After leaving Hyder continued our way home. We did not have many stops planned on the way home, so we had some long days of driving.

We left Smithers, BC and drove south to a place in the woods south of Prince George, BC. Eva was feeling sick, so it was a hard night. It rained with lightning and thunder all night, so none of us slept well.

We drove all day the next day and camped outside of Merritt, BC. The next day we were able to cross into the US at Osoyoos, BC. At the border they took our fruit, chicken and eggs, so we stopped at Walmart in Omak, WA to get the oil changed in the van and to buy some more food. That night we camped near Othello, WA.

The next morning we drove to Pendleton, OR to take the factory tour at the Pendleton Woolen Mill. It was interesting but I was expecting more.

From Pendleton we turned back north and drove to Lewiston, ID so we could camp at Hells Canyon State park. Our camp was on the Snake River and we had an enjoyable night at camp.

The next day we stopped at the two museums at the state park and then drove to the Heaven’s Gate Overlook of Hells Canyon, just outside of Riggins, ID. To get to the top of the mountain we had to drive 18 miles of rough road to the overlook. The road was not too bad, but the overlook was disappointing. I was expecting a better view of Hells Canyon and the air was pretty smoky so the views were not that good.

We drove south to just past McCall, ID and spent our last night in the mountains above McCall. The next morning we were up and drove to Boise for gas and then the rest of the way home. We arrived home at 8 pm.

August 16, 2024 – Friday – Day 54

Today was a day of driving.  We traveled for 6-7 hours through British Columbia until we reached Stewart, BC which is on the western US border.  We stopped in Stewart to use the bathroom and access the internet and then we continued about 4 miles across the US/Canada border to Hyder, Alaska.  

Hyder can only be accessed by boat or by car through Canada.  It is almost a ghost town with only a few businesses and a few families.  However, it is famous for view bears at the Fish Creek Wildlife Area.  The salmon spawn in Fish Creek from the end of July through September and the Forest Service has built a long-elevated boardwalk that parallels the creek.  You must buy a ticket, but you can spend the day on the boardwalk looking for bears.

While driving between Stewart and Hyder we saw a black bear with a cub cross the road, but we weren’t quick enough to get a picture.  Next we found a place to spend the night so we could quickly be at the bear viewing area early in the morning.

August 17, 2024 – Saturday – Day 55

We left camp for the bear viewing area at 5:30 am.  You are not allowed to enter the boardwalk until 6 am, but we wanted to get a close parking spot.  There were not as many people as we expected, but around 6:30 am, Eva saw the first bear of the day.  It was a large male grizzly that came from the forest, under the boardwalk and then in the river with the salmon.

We watched the bear wander through the creek catching fish, and then taking the fish to the bank to eat.  The bear was there for 30-45 minutes before it continued up the creek out of our sight.  After taking pictures and videos we went back to the van as Eva was not feeling well.  

After resting in the van we drove back into Canada for a pancake breakfast at the Stewart community park.  It was their community day celebration and they have several activities planned for the new few days.

We were back on the road at 11 am and drove back to highway heading south.  It took us the rest of the day to reach Smithers, BC where we planned to spend the night.

August 9, 2024 – Friday – Day 47

It was a rainy morning, and it rained most of the day.  We left camp and drove in the rain to Delta Junction.  We stopped in the visitor center, but it was raining so we didn’t stay in town long.  We continued to Tok and stopped for gas.  We then drove into Canada and camped alongside a river.  Since it was overcast, the night got pretty dark and it was the quietest night we have had in a long time.

August 10, 2024 – Saturday – Day 48

The rain stopped in the morning, and we drove back into the US and continued to Haines, Alaska.  At the visitor’s center the man working there is the local branch president.  

President Kalani Kanahele is a very nice guy, and he invited us to stay after church tomorrow for a potluck dinner.  We stopped by the store and bought a cheesecake to share.  He also offered that we could camp in the church parking lot.  They also have a small cabin on the church property that they used to use for the missionaries.  They haven’t had missionaries for a while, so it is empty.  He offered that we could stay there, but we declined and just camped in the van in the church parking lot.

We also drove out to Chilkoot St Park to check out an area that supposed to have bears.  We saw some bald eagles, but no bears.  We will try again tomorrow.

August 11,2024 – Sunday – Day 49

We went to church today at the Haines Branch, which was right outside the door of the van.  It is a very small branch.  There were 13 in attendance, counting us.  And the bad news is a family of 4 is moving back to Kentucky this week.  That will eliminate their primary class and almost half of their regular members.  After sacrament meeting the branch president and his wife sang a Hawaiian farewell song to the family that was moving.  Eva cried through the entire song.

After church they had a potluck dinner.  There was plenty of food and it was all good, including some nice sourdough bread.

We called the kids after lunch and then we drove back out to Chilkoot St Park and found a parking spot.  We rested around camp until the evening, and then we walked down to the spot where bears are usually found.

It was about a mile walk from camp to the section of the river where everyone watches for bears.  We passed a few groups of people, and we were walking alongside the river when a large female black bear appeared right in front of us.  It was about 10 yards away and walking towards us.  We first froze, trying to decide whether to go wide around her or back up.  There was not enough room to go around, so we walked backwards.  

The bear seemed to ignore us and just kept walking along the river.  We took several pictures and videos, but then the other people saw the bear and started following it.  We were not too close, but the bear looked annoyed and turned away and went back down the river with a clump of people with big cameras following it.  It was funny to watch.  We jumped ahead and found a clear spot to get some nice pictures and videos.

We were surprised and a little scared when we first saw the bear.  When we have seen other bears, we were in the van or a bus.  Or there was a large group of people.  This time it was just us and the bear.  I think these bears are used to ignoring people, but it was a shock to us.  While walking back to camp we saw a seal in the river swimming around looking for fish.

August 12, 2024 – Monday – Day 50

Today we visited Fort Seward, an army fort from the early 19^th century.  Filled our water up from a natural spring and spent the afternoon at the Chilkat State Park on Chilkat bay.  It was a nice sunny day, which has been rare. Tomorrow we move on to Skagway.

August 4, 2024 – Sunday – Day 42

We left our camp at 8:30 and drove an hour north to Healy, AK to attend church at the Denali Branch.  The meeting was crowded as they have a lot of guest and seasonal workers from the national park area.  They have a small building on a dirt road in the forest.

After church we drove to a campsite about 7 miles west of town.  It was a very quiet spot and a nice sunny day.  We spent the rest of the day relaxing at camp.  It was nice to have a spot where we weren’t next to a river or highway.

August 5, 2024 – Monday – Day 43

We left camp later in the morning and drove to Fairbanks.  We got gas and shopped at Costco and Walmart.  We visited Pioneer Park and camped in the parking lot for $12.  It was a hot, hot day and evening.  Finally the sun went behind the trees, and it cooled down a little.  It was a noisy night but quieted down after dark.

August 6, 2024 – Tuesday – Day 44

This morning we went to the University of Fairbanks’ Large Animal Research Station on the edge of the city. We were able to see muskoxen and reindeer.  One of the students gave a tour and it was very interesting.

We then went to the university campus and visited the Museum of the North.  We spend most of the afternoon there.  It is a very good museum with several nice movies about Alaska.

In the evening we went back to Pioneer Park and had dinner at the Alaska Salmon Bake and ended with the show at the Palace Theater.  The food was okay and the show was pretty good.  We spent another night in the parking lot at the park.  It was a lot cooler and a bit quieter than last night.

August 7, 2024 – Wednesday – Day 45

We left our camping spot at Pioneer Park in the morning and our first stop was at Jo’s Oven to buy some sourdough bread.  We read online that Jo makes the best bread.  It was also the most expensive bread.  A small loaf of traditional sourdough and a cinnamon roll was $18.  They were both good, but expensive.  We heard last night that Fairbanks is one of the most expensive places to live in the US, and based on the price of bread, it is true.

We next went to the Tanana Valley Famer’s Market a few miles away.  It was very crowded for a Wednesday morning.  They have a lot of food and crafts.  We bought a chicken cheburek from a Turkish lady.  The cheburek is like a thick crepe, folded over, with a filling inside.  Kind of like an empanada.  We had the cheburek and cinnamon roll for lunch.  They were both good, but the sourdough cinnamon roll was the best.

We left Fairbanks and continued to travel north about 60 miles to Chena Hot Springs Resort.  We found a campsite in their campground and walked through the grounds.  

It is most famous for the hot springs, but they also have an ice museum.  A building/hotel where everything is made of ice.  Even the cups and utensils are made of ice.  It used to be a winter attraction, but now they have built a huge freezer so they can run it year-round.  It was a little expensive to take the tour, so we didn’t go in it.

The hot springs were very nice.  They have an outdoor lake, an indoor swimming pools and a couple of hot tubs.  We spent most of our time in the lake.  It was very hot, but there were cold spots you could find as you swam around.  We relaxed in the pool both before and after dinner.  In the evening the clouds covered the sun, so it was very nice to be in the hot water.  The hot springs are also popular in the winter when there is deep snow and -20 degree temperatures.

The night at the campground was pretty quiet and it finally cooled down a bit.

August 8, 2024 – Thursday – Day 46

In the morning we drove from Chena Hot Springs back to Fairbanks to get the van tires rotated.  It took longer than expected, but we left town about 2:30 pm and drove to North Pole, Alaska.  This town is about 15 miles from Fairbanks and was started in the 1950’s with the expectation of toy companies putting manufacturing plants in the town and labeling the toys as being made at the North Pole.  I don’t know if that worked out, but they do have Santa Claus’ house just off the highway.  We stopped and looked around and visited the reindeers.

After our stop at Santa’s house we drove another 30 miles down the road and camped on the Salcha River. They were doing helicopter drop-offs on the bank of the river from a nearby fire, so it was noisy for a while, but it quickly quieted down after they finished and left.  

August 3, 2024 – Saturday – Day 41

We stayed at camp until after lunch.  Our original plan was to be in Talkeetna around 10:45 am for our 11:30 am flightseeing trip around Denali, but the company called in the morning and rescheduled our flight due to weather.  We were rescheduled until 6:30 pm.  They expected the weather to be better in the evening.  This will be the fourth reschedule of this trip.  We are lucky to have the flexibility to change as the weather and visibility for our flight were excellent. 

We also found out that the Paul Thayn family was going to be on the flight at the same time.  We knew they were going to take this excursion after their Alaskan cruise, but originally we were going to be a week ahead of them.  But with all the weather delays for both of us, we ended up on the same day and time.

We went into Talkeetna after lunch and took showers at a RV park in town.  We then parked at the town’s park by the Talkeetna River.  The park was at the end of Main Street, so we walked up the streets looking in the shops and markets.  Along the way we ran into Rob and Michelle, and Stephanie and Mike.  They were going into the same shop that we were walking too.  We met up with them and walked around the town, finally eating at an outdoor patio restaurant.  After dinner it was time to meet at the flight company and check into for our flight.

The rest of the Thayn Family (Paul, Dottie, Jason, Joy, Kevin, Janel and Merrill) arrived just in time for the flight.  After their earlier flight was canceled they drove to Denali NP for some sightseeing.  So, we didn’t get to talk much with them.

Our flight around Denali was a 2-hour flight in a 10 seat Otter plane.  We were in one plane with Rob, Michelle, Stephanie and Mike.  The rest of them were in another plane.  It took 20 minutes to fly to the part of the Alaska Mountain Range where Denali is located.  There were some cloud layers, but our pilot was able to fly between then and we were able to see some excellent view of Denali (the tallest mountain in American Continent), the rest of the mountain range and many glaciers. 

After flying for about 75-80 minutes we landed on the Ruth Glacier.  Our plane was equipped with skis for snow landing.  There were 4 other planes at the same landing spot, including the rest of the Thayn family.  We were able to explore around the glacier and get some nice pictures.  This part of the mountain range has many large cliffs and walls.  It is a massive area that makes you feel very small. 

After 20 minutes on the glacier we loaded up and the pilot slide the plane down the glacier to take-off.  We flew out of the mountain range through the Ruth Gorge, a very large and deep canyon that contains the Ruth Glacier.

The flight back to Talkeetna took about 20 minutes.  After landing we said our goodbyes to the cousins.  They were spending the night in Talkeetna before flying home the next day.  Eva and I backtracked to the north towards Fairbanks.  It was around 9 pm when we left Talkeetna, so we drove until 10:30 pm and camped near a river about 30 miles south of Cantwell.

August 4, 2024 – Sunday – Day 42

We left our camp at 8:30 and drove an hour north to Healy, AK to attend church at the Denali Branch.  The meeting was crowded as they have a lot of guest and seasonal workers from the national park area.  They have a small building on a dirt road in the forest.

After church we drove to a campsite about 7 miles west of town.  It was a very quiet spot and a nice sunny day.  We spent the rest of the day relaxing at camp.  It was nice to have a spot where we weren’t next to a noisy river or highway.

July 31, 2024 – Wednesday – Day 38

Today was our Tundra Wilderness Tour in Denali National Park.  This bus tour will take us 43 miles into the Wilderness area of the park.  It used to go 93 miles, but in 2021 a landslide destroyed a section of road at mile 45.  The soil there is so unstable that they are building a bridge over the destroyed highway.  It will not open for guests until 2026 or 2027.

Our tour started at 6:20 am, so we were up early so we could meet at the bus depot.  The first 20 miles of the trip we did not see any wildlife.  We finally saw 3 grizzly bears, then caribou, moose and Dall sheep.  Some of the animals were far away, but we could see them with our binoculars.  

The tour was about 5 hours.  We then went to the visitor center and took another shuttle bus to the dog sled kennels.  We were able to see the 30+ sled dogs that the park rangers use in the winter to get around the park.  They also gave a short presentation on the history of dogs in the park.  It was a nice day today.

Aug 1, 2024 – Thursday – Day 39

Last night was a little cold, but it warmed up a little during the day.  We rode the shuttle bus from the campground to the Horseshoe Lake Trailhead.  This hike was only two miles, but we saw a pretty lake and the Nenana River.  

Later in the evening we went to the Gold Nugget Saloon for the “Music of Denali” dinner show.  This was just outside the park and the served a meal of salmon, brisket, potatoes and vegetables.  Both the food and the show were okay.  It was raining a bit when we got out of the show so we drove back to camp for the night.

July 27, 2024 – Saturday – Day 34

We left our camp along the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet around 10 am.  This camping spot was about 25 miles outside of Anchorage.  As we were going through Anchorage we stopped at a Farmer’s Market.  

This was a real farmer’s market with 95% of the booths selling produce.  They had several types of vegetables that we had never heard of.  Anchorage is close to the Mat-Su valley, which is short for the Matanuska-Susitna Valley.  This valley has very fertile soil and with the long summer sun, they grow a large variety of of very big vegetables.  The farmer’s market was very interesting.

Just north of Fairbanks we hiked to Thunderbird Falls.  It was a short, but steep hike.  It was nice to get out for a walk on a sunny day.

Our final adventure for the day was something we had been looking forward to.  We drove through the Knik River valley to the Alaska Glacier Lodge, which was at the end of the road in that valley.

We had a 2-hour helicopter tour of several of the glaciers in the area.  After a short safety talk we boarded our AStar helicopter with the pilot and another couple from Arkansas.  

The flight took up the mountain through a narrow gorge and over the top into the Knik Glacier Valley.  Christian was our pilot, and he zoomed all around the mountains.  The copter was on its side as he followed the mountainside.  This was the first time on a helicopter for both of us and it was the most fun we have had on our trip.  

Our first stop was at the face of Lake George Glacier.  We saw several big chunks of ice calf off the glacier face.  We were able to get pretty close to see the beautiful blue ice.

After 20 minutes we loaded up and Christian flew us over the glaciers to the top of the mountain.  We followed the glacier up the mountain and were able to see the many crevices and cracks in the ice.  It was an amazing view and flying over the ice was a lot of fun.  

We landed on a high mountain meadow and were able to see the massive Knik Glacier from a birdseye view.  From the top of the mountain you get an appreciation of the size of these glaciers.  

We loaded up again and flew over more mountain ridges and peak and landed on the Knik Glacier near a clear blue pool of water.  We were able to walk around on the glacier and get some glacial water from the blue pools.  We were lucky that we had a mostly sunny day with no wind.  It was a beautiful day.

After the stop on Knik Glacier we flew back over the mountains to the lodge to end our flight.  Our two hours flight went too fast.  We were sad to see it end.  We were all able to take turns riding in the front, next to the pilot.  That was the most amazing place to ride as you had a full view of everything you flew over.

From the helicopter we were also able to see a lot of wildlife.  We saw a bear with two cubs, a couple of moose and a several of herds of mountain goats.  This was our first time on a helicopter, and it was worth the money to do this tour.

We arrived back at the lodge around 7 pm and we found a campsite along the Knik River by 7:30 pm.  We ate our dinner on the riverbank with a fire in our firepit.  A good end to a fun day.

July 24, 2024 – Wednesday – Day 31

Today was our Glacier Kayak tour at the Aialik Glacier.  This tour starts with a 2-1/2 hour boat ride to a few miles from the glacier.  On the way we will look for sea life and other animals.  After being dropped off on a beach, we will then kayak 2-1/2 miles to the face of the most active glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park.  We then will return the same way.

We met at 7 am at the office of Kayak Adventures Worldwide.  Our guide was Brenden and his mom and aunt from California were in our group.  We also had a couple from Boston with us.

The weather looked okay when we left Seward, but on the water it was very foggy and for the first hour we had no visibility.  It cleared up a bit and we saw a large pod of humpback whales doing what is called “bubble netting”.  The group of whales submerge and start circling underwater, letting air out of their blowholes.  This creates a cylinder of water with the net of bubbles surrounding it.  This “bubble net” traps the small fish and then the whales move the net upwards, concentrating the fish on the surface.  The whales then follow upwards with their mouths open, capturing mouthfuls of fish.  

It was amazing to see. The whales did this several times, with one time being very close to our boat.  The guides said it is very rare to see this and most guides will only see that 2-3 times per summer.

We also saw seals, sealions, and many beautiful birds on the way out.  After arriving at the beach we unloaded the gear and started our kayak trip.  We were very lucky that the sun came out and it was a beautiful sunny day for our paddling trip.

It took less than an hour to paddle to the face of the glacier.  Aialik Glacer is 1 mile wide and 300-600 feet high at the base.  It is also very active as each day about 6 feet of the glacier calves off into the ocean.  That means 6 feet of the 300-600 foot by 1 mile long chunks of ice fall off.

We were lucky to see several calving events.  They make a huge sound like very loud thunder when the ice cracks from the glacier.  The problem is by the time you hear the noise, the ice has already fallen.  You must be continually watching for the ice falling, not listening for it.

We had lunch while floating at the glacier.  We then paddled back to the beach and loaded on the boat for our trip back to Seward.  On the way we saw more sealions and several Orca whales.  It was a very fun day the weather was beautiful.  The only issue was I dropped my phone into the ocean.  However, earlier in the day I tied a length of paracord between my phone and my life jacket.  So, after panicking I found the rope and pulled my phone back up from the ocean.  It was a very good day.

July 21, 2024 – Day 28 – Sunday

Today we went to church at the Valdez ward.  They have a nice wood sided chapel near the center of town.  From the discussion it sounds like ½ of the congregation were visitors.  They commented that the town population more than doubles in the summer.  After church we video called Grandma, Kayla/Rosie and Alyssa and the boys.

Later we drove to Valdez Glacier Lake.  The glacier has receded around the mountain, but the glacier lake is full of icebergs.  It’s not very pretty as the water looks muddy and most of the ice is covered with dirt and rocks, but it was interesting to see.

We then drove to the fish hatchery on the other side of the bay.  We arrived at high tide and the action from the salmon and the sea lions was 10 times what it was the day before.  The fish were everywhere and that brought the sea lions.  There must have been 25-30 sea lion and thousands of fish.  It was very interesting to watch.

We ended the evening walking alone the waterfront and docks.

July 22, 2024 – Monday – Day 29 – Glacier Viewing

This morning we scheduled a cruise to see wildlife and the Mears Glacier.  However, it was rainy and a little cold.  We dressed in warm clothes and brought our rain clothing.  It was raining and cloudy when we left the harbor, so we did not get many pictures.  However, it slowed down a bit as we went through the day, but it kept raining all day.

The ride was over 8 hours for the roundtrip.  We ended up seeing a lot of wildlife.  We saw Orcas, humpback whales, Dall porpoises, puffins, otters, sea lions and many types of birds.  The crew mentioned that we saw a lot more than most trips.

It was a 4-hour trip to the Mears Glacier.  The rain had slowed a bit, so we were able to see the glacier quite well.  The glacier is ½ mile wide and 300 feet tall.  We were able to get within ¼ mile of the glacier face.  We heard and saw a lot of calving, but nothing large.

The weather was better on the way back to Valdez.  It was a fun trip, but we did get wet and cold anytime we went outside.

July 23, 2024 – Tuesday – Day 30 – Ferry to Whittier

Today we took the ferry from Valdez to Whittier.  This ferry route is part of the Alaska State Marine Highway system.  This allowed us to reach Whittier by a direct water route and avoid driving 360 miles on the highway.  But it did take most of the day.  We left camp at 5:15 am and drove to the ferry terminal.  They started loading vehicles around 6 am and the ferry left at 7:30 am.

We were lucky because on Tuesdays the ferry takes a side trip to Tatitlek, a small island community a bit south of Valdez.  Today they were just going to drop off a large boom lift machine.  However, the machine did not have enough power to climb the ramp off the ferry.  So they had to go back in town and get a front-end loader and use that to tow the lift out of the ferry.  It delayed the ferry by 30-40 minutes, but it was a fun show to watch them try to get the machine out of the ferry.

After that stop we continued the trip to Whittier.  The boat only travels about 15-20 miles/hour, so the 90-mile trip took a while.  They have a cafeteria, so we were able to eat lunch.  We arrived in Whittier at 3:45 pm and slowly unloaded the vehicles from the belly of the ferry.  They pack the cars in there like sardines.

Whittier is a small coastal town that is only accessible by vehicle through a single lane tunnel that is shared between cars and the train.  The tunnel is only open once an hour for car travel in each direction.  The next tunnel time for us was 4 pm, so we hurried from the ferry and got in line right at 4 pm.  However, they were late, so we had plenty of time.

After going through the tunnel we drove about 140 miles to Seward and camped on Resurrection Bay in the city campground.