SIGHTSEEING IN CANADA & ALASKA

This page contains some photographs from a trip my parents did to Canada and Alaska in May-June 2006. I would also like to do this trip one day. After flying to Vancouver, they boarded a ship and did a one week cruise through the Inside Passage to Alaska, then spent a few days in central Alaska at Fairbanks and Denali National Park, followed by one week touring through the Canadian Rockies. Click on the thumbnails to see larger images:

	Waterfront in Victoria. After arriving in Vancouver, a ferry was taken to Vancouver Island to the city of Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. The Edwardian style Empress Hotel built in 1908 is located on the banks of Victoria's inner harbour and has recently been restored to its original grandeur.
	Butchart Gardens. This is an internationally renowned botanical showcase situated close to Victoria. The Gardens were built in an abandoned limestone quarry and are over 100 years old. The Garden contains Japanese, Rose and Italian garden sections.
	After a full day spent in Victoria, the tour returned to Vancouver in preparation for the Inside Passage cruise north to Alaska. The group boarded the Island Princess, a 90,000 ton cruise ship, that belongs to the Princess Line. The ship left Vancouver and after a day and a half at sea arrived at Ketchikan on the southeast Alaskan coast.
	Arriving at Ketchikan. Ketchikan is a small town situated on Revillagigedo Island in Southeast Alaska. The town is known for its wet weather and many canneries that have made it the "salmon capital of the world". Many cruise ships dock here and its historic downtown area is crowded with tourists in the summer. The town sits atop steep hills and is supported on wooden pilings, with numerous boardwalks, staircases and totem poles.
	Creek Street was known in the early 1900s as Ketchikan’s “red light” district, but now houses waterfront shops, cafes, apartments and bed-and-breakfasts built on pilings over the waters of Ketchikan Creek. Creek Street preserves some of the Ketchikan history and serves as a popular tourist destination year-round.
	Dolly's House was one of Ketchikan's most infamous brothels during the town's early days and was owned and operated by Madam Dolly Arthur. Nowadays it is a museum and serves as a link to the past, with fixtures and furnishings seemingly unchanged from the time when it was operating. After leaving Ketchikan the ship headed to Juneau, the capital of Alaska, then further north up the Lynn Canal to Skagway.
	Skagway. Positioned along one of the main transportation corridors leading to Canada's interior, Skagway was established as a result of a gold strike in 1898 in the Klondike region of Canada's Yukon Territory. Many turn-of-the-century buildings still survive and keep the boomtown era alive for the half a million tourists who visit annually. While here my parents did a road journey from Skagway up to White Pass then across British Columbia to Carcross in the Yukon Frontier.
	From Skagway the road climbs up to White Pass at 3292 ft near the Alaska - British Columbia border before continuing across into the Yukon. Construction of the road link between Skagway and Whitehorse began in the 1950s, and was only completed to Skagway in 1978.
	Near Carcross there are many large lakes and great mountain scenery. The South Klondike Highway roughly follows the trail of the stampeders of 1898. Carcross is a popular and picturesque stopping place for motorists.
	Glacier Bay. From Skagway the ship headed to nearby Glacier Bay, the largest national park in southeast Alaska and the site of a large marine sanctuary. A day was spent cruising in superb weather close to the tidewater glaciers flowing down from the Fairweather Range. Glaciers in this area have retreated about 100km since they were first discovered in the late 18th century.
	College Fjord. From Glacier Bay the ship headed out into the Gulf of Alaska and sailed northwest along the coast towards Prince William Sound. On the last night of the cruise the ship spent a few hours in College Fjord, a spectacular fjord in the northern sector of Prince William Sound. This provided great views of the surrounding mountain ranges and glaciers flowing into the sea. .
	Close up view of a glacier flowing into College Fjord. College Fjord was the epicentre of the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, the most powerful earthquake in US history.
	Whittier. The cruise finished at the small town of Whittier located on the western edge of Prince William Sound. Whittier was established during World War II as a military supply port and today it is the arrival/departure point for Alaskan cruises. The journey by bus from here to Anchorage goes through a 2.5 mile long tunnel that is shared by alternating one-way motor vehicle and railroad traffic, then past the Kenai Mountains and the Cook Inlet. After arriving in Anchorage a short plane flight was taken to Fairbanks.
	Fairbanks is located 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle and is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska. During the afternoon here a few hours were spent cruising on an old paddle steamer down the Tanana and Chena Rivers, which also included a visit to the Chena Indian Village, seeing champion dogs, and Athabascan art.
	The following day was spent travelling south from Fairbanks aboard the Midnight Sun Express through the Alaskan countryside to Denali, a small town located at the entrance to Denali National Park. The seats located in the upstairs viewing dome provided great views of the surrounding countryside.
	A view of the landscape near Denali National Park.
	Mt McKinley. Two days were spent in and around Denali National Park, allowing views of the highest peak in North America. Mt McKinley is 20,320 ft high and is renowned for its extremely cold weather due to its high latitude. The peak rises 18,000 ft from the surrounding plateau. The sunny weather provided great views of the peak.
	After a few days near Denali, the tour headed south to Anchorage, then the following day a flight was taken back to Vancouver. The flight provided good views of the mountains and fjords of southeast Alaska.
	Lake Louise. The last part of the trip involved a seven day bus journey through the Canadian Rockies. From Vancouver the bus headed east and an overnight stop was spent at Chase. The next day was spent travelling past Shuswap Lake and over Rogers Pass to Lake Louise. The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is located right on the lake shore and provides great views of the lake and surrounding scenery.
	Moraine Lake is nestled in the Valley of the Ten Peaks about 12km from Lake Louise. It features a crystal clear blue-green lake, although this was still covered in ice at the time.
	Banff Springs Hotel. A day was spent sightseeing at Banff, including a trip up the Banff Gondola to Sulphur Mountain for great views of the surrounding area. Accommodation that night was in the famous Banff Springs Hotel.
	From Banff the bus headed north through the Canadian Rockies along the Icefield Parkway to Jasper..
	On the Athabasca Glacier. This is one of eight major glaciers fed from the Columbia Icefield, a 150 square mile accumulation of ice and snow located on the boundary of Banff and Jasper National Parks. The Athabasca Glacier is about four miles long and half a mile wide, and people can travel about two miles onto the glacier in large Brewster snowmobiles that carry fifty passengers. Along the way the driver explains how glaciers are formed and points out interesting geological features, and visitors have a chance to walk around on the glacier's surface at the icefall below the glacier headwall.
	Mt Edith Cavell is located in the Athabasca River and Astoria River valleys of Jasper National Park. The mountain was named in 1916 for Edith Cavell, an English nurse executed by the Germans during World War I for having helped persons held captive to escape to refuge.
	Following an overnight stay at Whistler the bus headed back to Vancouver. Along the way a bear wandering near the road provided a good photo opportunity.
	Vancouver. The largest city in British Columbia and the final destination before heading back home.

Contact "alanlevy at pcug dot org dot au" for more information.

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