Where There’s Smoke…

 

Alaska summer wildfires are a thing.  They are everywhere. We drove  through a fair amount of smoke yesterday going south on the Parks Highway from Fairbanks toward Denali.  Signs warned of the need for delays and pilot cars to go south of Anderson where our next campground is located

Upon arrival we were extremely disappointed in the campground (can you say “false advertising “?)  This is part of the adventure though—the disappointment of non-working showers, dirty bathrooms, no picnic table in the campsite   We decided Enough Adventure of that kind and resolved to move on today

During the night we got emergency notifications for evacuations near that area   

Yes that’s from 2:43 a.m.!

This morning we stopped and talked to one of the firefighters staying in Anderson who told us the road north back to Fairbanks was closed but the road south was open.  There is a section where the firefighters are actively working and the road is open one lane only so we had to wait and follow a pilot car about 15 miles. 

Today we drove to Cantwell which is just south of Denali National Park where we have Real Working Showers  and amazing views nearby

Its the simple pleasures!!

Alaska!

 

We made it from Haines Junction into Alaska (easiest border crossing in my entire life!!) and to the Tok River State Recreation Area campground.  

Not gonna lie…road noises loud there and the rain was off and on so we wisely decided to move on   But to where??  We talked to a woman from Chattanooga who told us about a nice hike east of Fairbanks so we headed to  Chena River State Recreation and got a nice campsite for a couple nights. 

Today we hiked most of the Angel Rocks trail 

The view from where I called it quits.

Tomorrow we head toward Denali National Park!

Kluane National Park

During our planning to drive to Alaska my travel partner asked where I might like to go in Alaska.  I’ve been there twice before—up the inside passage on the Alaska State Ferry and around Anchorage/Denali/Seward/Homer on a trip with my mom.  So I thought it would be great to see some of the Wrangell-St.Elias National Park if possible

But today we were able to see and hike near the St-Elias mountain range in the Kluane (Klu-AH-ne) National Park on the Canadian side.  They are spectacular!   The 2 national parks are contiguous and create one of the largest international protected areas 

On the hike we saw lots of familiar wildflowers. 

Bluebells 

Lupines

And this weeks challenge!   Are these yellow paintbrush?

Last week my friend JH helped me ID false Solomon’s seal and tall white bog orchid!

The Middle of Nowhere

This is what Google Maps showed us today!   Yikes!!  Thank goodness for paper maps!

From TripleG Hideaway campground we headed to Liard Springs Provincial Park where we camped, soaked in the hot springs, and enjoyed the park

There I spoke to a nice family from Argentina —parents and 2 kids touring the US in an RV for 2 years!  What great memories those kids will have!

Today we drove to Teslin in The Yukon.  Here we are camping in an ugly gravel parking lot on a beautiful lake!  Go figure!!

Scenery along the road today was spectacular.

And also interesting!

Seen this week:  5 black bears and a moose along the roadside!

On the (smoky) AlCan!

 Yesterday we made it to Fort Nelson along the Alaska-Canada highway.  There is evidence of forest fires in the recent and distant past.  This road was closed in a couple spots not too long ago and we could see why.

We had a great dinner at the restaurant at our campground (Triple G Hideaway) with some folks we met in Dawson Creek who are camping near us   The food was excellent (buffalo blue cheese burgers…mmmm)   Some BC firefighters were eating in the restaurant too   I admire the challenging and dangerous work they do.  

Today it was more smoky here.   We ran errands and planned the next few legs of our trip.   We head west tomorrow in search of hot springs and clearer skies!

A Fork in the Road

 After Mount Robson our next stop was Crooked River Provincial Park near Bear Lake, British Columbia.  No bears to report but some fierce mosquitos!  

The lake had 3 different kinds of waterfowl, 2 of which were new birds for me.  The red-necked grebes were nesting and some pairs had little ones swimming along or riding on the parents backs.  Their calls were somewhat frightening in the middle of the otherwise quiet night

We took a nice walk on Bear Lake Trail and Crooked River trail.  More beautiful wildflowers!

We had to decide which route we are taking to drive to Alaska:  the AlCan (wildfire risk?!?) or the Cassier Highway ( grizzlies in campsites!?!).   

We chose and drove to Dawson Creek BC, the start of the AlCan highway

Tomorrow we head to Fort Nelson to camp a couple days before moving on.  Probably no WiFi there so Got Bliss will sign off until we have “some bars” (not bears) 

New birds for me - red-necked grebe, Wilson’s snipe,  and lesser scaup

Flowers and Birds and Bears, Oh My!

Thursday we drove north through Banff and Jasper National Parks into Mount Robson Provincial Park.  The scenery was spectacular and our photos don’t really do it justice but here are a few anyway

Mount Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.  The 2 days we were there were very cloudy so we didn’t get a clear view of the peak.  Other parts of the park were very nice including Yellowhead Lake near our campground 

On our way out of Mount Robson we did a short hike to Overlander Falls

From there we drove through Prince George and north to Crooked River PP.  On the way we saw our first black bear by the side of the road. 

New birds for me this week:  Mountain chickadee, tree swallow (so blue!!), red-naped sapsucker, western wood peewee and orange-crowned warbler.   I even whistled the chickadee into our campsite!!!

Flowers: 

Yet more colors of columbine.

? Help?