The Truth about the Icefields Parkway

The Icefields Parkway in Alberta, Canada must be one of the most blogged about destinations in Nth America, if not the world. When I was researching our recent trip it seemed like every second Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and blog post I came across was about the parkway. There is a reason for this - the scenery is stunning, it is a great place for wildlife spotting, it is easy to get to and almost everything can be seen right beside the roadway. It is hard to imagine anywhere in the world where there are so many glaciers, alpine lakes and spectacular views so easily accessible.

The Alaska Highway: Whitehorse, The Frantic Follies and the Yukon Wildlife Preserve

8.00 pm - broad daylight ...
9.00 pm - broad daylight .....
10.00 pm - broad daylight ......
11.00 pm - broad daylight .........
11.30 pm - broad daylight .............

Whatever made me think around the clock daylight would be a good thing. It sounds like so much fun. Spend all day sightseeing and then party on through the night. No sunset, no evening, no need to go to bed. Hang on, this is me talking. Anything less than eight hours sleep and I'm a total wreck. Round the clock daytime was never going to work for me.

Skagway, Alaska and the Klondike Highway

Skagway, Alaska was the northern most point for many of our fellow passengers on the Alaska Marine Highway. You can go further, all the way to Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands, but after Skagway the ferries become less frequent and the connections trickier.

David is not a fan of places where he is likely to meet hordes of fellow tourists; even less so when those tourists arrive by their thousands. Skagway has a permanent population of about 1,000 people but during the cruise ship season it can host 10,000 or more visitors in a single day.

Driving the Alaska Highway: Dawson Creek to Whitehorse.

The Alaska Highway runs from Dawson Creek in British Columbia to just south of Fairbanks, Alaska. It was built by the US army during WWII to connect the lower 48 States with Alaska in the face of the Japanese invasion of the Aleutian Islands in the far south-west of that state. Canada, through which much of the highway runs, agreed to the project on the basis that the US would pay for the road's construction and control it for the duration of the war. Once the war ended control of the Canadian section would be ceded to Canada.