We didn’t see cattle until we got to Houston. Houston, B.C. that is. There are no fences up north. No livestock. Unlike South America, where the fences and herds of domestic animals are ubiquitous, we drove for thousands of miles and never saw any farm animals. What we did see was some of the most beautiful, wild landscape on this planet.
Dezadeash Lake, wind and sand. The road runs through the Yukon, B.C. and Alaska.
Tatshenshini-Alsek Wilderness
Dyea Estuary, an old goldrush townsite near Skagway. Capi thought the old snags were bears. We camped here for the night. In the morning busloads of cruise ship passengers arrived to bear-watch.
Our arrival in Skagway on the Alaska State Ferry from Haines. From Skagway we headed to Watson Lake, stopping at a campsite just outside of town, trying to avoid the evacuees in Watson Lake. Everyone else on the road had the same idea. It was a small campsite, but was jammed, with cars and campers parked wherever they could. Everyone was friendly. One man was gold panning in a creek beside his RV, and found flakes of gold.
A fire near Carcross on the way to Watson Lake.
The massive Signpost Forest at Watson Lake. From Watson Lake we cut over to Stewart, B.C/Hyder, Alaska at the head of the Portland Canal. Both Bill and my brother David worked here in the late 60’s. We looked for memories. Nothing was the same. There is now a long walkway that goes out over the marshy estuary, about 2 meters above the ground. Capi mistook the tops of willow bushes for solid ground, stepped off onto them and tumbled 2 meters through the foliage into the marsh. Once we managed to get her leash off, the trick was to calm her down and convince her to push through the bushes for about 300 meters to get to shore. She was a muddy mess and we were wrecks. So we put her in the truck and went for lunch.
Looking for memories. The local economy was based on mining. Hyder is a few minutes down the road, in Alaska. A narrow, winding road leads through the Tongass National Forest, a National park that the US Government has just opened up for logging, to the Salmon Glacier.
Salmon Glacier
Toe?
Pinks and dog salmon in Fish Creek, Tongass National Park.
From Stewart we drove for days, avoiding wild fires.
Driving down endless highways, into the land of fences and shopping malls, exhausted and exuberant, to home.
Bunk time.
