TripTracker.net - Alaska and the Pacific Northwest 2010, Vancouver Island

New York, United States Almost ready ...A stop in Indiana Bismarck, ND in 2 days Calgary, Alberta Banff National Park of Canada Jasper, Alberta Dawson Creek, British Columbia Liard River Hot Springs Park, Canada Whitehorse, Yukon Territory Vehicles Seen on the Alaska Highway Fairbanks, Alaska Denali National Park Driving through Denali Denali Girdwood, United States, Alaska Anchorage, United States, Alaska Portage and Seward Girdwood, United States, Alaska Tok, Alaska Haines, Alaska Juneau, Alaska Sitka, Alaska Ketchikan, Alaska Prince Rupert, British Columbia Vancouver Island Back in the Lower 48!Olympic National Park Seattle, Washington Mount Ranier National Park Mount St. Helens Portland, Oregon Oregon Coast Ashland, Oregon Oregon Caves National Monument, United States, Oregon Mitch and Brenda's wedding Crater Lake, United States, Oregon Bruneau Dunes State Park, Idaho Idaho Yellowstone Badlands National Park, South Dakota Great Wolf Lodge One last stop We're home!

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Alaska and the Pacific...

Vancouver Island

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Aug 13 2010, 10:00 PM

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Port Hardy, B. C., Canada

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From Prince Rupert, we took another ferry ride. This time it was the 15-hour Inside Passage ride from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy which is on the north end of Vancouver Island. The entire route up from Vancouver Island up to Skagway is referred to as the Inside Passage because ships travel in narrow channels among hundreds of islands rather than out in open sea. This time we were taking the Canadian BC Ferries' boat Northern Expedition rather than the Alaska Marine Highway. This boat was much newer and fancier than the Alaskan boats. It seemed to operate more as a tour than a means of transportation between cities which the Alaskan boats do. Unlike places like Juneau and Ketchikan, Prince Rupert is actually accessible by road and passenger rail. Most of the passengers seemed to be European tourists with some Canadians and very few Americans.

WE HAVE HAD A FEW BRIEF WHALE SPOTTINGS ON PREVIOUS FERRIES, BUT ON THIS ONE WE HAD OUR BEST WHALE SIGHTINGS YET. THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE TRIP WAS WHEN A HUMPBACK WHALE DECIDED TO GIVE OUR BOAT AN INCREDIBLE SHOW BREECHING, SPRAYING, AND FLICKING HIS TAIL REPEATEDLY RIGHT IN FRONT OF US.

After spending the night in Port Hardy, we spent Saturday driving the length of Vancouver Island. The island turned out to be much bigger, more populated, and more varied than I expected. The north end is pretty unpopulated and rural, sort of like Alaska. We passed a lot of logging operations and roadside attractions like the "World's Biggest Burl" (pictured). We have seen a lot of burls or "tree tumors" as we have been calling them on the trip. In the middle of the island we stopped in Parksville, a beach town that could have been anywhere in Florida or California. There was a beach festival going on with sand volleyball, ice cream stands, and major Sand Castle competition. By the end of the day, we got to the city of Victoria, the provincial capital of British Columbia. Except for a few totem poles located around town, it could have been in Europe. There was a Dragon Boat competition going on in the harbor while we were waiting for our fifth and final ferry to take us to Washington.

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	44. We're home! Sep 3 2010, 07:30 PMNew York, United States, New York We made it home just in time to watch the world premeire of Camp Rock 2 on the Disney Channel and beat Hurricane Earl. We were gone for 46 and a half days and drove 11,763 miles. It was an amazing trip, but it's also great to be home.

	43. One last stop Sep 2 2010, 08:13 PMElkhart, United States, Indiana One last overnight stop in Elkhart, Indiana. It's Mindy's hometown. More importantly, it's a town on I-80 with lots of motels.

	42. Great Wolf Lodge Sep 2 2010, 12:23 AMWisconsin Dells, United States, Wisconsin After another long day of driving, we have stopped for the night at one of the Great Wolf Lodge chain's hotels with an indoor water park. This one is in Wisconsin Dells, which seems to be an area full of indoor water parks. We're going to spend some time playing here before moving on...

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