July 14 - 16: Glacier National Park --- This one was Woody's favorite to this point. Land of a thousand waterfalls. We stayed at a small Air BnB in Kalispell, MT and spent two days in the park. We started the adventures in Montana with a dinner with Woody's friends Caty, Lyndsay, Olivia and niece Hayden, brainstorming how we were going to experience the park.
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| While staying in Montana - Jewel made a friend. It wasn't riding but hanging out with one was close! |
July 15th - We started our Glacier experience with a hike on the Trail of the Ceders. It was a lovely .8 mile walk that was mostly on a nice boardwalk (it made us think of home). We drove through the majority of Glacier until we reached the Many Glacier part of the park. For a bigger challenge we hiked Apkini Falls - 1 mile up hill. We all made it and were rewarded with not only a breath taking view of the falls, but of the Garden Wall as well. We celebrated with lunch in Babb, Montana at Two Sisters Cafe. We wanted to end the day with a hike around the remote Kintla Lake but the Inside North Fork Road but blocked due to damage from a previous forest fire. We were able to drive a small bit of the road, super awesome. Hopefully next time we go we can drive the full road.
July 16th - We completed Glacier by driving the Going-to-the-Sun Road which wound us through the majority of Glacier. We were able to stop at numerous points to take pictures and drink in the scenery. It was less crowded today, than yesterday, so we were able to see and do a lot more. Once we reached the St. Mary Visitor Center we headed north towards Canada.
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| Trail of the Cedars |
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| Apkini Falls - We came, we saw, we conquered! |
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| These rock cairns were all over the place in glacier. |
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| Start of the Going-to-the-Sun Road |
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| Land of a thousand waterfalls! |
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| Hanging by Saint Mary Lake |
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| Wild Goose Island |
July 16th: We exited Glacier and drove across the border. For Jewel, Alex and Woody it was their first time going international - Whoot Whoot! Look out Canada, here they come!
We took a day of rest on July 17th before exploring our first Canadian National Park.
Sammy found her happy place when space was made in the back of the car for her to stretch out!
Bama waiting patiently for food to fall in our Air BnB in Airdrie (right outside of Calgary)
July 18th: Banff National Park - We explored today with a couple of specialty activities - a gondola ride up Sulphur Mountain and a boat tour of Lake Minnewanka. The air quality wasn't spectacular due to the forest fires, but what we were able to see was pretty awesome.
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| Top of Sulphur Mountain |
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| Views tainted by smoke from wild fires |
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| Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station |
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| Lake Minnewanka |
After our adventures with Sulphur Mountain and Lake Minnewanka, we went to the Cave and Basin park, which was another attraction close to the town of Banff.
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| Inside the cave was a sulphur hot spring |
July 20th: We drove towards the Alcan (Alaskan Highway) via Banff and Jasper National Park We spent the next 4 days driving towards Alaska, reaching Fairbanks on July 24th. We survived the Alcan!
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| Athcabascan Glacier |
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| Jewel's favorite photo taking spot |
We have seen a lot of wildlife on this trip - couple of black bear, a grizzly (young) and scads of stone sheep along the Alcan!
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| black bear checking out berries |
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| Stone Sheep along the ALCAN |
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| Grizzly Bear taking an afternoon stroll |
July 20 - 23: We drove along the famous Alcan - The Alaskan Highway. It is over 1400 miles and begins at Dawson City British Columbia (Canada) and ended at Delta Junction, Alaska. It was a beautiful drive with lots of great scenery and (as you can see above) a bit of wildlife to keep things interesting.
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| And it starts.... |
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| Weeko admiring the Canadian Rockies |
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| Driving into Tok, Alaska |
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| In Watson Lake there is a great attraction called the Sign Post Forest. People from all over the world leave signs from their home towns, some even figuring out the miles traveled from home to Watson Lake. We found signs from all our home states and from Alaska. |
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| We made it!! |
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| We survived the Alcan! |
