Last Sunday we landed at Prince Rupert, British Columbia, the end of our four-week travels down the Inside Passage as well as the termination of our stay in Alaska. The trip on the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system afforded a great opportunity to visit several stops that are accessible only by air or water. While it is certainly sad to know that our Alaska trip is over, we are content in knowing that we have truly experienced a trip of a lifetime AND there is always the possibility of returning to this awesome land.
Now we are in British Columbia and this week have traveled from Prince Rupert to Kitwanga, Stewart, Hyder, and we’re currently in Smithers.
Prince Rupert, known as the “Gateway to Alaska”, is one of Canada’s major seaports, the terminus of the Canadian National (Grand Trunk Pacific) Railway, the Alaska Marine Highway System and the BC Ferry System. For more than 5000 years before the coming of the railroad, the area has been home to the Tsimpsean and Haida cultures that are renowned for their stylized artworks, the most familiar of which are totem poles. We enjoyed our stay in Prince Rupert and while in the campground we had a pleasant visit from some Sitka black-tail deer that you’ll see in a photo on our link.
Kitwanga (previously know as Gitwangak) is a Native reserve home to some of the finest authentic totem poles in the area. As our photos attempt to show, the totems are extremely intricate with very defined carvings. St Paul’s Anglican Church is also in Kitwanga with a very unique bell tower. Next we went to Gitanyow (formerly Kitwancool), a small Indian village that has one of the highest concentrations of standing totems in northwestern British Columbia. Once again, the intricate detail of these carvings is phenomenal.
After Kitwanga we went north on the Cassiar Highway to Stewart and Hyder, which are at the head of the Portland Canal, a narrow 90-mile saltwater fjord that forms a natural boundary between Canada and the United States. Hyder is actually in Alaska; so for a few hours we left British Columbia and traveled in the 49th state again. In route we saw bears alongside the road and viewed the Bear Glacier. We also went to Fish Creek and watched a grizzly chase down its dinner. After bear watching we drove 20+ miles up a very narrow, windy, mining road to view Salmon Glacier. It was an interesting perspective of the glaciations because we were actually several hundred feet ABOVE the actual surface. Thus, it truly resembled a “River of Ice” meandering for miles down from the icefield to the lake. As our pictures show, the glacier is immense (several miles wide and thousands of feet thick. The dark lines that are visible are know as moraines and are actually huge deposits of giant rocks and debris that are being carried along by the “flow” of the glacier. It Was VERY impressive.
Currently we are in Smithers, BC, known as the “Little Switzerland” of BC with its alpine-themed storefronts and building murals. There is even an alpenhorn player statue, as you’ll see in our pics. It is situated amidst rugged mountains and is home to a popular ski resort. This area lies within the Bulkley Valley, which is home to several large cattle farms and many vegetable gardens. Saturday morning we went to the local Farmer’s Market and REALLY enjoyed being able to get some fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs and baked goods. If there is one thing that we’ve really missed this summer, it has been fresh produce.
Here is the link to some pictures from this past week:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Sbs27hoxZMWA
From here we drive to Prince George, BC and then head toward Alberta, the Canadian Rockies and several days in Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff and the incredible Icefields Parkway.
Stay tuned and stay safe,
P&J
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