The Sailing Frog hopping on the Norwegian ferries

We are now staying with my brother and his wife in their lovely house in Aix. The pool is at 28 degrees and perfect for cooling down in the afternoon.

But we have busy mornings before it gets too hot.

We do a city tour in the old town and it’s market day so we also shop for dinner. My brother is a great cook and spoils us. Best veal scallopini ever.

The next day, we went out on the Zodiak inflatable for a picnic lunch, a swim and a tour in front of Marseille Harbour.

That night, we watched France qualify for the Rugby quarter final. Epic!

We spent the next day in Île sur la Sorgue, lunch in a quaint restaurant and stroll through the Antiques stores.

Our trip is ending, we will be home tomorrow night. Thanks for all your comments.

After a day of air travel, we land at Lyon airport and we are picked up by my sister who lives on a 20 hectare farm in the Isère valley.

We are staying in a Gîte rural, a cute house on her property, that was just renovated to meet the criteria to belong to Gîtes de France. For now there are 2 bedrooms with ensuites, but for next year, they are building 2 more bedrooms in the attic. It’s called Gîte Tilleul-Menthe and yes there is a Linden tree and fresh mint on the property, also a fig tree. We are planning to come back and stay there as a base to cycle in the mountains nearby.

Here is the link for more pictures:

https://www.gites-de-france-isere.com/location-vacances-Gite-Tilleul-menthe-a-Saint-romans-38G453100.html

Our stay is very peaceful, we watch the sunsets on the Vercors mountain, pick some walnuts, and go for hikes close by.

Of course, we eat great local food, including the last of her raspberries.. And the cheese tray is unbelievable. On the last day, my sister makes tarte Tatin, a real treat.

It was a Museum morning, we bought a day pass on the transit and went to the Museum district.

We got a combination ticket and went into three museums in succession.

We rode the bus back to the center and switched to an Oslo transit ferry going island to island, about 10 stops.

Now we experiment with the T-Bahn, part subway, part LRT to go to Frognerseteren, the highest metro station in Oslo at 469 meters.

We have made good use of the day passes, twice on the bus, all around the harbour on the ferry and on the subway and LRT.

Locals use the transit a lot as there are numerous tolls on the way to town for personal cars.

We walked from 9:30 to Noon and saw many of the city landmarks in overcast skies.

We explore downtown in the afternoon, pedestrian streets, patios, shops and electric scooters everywhere.

In an old Norwegian poem from 1870 there is a fight between the tiger and the horse. The tiger represents the dangerous city and the horse the safe countryside. That’s how Oslo got to be known as the Tiger City. The Bronze tiger weighs 4.5 tons.

Phee and Rick leave tomorrow at 5 am, we will miss their company very much, we have had a very fun journey together. They are heading to Portugal for an electric bike tour and after one more day in Oslo, we will go to France.

We go to the Narvik War Museum at opening.

In Oslo, we are very relieved to find the way to our hotel easily on the subway.

Going back to last night, MS Polarlys did not stop at our final destination, nor in Stamsund the next stop in the Lofoten Islands. In a serious gale with gusts to 50 knots the ferry made way to Bodo across the mighty Vestfjord. It took seven hours in really rough conditions to get us back to land.

See the video on the link below

But at 1:30 am, a bus was waiting for us and took us to a hotel and flights were booked from Bodo to Narvik.

We arrived safely in Narvik about 3 hours later than the original plan and although we missed a scenic bus transfer through the Lofotens we are happy to be back on track. We had a great dinner in Narvik at a fish place called Fiskhallen. The weather is much better. Bedtime will be early, we are exhausted.

By the way the tension is mounting in our little group, we all entered the ship’s photo contest. The Hudsons got three pictures (2,3,5) on the shortlist of five and the Bests got two (1,4). Can’t wait for the winner of the pin to be announced!

It’s pouring rain and our first stop is Harstad again, but it’s Dunnery’s turn to walk Mini.

From then on, the seas have gone rougher and rougher, and for our safety, the Captain has cancelled our landing in Svolvaer which was our final destination on the ferry. We are very lucky that because they don’t want dogs anywhere on the ship , we did not get checked out of our cabin and we can ride the waves lying down. A little more unpleasant for our friends.

Tomorrow, I will tell you where we ended up! The next stop, or the next?

Our first stop this morning is Hammerfest, the Northernmost town in Norway. By now, you have noticed that in Norway, it’s a big deal what is Northernmost. We have encountered, the town, the village, the fishing village, the chapel…

Hammerfest of course gets a long and dark winter, so not a surprise that they were the first town in the entire world to install electric street lighting in 1890.

The stop is fairly brief, just about 1hour and fifteen minutes and to make things complicated our terminal is across the water from town.

We have reserved bus transfers to town so we would have time to climb to the top of Mt Salen and get a glimpse at the church.

We just made it with about 4 minutes to spare, hiding Mini in the pack for the transfers and inside the church. It’s as if she knows to keep quiet and invisible.

Unfortunately, we were not left with enough time to go see Norway’s oldest lighthouse.

Tonight is our King crab dinner, remember this guy we met yesterday. The Chef did him in, not by dropping him in boiling water, which is forbidden in Norway for being too cruel, but by piercing his brain with a sharp knife which is apparently quite acceptable.

At 9:00 we reach the easternmost town of our trip. Kirkenes is very close to the Russian border. We have not secured visas ahead so no going shopping for cheap Vodka, caviar and food like the Norwegians do regularly, while the Russians come for the higher quality diapers for example. These are special visas available here just to go shopping.

Back on the ship, Wolf fish unique to Norway, a very deep water fish that can reach 26 kg, now farmed successfully

For the first time, we wake up in fog and rain which is too bad as we had plans to hike from the ship to the top of the mountain behind Honningsvag.

We have about 2 1/2 hours on land and after doing some research in the morning and a few phone calls, we find a minibus waiting for us at the ship to take us to NordKapp with three Norwegians. No hiking.

Early morning stop in Harstad, an old Swedish town. Just time to take Mini around the bush and take one picture.

At 2 pm we land in Tromso for an afternoon of hiking. We uber to the other side of the bridge and hitch a ride up on the cable car.

We walked 6.8 kms, about 700 meters downhill and 279 uphill.

Tonight dinner is at the pub.

We are still not getting the rain that has been forecast , so we head out facing the headwinds and big gusts to explore Svolvaer.

Then we drive to Henningsvaer to visit the “Kaviar Factory” expecting to see the processing of fish roe, and hoping to afford to buy some caviar. However as we get to the door, it is closed and it says to phone them to access the Modern Art Gallery. We have been so misled!

The village is very pretty and has its very own soccer field.

For the rest of the afternoon, we are at the Viking Museum.

It has started raining and now we just wait for our ferry to arrive around 9 pm to continue our voyage North to Kirkenes.

We stay at Hotel Scandic Svolvaer right on the water.

Our plan is to drive to the village of Å, just under 130 km and the end of the paved road south in the Lofoten islands. Car rental is easy, the key is under the mat and they park it at a pre-arranged spot. It’s not exactly new, mind you, with 139000 kms.

We go through tunnels and on many bridges, past many farms and fishing villages.

The end of the paved road in Å. That’s it folks!

At 7:48 am we crossed the Arctic circle and Neptune’s cousin of the North, Njord gave us his blessing. It has actually turned much colder.

Next stop is the town of Bodo.

We walk 300 m to the hotel in big gusts of wind, almost lifting Mini off the ground, but it’s not raining as forecasted. It’s good to be on land after crossing the Vestfjord, with open sea on the beam and big swells in the gale.

Trondheim is our only stop today, a gorgeous town of about 150.000 people. We have just over two hours to walk around.

A bit later the ship’s chef is conducting a tasting of the blue mussel. It has come fresh from a farm in Trondheim fjord today.

If you are looking for wild mussels, look for Sea Eagles or ernes, as they are a predator of the Eider duck, which is the biggest predator of mussels.

As we are sampling the mussel we pass the Agdenes lighthouse from 1804. It is most known because in 1540, the Danish King Christian III sent 2 ships to Trondheim to bring back the church treasures to Copenhagen to be melted down. They collected all St Olav’s relics and precious things, and set sail for Denmark. One of the ship sank of Agdenes with a large silver crucifix (1052) the bells from Nidaros Cathedral etc… So far, no success in locating the wreck.

Tonight, it’s gourmet dinner in the fancy dining room abord MS Nordkapp.

We have 2 quick stops at 3 and 5 am in Floro and Maloy that we did not notice in our comfortable little cabin. We are in the dog house so to speak, on the lowest deck close to the exit ramp because we have a dog. So 330 is the dog cabin, next to the luggage storage. In some ways it’s just great, that closet is super quiet and the location is not close to the engines, so all good. We also have a window with a view and as there is no outside gangway on that deck, we have complete privacy.

At 8:20 am Torvik, we have exactly 2 minutes for Mini’s pee and she has no issue having waited since 8 pm last night.

Then we are off to Horundfjorden, a large deep fjord and a 2 hour stop in the small village of Urke, 25 inhabitants, farmers and fish farmers. They are proud to be self-sufficient with lamb, goats and salmon, and they are famous for their tomatoes.

The water is too low to dock so we go to land by tender and that leaves us very little time to hike, but we manage 4.3 kms with 325m of elevation to a superb viewpoint of the fjord with our ship anchored. Just under 2 hours but pretty hard work on the uphill to the little mountain hut where we sign the guest book.

Next stop is Alesund.

We are in Norway, in Bergen for the day.

We have a short day to walk around Bergen and the pretty streets of the downtown and harbour area.

We walk through the fish market and the farmers market.

The highlight of the day is a steep ride on the funicular and walk back to town down a forested path with evergreens at the top, then beech. Alas, no fungi.

Time to board our ship, MS NordKapp. The sun is back for the evening and we leave Bergen after a wonderful buffet diner including flaky fresh cod and shrimp, hot smoked salmon, mussels, many choices of vegetables and salads, and of course something new to me , the smoked lamb head, a local delicacy.

Today is another walking day, we are exploring Nyhavn which means New Harbour although it dates back 400 years exactly this year.

And then we jump on the subway next to our hotel and get to the airport 30 minutes later.

We have a quick flight to Bergen, and there we jump on the LRT which takes us right to our downtown hotel for about $3. So efficient, comfortable, clean and safe.

At the hotel, we join our friends Rick and Phee who are hopping on the Hurtigruten ferry with us tomorrow afternoon.

Early start, we are ready at opening at 6:30 for a full breakfast buffet, with everything you can imagine except fish!

We spend the whole day walking around the city. Unfortunately, we can’t go in the Danish Museum of Design with Mini.

We have great weather so it’s a pleasure to stroll around. One just has to be careful with the thousands of bike commuters everywhere.

A long journey over two days with three flights including a red eye! Stop in Calgary is perfect, stop in Paris a little more iffy. They still do not have pet relief areas at Charles de Gaulle airport so again we have to hide Mini in a planter.

But we do get safely to our hotel on the City hall square in Copenhagen.

Early bedtime if the clock bell stops ringing the hours and the halves and the quarters.

The air is clean and the sun is shining, we are on the way home before 7 am, as the ferries are busy on Sundays. We are lucky the line is not too bad and we get on the 1 pm.

It’s been a great adventure and below are a few more pictures from the Nikon, I just uploaded on my desktop. My zoom just was not quite enough for wildlife in the distance.

Now, we are home, Mini went straight to her stuffed owl for a big hug. All is well.

Soon after leaving Smithers and passing Telkwa, we get into the forest fires and the smoke. The smoke is sometimes very thick and does not leave us until we reach 100 Mile House on Highway 97. Over 600 kilometers of driving in the smoke, hard to see at times and hard on the eyes and lungs.

Then we arrive at our home for the night, the Historic Hatcreek Village just North of Cache Creek. It has a few RV sites, a chuck wagon and some rustic bunkies to rent. No smoke but over 30 degree heat. It will be a hot night, our only one on this trip.

Another great day in the North sunny with showers but getting smoky as we arrive in Smithers. We are told to expect a lot of smoke tomorrow as we go East on the Yellow Head Highway.

After a walk through town, we had dinner at the Riverhouse Restaurant and the room was nicely decorated with skis, snowshoes, canoe parts, bear skin, chainsaw, 6 inch thick spruce tables, river rocks etc… Then Dunnery told me it was all fake!

I wonder if the firefighters in grey overalls with blacken faces like the chimney sweep in Mary Poppins showing up for dinner were also part of the show, or did they just come back from a stint on the Bulkley Nechako fire?

BC fire map and Drive BC have a warning for the Dease lake area, with an evacuation order posted and traffic restricted to single lane with pilot.

We are worried about being stuck North if it gets worse so we abridge our stay in the Skagway/Carcross area, cancelling the SamMcGee trail hike to get across the fire zone before it spreads.

In fact, when we get to the junction to the Cassiar from the Alaska Highway, the lady at the gas station says there is no trouble, her daughter just came up. And we proceed, reassured. She was right, sunny blue skies and showers alternate, we only see a bit of light smoke for about three kilometers. We do catch sight of a young black bear in the distance, but he was gone before we got a photo.

So here we are at the Rabid Grizzly -no kidding that’s the name- Rest Area on Dease Lake, beautiful lake and beautiful night. Long day driving but no more worries for now.

We are going to Skagway on the 12:45 ferry, the only daily ferry. Time to linger in town, so a downtown walk is on the schedule.

However, the Museum, the Hammer Museum, the Salvation Army store, the fish store and the only bakery are all closed either on Wednesdays for the bakery or not until later for the others. There is not much else to do in town.

For once, we have time on our hands, the camper gets a cleaning and Mini gets a haircut.

At the ferry terminal there is yet another German Armoured Vehicle.

After a good walk through the entire town, we are ready for the local fare and end up sitting outside on the harbour at the Skagway Fish Company for two Captain’s platters including large prawns, Halibut and Sockeye salmon, all local and delicious. It’s not that warm but we can watch the crowds rejoining their ships.

From 27 to 9 degrees in a gale, the wind is so strong that the camper is shaking.

Up early we go for a 2 hour hike in Kluane Park, to Lake St Elias.  We are prepared with bear spray and Mini wearing a bell but we only encounter a female willow ptarmigan and her brood and a duck.

Then we head towards Haines crossing the Tashenshini Park, driving along the Klehini River and then the Chilkat River.

More luck with the sightings, a moose and a pair of Trumpeter swans, and quite a few bald eagles.

We reach Haines and take the main street which ends at this pub  right on the Lynn Canal by the small boat harbour.

We book a spot  next door at the RV park, great views. And we have extraordinary neighbours from Germany.

Then we drive up Lutak Inlet to Chilkoot Lake.

It’s a great day again for driving, clear blue skies and dry heat. We are going back on the same road we went West on, and it looks different.

The locoweed has finished blooming and those yellows are gone. The fireweed has started to bloom and there is a lot more pink.

Also, the road on the US side has received a lot of maintenance and paving, it’s much better. Not so much the Canadian section in Yukon which is extremely rough, but they are working on it. We follow the pilots after waiting our turn. The progress is slow.

Also, we are looking at things from the opposite direction and it is like a whole new road. No grizzly this time but a couple sightings of Trumpeter swans in the distance and a red tail hawk.

At the end of the day, we arrive at Dezadeash Lake, a large shallow lake where people fish and kayak and where I go for a swim in the cool water. It’s 27 outside so no problem.

We are staying the night at the Yukon Territorial Campground, a gem with campsites right on the lake.

Tonight, we have the  cute log cabin to recuperate from a little burn out which caused an itinerary change. We are saving Whittier, the Portage Glacier hike  and Valdez for next year and taking advantage of a scenic drive and the comfort of the cabin to refresh ourselves. We also treated ourselves with our friend Sharon’s antipasto which was a great boost to our spirits and an upgrade to the usual drab  camp menus.

Here are some of the views, truly spectacular on this sunny Sunday especially on the Glen Highway running from Palmer East of Anchorage to the Tok Connector Highway.

Wrangell is the largest active volcano in Alaska

The sailing back to Homer was very smooth and we are off the Tustumena promptly by 7 am with the usual efficiency, the crew is truly very professional and pleasant.

We are going North stopping in Kenai, small town with a long beach and a magnificent view of the volcanoes, then head back South to Seward.

The place is jammed, the entire waterfront is given away to RVs by the city which charges $ 40 or more for a parking spot. There are rows of RV spots for miles and it’s all full on Saturday night.

We decide to keep going and stop at Exit Glacier to hike to the lookout. The glacier is receding and is now much smaller than it used to be.

As we keep going North, we try every campground on the way, and they are all full.

We turn of on the highway to Whittier and same thing 2 more full campgrounds. No hotel rooms available, no RV park. It’s time to call it a day so we turn off on a gravel road just before the bridge in Portage, miracle there is room enough for our small camper along the river with a great view of the mountains. We are boondocking tonight! Not alone mind you, this is where the overflow from the campgrounds ends up obviously.

After a quick stop shopping , we go for a short hike on Near Island to stretch the legs before the long ferry ride back to Homer.

Then we visit the Historical Museum housed in a Magazin, the Russian word for store. It dates back to 1808.

Loading was hair raising again, we got the furthest back possible in the stern, the folded mirror no more than 1 inch from the wall, I swear. But the crew is amazing at guiding, so all went well.

The ferry is old but very comfortable, our long ride will be very scenic with the sun still out.o

I met a pro photographer on the poop deck and we cooperated in spotting, one of us starboard and one to port. And I got some pictures of sea otters and puffins on the Nikon to be uploaded asap.

In thick fog and fine rain we head out to Fossil Beach the most Southerly you can go on a paved road on Kodiak Island.

We were going to camp at Pasagshak Park but it’s just 4 or 5 sites along the river, more like a parking lot, and they are squatted by fly fishers.

We keep going to Fossil beach, the last bit is unpaved and chaotic, too many large puddles so we hike the last bit. The beach is grand with high cliffs and I think we saw the fossils.

Better even are the wild flowers, they love the constant mist. Three new ones today.

Spiranthes diluvialis is a rare species of orchid known as Ute lady’s tresses

Dactylorhiza majalis, commonly known as broad-leaved marsh orchid or western marsh orchid or fan orchid

We have reached the furthest point away from home, Fossil Beach on Kodiak Island after 5080 kms and a long ferry ride. We are now on the way home, but not quite in a straight line.

Next stop is the trailhead for Pasagshak Point. We hike 8.1 kms return through cow pastures, with calves and bulls too, to arrive at a breathtaking cliff top with a view of the ocean and the surf way down.

Suddenly as we get back to the camper around 4 pm the sun comes out and the return trip is fabulous, we can see the creeks and the mountains.

We call it a day at Buskin River State Park, 12 sites and only one is occupied. It is sunny, warm, and the bugs are light, we can have outdoor showers at the back of the camper. Mini gets a bath in the bucket to rinse off the cow poop. The birds are singing, it’s very pastoral except for the occasional jet fly over. We are only a few miles away from a very large US Coast Guard base obviously doing training runs. They stop for the night and resume promptly at 7 am sharp.

We arrive in Kodiak city right on time at 8:15 after a fairly nice crossing, not steady enough to use the shower but smooth enough to avoid seasickness.

Unloading is the reverse procedure from last night and it goes quicker as no one has to back up.

Quick tour of town, the fishing harbour, the visitors bureau, the Church, and the Wildlife Refuge Centre.

Then we go north to Miller Point, the location of Fort Abercrombie used from 1941 to 1945 to defend the northern approaches to Kodiak’s harbors from Japanese attacks.

This is now a historical State Park with a maze of trails, the usual wild flowers as well as two kinds not seen before, and a tiny campground.

We were going to water taxi across the bay to hike in Kachemak State Park for a hike to see the Grewingk glacier but at 5:20 when Dunnery woke up, it was very cloudy and foggy, and we did not go. Instead we had a leisurely morning with a stroll on the beach in Homer at very low tide where dogs can run free, and so can we, for miles and miles.

After that we took the East end road to Eveline recreation area for a hike in the meadows with views of the Portlock and the Dixon glaciers. In the winter it becomes c⁹ross country ski trails.

Of course here there are no fireworks for July 4th as it is never dark enough, so the small town gathers on Pioneer street to celebrate with a parade.

But no majorettes, no bands, and no music, and certainly no elephants.

Next we get on the overnight ferry to Kodiak Island in the rain. Our ship is the Tustumena leaving at 10:30 pm and arriving at 8:15 am. A 9h45 minute passage with the tide with us. The return will be 14 hours. We have a small cabin reserved for both journeys and Mini will have the run of the camper.

We arrive at the stern of the lower vehicle deck sideways and our platform is swivelled so that we are ready to back into our extremely narrow lane to the very bow of the ferry with merely a few inches clearance. But the guiding crew is an ace and without any stress, we are done. Off the mainland in the fog.

Morning showers are disappointing and we cut our beach stroll Short. There are people camping right on the beach just above the tide line. It’s low tide here and the water is very far away. Unfortunately, we cannot see the volcanoes in the clouds.

Then we are off to the Russian village of Ninilchik, completely invaded by RVs parked absolutely everywhere. People are here to fish and dig clams.

Soon, we are in Homer and walk around the town. Way too much traffic to be fun. So we drive the length of the spit, a lovely road with a path lined with lupines all the way to Land’s end.

It is very windy and cloudy as we drive along the shore of Cook Inlet going South on Highway 1. We soon reach the Kenai peninsula and stop briefly to look at rapids on the Kenai River, a popular rafting site.

The river is so beautiful with emerald waters that we decide to hike along its shore inside the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.

We start at the Eastern access point and do the loop. It is single track all the way through all kinds of vegetation, roots and rocks, rugged but truly rewarding especially near the Canyon.

We see a cormorant fly along the canyon and two other birds beside the terns and the magpies.

We also see some fungi but no morels despite the burnt forest.

We turn around in sight of Skylak lake as the rain is threatening. It works out well , we make it back to the camper without getting wet. Gaia says 10 kms.

There is not much of a road network down here, basically it is just the highway and a million river access roads. People come here to fly fish salmon and trout. We met a few of them and they seemed very happy with the catch.

The camp is at Clam Gulch near the beach, people dig for razor clams, we will check that in the morning. The campground is gigantic but mostly empty, we have the whole upper level to ourselves including two outhouses. Should be quiet enough, we can listen to the rain on the skylight.

First thing in the morning we visit the Iditarod race headquarters in Wasilla. Beautiful, big log construction along the Iditarod trail that goes from Seward to Nome in over 1000 kms.

Moments later we arrive in Anchorage after a small detour to the Old Fire Station in Eagle River as iOverlander says that there is potable water available. We don’t see it -it looks like an empty lot- and end up at the new fire station. Six trucks are on the ready, the men’s gear laid out on the floor, the bays are open. However, there is no one there. After a few minutes of calling, we go round the back and find a fireman who sends us across the road again. The Old Fire Station has been demolished but the hose is still there. Alas, this was not going to work, the diameter of the hose is wider than the standard, big rigs only here. We solve the problem at a gas station minutes later, we can shower again.

We hike about 7 kms on the Coastal Trail, a fun multi-use trail with lots of beach access and bird watching nooks.

We finish the day with housekeeping, we top up the fridge for the camping ahead and also do a load of laundry. The shorts and T-shirts are all clean but we have used up the pants and long sleeves trying to insulate from the mosquitoes, without success mind you.

We would love some news, comments, and edits from you guys. Contributions are always appreciated.

It is fairly clear in the morning and we only drive West a few miles on the Park Rd to see Denali in the distance. Both North and South peaks are visible although from afar they look like a monumental cloud.

We are heading to the end of the section of road open to the public at Mile 15. The rest is impassable due to a landslide.

Mini again is asked to wait so we manage the strenuous Savage River Alpine trail in 2h25 with only an 8 minute break. It is 6.7 kms long, with 457 m vertical, all the uphill in the first section less than 2 kms long. But the Army Corps of engineers has done a great job carving steps in the stone and the steep grade is easier on the ankles this way.

The flowers are varied and colourful, there are ground squirrels everywhere and the views are spectacular. The Alaska range is immense and rugged.

Thankfully, after this one way traverse through the pass just below the top, we do not have to double back as the park runs a shuttle on the Park road. The shuttle is however very slow , there is a caribou laying down on an island on the Savage river, so every tour bus has stopped to give people time for pictures. It would have only been a dot on my phone so no pic.

Then we drive South, the traffic gets very heavy, Friday night of a very long weekend so we stop in Wasilla. We are here Sarah Palin but we don’t see you!

This is the turn around point, we are now heading South to where the nights are longer. The 24 hour daylight is exhilarating but makes it hard to get a full night sleep. Can’t help thinking it’s already morning every time I wake up.

The drive is short to Denali and we are there mid day. Problem is Mini is not allowed on the hiking trails so we opt to hike the short Horseshoe Lake trail without her. The trail is beautiful and we are in luck.

Then we take Mini for a walk on the pet friendly trail and she is not happy having to wait at the railway crossing for the Alaska Wilderness train on the way to Fairbanks with all the cruise ship passengers aboard. That whistle is just too much.

We are cruising the Chena River on an old sternwheeler traveling to the historic Chena River village.

We happen to go past the Kennels and home of Susan Butcher, the second woman to win the Itidarod race.

Mini in awe of Granite, Butcher’s lead dog and 4 time winner of the Itidarod.

The baby carrier is made of birch bark, the bottom part is filled with moss that is disposable and eco-friendly.

After a big rain shower, the weather is back to perfect sun and dry heat as we head to Fairbanks on the Chena Hot Springs Rd lined with wild irises of varied blue and purple colours.

We are en route to Gold Dredge 8 on the Steese highway to take a short trip on a narrow gauge train to an old dredge producing gold until 1959.

At the end of the tour we are allowed to pan about half a pound of gravel and miracle between the two of us we gather some very fine nuggets apparently worth $45. Probably won’t pan out when we actually try to sell it.

Very close to Gold Dredge 8, there is a section of the Alyeska pipeline we can see up close.

We spend the afternoon at the Museum of the North on the university grounds overlooking the Alaska range. Scared the hell out of Mini sniffing bears of all species, wolverine, wolves and more and listening to the ruckus of bald eagles on the audio. But the art is fabulous and there are superb items not to be missed.

No driving today except to the trailhead to the Angel Rock hike close by. It’s a loop from the Chena River North Fork to Angel Rock, 3.5 miles and 900 ft of elevation.

The route provides access to alpine tundra and unique rock outcrops called Tors. The tors formed millions of years ago when molten lava pushed up and cooled before it reached the earth’s surface. The surrounding earth simply eroded , exposing the less erodible rock pinnacles.

Dinner is at the lodge’s saloon complete with bear skin, fox tails, moose antlers, a stuffed wolverine, and a bison head all listening with both ears to the Country Arctic music.

We did not see any wildlife today except for the red squirrel in our campsite. We are back into the camper tonight,  the campsite backs on the river and has blooming wild roses bushes all around, plus we had another soak in the hot springs after the hike followed by a cold shower. Just another wonderful day. I would love to come here in the winter and explore the cross country ski trails!

The mailbox in Beaver Creek is temporarily out of service, so no postcards from the Yukon for you guys!

We have no issue at the border crossing , but we are still on the section of Alaska highway built on permafrost, so it’s bumpy and has treacherous potholes and ruts parallel to the yellow line, it’s slow and unpleasant requiring 100 % focus to avoid trouble.

We stop at the Tetlin bird refuge, which is not yet open as we are now one hour behind on Alaska time. The birds are not awake either, nowhere to be seen anyway. The Trumpeter swans and the Sandhill cranes both migrate through here and there are telescopes available.

Time to reward ourselves with the great Miner’s breakfast at Fast Eddy’s.

We make it safely to the end of our journey on the Alaska highway reaching Mile 0 in Delta Junction.

The weather is improving and at mile 288 of the Richardson highway to Fairbanks we are in for a treat with a great view of Mt Hayes 13832ft, Hess mountain 11940 ft, and Mt Deborah 12339 ft.

And the highlight of the day is the Chena Hot Springs. The natural pool is nested by the river surrounded by large stones, there are cooler water fountains to refresh when it gets hot.

We have been told by the park ranger that the Williscroft creek canyon would be a nice hike, so we head over to the trailhead off a short section of unpaved road off the Alaska highway. As we arrive at the turn around, we meet a professional photographer from Wales and his friend from Canmore. They are here to shoot grizzlies and they are in luck as Mama is coming up from the highway with her cub. The guys are incredibly friendly and tell us how to behave. While the bears are far away, we can just watch from a pile of gravel and take our own pictures. Then, they get close, and the photographer suggests to get inside the vehicles. We comply but I stand on the bed of the camper with the skylight open and suddenly I am perfectly positioned for the brown bears when they make their way to our trail going right by the camper, probably less than 10 meters away. Below are the pics from my phone. I have better ones from my old Nikon but unfortunately have no way to upload them from the memory card right now.

This was incredible but we have lost our gusto for hiking in the footsteps of big Mama, so we drive 10 kms further to go up Sheep’s creek, a little less intimidating trail, especially since this early in the season the Dall sheep are on the other side of the mountain. It is a steep, strenuous hike but we are rewarded by an apparition of a ground squirrel just before the summit.

Unfortunately, a low trough is passing through today and the summits are cloudy, windy and with possible snow in the forecast. We had planned to fly over the icefields but the pilot said No Go.

So we keep driving West, the highway deteriorates as it is on permafrost. Slow and dangerous. We stop in Beaver Creek, last town before the US border.

We continue on the Alaska Highway with sunny skies, dry heat, and we really enjoy it as we remember the pictures from last year featuring orange and yellow raincoats and toques.

The first stop is by the suspension bridge in Myles Canyon just East of Whitehorse. We are just on time for the 10 am nature walk to Canyon City, which was famous during the Gold Rush. The two rangers are very knowledgeable with the local flora and the history, a terrific way to spend the morning.

We drive quickly through gorgeous Whitehorse, top up the groceries and head out towards Haines Junction. Quick stop at the Information Centre to get hiking ideas, and we are on the way to the Spruce beetle trail, which takes us to a lookout.

Next stop is another trail on the shore of Kluane lake, to the Shepherd’s knoll. An easy little summit with 360 views at an altitude of 856 meters.

A long full day with rewarding scenery, great wild flowers and high mountains still covered with snow.

We stay at Congdon creek , a Yukon territorial campground on the shore of Kluane lake. There are still way too many friendly mosquitoes but our camper has very efficient screens so we are safe. We are on schedule and all is going really well , (except for a small chip high up on the windshield on day 2).

We start the day very early, it’s been light for a long time already. As our friend Sandy pointed out, although we are past the summer solstice, our days will keep getting longer until we reach Fairbanks Alaska.

Jade City is already open so we purchased a small unpolished Jade piece since we got to stay the night for free. So the question is : how do we polish it?

After a short drive on the Cassiar we reach the Yukon border. That highway even has wild flower borders and would win any contest.

Then it’s the Alaska highway is at its best in this weather, hot, dry, and beautiful with all the wild flowers.

We stop in Teslin for lunch at the Tom Dewhurst Community centre’s picnic tables and just as we are about done, the chef comes out with a large grin, and says how about some dessert with that, holding two cups of berries for us. He is apologetic, saying it was a leftover from the Elders lunch today. What a thoughtful treat!

Next stop is the Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre with a small museum of magnificent pieces, masks, robes, mukluks , small bags made from swan or goose feet, or sheep testicles, etc… They also have an exhibit of grad dresses made by the graduates  and they are exquisite in hide selection, bead work and cut. Unfortunately, no pics are allowed inside.

We finish the day at the Johnson Crossing Lodge just under 200 kms away from Whitehorse. They provide wifi for a fee so I can blog and Dunnery can read about the loss of the submersible. There is no network outside of the towns so blogs will not be published regularly.

Today we are driving mostly on the Cassiar highway heading North towards the Yukon.

It is sunny and warm, very scenic with the snow on the mountains. And everything is very green. The lupines are just starting to bloom adding to the white wild daisies and some orangey early Indian paintbrush.

The Cassiar is very isolated, you need to watch your gas as the stations are far from each other if even open.

We stop for lunch at a turnout, and no it’s not some sort of coffee shop, nor a rest area, it’s just a muddy little extra shoulder to turn around let faster vehicles pass you or make a phone call. Nothing else and you can’t call anyway as there is no network anyways for 4 or 5 hundred kilometers. The place is so buggy that we actually cannot stay and take turns eating while driving. The Cassiar is much upgraded from last year, hardly any construction, a delight!

We are worried about stopping at buggy Dease Lake so we push on and end up in Jade City, which is not a city but a jade store with a grand collection of rusting tractors. They offer free RV parking and there is no one else there, so we are in luck.

This was planned as a long day of driving so rest areas are very important. In Northern BC, there are not enough, and although a few are wonderful, most are pathetic equipped with only a garbage box and no toilets.

The weather was great about 26 degrees for our hike on the Nature trail on the Nechako river in Vanderhoof and 28 degrees after a summer shower further West. This river is an important habitat for both salmon and white sturgeon.

Someone asked about Mini, she won’t need her PJs tonight, you can spot her under the table in the shade at our campsite. Lake Tyee is in Telkwa just before Smithers on Highway 16, the Yellow Head highway. The Hudson Bay Mountain in the background still has a little bit of snow.

Started on the 9 am ferry and a quick drive to Surrey to get the Sprinter serviced. We had missed the 5 week lead time required in Victoria for an appointment by 2 days. Surrey was running late but we got it done , unfortunately after a few minutes of travel, we realized that the multifunction display did not work any longer. So back to the dealership through the Surrey maze and with the intervention of the service manager, we got on the road again past 2 pm.

We drove up North through Hope, Boston bar, Spences Bridge, Lytton, Cache Creek, Clinton and Lac la Hache in unstoppable heavy rain, and in a way it was spectacular, though the pictures are very dull.

Lac la Hache provincial park is great, phone signal and flush toilets, so we are happy campers on our first night.

So this it, we have arrived in Port Angeles for the early ferry tomorrow. Trip is over sadly. Thank you for following our adventures.

After a brief visit to the Outlet mall in Anderson, which has only about half a dozen stores which were totally quiet at opening, we keep on the road North. No huge discounts for Black Friday, so no big crowds either.

We take a moment in Shasta city to admire Mt Shasta and also a little bit further Red Mountain.

We make it to Eugene in pitch dark weather and a fine but cold drizzle. It was a wonderful sunny streak we had the last 12 days!