Thursday, November 22, 2018

North To, Then South From, Alaska July-October 2018

Time flies and here I am, back home at Faranuf in Portal on the east side of Arizona's Chiricahua Mountains after spending 4 months on the road going to, and from, Alaska.  A lot of things happened, some good, some bad, but I never regretted a moment of it. Here are some of the highlights. 


On the trail up Thomas Canyon in Nevada's Ruby Mountains, July 12.  The wildflower display was spectacular.


The Canadian Rockies in Jasper and Banff National Parks were one of the high points of the trip. 



Mt. Robson in the Canadian Rockies is the most impressive mountain I've ever seen, a true jaw dropper.  From July 24. 


Salmon Glacier, near Hyder, Alaska, July 27. 



Fireweed in bloom along the Glennallen Highway, August 11.  The Chugach Mountains are in the background. 


The Alaska Range as seen from the Richardson Highway south of Delta Junction. That's glacial silt blowing in the air on the Delta River. 



I turned 62 on August 20, so I went to get my America The Beautiful pass when I was in Fairbanks. 

 Denali was "out" for a few days,  just like during my 2016 North To Alaska trip.  This is along the Denali Highway near Cantwell. 

A closeup of Denali. 


As in 2016, I boondocked along Alaska's Denali Highway for a few days. 


One of my favorite off-the-grid sites was a pullout along the road to Lake Louise (the one in Alaska, not Canada). You can see vehicles on the Glennallen Highway and that's Tazlina Glacier and Tazlina Lake. August 24. 


Worthington Glacier, along the highway to Valdez, August 25. 


Meziadin Lake, along the Stewart-Cassiar Highway in British Columbia, September 12.  

Undoubtedly the best sunset I saw during the trip -- at Fraser Lake in British Columbia, September 13.  

Uh-oh...From September 30, Lamoille Canyon in Nevada's Ruby Mountains was on fire. It ended up burning nearly half of the canyon including Thomas Canyon, where I took the first photo in the post. 



Autumn puts on a dazzling display in NE Nevada's East Humboldt range, October 4. 

Along the trail to Winchell Lake in the East Humboldts, October 5. 


One of the most spectacular cloud displays I've ever seen, at Overton, Nevada, October 7. 


At Nevada's Valley Of Fire, October 25.