Operation Canada: Mission Accomplished

This is our final day in Canada. After leaving Fort Nelson, BC, the rest of the Alcan highway was a smooth drive. The Alcan officially ends in Dawson Creek, BC, but Edmonton is another 365 miles away (588 km for those of you reading this in a Common Wealth country). To gain an extra day on our itinerary, we extended our drive-time and arrived in Edmonton a day early. The final day's drive was beyond the mountain ranges we had grown accustomed to. The landscape of the prairie provinces closely resembles the midwest- acres and acres of farmland. Now, as we leave this region, we look forward to more spectacular vistas over the next few days. Our plans include hiking and camping in Glacier, Yellowstone, and the Badlands National Parks. I'm sure we will be happy for the extra day, though I imagine even that won't be enough time.

We, of course, will not forget western Canada's natural beauty. It rivals all other regions of the globe.









As mentioned in previous posts, we are especially taken by the wildlife. African safaris tout the "big five" as necessary for a successful trip- lions, elephants, rhinos, wildebeests, and giraffes (I think that's the list, but one of those may be swapped out for a hippopotamus). Alaskan and Northwest Canadian expeditions also have a "big five" necessary for success- bears, buffalo, caribou, elk, and moose (I think that muskox could also be thrown in there). Well, we now have all the necessary components for a successful safari. In fact, our animal sightings have become so numerous that I started using a Tally Zoo app on the iPad to keep track. As of this writing, we have seen 9 brown and black bears, 11 buffalo, 1 porcupine, 2 foxes, 3 rock sheep, 8 moose, 1 bald eagle, and over 20 elk... We have also seen caribou and muskoxen, but they were in captivity. We can only hope that similar wonder lies ahead.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:British Columbia and Alberta