Fairbanks and Anchorage

In Fairbanks I went to the Aurora Ice Museum at Chena Hot Springs. The place is really cool...get it? Lame joke.Yeah, anyway, it is cold but the ice sculptures are phenomenal. These artists are very talented and devoted to this museum. There are bed rooms, towers, a martini bar, a bathroom and even a fireplace made of ice. Totally worth the  hour-and-a-half drive from Fairbanks and $15 admission.

Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska, surrounded by lots of mountains, there is no shortage of fun things to do here. I had fun on a mud beach by one of the shores, can't remember the name of the park:

Arctic Circle or Bust

Since driving on the Dempster Highway in Canada, I've been eager to reach the Arctic Circle here in Alaska. So I did. But let me tell you, the road that goes to the Circle north of Fairbanks, the Dalton Highway, is much rougher and nastier than its Canadian counterpart; not to mention me and my buddy Roger almost ran out of gas. Just driving on this road is quite an undertaking. Lesson learned, fill up that empty emergency gas tank sitting on the backseat.

The Dalton Highway also parallels the famous Trans-Alaska pipeline, which pumps up to 60,000 gallons of oil per minute on its way to Valdez.

Anyways, the weather was absolutely incredible the day we headed up there, mostly sunny with a nice cool breeze, and no mosquitoes. At this latitude the sun never drops below the horizon in summer days. In winter however, temperatures can drop to minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit at night.

The Last Frontier

Woke up in Tombstone and immediately headed south back to Dawson City to fuel up and clean up. Klondike Highway ends and you need to get on the ferry to the other side of the Yukon River, where Top of the Word Highway begins. The Top of the World Highway is a very scenic winding road, which turns very rough at times, especially once you cross the border into the United States. All the way from Poker Creek (the most northerly land border in the US) until Chicken, Alaska, the road is unpaved, dirt and rough.

At last, after 56 days and 8,290 miles (13,341 km) of driving since my departure in Stamford, CT, I have arrived at my destination, The Last Frontier, the biggest state in the US (twice the size of Texas), the land of the midnight sun, glaciers and northern lights, Alaska.

Thank you to all those that supported me and helped me along the way. To all of those whom I've met on the road, I wish you safe travels. To all of those who have not yet begun the remarkable journey, I hope this blog gives you the inspiration and courage to begin your life-changing adventure.

Yukon, Larger than Life

Yukon is yet another stunning environment. I know I might be saying stunning, beautiful and gorgeous too many times, but these are the only words to describe how incredible Yukon is. I took a detour off the Alaska Highway onto the Klondike Highway up to Dawson City. On the drive there I saw grizzly bears with cubs, about ten black bears, multiple rainbows and the first sight of arctic caribou. I stayed in Dawson City for the night and the next day headed to the famous Dempster Highway, a 457 mile (736 km), gravel-surfaced all weather highway that crosses the Arctic Circle and ends in the Arctic Ocean.

Driving the whole stretch was not included in my itinerary, so I only drove up the Dempster to Tombstone Territorial Park, hiked one of the many beautiful mountain ranges along the pristine tundra and camped for the night.

Northern Rockies

My next stops after Dawson Creek were Fort Saint John and Fort Nelson in British Columbia. After that is a 13 hour stretch to the next big town, Whitehorse. That stretch was one of the most memorable experiences though. The drive is gorgeous and scenic of course, but there are plenty of beautiful mountains, lakes and rivers to explore. I hiked at Stone Mountain Provincial Park during the first day and then camped on the shores of Muncho Lake. Muncho Lake is just as beautiful as Lake Louise back in Banff, with the same incredible aquamarine color, just ten times bigger.... this is a place of endless beauty. The next day I hiked through the canyon and up the mountain right across from the campground, which provided excellent views of the lake below. For the grand finale I ended the day soaking and relaxing at Liard Natural Hot Springs.

 

During these days, part of the Alaska Highway had literally been washed away by flooding in the area. Many people were stranded for days. Lucky for me, when I was done camping and ready to move on, the road re-opened and I was able to drive the last stretch of wilderness to Whitehorse , Yukon Territories.

Dawson Creek, Mile "0"

Milestone worth mentioning:

Bear Sprayed!

I bear sprayed myself by accident. Hahaha. I was hiking the  trail to the tea house at Lake Louise with my newly purchased Bear Spray strapped to by belt. As I was climbing a rock I pressed the canister with my knee, spraying pepper fumes all over. The canister comes with a safety plastic that was not on at the time. All I heard was a whooossshh and next thing I know, this orange substance had been tainted all on my clothing. I had to finish the hike all the way to the Lower Beehive point, which by the way has an excellent view of the lake below.

Afterwards I had to throw away my cargo pants, hoodie, camera case, and even my backpack, because they were all contaminated with the spray and that stuff is really tough to wash off. It got in contact with my knee and it made my skin red with a burning sensation.

On to Canada!

I drove over to Calgary and spent a few days in Banff and Jasper National Parks. The drive from Lake Louise to Jasper is jaw-dropping gorgeous. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that for hours you will be enjoying the most incredible landscapes on earth all around you. The scenic drives in Colorado where beautiful, but this drive is so breathtaking it can bring tears to your eyes. Aptly dubbed "the most scenic drive in the world," the mountains, lakes and forests in Banff and Jasper offer amazing views that change from beautiful to amazing every time the road turns. This is the closest I've been to heaven, on earth.

Obviously I have tons of pictures, but I'm trying to figure out a good way to share them all online. I've tried Picasa and I went over the storage limit, and facebook is not ideal. If anyone has any recommendations for this task please let me know.