Had been fortunate enough to win a pair of free tickets for Alaska Cruise (from Vancouver to Whittier), with fixed departure date on 9 May 2018. The only downside was it didn't include flights from Singapore.
Since my wife and I had wanted to take the Alaska Cruise for many years (ever since we last saw the cruise ship docking in Canada Place during our honeymoon 25 years ago), we decided totake up the offer and extend the holidays to include self driving tour in Canadian rockies before and inland Alaska after the cruise.
Before you proceed, be warned that this is a very loooonnng posting, covering nearly 1 month of travel, in day by day account.
27 Apr
Left home early at 11.30am for Changi Airport Terminal 3. Took lunch at the SAT Premier Lounge, then took 3pm flight to Taipei via Eva Air. Stopover for 4 hours at Tao Yuan Airport, rest/took a shower in the Plaza Premium Lounge. Flight to Vancouver delayed by half an hour, finally took off at 0225 H.
Reached Vancouver International Airport @7.50 pm.
View of snow-capped mountains as we approached Vancouver.
Collection of luggage and clearance of custom was quite smooth. New SIM card (T mobile) that we purchased from Singapore last minutes inserted and,.. yes..it was functional.
Picked up rental car from Alamo rental company; was pleasantly surprised by free upgrade to a bigger car.
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| walked across from airport to another building opposite, to pick up rental car |
Subconsciously, enter the car from right side... INTO passenger seat. Suddenly realised this is a left hand drive vehicle!
Checked into our first hotel @Richmond, just a 5 min drive from airport.
28 Apr
Decided to change our schedule in view of the heavy rain. Went to Richmond to buy ginseng, then instead of going to Capellino Suspension Bridge, we detour to Chinatown for dim sum and ginseng shopping again.
Dim sum was fairly good and authentic, but could not hold a candle to the one that we took in St Francisco many years ago.
The rain was still heavy.. We went to Capilano Salmon Hatchery near Capileno Suspension Bridge (as it is a sheltered building).
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| school of baby salmon |
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| column of cubicles, simulating upward path taken by the salmon |
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| salmon in one of the column of water... didn't do the salmon "jump" as scripted |
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| the hatchery for salmon |
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| scenery around the salmon hatchery |
Capileno Suspension Bridge is just a short drive from salmon hatchey. It used to be just the suspension bridge in the park when I last visited 25 years ago. I was overwhelmed by the length of the bridge then. But this time round, it didn't impressed me that much. Somehow, it failed to live up to the old memory I had. The view of the river /valley was still charming nevertheless.
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| entrance to the Capillano suspension bridge |
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| yours truly, braving the rain, posing at the suspension bridge |
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| Full view of the suspension bridge |
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| View from the bridge |
The entrance fees were quite exorbitant, at almost $50 per adult. I guess it has to cover the cost of tree top walk and cliff walk (which were not there in the old days).
The tree top walk was so so (it dwarf in comparison to tree top walk in Tasmania). The cliff walk more or less makes up for it.
The Tree Top Walk
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| view from above tree top walk |
The Cliff Walk
It was raining heavily. Hence, we gave Grouse Mountain a miss (didn't think there was any point of taking a gondola ride up to the mountain, with cloud shrouding the city from our view).
We stayed overnight at Best Continental Hotel in Hope.
29 April
Drove about 50 min north bound from Hope, to visit Hell's Gate. It was surprisingly exhilarating - the view from the Gondola of the rushing water below was fantastic. Not many visitors as it was still early in the morning (the place just opened 10 min earlier), and both my wife and I were the only people riding the Gondola to and fro. Took salmon chowder in the restaurant there - quite delicious (strongly recommended by many Trip Advisor).
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| specially build passage on the right, for the salmons to negotiate upstream (bypassing the strong currents) during spawning season |
Next destination - Othello tunnel (about 10 min drive from Hope). This is an impromptu arrangement, based on recommendation from local tour book. The tunnel is a relic of old rail road. The scenery along the way to the tunnel was way better than the tunnel.
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| Entrance to the trail to Othello Tunnel |
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| The Othello Tunnel |
We then drove via Highway 3, cutting through Manning National Park (viewing Hope Slide, where a massive landslide had occurred many years ago, obliterating the lake on its path), passing by Princeton and Pectinton, before reaching Super 8 Hotel at West Kelowna. It was a scenic drive, passing through mountain/natural forests @Manning Park, driving along the river which run ftom Pectinton to Kelowna.
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| Hope Slide (old land slide area, triggered by earthquake) |
Explored the local Walmart, Superstore and Home Depot in search of breadmaker. Only saw one in Walmart... Decided not to buy yet. Perhaps in Anchorage.
(we didn't see any breadmaker on display in subsequent stores in Anchorage)
30 April
The road trip today ran from Kelowna to Emerald Lake Lodge, via Vernon and Revelstoke.
The tourist spots in Revelstoke (e.g. Dam, Meadow in the Sky Parkway to Mt Revelstoke Summit) were all closed during this time of the year.
Hence, I decided to explore Myra Canyon Trail which is about 45 minutes drive from Kelowna (based on recommendation from guide book in the hotel). The trail leads to many refurbished trestles (left behind from old Trans Canada Railway). Drove up 8 km of gravel roads, then hiked for another 3km to reach the first trestle. The subsequent 3 trestles were just another 0.5 km away. Beautiful scenery, worth the visit. The hike was not tiring at all.
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| On the way to Myra Canyon |
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| Golf course behind |
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| animal right at the entrance to the Myra Canyon hiking trail |
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| view from car park @ Myra Canyon trail |
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| getting ready for the walk |
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| the refurbished trestle |
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| glimpse of the trestle at the top right hand corner |
Drove pass Vernon looking at 2 murals on the wall. Not that impressed though. Stopped for lunch (all you can eat fish and chips at $14.99).
The drive from Vernon all the way to Emerald Lake Lodge was charming as usual, cutting through Mountain, rivers and National Glacier Park.
Finally reached our hotel at Emerald Lake @6.10 pm. The lake was frozen! The view was fantastic!
Emerald Lake Lodge and its surrounding
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| avalance on the slope at the opposite end of the lake |
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| The drop off area/reception of the lodge |
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| The frozen lake |
Cook some instant noodles for dinner, then went for a dip in the hot tub nearby.
No Internet for the night, because our Sim card (t mobile) didn't have any service, and the hotel WiFi is only available in the lobby.
1 May
After taking our breakfast in our room, we left Emerald Lake Lodge.
Drove to Lake Louise, which was also frozen. We were able to walk on the frozen lake without any difficulties.
Lake Morraine was unfortunately not accessible during this time of the year.
We drove towards Banff. Wanted to visit the waterfall at Johnston canyon... But it rained and then snow as we were reaching the parking lot near the falls. Hence, had to give it a miss.
It was drizzling by the time we reached Banff, a rather touristy town.
Drove up to Banff Gondola, but didn't take the Gondola ride (because the view from above would most likely be shrouded by the rain/clouds). And the tickets were quite steep, over $60/person. The hotspring was just nearby. I dropped off my wife to explore /take snapshot of the pool.
Drove down to Bow falls lookout point. A small waterfalls, but surprisingly serene.
Had our lunch in a mall - the food court was apparently a favourite among the high school kids. The oriental food was only so so.
Banff Downtown
After lunch, we drove up Tunnel Mountain for a scenic drive. Saw a hoodoo (remnant of glaciers, after being eroded by natural elements of earth) from a lookout point.
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| Hoodoo.... in the lower third of the photo |
The cave basin and lower hotspring was closed for the day. Hence, I didn't visit the place.
We decided to check in early to Ramada inns and suites at Canmore, about 1/2 hour drive from Banff.
After checking into the hotel, we strolled around the main street. Could not see any good restaurant for our dinner. Bought some fried chicken /sushi from SafeWay supermarket for dinner in our hotel room.
Went for hot tub in the hotel after that.
Exploring Canmore
2 May.
Drove all the way from Canmore to Head - Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (a World Heritage Site).
This was the place where buffalo from the basin were lured by native people into drive lanes and finally ran over the cliffs. The natives would then slaughter the injured/dead buffalo down the cliffs. Apparently, some unfortunate native (who were hidding under the cliff) had his head smashed by the fallen buffalo; hence the name-sake.
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| The exhibition hall right on top of the mountain |
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| view from the car park |
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| The cliff where the bisons were tricked to jump off (on left) |
The drive from here to Waterton Lake was very scenic. Stopover at Oldman River Dam for photoshot.
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| unpaved road to Lake Waterton |
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| Old Man River |
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| Old Man River Damn |
Lake Waterton is located within Lake Waterton National Park, another Unesco World Heritage Site. After driving pass the entrance gate, one would inevitably be mesmorised by the picturesque grandiose of the lake and its surrounding snow capped mountain ranges.
The view of the lake and its surroundings was much better than Lake Louise.
We drove to Canada/US border at Chief Mountain for a look. The border was closed at this time.
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| Lookout point when driving towards Close Mountain |
Took our dinner in the restaurant inside Waterton Lake Lodge Resort (the first dinner in restaurant for this trip).
As this is a off peak period, almost all shops were closed. We could see some people doing last minute cleaning /repair works on their shops /hotel getting ready for the summer.
3 May
Drove over 3 hours from Lake Waterton to Dinosaur Provincial Park (World Heritage Site). Many dinosaur fossils were excavated there. The rock formation there was very impressive.
Drove around the park, stopping at some stations for short walks, exploring the rock formation. There were two display stations showing residual fossils dug out previously.
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| Fossils on display |
After that, we drove over 5 hours to reach Lake Louise Lodge, stopping over at Canmore for dinner and refuelling.
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| Dinner at family restaurant @ Canmore |
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| Lake Louise Lodge |
Enjoying brief relaxing moments at the hot tub in Lake Louise Lodge. Slept deep and soundly for the rest of the night.
4 May
Highlight of the tour - driving along Icefield Parkway @Highway 93, from Lake Louise to Jasper. The driving time without stopover is estimated to be 3 hours +. However, there were many lookout points along the way. Some of them were closed at this time of the year.
We managed to visit Bow Lake, and climb the snow-covered trail to Bow Summit (but didn't walk down the trail to peek at Peyton Lake).
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| stopped at one of the lookout point along Icefield Parkway |
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| View of Bow Lake |
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| Bow Lake to the left |
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| Bow Lake |
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| getting ready for the climb up to the peak of Bow Summit |
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| Reaching the peak of Bow Summit |
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| There is supposed to be a road for car to drive up the summit in summer |
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| No parking sign |
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| walking down the summit |
Next stop at Saskatchewan River Crossing for quick lunch.
Scenery along the Icefield Parkway...before reaching Saskatchewan River Crossing
Saskatchewan River Crossing Rest Area
Driving on, passing by the Weeping Wall (would have missed it if not for seeing another group of visitors stopping over at a look-out point, and pointing fingers at the Weeping Wall opposite). The water dripping along the cliff of mountain creates weeping tears effect, hence the name.
Weeping Wall
Beautiful lookout point after Weeping Wall :
Next destination - Glacier Discovery Centre (enjoyed the short movie being shown, on life story of a person related to glaciers) and snap pictures of the Columbia Icefield (located opposite the centre).
We didn't take the snow coach to walk on the glaciers - the ticket was quite steep (almost $100/person); anyway, we had walked on the same Icefield 25 years ago.
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| Columbia Icefield |
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| Columbia Icefield, with tiny snow locomobile in the background |
We then drove further north, stopping over at Suwapta Falls and Athabasca Falls.
Suwapta Falls
Athabasca Falls
Mt Edith Cavell was closed till Aug.By the time we reached Jasper, it was just over 5pm (we left Lake Louise at 9am); just missed the Jasper SkyTram which closed at 5pm.
Drove to Jasper ...
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| Jasper |
and booked into our hotel,
then drove to Maligne Canyon (managed to explore the first 3 bridges due to time constraints) - the view was again fantastic.
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| on the way to Maligne Canyon |
On the way back to our hotel, we visited Lake Pyramid.
Since Jasper SkyTram starts only at 10 am, we decided to visit Medicine Lake, which was about 30 min drive from Jasper.
The lake was 'drained', as there was not much supply of water from Maligne Lake upstream in winter /spring while the water seeped through the porous riverbed and drained out to the Maligne Canyon nearby. But, it was still quite scenic.
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| The forest around Medicine Lake was burnt by forest fire a few years back |
We drove another 20 min further up the slope to visit Maligne Lake, which was still frozen.
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| walking towards Maligne Lake, from car park |
We then drove over 40 min to reach SkyTram.
The view from the mountain top was exhilarating. And the wind was chilling. Positively one of the better mountain tops we have visited so far.
We then drove over 5 hours from Jasper all the way to Kamloops, passing through Mount Robson (stop over for pictures of Mt Robson, the highest peak in Canada, at the visiting centre), Valemount (took lunch there) and Clearwater (visiting Dawson Falls and Helmcken Falls at Wells Gray Provincial Park).
Helmcken Falls was simply amazing, and was bestowed the title of Little Niagara.
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| Mount Robson Visiting Centre |
6 May
Drove from Kamloops via highway 99, cutting through Savon, Cache Creek (visit Marble Canyon), Pemberton (had sumptuous /delicious lunch at The Pony Restaurant), before reaching our final destination, Whistler.
It was a very scenic drive... Seeing deep canyon with rivers winding through, lakes abound...
(Pictures say a thousand words!)
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| Quary for marbles... we thought it was a "pyramid" at initial glance |
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| Waterfalls |
Chanced upon a couple who paddled boat round a small island in a lake
Whistler was buzzing with many weekend crowd (it being Sunday). It is very touristy. For once, we saw people skiing topless, at temperature of 22'C.
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| Whistler |
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| Jacuzzi in our apartment |
We soaked in the jacuzzi provided by the hotel, and rested for the night.
7 May
Drove southbound along the Sea to Sky Highway, from Whistler to Horseshoe Bay.
Stopped at two waterfalls along the way.
First waterfall - Brandywine Waterfall. Apparently, this is the highest waterfall in British Columbia.
Took some photos of the railroad along the way.
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| entering into the trail towards Brandywine Falls |
Second waterfall - Shannon Falls. Different flavour, but spectacular nonetheless.
The sea to sky highway was touted to be a scenic drive not to be missed. However, after drove pass several scenic drives in the Canadian Rockies, the sky highway failed to captivate my heart this time.
After visiting the waterfalls, we drove to Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal, to embark on a ferry that fetched us to Nanaimo in Vancouver Island.
It never occurred to me that there is a Vancouver island. I thought there is only one Vancouver city until I did some planning on our trip. Since we have extra days for our trip, I had included 2 days' stay in the island.
The place to buy tickets at the ferry terminal is different for foot passengers and those travelling by car. Had to make a U-turn out from the ticket booth for foot passenger (driving into the highway), to go to the entrance for cars.
Pre-booking of ferry tickets incurred additional booking fees of $15 (ticket for vehicle +passengers cost close to $80). Since this is neither a weekend nor holiday seasons, I decided to buy the tickets on the spot. It was a right choice - didn't have to wait too long for our ferry ride.
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| driving into the highway... to get to ticket booth for vehicles |
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| quequing up to board the ferry |
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| Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal |
The ferry ride took 1.5 hour. The ferry itself was quite big and self sufficient, with food stalls selling variety of Western food. But I thought the ticket was a bit pricey.
From Nainamo, we drove passed Parkville, stopped over a Port Alberni (to view Mighty Martin Mars, the largest flying tanker ever flown - now retired) and then drove all the way (almost 3 hours drive) to Ucluelet (a small village at the western end of Vancouver Island). The scenery along the road wasn't that fantastic. It felt like driving along highway in Malaysia.
Port Alberni
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| Mighty Martin Mars |
Ucluelet was nothing to scream about, just a small town at the west coast (Pacific rim) of the island. Rather quiet place. Had Japanese food for dinner, then drove back 3 hour to Parkville for our hotel.
Ucluelet Beach
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| Sandcastle Inn |
8 May
Drove 1.5 hour from Nainamo to Victoria. Had a short walking tour of the harbour, Parliament Buildings and nearby Thunderbird Park.
The tourist spots in Victoria are more interesting.
Parliament Buildings
Harbourfront, right in front of Parliament House
Thunderbird Park
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| Royal British Columbia Museum |
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| Downtown Victoria |
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| Thunderbird Park |
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| Flower arrangement in front of Fairmont Empress Historic Site |
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| Almost 3 D like Wall Mural |
Drove to Beacon Hill Park, about 10 minutes walk from harborfront, or <5 min drive. The garden was quite impressive, with ponds, fountains, mandarin ducks, turtles and beautiful flower arrangement. And it is FREE! Ample free parking lots available.
Drove to the summit of Mt Tolmie Park, for a view of city. About 20 minutes drive from Harbourfront, can be omitted if short of time.
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| city view from Mt Tolmie Park |
We finally had a taste of the fast food in Tim Horton (fast food chain akin to that of subway / Mac Donald); it was not bad at all.
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| Our lunch @ Tim Horton |
We drove to ferry terminal near Sydney, and took the ferry across the sea to Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal.
Stayed in for the first time an Airbnb room with shared bathroom in Richmond. Felt rather constraint and unease at Airbnb room, even though the guests were quite polite/friendly. and the hosts didn't bother us much.
Went out for supper at one of the Chinese restaurants there, eating 过桥米粉 (cheap and delicious).
Richmond is an interesting suburb just outside of downtown Vancouver. Over 60% of the population is Asians!
9 May
Had half day to spend before boarding Coral Princess Cruise for Alaska.
Went for a walk at a heritage fishing village at Steveston, Richmond BC. A tranquil and scenic place, which used to be a busy salmon harbour populated by Japanese fishermen.
Went for Hong Kong dim sum nearby (better than the one we took in Chinatown), then to premium outlet near airport for shopping (bought some handbag and purses).
Proceed to Canada Place to unload our luggage at passenger drop off place (porter took care of our check-in luggage from there), and return our rental car at the same place. Didn't realise the rental return place was just one floor below, in the same parking building as drop off place. We drove around the streets near Canada Place in futile effort, finally was guided by the security officer guiding the taxis at Canada Place to the correct place.
The check in process took quite long, almost 1.5 hour... Finally boarded the cruise ship and checked into our room at 4pm +. Cruise departed around 5pm.
10 May
No stopover today. Exploring the cruise ship, and attended some talks to pass time (beauty talk, basic photography etc). Then, just ate, ate, ate, ate,,,,,
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| Our cabin room with balcony |
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| The main hallway - where shops, restaurants, casino fan out from here.. |
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| Princess Theatre |
First stop at Ketchikan. Had short excursion at Mystic Fjord (not cheap, almost USD 200 per person). The fjords and the associated waterfalls were quite enchanting (akin to that of Milford Sound @ New Zealand). But it took one hour for the boat to cruise from the harbour to the destination.
On reaching Ketchikan
Mystic Fjord Cruise
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| Eagle Nest |
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| Remnant of volcanic eruption |
Cruise left Ketchikan around 1pm.
Went for hot tub and sauna in the afternoon.
Formal dinner tonight. Had prepared suit and shirt for the occasion (but noticed that the attires don't have to be that formal - long sleeve shirt with/without ties is sufficient for guys).
12 May
Stopped over at Janeaue.
Didn't book any off shore tour. Just went for a short walk in the town.
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| Janeaue in sight |
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| Tour boothes near the harbour |
Retired early to the cruise for hot tub and sauna, again.
Watched "Black Panther" out in the open deck at 10pm. Freezing cold air, with some drizzling; kept warm with blankets.
13 May
Stopped over at Skagway.
Took a coach ride up Klondike highway into Yukon (Canada territory) then back via White Pass Railway.
The Klondike Highway and White Pass Railway run parallel to each other, separated by the deep valley. The railway was built when there was gold rush in Skagway. By the time it was completed 26 months later, the gold rush fever had tapered down. It was later refurbished as tourist attraction. The trip was quite worth it, with beautiful scenery abound.
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| Klondike Highway |
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| Stop over to enjoy the view of the valley |
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| Quick! The bus is leaving... |
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| Train is approaching |
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| Klondike Highway on the opposite side of the valley |
14 May
No stopover today.
The ship coasted along Glacier Bay National Park. The main attractions were Margarie Glacier (magnificent glacier, with intermittent calving noted). The thunderous roar preceding the ice calving was simply amazing.
As we sailed into Glacier Bay ... and gradually approaching the amazing Margarie Glacier
Margarie Glacier in sight
The amazing thing about the cruise is the chance to see the ice carving up close!
Listen carefully for the thunderous roar just before the ice carving; it's simply mesmerising!
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| Ice carving |
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| Ice carving |
Decided to give the formal dinner a miss, and went for buffet dinner at Horizon Deck instead. They serve "ramen" for dinner, but it was not so appetizing (Western styled ramen..).
15 May
Main highlight of the day - Collage Fjords. We only reached the fjords around 6pm. There are many glaciers named after the prestigious colleges /universities of US.
Sailing into Prince William Sounds, visiting Collage Fjords
The main attractions are Harvard Fjord (on the left) and Yale (Fjord on the right), facing the ship.
Dinner for the night was Mongolian BBQ. Stir fried rice /noodles with mixed vegetables.
Before we knew it, our cruise ship had docked at Whittier, our final point of disembarkation just before midnight. We retired as the ship was docking. But alas, I couldn't sleep well that night.... Interrupted... Woke up early around 5 am, in preparation for disembarkation.
16 May
Disembarked from the ship at 7.30am. Boarded transit coach to airport.
Picked up our rental car around 10.30am, and embarked on the last leg of our journey - land tour of Alaska.
Enroute to Seward, stopped at Hope, a historic town for sightseeing. Took snapshots of the historic buildings there, and was rewarded with the view of Turnagain Arm from opposite shore.
Historic Town: Hope
The Seward highway was quite scenic. Only stopped once for photo taking.
Checked into our Airbnb room around 5pm. The cabin was located in the midst of jungle, literally. But the room was pleasantly clean and well maintained.
17 May
Woke up around 7.30am.
Went for a walk at Exit Glacier (only managed the short walk to Glacier viewing point due to time constraint), then drove to Seward Harbour for Kenai Fjord Tour on board a catamaran, which departed at 11.30am.
Exit Glacier
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| No, this is not the glacier |
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| Exit Glacier from viewing point |
I must salute the dedicated spirits of the captain, stopping at any sights of whales, for photo takings.
To me, the Kenai Fjord Tour was like a mini version of the Alaska cruise where fjords and glaciers were the highlight. One could probably forego Alaska cruise and flew direct to Anchorage for Alaska tour if had time constraints / felt constrained by limit of cruise ship.
Retired early by 7pm. Planned for another hike to Edge of Glacier (to have a closer view of the Exit Glacier) tomorrow morning, if weather permit.
18 May
Nice weather in the morning. No rain. Went hiking to the Edge of Glacier, for a close up view of Exit Glacier. The view while walking up the trail was superb, with valleys and plain land on either side.
We drove all the way back to Anchorage, stopping over at downtown for sumptuous lunch at one of the favoured restaurants. Tried out the King crabs which was quite delicious! Walked around in the mall there; the items sold were quite expensive. Left the mall quite fast, then drove to a Ship Creek viewing point nearby. It was too early for salmon viewing.
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| In Anchorage |
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| Took King Crabs at this restaurant |
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| Anchorage downtown |
Ship Creek Park
Drove to our Airbnb lodging. After dropping off our things, we drove up to Flat Mountain for a view of the city. Recommended if you have spare time in Anchorage.
From Flat Mountain
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| Russian influenced Church in Anchorage |
19 May
Drove all the way Anchorage to Denali National Park and Preserve (over 4 hours drive). It was a scenic drive, with greenery being replaced by snow capped mountains/plains as we approached Denali.
The service village just 1 mile north of Denali National Park - for food, lodding and refueling.
The national park was due to be open for business the next day. We had to pay for park entrance fees and bus ride into the park once it was open.
We decided to venture into the park on our own (it allowed us to drive up to 30 miles into the park, compared to ~50 miles by the bus). We were free to stop as we wished.
We made a total of 3 round trips in the park (at 12 noon, 5pm and 11pm), hoping to catch a glimpse of the animals.
The scenery inside the park was overwhelming - mountain ranges with "tiger-like striped" snow patches far away, with wide open plain land in front.
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| Near midnight, the sun just started setting |
Took snap shots of some wild animals (moose, deers, bear), which were far and between.
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| The brown bear in a distant |
Stay overnight at McKinley Cabin Resort.
20 May
Drove to Talkeetna, a 2 hours drive south from Denali.
Stopped over at Denali South View Lookout point (for view of Denali, the highest mountain in Alaska), and took snap shot with an abandoned igloo.
Denali South View Lookout Point
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| Mountainous range (including Denali) in the background |
Was pleasantly surprised to chance upon a Thai restaurant near Talkeetna. The food was quite authentic.
Talkeetna itself is a small touristic town. Nothing fascinating. I guess people go there for either river cruises /flight sightseeing.
Pretty much what you will see in Talkeetna ...
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| Historic cottage dated back to late 19th century |
Spend another night in Denali National Park.
21 May
Drove to Fairbanks.
Saw the signboard.... Skinny Dick, Halfway In???!!!
First stop at Chena Hotspring, then Pioneer Park.
Chena Hotspring is a highlight for Fairbanks, about 1 hour drive from the town centre. However, it fails to enchant us after we have experience onsen in Japan; there was not place to sit down/lie down and relax in the onsen.
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| Chena Hotspring |
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| Cargo Plane on display in the Chena Hotspring |
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| the pond next to the hotspring |
Pioneer Park was more like a small historic park, catering for the young (got some train rides/theme park items).
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| Old town during gold rush era |
Chanced upon a viewing point of Transalaskan Pipeline, while looking for Gold Dredger (which was closed by the time we reached there).
TRANSALAKAN PIPELINE
Stayed in another Airbnb lodging - the host were retired couple, the house was clean and very homely. They recommended Creamer Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge (to view migratory birds), University of Alaska (view caribou) and Large Animal Research Station (LARS) (view of bisons).
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| In front of LARS |
We drove around University of Alaska, exploring the area ;but no view of caribou.
University of Alaska
The bisons were far away in the other end of the field at LARS; we were lucky to have a pair of binoculars (courtesy of the Airbnb hosts) to view the tiny speck of the animals.
We were too tired to explore the migratory birds. Drove around downtown of Fairbanks before returning to our lodging.
22 May
Chatted with our hosts while taking our breakfast. Learnt that the husband was a former photographer, who had published a book on the living condition of Alaska natives.
Drove to Palmer via Glen Highway - chasing the Transalaskan Pipeline which carries petroleum from the northern end of Alaska to Valdez at the southern bay.
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| pipeline that goes underground |
The scenery was quite enjoyable, running through plain of wilderness and high mountains with snow covered landscape.
Drove past North Pole, a Christmas-themed small town.
North Pole Santa Clause Statue
Stopped over to view Matanuska Glacier (probably about 1 hour drive from Palmer).
Stayed at Abby's B&B, a fairly new establishment (just opened for business 6 months ago). The hosts were again very friendly. The hot breakfast they prepared the next day was good.
23 May
Visited Independent Mines State Historical Site and Musk Ox farm in the morning, then stopped over at Eagle River Visitor Center (for a 1 mile stroll along the trail, which offers superb scenery with river, valley, green trees and snow capped mountains) before driving to Anchorage.
On the way to Independent Mines State Historical Site ...
Entering into Independent Mines State Historical Site via Hatcher Pass: some abandoned cottages
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| Lodges for visitors, I guess during summer |
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| These are actually restrooms |
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| Independent Mine Historical Site in the background, heavily covered with snow |
Independent Mines State Historical Site itself was covered with thick layer of snow when we reached there. It was not accessible to vehicles, and could only be viewed from a distance. Nevertheless, the drive up the mountain and the site offered beautiful and serene scenary, and were rather magnificent; hence, it should not be missed.
Musk ox (a prehistoric animal) could only be seen in the artic. The visit to the farm (albeit a bit commercialize) was definitely a must, to view many musk ox being breed there. They truly remind me of 牛魔王!
Touring Musk Ox Farm
Eagle River Visitor Centre offers may hiking trails spreading out from the centre. We could only manage the shortest trail due to time constraint. The view itself was rewarding.
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| Eagle River Visiting Centre, view from the back |
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| short trail in Eagle River VC |
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| enchanting view of the look out point |
Wanted to view the tide bore at Turnagain Arm, but had no luck. Finally retired back to our hotel.
24 May
Went for Portage Glacier Cruise in the morning (but only in time for the noon session). It was raining quite heavily (seemed that it always rained there). The entire journey took 1 hour; got a close up view of the glacier (but no ice carving). It was quite reasonably priced ($39/person).
The Portage Glacier itself is quite majestic (but not as big as Margarie Glacier in Glacier Bay). The plus side for the cruise is the ship goes very near to the glacier (about 300 yards away as stated by the brochure). It will be a wonderful place to have a close-up view of the glacier, if you haven't been on the Alaska cruise earlier.
Portage Glacier
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| Cold Rain + Freezing Wind |
On the way to airport - saw a group of people fishing in the river @ Turnagain Arm.
Returned our car at the airport... Home bound finally.
Taking Alaska Airlines to Seatlle, then Eva Air to Taipei and Singapore.
OVERALL CONCLUSION
Princess Cruise:
Luxurious cruise no doubt. However, the service could have been better. The crew members could be quite impatient at time eg clicking her pen while waiting for food order. They seemed to pay more attention to the Caucasians, rather than Asians.
Food was aplenty, but again more of western flavours. The Asian foods were rather 'strong " in tastes.
The close up view of glaciers was to die for. Some of the off shore cruises were quite good as well.
Overall, the good scenery more than compensate for the average services provided by crew members.
Canadian Rockies :
The scenery was simply astounding. It is worth re visiting over and over again....
Lake Warton and Dinasour Provincial Park:
Both are World Heritage Sites. Worth a trip if have additional time to spare while visiting the rockies.
Vancouver Island :
Probably can give it a miss. Visiting Victoria is good enough, if really must visit the island.
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