North to Alaska 2016: Homeward Bound

Homeward Bound

Kenai, AK to Oliver, BC - 2329 miles

A Fond Farewell to Alaska

Kenai to Glen Allen

Farewell to the "Ring of Fire" Volcanoes, Mt. Spurr, Mt. Augustine, Mt. Illiamnar, Mt Redobt & Mt. Hayes.

Highway from Kenai to Anchorage

Highway 1, travelling around Cook Inlet and Turnagain Arm to Anchorage.

Turnagain Arm, approraching Anchorage on Highway 1.

After a brief stop in Anchorage for fuel and provisions, we continued westbound on Highway 1 towards Wasilla and Palmer.

Alaska's State Fair was in full swing in Palmer. We did not stop to partake, but did encounter some brief delays due to traffic congestion.

Highway 1 eastbound towards Glennallen.

Huge gravel rivers and vibrant fall colors.

Despite the vast array of splattered bugs on the windshield, the fall colors and sunshine lifted our spirits,

Mother Nature is a brilliant artist.

More amazing gravel rivers. It's path is constantly changing due to the rate of flow and runoff.

Definitely fall. Some of Mother Nature's finest work !

Matanuska Glacier

Just off the Glenn Highway (Hwy 1), the Matanuska Glacier is about 100 miles (160 km) north-east of Anchorage.

At 27 miles (43 km) long by 4 miles (6.4 km) wide, Matanuska is the largest glacier accessible by car in the United States.

This rock formation with it's gorgeous colors mesmerizes me. A perfect color palette for my home.

The ever present fireweed turning to seed and a brilliant deep red for fall.

Overnighted at Tolsona Wilderness Campground, just outside of Glenallen, AK.

A beautiful, tranquil park. Unfortunately our travel schedule did not allow time to enjoy.....just a quick overnight stop.

Glennallen, Alaska to Destruction Bay, Yukon

Via the Tok Cut-off (Highway1)

A beautiful morning and great start to another travel day.

We encountered construction and rough road with frost heaves today, making for a long, slow day.
Scenery was awesome though.

More road construction and Alan's friend "Loose", Loose Gravel!

The Canadian border and the Yukon.

Unfortunately the roads in this part of the Yukon were much worse than the Alaska portion.

Rough road with pavement breaks, frost heaves and of course, our friend "loose" gravel.

Construction, pilot cars and single lane traffic and the ever present dust.

More dust! So much dust, combined with a windshield covered in bugs and dust, all reducing visibility.

At times, visibility was almost non existent due to construction work.

Despite the rough road, dust and construction hold-ups, the scenery remained breath-taking.

A lot of rough road, made tolerable by the constant stunning scenery, made even more gorgeous by the brilliant sunshine and vibrant fall colors.

Tok to Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park

Once we reached Tok, we continued southbound on Highway 1 towards Whitehorse.

We overnighted here in Teslin and this was the early morning view from the front window of the motorhome. The campground was less than 30% full due to time of year.

Everyone departing ahead of the first snow, which will fly soon.

Signpost Forest in Watson Lake.

Watson Lake as we passed through on Labor Day morning.

Wildlife bonanza today!

Highway 1, just south of Watson Lake, we saw more wildlife here than our entire time in Alaska.

Mama bear and her cub on the roadside.

Bison along the highway.

A herd of bison by the roadside, all oblivious to traffic.

Camping at Liard Hot springs Provincial Park.

Quiet, serene and surrounded by nature.

Natural hotsprings........so relaxing!

Hot, hot, hot! 98 - 108 degrees farenheit. So soothing for the aching muscles.

The hotest waters are at the top end, cooling off as you move downstream. The lower pool was a great start and end to our soaks.

The boardwalk to the hotsprings .7 kilometer walk.

The board walk to the springs reveals a warm swamp and diverse fauna and foliage.

We are soooo ready for a relaxing soak. Been dreaming about this for days.

Relaxation at it's finest. If only there was a pool boy who served wine!

Interesting fauna in the warm swamp.

Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park to Fort Nelson, BC

Surprise! More roadside wildlife, just a couple of miles south of the Liard Hot Springs.

We stop for caribou and other wildlife, especially when they hog the road.

Stone sheep, are a southern version of Dall sheep.
These were on the roadside near Muncho Lake. They are extremely agile, jumping up on the sheer rock as we approached.

Cache Creek to the Okanagan Valley, BC

Trans Canada Highway (Hwy 1) to BC 97 south

No question that we are in Canada's only dessert. The landscape is very arid, and dotted with emerald green swaths of irrigated agricultural land.

Descending down into the Okanagan Valley and Lake Okanagan.

Approaching the quaint, lakeside town of Peachland, where we enjoyed a two day stay.

The Okanagan Valley is not only Canada's only dessert, it is where the British Columbia wine industry all began.

Peachland, Okanagan Valley

Peachland is a picturesque, quaint town, nestled on the south western shore of Lake Okanagan.

Peachland, a vibrant waterfront village with a popular, beautiful lake front pathway lining the shore Okanagan Lake.

Enjoying some quiet time nd a Happy Hour wine on the shore of Lake Okanagan, directly in front of our RV site.

The lake view from the front of our motorhome.

Peachland's waterfront.

A visit to nearby Mission Hills Winery

The lake view from Mission Hills Winery.

We had hoped to have lunch at the Mission Winery, but without a reservation, the wait would have been almost two hours. Ravenous from all this fresh air, we opted to return to Peachland and have lunch at the Gasthaus on the Lake.

We enjoyed a great dinner here the previous evening, visiting and catching up with long time friends Bob & Lorna, who now live in the Okanagan Valley. The German food at lunch was equally as scrumptious as the night before, and the ambiance, most enjoyable outside on the sunny patio.