Turning Back South

As the two week forecast for central Alaska ranged from mostly cloudy to increasing cloudiness to completely cloudy to total cloud cover...we decided to look elsewhere, back down south, for more opportunities to see the northern lights. We also noted, after a couple tries, that staying out to see the lights exposed us to uncomfortably cool temperatures as well as kept us up way beyond our normal bed times. Thus, we reversed course and in a retiring action headed for our next fun stop, the salmon and bears of Fish Creek, near Hyder, Alaska. 1,238 miles away, neatly compressed into the following several pix.

Still in Alaska, big mountains to the coastal south

Bird bit stuck in the fender of our car; the birds up here are not all
that used cars and trucks, their speed, etc.

Leaf peeping

More mountains, more black spruce

Miles of beetle all over

Mama and two cubs crossing

As we were putting the phone away, a third cub jumped out of the
bushes and scurried across

A few more miles down the road, now in the Yukon; not a cub

At last, just short of the Sign Forest, we turned onto
Route 37, the Cassiar Highway, which we had much 
enjoyed in 2002

Interesting morning clouds on the Cassiar

The Cassiar jade store; I still have my rough jade piece, bought in
2002, to be polished someday into the jadeite axe I have always wanted

Now on the Cassiar/Stewart Highway, glaciers coming down to 
the road...they were much more formidable 20 years ago

High above a huge Canadian gold and silver mine, the tongue of
another big one

Now about to enter Hyder, Alaska, another of the tiny US possessions
along the coast

Leaving Hyder, going back into Canada..."Checkpoint
Charlie"...the wit who posted this apparently is still learning
about the rule of law, life in a full dictatorship...

A glacier hanging above Stewart, where we camped
for our visit to Hyder