From our cabin in "North Pole," we started our long journey home across the thawing tundra of central Alaska and the Yukon, passing giant mountains, endless forests and the world's largest gold pan. At one point, Aili had to break hard as a galloping grizzly tried to cross the road right in front of us. He swerved abruptly and ran alongside the car at full speed for a good 100 meters. We finally passed him and he crossed behind us, charging into the woods - what...

Pin entry - see next post.

We awoke before dawn (which is hard when the sun comes up at 5am!) and drove aboard the ferry for our 15 hour voyage up the Inside Passage to Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Along the way, we saw Grey and Humpback whales (with one breaching completely out of the water!) as well as a school of feeding porpoises and a black bear on the shoreline. We sailed by the mist covered mountains rising dramatically out of the sea and watched as the snow line dropped lower ...

Our day trip over to Sointula was a bit delayed as the Tuesday morning ferry is reserved for "dangerous cargo" and no passengers are allowed. Apparently that is when gasoline, diesel and other toxic materials are transported. So, with a few hours to kill until our 1:00pm sailing, we had a hardy breakfast while watching the rain, then visited a few shops and drove by the "World's Largest Burl". "What the hell's a burl?" you might ask... well, apparently it is a s...

After the WCT, we recouped for a couple days at Aili's Grandpa's in Victoria (well, I did - Aili had to fly back to LA for a work meeting, returning less than 48 hours later so not much rest for her!). While there, I visited Craigdarroch Castle (an old coal baron's mansion) with Grandpa and strolled through downtown, passing the harbor, the provincial capital building and the Empress Hotel - a landmark building where the Queen stays when visiting this far-off ou...