grizzly and her cub decided that they wanted to share our fishing hole. Forced to hang up the rod, we saw our chances of catching dinner dwindle, but were treated to watching the curious little guy interact with his mom for quite a while.

Hairy's 10th Birthday Bash

On July 31st, Sierra turned a decade old. To celebrate such a milestone, we wanted to do something extra special for the furry old man. The obvious spot to host this monumental occasion was to set up camp in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Whitehorse (the capital of the Yukon Territory). With New York steak on the menu, you could imagine how excited Sierra was to start the party.

With many curious onlookers, Sierra polished his two pound birthday steak without breaking lip. Needless to say, it was an epic bash as well as a little strange spending the night at Wal-Mart with 27 other happy campers.