We arrived back into Vancouver on the evening of Thursday 14th October to spend the next two nights with Mike & Carolyn before flying out on the Saturday. The next day or so were spent working out how to pack all our stuff into our backpacks for the trip home because over the course of the trip we had been mailing stuff back to Mike & Carolyns to lighten our load. It was also nice to sit down to a home cooked meal again and have a few drinks while telling tales of our travels. The blueberry pancakes for breakfast were another of Carolyn's wonderful treats and we will definitely miss them!!!

Our trip to Churchill began from Winnipeg on Friday 8th October with a 1.5 hr Calm Air flight to a town called Thompson. From Thompson we were to catch the train at 6pm for the 14 hr overnight leg to Churchill on Hudson Bay. This was the same train that had left Winnipeg the night before. We compromised here because to catch the train all the way from Winnipeg to Churchill was a 36 hr (2 night) journey at about 30 miles per hour and to fly all the way to Churchill was 3 times more expensive than just flying to Thompson. What it did mean is that we had a few hours to fill in Thompson before the train arrived.

We arrived in Montreal about 1.30pm and took a taxi to the central railway station where we boarded a 4pm train to Quebec City. This was a very comfortable 3 hour trip through farmlands interspersed with areas of trees (including maples), many of which were showing the reds and oranges of the fall colours. Arriving in Quebec City about 7pm we took another taxi to our accommodation for the next 4 nights. We had wanted to stay within the walls of the old town part of Quebec (Vieux-Quebec) and had decided upon a small unit for our stay (website of our accommodation). From our room we could see the roof of the Chateau Frontenac which was only 50 metres down the road.

Sunday the 26th September we were to do the drive from Jasper to Banff via the Icefields Parkway. The weather wasn`t the best to start the day with low cloud hiding all the mountains. This did not make for good scenic driving so we decided to hang around in Jasper for the morning. By noon there were a few breaks appearing in the clouds so we headed off down the Parkway. This drive is recognised as one of the most scenic in the world!!!! We stopped in at numerous viewpoints along the way including Horseshoe Lake, Athabasca Falls, Sunwapta Falls as well as a lot of other spots where good mountain and valley views could be had. It was not long before the cloud lifted and we were driving under clear blue skies.

Friday the 24th saw us awake in Jasper to the unusual but very distinctive sounds of bull Elk. It was rutting season and looking after their harems was a full time job. It also didn't bother them if it was early in the morning and they were only 20 metres from our cabin door. We were staying in a river front cabin at Pine Bungalows on the Athabasca River about 2kms from Jasper (the Pine Bungalows website)and the area was a favourite haunt of the elk. At one stage I looked out the bathroom window to see a large male walk past only a couple of metres from the cabin. No photos to prove it because it was still a bit dark and I was half asleep.

Leaving Stewart on the 20th September we headed off on the 5 hr drive back to Prince Rupert. The weather had closed in and with a bit of drizzle around it was only 5degC outside. The trip back was going along comfortably when a moose decided to make things interesting. He had decided to stand on the road for something different. I slowed right down trying not to startle him but the dopey sod decided to run along the road rather than get off it. They are very gangly when they run. It was funny to watch. But without our Uncle Nicky to help clear the road for us and with him being quite a bit bigger than our little Corolla, we could do nothing but follow along slowly waiting for him to find a safe place to get off the road and back into the scrub.

Thursday 16th Sept saw us pick up a rental car and head north to a place called Stewart. This was about a 5hr drive plus stops for photo's, food etc... Stewart is a small town of about 400 people that lies on the border between Canada and Alaska at the head of the Portland Canal. 3km away across the border lies a town called Hyder with a population of about 80. Both of these towns used to be much larger in the early 1900's when mining was at its peak. Hyder used to have a population of closer to 20,000 (I think?).

The drive was yet again fantastic scenery. The sun was out and all the mountains were too. The golds and reds of the fall colours provided an ever changing landscape. After turning towards Stewart off the Stewart-Cassiar Highway we drove past Bear Glacier. This is pretty cool because you drive around a bend and in front of you is the glacier and the lake complete with icebergs.
Image of Bear Glacier.

Friday 10th Sept, was one of those days you get when travelling - up at 4.30am for a 6.30am flight from Anchorage to Seattle (3.5hrs) - sit around an airport lounge for 3hrs for a connecting flight to Victoria (30min) - pick up a rental car and drive 2.5hrs north to a place called Campbell River about half way up Vancouver Island. It would have been ok, but the drive was in pouring rain and poor visibility. Combine this with old sections of road that have well defined wheel ruts to pool water as well as rivers of water from poor cambers and run off and it was a tough job just keeping the pointy end of the car facing forward!! But we got there.

Tuesday 7th Sept we set off from Seward to head towards Mt.McKinley (highest peak in North American) which lies within the vast expanse for Denali National Park. We had no accommodation booked for this part of the trip but we were aiming for Talkeetna or the Denali National Park entrance. The weather had been very good and we were hoping it would hold. Apparently the whole mountain is only visible about 1 in 4 days on average during summer and we had just had 3 good days in a row!!!

The first part of our drive took us back towards Anchorage. On the way we stopped into the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Centre, near Portage, and for $5 each we saw moose, elk, caribou, deer, bison, balck bear and grizzly cubs - bargain!!! We also stopped along the roadside near Turnagain Arm to watch Beluga whales feeding just offshore.

Sunday the 5th September saw us wake to a clear, sunny day in Seward Alaska. Seward is a very pleasant port town on the Kenai Peninsular with mountain ranges on both sides. The morning was spent doing a tour and ride at the local husky dog kennels. The owner of the place, Mitch Seavey, won the Iditarod dog sled race this year (huge event in Alaska). Given that we love dogs it was a sure bet we would like this place - mind you the odour from the dog compound (>60 dogs) was enough to clear the sinuses!!! It was a very interesting experience and the dog sled ride was good fun. They use wheeled sleds during summer to exercise the dogs.