As you drive from BC Canada to Alaska you go through border crossings, but in my mind I see it as one journey and my reflection is on our trip to Alaska including the beautiful Yukon and Northern BC.

We allowed 6 weeks to make the return trip from BC, and wanted to see as much as possible because we thought this would be a once in a life time trip, strangely enough we are already talking about our next trip.

Alaska exceeded our expectations, not that I know what we really expected, but what I can say is that Alaska is like no other place I have seen, I am overwhelmed by its beauty, brought to tears by its majesty, and romanced by its spirit, no wonder they call it the last frontier. What we loved about Alaska is not only the abundance of wildlife and scenery, but its rich history, its people, their zest for life and their adaptive approach to living with changes in the elements. In our journey we met other interesting and friendly travelers that certainly added further to our enjoyment.

Although it is hard to identify highlights as every day we had was special, for me Homer (AK), Dawson City (YT) and the three major NPs, Denali, Lake Clark and Wrangell- St Elias have firmly settled in my heart. Homer for its fantastic art community and fine local food and of course the beautiful scenery you wake up to every morning, Dawson City for its beautiful unpaved streets, its rich history, the fun loving nature of the locals and the Yukon River, Denali for rewarding us with unbelievable variety of wildlife and of course Mt McKinley. Lake Clark for making me feel like a child again, bears, cubs, fishing for the first time, and just playing in the wilderness, and last but not least Wrangell St Elias NP for the most magnificent flight over glaciers and carved mountains with the highest peaks ever and of course our walk on the glacier.

In closing all I can say is I humbled by what I have seen and if I was to use one word to describe the great North West it would be "sacred".

Shoeleh