After a lull during the Covid-19 pandemic, tourism appears to be rebounding in the North. As I prepared to take my bus tour of Yukon and Alaska, I discovered that several other local people were also planning to drive up the Alaska Highway, some with tour groups and others in their recreational vehicles.
Despite the number of visitors heading north in early June, the highways were not crowded. The only traffic jams were at road repair sites, similar to a Saskatchewan summer. Generally the roads were in good condition and there were enough services for travellers. The people that I met at visitors centres and tourist locations were friendly and well prepared for the crowds.
Only two of our schedule stops were disappointing: the oven had broken at a bakery famous for cinnamon rolls and a week later the toilets were closed at a visitor centre because they were out of water. (Fortunately, there was a potty on the bus.)
I was particularly impressed by Air North. The flight was on time, the plane was comfortable, the crew were friendly andy they offered us a sandwich during our short flight from Edmonton to Whitehorse.
I was impressed by the cleanliness of the cities that I visited in Yukon and Alaska. The streets had been cleared of dirt and trash. Flowers beautified many private and public areas. Despite the northern latitude, the central park gardens at Fairbanks were at about the same level of development as the plants I had left behind in Prince Albert. The petunias and roses were blooming in Fairbanks. I noticed rhubarb and Bergenia in the flower beds at Dawson City where willows were still in catkins. Along the highways, purple lupins and blue forget-me-nots crowded out the dandelions.
We saw many exciting things during our three-week trip. For me, the most spectacular was a boat trip on Prince William Sound to the edge of the Columbia Glacier. The glacier growls and snaps as chunks of ice break off into the ocean. Hundreds off sea lions roared on a nearby rocky shelf. Four wide-eyed harbour seals sunbathed on floating ice. It was a perfect day on the water … the sea was flat and the sun shone brightly. We saw a humpback whale feeding and porpoises surfing in the wake of the boat.
Many people asked if I had seen a grizzly bear during the trip. The only grizzly I saw was in the gift shop along with other taxidermy. We saw lots of black bears in the ditches and several moose.
The mosquito is jokingly called the state bird of Alaska, but we had very few bug bites during our trip.
Wildfires were the only fear I had when setting out on the trip. Fortunately there was only one day that we smelled smoke in the air. We finished our trip before the conflagration that is burning the North this summer. I feel sad that some of those small businesses that depend on tourism may suffer financially again this summer.
There is a lot of construction going on in Yukon and Alaska, so if you are planning to see the North there should be lots of facilities prepared for you.
Seeing Alaska and Yukon Territory was the trip of a lifetime for me. I can wholeheartedly recommend it to you.
