On July 26th, Darlene and I set out in the camper van for a two-month journey across western Canada with the possibility of going all the way to Alaska. The goal was to visit a bunch of their national parks like Banff and Jasper without any particular time constraints. We didn’t have any camping reservations because we didn’t want to have to decide in advance how long we would want to spend in any given area. Of course we expected that would be a bit of a challenge in the more popular parks where the campgrounds tend to fill up and you can’t just camp anywhere in the wild, but somehow we’d manage!
We ended up getting as far as the southwest corner of the Yukon territory before we had to make our way back by the end of September. Two months and 7,658 miles! It was a great trip and we saw a lot of gorgeous scenery and we didn’t get mauled by a grizzly even once!
I’ve broken up the trip into separate posts and galleries for each of the national parks and other major travel sections but I created one video montage of the whole trip:
Kluane National Park and Reserve takes up the entire southwest corner of the Yukon territory and includes the Canadian portion of the Satint Elias Mountains – the highest coastal mountains in the world and the highest points in Canada.
After hitting up the visitors center and talking to a park ranger (“park wardens” in Canada), we opted to start our exploration of the park on the Alsek River Valley Road by mountain bike. We found a nice secluded wild camping spot from an offshoot of that road just outside the park boundary. The next day gave us cold and heavy winds but we set out anyway by bike. We didn’t go as far as I would’ve liked but the scenery was fantastic all the way. That afternoon we had a surprise visit from a local who was out for a walk who chatted me up for a long while.
Following the Alsek River Valley Road
We took off again the following day and explored a little further along the Alaska highway to Kluane Lake, the Ä’äy Chù (Slim’s River) trailhead and the Silver City ghost town. We walked around the ghost town for a bit trying to figure out what we’re looking at – lots of kennels for animals of different sizes apparently. (A fox farm according to this web site.)
Our next destination was Kathleen Lake. We looked for a suitable wild camping spot but eventually settled on the established campground there. The next day we took up the King’s Throne trail and it was quite the climb the entire way but ever more fantastic panoramic views. Darlene tapped out around 4100 feet but I continued for a while longer (4900 ft) before deciding it was getting late and the trail feeling more precarious on my own.
Half-way up the Kings Throne Trail above Kathleen LakeA little video of our ascent of the King’s Throne trail
That evening we headed north on the highway a little bit and turned off to follow a rough fishermans road along Quill Creek until we picked out a camp spot. The aurora watch web sites showed that good activity was expected that night so I set up cameras ready for the usual long exposure time lapse recordings and kept watch. I was using my DSLR, my iPhone and my new Insta360 X5 camera that records in all directions at once (albeit with a pair of smallish sensors). It wasn’t long before we were treated to what began as a really great aurora display. It was really nice, lots of dancing colors in many directions.
It started out as a really nice aurora display…
And then things went nuts! We got what we would later learn is called a full auroral outburst. The whole sky erupted and lit up the ground much brighter than a full moon could. The curtains and swirls of color ran the full gamut of reds and purples and greens and they were moving fast – swirling and cascading around in real time. Normally you would capture an aurora on camera using extended exposures to bring out the colors that aren’t so obvious to the naked eye and you record many frames in time lapse over dozens of minutes to speed up the motion that is typically very slow, much like slow-moving clouds. Well now the whole sky, in every direction, was animating and swirling in full color to our naked eyes. This went on for many minutes… tt was fantastic! Unfortunately, my cameras were still running with long exposures and/or in time-lapse while we were so distracted by the light show. But that’s fine, it was awesome! I’ve done what I can with the footage, slowing down and correcting exposure as much as I could:
…and then the sky went nuts!
We had already decided that we needed to start making our way back home but that aurora display was a wonderful topper for our whole Canadian road trip.
Out of Jasper, we could have chosen to go north to join the Alaska Highway (ALCON) out of Dawson Creek but we decided to go west first to get to Stewart on the coast in time to possibly see grizzlies feasting on the salmon run before then turning north on the Stewart-Cassiar Highway for the Yukon.
Along the way, we overnighted in Prince George and, after our detour to Fort St. James for the chicken races, we camped overnight near the town of Smithers and put in an afternoon ride on some of their mountain bike trails. The next day we made another detour to go south on the Cassiar Highway to visit Terrace which also had some nice biking trails. After our ride we tried to find a campsite at this little lakeside park on the shore of Kitsumkalum Lake but it was overrun with weekend revelers. Giving up the lake shore we found a crazy sweet and secluded fishing spot along the river downstream.
Eventually though we made it to Stewart, BC and then just across the border and through Hyder, Alaska to a camping area near the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site after dark. The recommended viewing times are at dusk and dawn but we showed up late the following morning and missed out on a sighting, not realizing that Hyder was an hour ahead of British Columbia time. However, we spent the day following the dirt road north to admire the massive Salmon Glacier and do some hiking.
In view of the Salmon Glacier
That night we did luck out and get to see a grizzly bear make her away along the creek apparently looking for just the right salmon to feast on. The next morning, well before sunrise, we were among the first to arrive and once again got to watch the same bear. After these two successful sessions, we decided to move on and follow the Stewart-Cassiar Highway on north to the Yukon.
Grizzly (brown bear) at Fish Creek near Hyder, Alaska
The northern part of British Columbia is seriously remote and there are few opportunities for sightseeing, at least not by any roads. We did make another multi-day detour down a very long stretch of unpaved road to see and bike along the accessible part of the “Grand Canyon of the Stikine”.
Stikine River Canyon
Continuing north along the Cassiar Highway, we eventually joined the Alaska Highway (or ALCAN) to head further west towards the Yukon and Alaska. Then we took a detour south again into British Columbia to visit Atlin Lake and found a really nice wild camping spot alongside an unnamed lake on Fourth of July Creek near the McDonald Lake Recreation Site. We stayed two nights, did a little hike towards the nearby mountains but didn’t go very far and had a nice little auroral display one night.
Returning to the Alaska Highway, we decided to make an extended side trip down to Skagway. After that we eventually reached Whitehorse where we stayed in a hotel for a couple of nights, checked out some local museums and exhibits (particularly on the Klondike Gold Rush), ventured out on some local mountain biking trails (there’s tons around Whitehorse) and went to see Miles Canyon.
Miles Canyon outside Whitehorse
After Whitehorse, we continued west on the Alaska Highway towards Kluane National Park.
We crossed into Canada from Idaho in the camper van on the morning of July 28th, heading for the Canadian national parks in the Rocky Mountains. We stopped in Cranbrook for lunch and groceries and challenged ourselves to the “voted most challenging mini golf in Canada” at Elizabeth Lake Lodge (it was pretty cool) before continuing on to Kimberly. We checked out the town that evening and found a good overnight spot near the mountain biking trails above town and rode some of the trails the next day before heading on to Kootenay National Park.
In Kootenay National Park, we managed to snag a campsite for a couple of nights and spent one day hiking the beautiful Stanley Glacier Trail and checking out the incredible Marble Canyon gorge. The following day was a bit of the rest day to enjoy the Radium Hot Springs as well as visit the town of the same name. We made a couple more stops while making our way on to Banff.
Darlene and I enjoyed a three-week trip to Turkey earlier in April. Our first twelve days was with a small group tour booked through Explore Worldwide that was mostly focused on visiting many ancient historical sites and ruins in western Turkey. All of Anatolia (including western Turkey) is actually an amazing crossroads of ancient civilizations, including Hittite, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman influences across several thousand years that are still clearly visible and continue to be uncovered in archeological sites.
A six-minute video montage of our entire trip across Turkey.
We had a great, fun group of nine for the Explore tour and a particularly exceptional local guide, Timucin Sahin. Tim is wonderfully enthusiastic and incredibly knowledgeable about the rich and complex history of Turkey, tracing it all the way back to the earliest civilizations in a way that is easy to follow and understand. He was also able to share insights on other topics like flora and fauna, as well as present-day politics and culture. I think having Tim as our guide really made the trip for everyone in the group.
Pamukkale Hot Springs (and travertine terraces)
After completion of the Explore tour in Antalya, we flew to Keyseri and caught an airport shuttle to our hotel in Göreme to spend the next four days exploring the Cappadocia region, known for its otherworldly landscapes, wind-sculpted rock spires, and centuries-old underground cities. We had a tour guide booked through Intrepid Travel for two of those days and were accompanied by another couple for one day. Unfortunately, while our local guide was well-intentioned, he tended to ramble a confusing stream of details and anecdotes that was even harder to understand through his heavy accent and somewhat broken English. Also, we didn’t notice that our trip planning brought us to Cappadocia on Easter weekend and the crowds were very heavy at the primary tourist attractions.
Still, we had a wonderful time in Cappadocia and very much enjoyed taking in the amazing sights and scenery. Even the hotels in the area are fascinating as many are built into the surrounding rock, mimicking the thousands of older dwellings carved into the rocks throughout the area.
Sunset overlooking Göreme city
The definite highlight was soaring over Cappadocia on a sunrise hot air balloon flight – it was gorgeous and magical. It’s amazing that so many dozens of balloons (apparently upwards of 150) are launched by dozens of companies almost every day (weather permitting). It’s an incredible sight – and an impressive logistics challenge.
A five-minute video featuring our sunrise hot air balloon flight over Cappadocia.
The other activity I was really looking forward to on this trip was getting to spend a day mountain biking some of the many trails in the area. Unfortunately, after we booked the bikes for the following day, I got sick with a nasty cold the night before. I decided to try to push through it anyway and take on the captivating 18-mile route that was mapped out for us by the bike shop. What we did get to see and experience was really great but as I became ever more exhausted by the illness, we had to cut the ride short.
After four days in Cappadocia, we flew to Istanbul to spend three days in the old city district, visiting famous sites like Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the underground Basilica Cistern. We managed poor timing again with crowds by inadvertently choosing to visit on a national holiday, but then there was a significant earthquake midday which closed all of the historical sites and sent everyone away for the day. Still we managed to squeeze in visits to the sites on our following final day in Istanbul and Turkey.
The Blue Mosque interior (left), Basilica Cistern (right)
Continuing our road trip through southern Utah, Darlene and I moved on to Canyonlands National Park. Canyonlands is actually divided into three separate districts which can only be accessed separately. We spent four days exploring the Islands in the Sky district, repeatedly blown away by the incredible vistas revealed in every direction. Most of our time was spent hiking various trails on the mesa top but we also spent one day biking down from the mesa on the White Rim Road. Would be great to come back sometime and fully explore that 100-mile rough dirt road.
We lost a half day here and there arranging to get the van’s badly-wearing tires replaced but I got a taste of some of great mountain biking trails outside the park while we were hanging out in the area. After getting the new tires installed, we headed south from Moab in the midst of snow flurries to spend a couple of days in the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park, including a long day of hiking and scrambling through the Chesler Park area.
We didn’t try to reach the western, third district of Canyonlands, The Maze. It’s much more remote and much less accessible.
Topping off our extended Europe trip, Darlene and I flew from Stockholm to Geneva to spend three weeks traipsing around Switzerland in June. In Geneva, we walked around and rented electric scooters over a couple of days. One day we took a train to walk around the medieval town of Annecy in France. After that we were off to the other side of Lake Geneva to visit Lausanne, Vevey and Montreux – checking out the Olympic Museum, the wonderful Chaplin World and the historic castle Château de Chillon.
10-minute video montage of highlights from our time in Switzerland
Then we were off to stay a couple of nights in the tiny walled medieval town of Gruyéres – known of course for its cheese and fondue. We visited the castle museum there and the surprisingly extensive HR Eiger museum. We also enjoyed tours at the cheese factory La Maison du Gruyére and the chocolate factory Maison Cailler in Broc.
Continuing on, we spent a few hours in Bern after dropped off our rental car to continue by train to the main attraction for our trip, the Jungfrau region. We broke it up by spending four nights in Wengen, three nights in Grindelwald and two nights in Mürren. With so much to see and experience in the region and so many tremendous vistas in every direction, we could have happily spent many more days exploring the area and following the many hiking and biking trails – and perhaps we’ll come back someday to try out the many ski areas.
Staubbach Falls in Lauterbrunnen valleyHiking towards Jungfrau peak
Besides gawking at all the incredible views every which way, some of the other highlights of the Jungfrau region were seeing the thunderous subterranean Trümmelbach Falls, ascending to Jungfraujoch and traversing across the top of the Aletsch Glacier, walking through the Grindelwald Glacier Gorge, hiking beneath the peaks of Eiger and Mönch, visiting Schilthorn peak and the Piz Gloria above Mürren and taking a side excursion into the St. Beatus-Höhlen cave system near Interloken.
The view among the wildflowers looking up to Eiger and Mönch.
After the Jungfrau region, we traveled to Zurich, stopping mid-day to see some sights in Lucerne. We had three nights in Zurich and wandered about a bit. We missed out on getting a tour through the Lindt Home of Chocolate (d’oh!) but our day excursion to go see the amazing Rheinfall (Rhine Falls) was so worth it.
There’s still lots more we haven’t seen of Switzerland and so I’d love to go back – and maybe in winter for some skiing in the Alps!
On our return trip from watching the eclipse in Central Texas, Darlene and I first headed to the southwest edge of Texas to spend a few days exploring Big Bend National Park along the Mexico border.
We didn’t have campground reservations and of course everything in the park was booked out for weeks but we were able to snag backcountry sites which you can only reserve in-person 24 hours in advance. These are a handful of very dispersed but specifically designated sites along some of the unpaved back roads. Know that some of these roads require high clearance 4×4 vehicles and some of the sites are very remote, requiring hours to reach. We actually chose not to take one of these sites because we didn’t want to have to spend so much time to get to it and from it. As it turned out though, we spent over an hour trying to get to a camp area outside the north end of the park. In hindsight, we should have looked to find a campground out the more built-up west entrance of the park.
Anyway, we spent three full days hiking, biking and touring very different areas of the park, from desert to mountains and along the Rio Grande. If you go, make sure you don’t skip out on the really well done Fossil Discovery Exhibit.
