...Kluane National Park and Reserve

We stayed at a campground near this milepost, which is in kilometers, since we were in Canada.

A Yukon chipmunk eats lunch.

Emily and Laura hike up the gravel on the side of the stream.

Mrs. Huffy plans a route up the side of the ravine we are about to enter.

Mrs. Huffy and Emily begin the climb up the side of the ravine.

Laura and Mrs. Huffy wave from a high point along the ravine.

The next morning we could see fresh snow atop the peaks from the campground.

After a brief stop in Whitehorse for groceries, we drove to a campground where we had stayed on our way down the Alaska Highway in Kluane National Park and Reserve.  It is a beautiful place just about seven miles from Destruction Bay, Yukon Territory.  The weather was blustery and cold when we arrived, but we decided to take a hike up a nearby stream to see what we could find.  We followed the rocky edge of the stream for about a mile before we came to a narrow ravine.  It became a serious climb and while Laura and Mrs. huffy kept going Emily and I explored the many rocks along the edge of the water.  Laura and Mrs. Huffy climbed a good ways and waved to us from a high ridge.  When they came back down we all hiked back to the campground.

Dinner included souvlaki which was packaged in a big vacuum sealed bag.  Each souvlaki stick was in its own partition and every time I would open one souvlaki sauce would spray, drip, and fly everywhere.  The counter, floor, walls, cabinets, and myself were soon splattered and soaked with red souvlaki sauce.  It took all four of us to clean things up.  Ultimately it was worth the effort because they were really good.

After dinner it began to rain heavily and we went sleep with the sound of pattering rain drops on the roof.  However, by morning things were clearing up enough to reveal fresh snow on the tops of nearby mountains.  It was beautiful but also an indication that winter is never far away. 

We packed up and stowed our gear before getting on the road for the stretch between Destruction Bay, Yukon Territory and Glenallen, Alaska, which is notoriously the roughest section of the Alaska Highway.  Frost heaves, potholes, pavement breaks, gravel, mud, wet quicksand, and construction zones, all make for slow going in this area.  Plus it began raining again just to make things a little more interesting.  So, it wasn't long before we were driving through a saturated soupy mess.  The RV would sometimes feel like it was sinking into the road and I would press the gas pedal hoping to reach solid ground.  It was bad for us but I felt even worse for the motorcyclists as they were exposed to the weather and we could see their tires sink into the mud as they wobbled and swayed along in front of us.  It was a long slow drive to the Canada/Alaska border where we stopped for lunch.  The motorcyclists stopped there as well and excitedly jumped off their bikes and spent a good 20 minutes positioning themselves in front of the Welcome to Alaska sign for photos, in a downpour!  We didn't even go outside.  Then we all got in a long line to go through Customs.  The motorcyclists were still in front of us and they seemed remarkably happy to have finally reached Alaska.  We watched from inside our vehicle as they gave each other high fives and slapped each other on the back in congratulations.  After an exchange with the Customs agent they took off and we never saw them again.  We continued to drive toward Glenallen with the memories of intrepid motorcyclists and time spent in...Kluane National Park and Reserve.

...Muncho Lake Provincial Park

The Hufford girls at the entrance of McDonald Campground, Muncho Lake Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada.  They are on their way to hike up McDonald Creek.  The roadway behind them is the Alaska Highway.

The hike begins.

This bull caribou watched us intently as we made our way up McDonald Creek.

Laura found an interesting rock along the way.

Emily also found an interesting rock along the way.

Sisters balance on a rock in McDonald Creek.

The Hufford girls hiked a long way up the alluvial plain of McDonald Creek.

Our campsite at Muncho Lake.

When we left Montana we knew one of the places we wanted to stop was Muncho Lake.  It's a remarkably beautiful place in northern British Columbia, Canada.  After several days of driving we were ready for a break when we got there so we pulled into Strawberry Flats Provincial Campground only to find there weren't any sites available.  We drove down the road a few miles to McDonald Campground to find it totally full as well.  Fortunately the Campground Attendant was parked nearby and he said there was one site left in the overflow camping area.  We rushed to it and set up camp.

After a quick lunch we shouldered our packs and walked across the Alaska Highway where we hiked for several hours up the alluvial plain of McDonald Creek.  It was very Alaska-like.  We walked along on rocks trying to identify plants and making friends with a very curious bull caribou.  It was warm so the Hufford girls soaked their feet in McDonald Creek before we turned back toward the campground where we spent the evening enjoying the spectacular views around Muncho Lake.

The next morning came early and even though we weren't ready to leave we knew many miles were ahead of us.  We stashed and stowed our gear and hit the road, glad that we were able to stay at McDonald Campground in...Muncho Lake Provincial Park.

...Montana

My sister showed Emily and Laura how to make Confetti Popcorn.  It was good, especially for breakfast the next morning.

One of the fastest cyclists in Montana.

Mrs. Huffy and Keith on a 10 mile ride.

When we arrived in Montana we parked our camper in my sister and brother-in-laws driveway where it sat for the next two weeks.  They probably loved that.  As you know, our time in Montana was divided into two stays as we went to California, via an airplane, during the middle of things.  While in Billings we ate some great Montana beef and of course enjoyed one meal of extremely hot chicken wings, which has become a tradition over the course of our visits.  I should also mention that it was hot.  Very hot.  100 dgrees hot.  It was not conducive to being outdoors during the afternoons.

So, we stayed in the cool air of the indoors where Laura, Emily, and my sister made Confetti Popcorn and we watched the Tour de France on television.  Keith is a big fan and knows all the ins and outs of the race.  It was fun.

We also took several bike rides early in the mornings where we watched horses eating in the fields and snakes sunning themselves on the road.  Mrs. Huffy liked the horses, but didn't care for the snakes at all.

Before we knew it our time was up and we loaded the camper for our return trip to Alaska, knowing we had spent our time well in...Montana.

...California

Laura and Emily at Doran Beach, Sonoma County, California.

Emily enjoyed swinging at Giorgi Park.

Emily balances as she walks atop a log.

We ate lunch at Le Central when we went to San Francisco for the day.

Lanterns above the street in Chinatown.

Signage in Chinatown.

A Chinatown market scene.

A Chinatown mural.

Laura and I rode a tandem bicycle.

Laura and Mrs. Huffy as we started our ride out Dry Creek Road.

Laura and Mrs. Huffy pose with their bikes in front of a vineyard on Dry Creek Road.

We stopped at Dry Creek General Store for a picnic during our ride.

On Tuesday evenings there is always live music in the Healdsburg plaza.

The trombonist.

We met Elsa in Occidental where we ate lunch at Howard's Cafe.

Emily and one of the many statues made of recyclables in Sebastapol.

We ate ice cream at Screamin' Mimi's in Sebastapol.

Okay, so as soon as we got to Billings we knew it would be a while before we wanted to get back in the RV and drive some more.  So we decided, for a number of reasons, to fly on a plane to California.  It was a good decision.

We left Montana and in a matter of two hours we were in California driving through the afternoon traffic to Healdsburg.  Once there we enjoyed a day trip to San Francisco where we ate lunch at Le Central and walked through Chinatown.  We also rented bicycles for a day and made a 13 mile ride along Dry Creek Road.  There is music in the plaza every Tuesday and we enjoyed walking through the crowd and visiting with people along the way.  The following morning we went to Occidental to meet Elsa for lunch.  Then it was on to Doran Beach before stopping in Sebastapol to look at a street lined with statues made of recycled materials and eating ice cream at Screamin' Mimi's.

We flew back to Montana on Thursday after a busy week in...California.

...Banff

We finally arrived at the end of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek, Canada.  Since we were coming from Alaska to Dawson Creek the sign should have read that we were exiting the the Alaska Highway.  Next stop:  Banff National Park.

The Hufford girls in front of the scenery on the Icefield Parkway between Jasper and Banff.

The Hufford girls and a waterfall in Banff National Park.

Biking near our campsite in Mosquito Creek Campground.  Emily is holding onto my bicycle.

These boots were made for hiking...on Mosquito Creek Trail.

The view as we hiked up the trail.

The Hufford girls on the boardwalk at Lake Louise.

Lake Louise Lodge in Banff National Park.

BikeFest was happening when we were in the city of Banff.  We saw many races.

Emily and Laura enjoyed eating at a Chinese restaurant in downtown Banff.

After leaving Banff the landscape changes dramatically.  Here is a view of southern Alberta.  Next stop:  Billings, Montana.

Do yourself a favor and visit Banff National Park.  It is a stunningly beautiful place with hiking and biking trails, and a number of perfect campgrounds.  We spent the night at Mosquito Creek Campground and enjoyed a hike on Mosquito Creek Trail.  We also rode bikes around the campground.  We also had a very interesting visit with  man from Calgary who knew much about the park.  The next night we spent a windy time in the town of Banff.  The campground was a modified parking lot with plug-ins.  We rode the bus to downtown Banff where we watched bike races and went to eat at a fantastic Chinese restaurant.  After dinner we walked around stopping at a number of the shops where we bought souvenir t-shirts.  The next morning we awoke to a bluebird day and started driving.  Fifteen hours later we were backing into my sister's driveway in Billings, Montana, glad that we had made a stop in...Banff.

...British Columbia

A grizzly bear forages along the edge of the Alaska Highway in British Columbia

A stone sheep nibbles along the edge of the road in Stone Mountain Provincial Park.

A truck passes a group of stone sheep along the Alaska Highway.

Stone sheep profile.

We hope to stay at this campground on our way back to Alaska.  It is very beautiful here.

Folowing our soak at Liard Hotsprings we drove further into the northern Rockies of British Columbia.  We passed through Muncho Lake and Stone Mountain Provincial Parks and made notes of where we would like to camp, hike, and visit on our way back to Alaska.  Along the way was saw countless black bears, bison, stone sheep, two grizzlies, a caribou, and a moose.  It was great and the scenery was stunning.

We drove along and eventually made it to Fort Nelson where we bought groceries and gas.  We took off in the mid-afternoon expecting to drive several more hours to Pink Mountain where we would camp for the night.  We did that but when we got to the Pink Mountain Campground it was over filled with oil field workers.  No room for us.  We decided to drive on.  And on.  We eventually ended up in Fort St. John where we are presently staying at a Rotary Campground.  After all that I can tell you that it is a beautiful and long drive to get from Coal River Lodge to Fort St. John...British Columbia.