Canada - Yukon, BC, Canadian Rockies

On one side we didn’t like to say goodbye to Alaska, but on the other hand a beautiful landscape was waiting for us in Canada. We drove through Yukon Territory, British Columbia and visited the National parks Jasper and Banff in the Rocky Mountains.

On the way to the lower 48 we did a side trip to Haines, which belongs to Alaska. Haines is very nice. We saw a lot of bald eagles which are coming to Haines during Wintertime. Unfortunately we didn’t see them as close as in Homer. The Ferry to Skagway was too expensive for us; therefore we had to drive back 250 km (200 miles) to the Alaska Highway. On the way south we could observe a lot of wildlife again.

On the Cascade Highway we did another side trip to Hyder which lies also in Alaska. Only 100 people are living here. Hyder is surrounded by Canada and the only place in the States where it is difficult to pay with US-Dollar. The landscape is beautiful and we had to be careful not to drive into black bears, which where eating berries or grazing on the side of the road.

The landscape from Yukon and British Columbia is beautiful. The changing landscape with those pine trees and nice lakes made our travel nice and pleasant. Soon we reached the Canadian Rockies. Our first stop was in Jasper National Park. We stayed 3 nights and spent some time by with hiking. The weather was good as well.

On the plateau from Edith Carvel we enjoyed the view to a glacier and the surrounding mountains. We pitched our tent up close to Banff National park, therefore we did also a hike there. There were some dark clouds but luckily we stayed dry. Those National parks are a paradise for hikers, although we didn’t see any wildlife. May there are too many tourists around.

Next day we headed over 900 km (570 miles) by crazy weather, from sunshine to tunderstormes, to Vancouver. We really were happy, when we arrived in Vancouver. This city is really nice and worth to stay a few days. By beautiful sunshine we did some easy sightseeing and went to a „few“ nice bars for a drink. Because of the influence of Asian people we decided to go out and eat some Sushi. In Switzerland we can only dream of prices for Sushi like in Canada and the States. Also we had fantastic views over Vancouver from the tower. It is worth to go up, day and night.

We went to Vancouver Island by ferry, were we stayed a few days. Victoria, the capitol city of British Columbia, with its harbour is very nice. The highlight at Vancouver Island are definitely killer whales (Orcas), which are all year around close to the shore. In spring and fall also humpback whales are seen. We booked a tour, but didn’t expect to see a lot. However we were astonished how many Orcas we saw. We observed 30 to 40 whales and this close the shore, amazing. The whales were very playful; our guide told us it is because of plenty of salmon around. It was nice to see this whales jumping out of the water. The trip was definitely worth to do. We also went to the west side of the island, where you can enjoy beaches or mountains.

After 4 days we went back to the mainland and soon crossed the border to the States. We are looking forward to see some National Parks in the lower 48. How it was you will see in our next blog.