Mount McKinley up close.

We can leave the Alaska Range now, because Bob saw Mt McKinley up close and from all sides.  Bob walked on Ruth Glacier high on Mt McKinley the easy way with Talkeetna Air Taxi.  There was one seat left (10 passengers) on the 6-29-12 12:30 Grand Denali Flight.  Bob sat in the co-pilots seat, greatly enjoyed the flight, and took over 400 pictures in less than 2 hours.  Barb didn’t want to go because she has problems with air pressure changes.  About 1200 climbers a year attempt to climb Mt McKinley.  About half of them succeed in climbing to the summit at 20,320 feet elevation.  More than 90% of climbers are flown into base camp at 7000 feet elevation.  The average time to climb Mt McKinley from the 7000 foot high base camp is 3 weeks.  The summer temperature range on Mt McKinley is 10 F to -50 F.  Mt McKinley has one of the greatest vertical distances from base to summit of any mountain in the world.  The Wickersham Wall is one of the highest mountain walls in the world at 14,000 vertical feet.  Mt McKinley is growing taller about ¾” per year.  There are 17 major named glaciers, six of them more than 24 miles long.  

Tomorrow we’ll drive back north to Byers Lake campground in Denali State Park to spend a few days at a beautiful wilderness lake near Mt McKinley.  Following are a few pictures from the flight. 

Mount McKinley

Mount McKinley

Ruth Glacier on Mt McKinley

Bob on upper section of Ruth Glacier. 

In the Land of the Midnight Sun.

We completed the Alaska Highway, and continued to Fairbanks for 3 days and then to Denali National Park.  In Denali we had some good views of wildlife including 2 female grizzly bears with 2 cubs.  The second grizzly bear with cubs was less than 20 feet from the park bus we were on.  We rode the park bus 66 miles (one-way) on a dirt road to the Eielson Visitor Center where there is (sometimes) a beautiful view of Mt McKinley, all we saw was clouds and rain.  To help us feel better about not seeing the highest mountain in North America (20,320 feet) we learned it’s estimated only 15 – 20% of park visitors see McKinley and during the month of June McKinley is visible on 4 days average.  We also visited the sled dogs and saw a demonstration of dogs pulling a sled on gravel.  Denali is the only National Park where dogs are used to patrol the park in winter.  Tomorrow we go  to Denali State Park where good views of McKinley occur along the Parks Highway.  We plan to stay in the area as long as it takes to see McKinley?  We were told winter is the best season to see Mt McKinley, I don’t think we’ll stay that long.  Following are pictures from Denali National Park. 

Grizzly Bear and cubs.

Moose.

Ground Squirrls.

Hello from Watson Lake, Yukon at mile 613 of the Alaska Highway.

At Watson Lake is the Sign Post Forest, we didn’t read all 70,000+ signs in the sign post forest, but we did find a Harrisburg, PA sign.  Highlights of the drive from Dawson Creek were Muncho Lake and Liard Hot Springs Provincial Parks.  So far the highway is in excellent condition and we are enjoying our trip.  Following is a  picture of Liard Hot Spring where we took a soak.  The WiFi connection is very slow and I only posted one picture. 

Stranded in Dawson Creek, BC.

Like many headlines this is an exaggeration.  However, it’s true the Alaska Highway was closed for a few days at two locations due to washouts, mudslides, and flooding.  The weather has been partly sunny and warm here for 2 days and we are seeing points of interest in Dawson Creek.  We’re spending 3 nights at the Mile 0 RV park.  The history of the construction of the 1528 mile Alaska Highway in 8 months, in response to the Pearl Harbor attack is interesting.  Since the completion of the road in November 1942, continuous upgrading and repairs are done.  We’ll continue our journey to Alaska tomorrow.  The length of daylight hours in summer in the far north takes some adjustment.  We’re getting better at sleeping in daylight.  On June 21 in Fairbanks, Alaska, which is as far north as we’ll go, sunset is at 12:47 AM and sunrise is at 2:59 AM, and there is no period of darkness.  At Point Barrow, the furthest point north in Alaska, sunrise is on May 11 and sunset is on August 2.   Following are a couple more pictures from the Canadian Rockies and from Dawson Creek. 

                                             Moraine Lake talus slope (reflection).

In Jasper National Park.

At Mile 0 of The Alaska Highway.

More pictures from the Canadian Rockies.

                                                Knee deep snow on June 9 at Bow Pass in Jasper NP.

Lake Louise, Banff National Park

Rain and snow in the Canadian Rockies.

We had a 5 day visit to the Canadian Rockies; we would have stayed longer except the wet weather kept us moving.  The day we drove through Kootenay National Park to Lake Louise was cloudy but mostly dry.  Teddy was a big attraction at Lake Louise, many of the foreign tourists took pictures of the dog with shoes.  Barb wasn’t sure that swimming in 40 degree rain was a good idea.  But we both enjoyed the hot springs at Radium Hot Springs and at Banff Hot Springs in the cold rain.  Today, June 10 we are camping at Grande Cache, Alberta and may reach the start of the Alaska Highway tomorrow.  Following are a couple of pictures from the Canadian Rockies.  I'm using a slow Wi-Fi connection.  I'll try to send a couple of more pictures later. 

Bighorn sheep, Banff NP

Moraine Lake, Banff NP

For dog lovers.

Our dog Teddy is a good tourist.  Yesterday he was tired of traveling so he used his nose to push the spot on the GPS that tells you how many miles and hours you have left to travel.  He did this a couple of times and then he stared at the GPS screen as if to say “Are we there yet?”  Teddy especially likes watching for animals.  He is a good dog and doesn’t bark at them.  He waits for his shoes to be put on when he goes for a walk and he is very patient waiting for his “parents” to understand what he wants.  In Canadian National Parks we can take Teddy with us for walks on trails.  Following are a few pictures. 

Bob & Teddy watching Bison in Grand Teton National Park.

After a hard day watching wildlife. 

Teddy boating on Lake Powell, Arizona.

Teddy & San Juan River at Goosenecks State Park, Utah.

Bob & Teddy at Ortona Lock Campground, Florida.

Over the border

Today is the 149^th day of our vacation.  We’ve driven over 10,800 miles and are about at the mid-point of our trip.  Tonight we are in a private campground in Canal Flats BC with Wi-Fi (yea).  We spent 1 1/2 days in Waterton Lakes NP which was beautiful.  At Waterton we saw 4 black bears, 8 mountain sheep, 3 moose, and lots of other wildlife.  Every place we go (almost) we hate to leave.  Following are 6 pictures from Waterton Lakes NP.  In Canada we’re learning to think metric.  Gas in British Columbia is about $5 per gallon (and we’re not in a remote area yet).  Tomorrow we drive to Radium Hot Springs and Kootenay National Park.  Not sure if we’ll go swimming in the hot springs since it may be raining. 

You Can take it all with you!

Mama black bear (2 cubs nearby).

Two are better than one (Harlequin duck).

Rocky mountain sheep posing in Waterton townsite.

Columbian ground squirrel heaven (Waterton campground). 

Barb near ice covered Cameron Lake (on June 3).

We had a wonderful time in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.  However, the weather was mostly cloudy with intermittent snow, rain, and sleet for about a week.  The snow added an extra dimension of beauty to the scenery and some roads were closed due to snow.  On the day we drove to Yellowstone the road we wanted to take opened 1 hour before we entered the park and was closed the next day.  On our last day in the park we drove the road past Mt Washburn on the first day of the year it was open.  Following are a few of the many pictures we took in Yellowstone.  After 6 nights at Madison Campground in Yellowstone (where we didn’t have internet or cell phone service) we drove to Helena, Montana for some shopping and traveled on to Glacier National Park.  The weather is warmer here due to the lower elevation but it’s mostly cloudy with showers.  The road to Logan Pass is closed due to snow.  Tomorrow we drive to Canada to Waterton Lake to start our tour of the Canadian Rockies.    

Lewis Lake in Yellowstone NP 5-24-12

Elk near hot springs

Old Faithful Geyser

Bison

Hot Spring

Lower Yellowstone Falls