We crossed the border into Canada on July 8th to begin a 2 month trip across Western Canada to the AlCan Highway, starting in Dawson City, BC. This trip will be mostly the same route that I traveled 60 years ago as a toddler. I was born in Anchorage and lived there with my brother and parents. My parents bought a brand new 1964 Dodge Van (all of my family and highschool friends remember this van…I should try to find a photo) in Missoula and then we drove it up the AlCan Highway from Missoula to Anchorage. I don’t know any of the details of the trip other than it took a week and the AlCan was a dirt highway at that time. I’ve always wanted to repeat this trip while I can remember it!

In addition to driving the AlCan Highway (Dawson City, BC to Delta Junction, AK), we plan to visit a number of the National Parks and see a lot of the area. The map below provides an overview of our current journey. Stay tuned for more blogs as we make this journey!

The Trip to Jasper

July 8th: We headed to Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia, for 2 nights and then up to Jasper National Park, Alberta for 3 nights. We visited Jasper NP 6 years ago and were very disappointed that the amazing mountain scenes were blocked by heavy smoke for various fires across Western Canada. This trip totally made up for that last trip!

We spent one morning at Radium Hot Springs, the actual springs,which was lovely and took a day trip to Banff NP for lunch. The main focus of this segment of the trip was the actual drive up to Jasper via the Ice Fields Highway, then hikes around Edith Cavell Glacier, Five Lakes hike, the Jasper Tram, Maligne Canyon, Maligne Lake and Pyramid Lake.

July 11th: Mt Edith Cavell Glacier, Five Lakes Hike & Jasper Tram

July 12: Maligne Canyon, Maligne Lake and Pyramid Lake

When we visited 6 years ago, I didn’t even bother taking photos of Maligne Lake because you couldn’t see the mmountains. I did take a few of Pyramid Lake and added one for a comparison.