Along The Alcan

I posted some photos recently of a mini road trip to Anchorage, but today I'm digging into my archives and going back to 2009 when we took a wee bit longer road trip.  We left Fairbanks on September 28th and got back home on November 12th.  We traveled down the Alcan Highway, through Canada into Montana, down to Yellowstone, east to Kansas City, along Route 66 to California, up to Seattle, and then north again to Fairbanks.  I took a lot of photos on that trip, and so it's no surprise that two of them popped up when I searched my files for Index No. 1688 for Gaelyn's Foto Friday Fun No. 110.  The first was on September 30th traveling south through northern British Columbia.

The second was taken on November 11th, traveling north into the Yukon Territory.

There are many miles of spectacular scenery along the Alcan, but maybe the most beautiful is along the stretch of road we covered on September 30th.  

I posted photos all along that trip, and you can check out the posts for those two days HERE and HERE.  You can also read more of the posts from that trip under my Blog Archive under 2009, September 28th through November 13th.

 I am also linking up with Eileen's Saturday's Critters.

Garden Reflection

Sunken Garden Lake at Butchart Gardens

Victoria, British Columbia

October 10, 2012

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I'm linking up with Tricia's Watery Wednesday II

Garden View

Butchard Gardens, Victoria, British Columbia

Harbor View

Victoria, British Columbia

Detour

We were on the road again today, leaving Ellsworth under cloudy skies and heading north, with our destination Presque Isle.  After a very windy day yesterday, many trees have already shed their leaves, but there was still a good deal of color along the road.

We stopped for lunch at Houlton, and then stopped at the Visitor's Center.  The lady there was very helpful, and suggested something that she thought we might like to do.  It sounded like a good idea, so off we went.

Our detour took us a few miles to the US/Canada border and in to New Brunswick, Canada.  As we like to do, we took the scenic route.

Our destination.....

.....Hartland, which boosts the longest covered bridge in the world at 1,282 feet.

The bridge was constructed by the Hartland Bridge Company, which was formed by citizens on both sides of the St. Johns River who were tired of waiting for the government to build a bridge.  It was originally thought the bridge would be built using eight steel spans and would cost $70-80,000.  Instead the bridge was built out of cedar spruce and hard pine and local businessmen were used, bringing the cost down to $27,945. It was officially opened July 4, 1901.  The bridge was purchased by the provincial government in 1906.  Two spans of the bridge were taken out by river ice in April of 1920, and the government made major repairs and covered the bridge in 1922.  The side walkway was added in 1945.  Lights were installed on the bridge, and during the winter snow was hauled  and placed on the floor of the bridge so sleds could easily travel on it.

We crossed the bridge and continued driving along the other side of the river.

Along the way we saw a lovely rainbow.

We crossed the border back in to the US and on to Presque Isle.  As we drove up to the hotel we saw our second rainbow of the day.

I think that must be a good omen!  

BC Barn

Here's a bit of change of pace from all the ice sculptures I have been showing lately. When we were traveling home to Alaska in November of 2009 I took this photo in southern British Columbia not too long after we had crossed over the border into Canada from Washington. There is some beautiful farming country there. I thought this barn had a lot of character. Tomorrow I'll post more ice sculptures. We went to the Ice Park this afternoon and I took photos of the completed Multi Block sculptures and tonight or tomorrow night I'll go to get some nighttime shots.

To see more old barns click on the barn below to go to Barn Charm hosted by Tricia.

The Floral Clock

Just down the road from the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens along the Niagara Parkway at Queenston is the Floral Clock. The clock was built in 1950 by Ontario Hydro. The clock is 40 feet wide with a planted area 38 feet wide. Each year the face of the clock is planted with 15,000 to 20,000 carpet plants and annuals. The floral design is changed twice each year. The grounds around the clock feature beautiful beds of flowers.

The tower at the back of the clock houses Westminster chimes that sound each quarter hour. If the door to the tower is open you can get a glimpse of the clock mechanism and see photos of every face design back to the fifties.

You may notice that the door is open, but unfortunately I didn't know you could go in until we got home and I was doing research before posting this. When you are traveling as we were, just seeing where the road takes you, you can't research things in advance. This is one of those times when a little more knowledge would have been helpful. I did walk all the way around the clock and get a picture of the open door though!

The clock is located behind the Sir Adam Beck Generating Station No. 1 and is maintained by Ontario Power Generation, hence all the power lines you see in the background.

Niagara Falls-Canada

Today we drove across the Rainbow Bridge into Canada to see Niagara Falls from the Canadian side. In order to get a good view of Horseshoe Falls you really need to see it from the Canadian side.

The water flowing over the edge is mesmerizing.

It forms a plume of mist that rises high into the sky.

You can also see the American and Bridal Veil Falls straight on.

The American Falls are shorter than Horseshoe, and the water cascades down onto huge boulders.

People have survived the fall over Horseshoe Falls, but because of the rocks no one would survive if they went over the American Falls.

The sight of these Falls must have been quite frightening to the first people who saw them when everything was a wilderness around them.

We had a lovely day in Canada viewing the Falls and then we visited the Butterfly Conservatory and the Botanical Gardens. I took a lot of photos and I will have more about them later, as well as some of the sights at Niagara Falls away from the water. Tonight we are staying at Lockport, New York, and tomorrow we are planning to go on a cruise on the Erie Canal.

Ravens Along the Alcan

On September 29th on the second day of our roadtrip down the Alcan we stopped at a turnout just after we had crossed the continental divide but still in the Yukon Territory. Here we encountered a pair of ravens. I was able to get several good shots of them. In Fairbanks we see ravens all the time, particularly in the winter. Every morning you will see them flying into town from their roosting place and then back again in the evening. They spend their day in town hanging around parking lots, fast food places, and anywhere else where they might find easy pickings. They love riding the air currents and you can often see groups of them playing as they coast around in the sky. I was delighted to see these two birds in a more natural setting, although from the abandoned buildings there had been either a road maintenance camp or a lodge at the spot. I like the shot below as it shows the beautiful wing pattern of the raven. Click on the photos to enlarge them.

The two spent some time on the roof of an old shed preening their feathers. They really weren't too concerned that I was madly snapping photos of them. Perhaps they were showing off their beauty for me.

We encountered the first raven as soon as we pulled into the parking area. He was very interested in the gravel and spent a bit of time there, perhaps picking out just the perfect piece of debris.

Ravens are plentiful in Fairbanks, and at the annual bird count on December 19th, they were the second largest group of birds counted at 1638. Only the redpoll had more birds with 3,402 counted. The landfill was the biggest attraction that day, with 999 ravens counted there. The temperature was a brisk minus 38 degrees F at the start of the count, but had risen to 29 below at the finish.

Ravens are the largest member of the crow family. Native Alaskans depict the Raven as a "trickster" spirit. They are a very intelligent bird and can be quite fascinating to watch. They are a very noisy bird with many different vocalizations. You can hear some of them by clicking here to go to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website. Because they are entirely black they are a difficult bird to photograph. I have lots of photos of ravens, but it is very hard to get the feather definition. I felt very fortunate to have this wonderful opportunity to visit briefly with this raven pair.

Roadtrip Memories - Liard River Hot Springs

When we traveled down the Alcan, one of our favorite stops was at Liard River Hot Springs. It is in northern British Columbia about a three hour drive north of Fort Nelson and one of the few provincial campgrounds along the Alaska Highway that remains open all year round. It is the second largest hot springs in Canada. The hot springs complex is well known for its natural setting in a lush boreal spruce forest. A boardwalk that leads to the hot spring pools passes through a warm water swamp and boreal forest that supports rich and diverse plant communities, as well as mammal and bird species. Moose like to feed in the warm water swamps, but we didn't see any that morning. Unlike most other thermal springs in Canada, Liard River Hot Springs does not flow directly into a nearby river or creek, but into an intricate system of swamps. Due to the continual inflow of warm water, the swamps never freeze in winter, despite being extremely shallow and located at a latitude of nearly 60° north. The first written recording of the hot springs on the Liard River was made in 1835 by Robert Campbell of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Following Campbell’s exploration, the Liard River was used as a trading route to the Yukon, but was abandoned in 1870 as the rapids along the upper Liard River were too treacherous.

We reached the hot springs the third day of our trip on September 30th a little after 10:00 in the morning, and headed down the boardwalk to the springs. Remember you can click on the photos to enlarge them.
The boardwalk first takes you through a swampy area.

Grasses grow through the water, and we could see little fish in the water. They are Lake Char who have been isolated from their own kind for thousands of years. They have adapted to life at the hot springs, and live on invertibrate life, plankton and algae.

There had been a little snow, and the morning was on the cool side, about 35 degrees F. As we walked down the boardwalk the snow still clung to the shady spots.

At the end of the boardwalk we came to the hot springs. There are two pools, but the upper one was closed for the season.

The trip to the changing room was quick because of the cool temperature, and we hurried to get in the water.

Once in the water, it was heavenly. The sun was shining, there were fall leaves around the pool, steam in the air, and it was a totally delightful experience.

Because of the heat of the water, 107 to 126 F (42-52 C), you can't stay in the water too long. The recommended time is 20 minutes, and that's about how long we soaked. We changed out of our swimming suits and headed back down the boardwalk to the truck. There is an abundance of wildlife that hang around the hot springs, but fortunately we didn't run in to any of the bears.

It wasn't a very long interruption to our trip, but it was definitely a highlight. As we went down the road that day we saw buffalo, stone sheep, and caribou. It was a good day to be on the road!