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Panamericana North to Alaska
  • esmeralda life
  • Susanne Joss
  • esmeralda life
  • Susanne Joss

Panamericana North to Alaska

Starting from our home in Northern California through Canada , with the goal to be in Alaska by July En savoir plus
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  • Début du voyage
    7 mai 2023
    Panamericana North to Alaska
    1Hannah with her mother
    1Hannah with her mother2Gold bluff campground11Fern canyonElks grazing next to the road1Harris beach

    Off to Oregon

    9 mai 2023, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    After our trip in 2019/20 to the southern end of the Panamericana in Argentina, we really want to complete the northern route to Fairbanks Alaska. So we started on May 7th toward the Oregon border, stopping at our daughter Hannah's in Arcata. She just past in her last edits for her Master degree fromm Cal Poly Humboldt , great relieve for her . With our friend Alexa we camped at Gold bluff campground near the famous Fern canyon. Beautiful beach camping and hike through the ferns and old growth forests! . In the afternoon of May 9th we made it over the Oregon border to Harris Beach state rec area.En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
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    Oregon

    12 mai 2023, États Unis

    Why travel ? For head heavy engineering types like myself, the exposure to nature feels healing and magical. The Oregon coast changes frequently, from rocky islands to long stretches of sandy beaches interrupted by large inlets where the rivers meet the ocean . Inspired by our daughters master thesis about kelp forests and farms , we study the grasses and growth near the tide pools and the rocks , the bright grasses and the long kelp ribbons , the longer we look the more life we find . Then a whale swims next to us in the surf , on our beach walk.

    Eventually we turn away from the ocean to visit friends in Portland. We go to bed filled with the events of the day and waking up to another " brand new day " !    En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
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    Temperate Rainforests

    18 mai 2023, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    The Olympic peninsula in Washington state contains one of the few temperate Rainforests in the world ( most of them are tropical like the Amazon). The symbiosis of decay and new life creates a magical tapestry for exploration. We decide to take our backpacking gear out for a spin in the Hoh rainforest. Following the mighty Hoh river , a section of the trail was washed away by a new river arm, that had just formed, and we have to bushwhack through the dense forest (no easy task with the backpacks) . But eventually we reach the base camp for Mount Olympus and spent a peaceful night in our tent. For dinner, we are delighted about our home made backpacking food , Susanne had dehydrated mushroom risotto!En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
    Bison vans Dakota
    Bison vans Dakota2Rhododendron parkCoupevilleOld Friends meetingFort EbeyTypical Harvest host spot

    Salish Sea Islands (arround Seattle)

    20 mai 2023, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    From the Olympic peninsula we took a ferry to Whidbey island . But on the way we found an old neighbor ( she grew up with our youngest daughter) Dakota. She started a business with her partner Avi , building out the most beautiful all wheel drive camper vans - bisonvans.com!
    On Whidbey we arrive on a Saturday, but luckily find a campsite in the rhododendron park . We are visiting friends from the Nevada city area and have a lovely reunion with a number of them, preferring the green and grey of Washington to the golden hills of California . Coupeville on Whidbey Island has a cute downtown and further up in Bellingham we continue to explore Harvest Host , farms , wineries and businesses where you can park for free for the night ( with the expectation that people shop in their farm store, which we happily do). All positive experiences so far. Tomorrow we are off to Canada!    En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
    2312

    Costa del Sol in Canada

    28 mai 2023, Canada ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Who would have thought that Canada feels like San Diego ? After a day in Vancouver, we escape to the Sunshine coast, a ferry ride away from the bustling metropolis. While we had suspected the name of this mainland stretch of coast to be a clever marketing gimmick....we are sitting on the beach in bathings suites and Susanne braved the waves.
    In the evening the beach comes alive with sea lions and otters, playing in the surf . An eagle lands close to us , trying to steal the Otters meal.
    The sunshine coast trail connects a number of basic huts across a 178 km mountainous hike . We reach the last hut via a day hike and feel accomplished.    En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
    1Youngsters playground
    1Youngsters playgroundNairn falls31Peak of Stawamus Chief2Coffee and fresh baked cinnamon rolls

    The outdoor playground

    31 mai 2023, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    What makes a journey so special are the little surprises. While we hike a lot , see many waterfalls , wildlife and the stunning nature all around us, the little things count . Finding authentic Wienerle in the store ( a German hotdog that pops when you bite in ) , the Coffee shop next to the hiking trail and beautiful free campsite at the climbers camp . And then walking up the dirt road , in the middle of nowhere, we see two chairs up on a boulder 🪨. After several attempts we find a climbing route up to the top and enjoy the grand view.
    For us it's also a challenge to gage our strength. The hikes catering to the climbing community are rated "hard" ,with some ladders and ropes to get to the top, like the Stawamus Chief towering above the town of Squamish. We keep evaluating, but then decide to beat the young kids to the top , by leaving at 5.30 am and arriving on the peak before the crowds.
    Whistler, the commercial center of the area and known for its wintersport (and 2010 Olympic winter games), is a rather unremarkable, developer drawn , overpriced town , which we are happy to leave again for the quiet of the campgrounds up river.    En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
    1Filter coffee
    1Filter coffee2Home cooked mealCommunity center shower in Pemberton2Boondocking site2Joffre lake2Joffre Lake hike2

    Daily life in the camper

    4 juin 2023, Canada ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    If you are a camper yourself , you may be interested in our setup and practices to organize our daily life .
    Morning: Coffee , i went back to the setup my mom had when I grew up in Germany ...Melita #6 Filter filtered into a thermos . Just make sure to wet the grinds for a minute or 2 before adding boiling water.
    Meals: our 3 burner stove with oven provides a full kitchen and we cook and eat almost always at home in the camper. Number one reason ...the food is just better!
    Showers: The pride of many towns in the Canadian West , are their community centers. They often offer, clean , hot showers for a few bugs . While our camper has a hot outdoor shower, we rarely use it . We do have a pop up shower tent too, but after using it we have to watch the YouTube video,how to fold it back in the box
    Laundry: every 2 or 3 weeks we stop at a Laundromat. Amazing how fast these commercial machines work.
    Camping: With our self-contained camper ,we enjoy and want to support the many basic campgrounds (mostly provincial parks in Canada) , but also use boondocking sites ,if we find one away from the highway noise .
    As for our progress....after the last popular highlight in the Coastal mountains, Joffre provincial park, the landscape changes into rolling hills with even more lakes and large rivers. The northern latitude is clearly palpable now .....sunset at 9.30pm and close to freezing temperatures during the night!    En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
    1Largest collection of Totem poles
    1Largest collection of Totem polesKsan native villageCrossing snowfields on our hikeUsing our kayak to admire the neighbors "garage"3Stewart, Canada looking towards Hyder , Alaska pop. 1001I found a Loyd Alexander(German car from the 1950s) but converted into a snow cat1

    Stewart-Casiar Highway

    8 juin 2023, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Generally, there is only one road to Alaska , the Alaskan Highway that opened for civilian traffic after WW2 . But there is the option, which we are taking , to drive through British Columbia, called the Yellow head/ Casiar Hwy , and merge later with the Alaskan Hwy. Snowy mountains all around , many hikes not open yet due to snow and quite a lot of interesting native American culture. Visiting the reconstructed native village Ksan, leaves us wondering how we would do, if we had to get all things from nature...like here all dwellings, canoes, clothing and tools are made from red cedar. Also impressed by the many Totem poles, we are trying to understand their meaning based on the instructions:"Totem poles are read from the solid base at the bottom to the top figure, as it points skyward to never ending possibilities ".
    In Hyder, a short side trip of the Casiar, we return to the ocean and also touch Alaska for the first time .    En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
    Alaskan Highway
    Alaskan HighwayAbove Atlin,BC Canada1Premier lakefront camping- 11.30pm1Fox kids living under an old house4Atlin bayHaines bikeraceView from the deck of our friends cabin (often a bald eagle flys by)Community dinner in Haines2Checking the Crab pods in the Chilkat inlet

    Northwest Canada and Haines

    18 juin 2023, États Unis ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    After the quiet of the Casiar Hwy, we are merging with  the Alaska Highway again (which is only slightly busier) . We are getting spoiled by the best lake camping spots and take our Kayak out on Boya lake. Our Wildlife journal is filling up....baers,eagles,moose and foxes.We are fascinated by a small town in  a remote valley, Atlin, and after walking the few blocks a few time ,we already feel like locals. With the ferry we reach, Haines, now again over the border in Alaska. Our friends have a beautiful cabin at the inlet and we spent some unforgettable days in Haines. It's easy to fall in love with it, a bike race, a free community dinner provided by the fisherman, harvesting crab and testing a sailboat in the Alaskan waters.En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
    1Landing on the base of Mount Logan
    1Landing on the base of Mount Logan1Glaciers like AutobahnenAll by our selfs at Samuel glacier hike2The neighbor boondockers at the end of the 🌈2Finding our chairs again at Kathleen lake2Valdez harbor1Moose 🫎 Frikadellen

    Mountains and Glaciers

    26 juin 2023, États Unis ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    A lot of superlatives here at the border region of Yukon and mainland Alaska. A number of national parks in Canada and Alaska form the largest internationally protected area on earth. This includes Canada's highest mountain Mount Logan at 5959 meters(19550 feet). We took a plane to explore this vast area , where glaciers are 75km long , and melt together from different valleys. What a vast, incredible world almost devoid of humans ! While traveling ,every few hundred miles we come to a settlement and get excited for grocery stores and a gas station , but often it's just a few houses . Today , June 26 we arrived in Valdez , almost a city with it's 4000 residents . And it's really raining for the first time of our now 7 week trip,so we settled in one of the RV parks in town and cozy up in Esmeralda.En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
    Fishing at the moth of Kenai river
    Fishing at the moth of Kenai riverWater taxi drop off1Tent camping near icebergsRiver crossing with the rope pull tram1Evening walk wardrobeA otter drops by and waves his flippers24th of July hike at Skilak lake2Moose 🫎 mom with baby

    From Hope to Homer

    4 juillet 2023, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    The Kenai peninsula ,south of Anchorage, seems to be the fishing capital of Alaska! Everywhere trucks with boats , Anglers on the shore and rivers and people dip netting in the main salmon rivers .
    Since we don't have that 🎣 bug , we start at the small town of Hope and drive down some 200 miles to Homer, at the other side of the Peninsula. There a water taxi drops us of for a backpacking overnight at a glacier lake. The day was beautiful, the night was stormy !! , but the water taxi picked us up the next day just before the rain started. And it does rain a lot here at the coast and after the rain the Moskitos are out in force. So we spent time in the camper, reading , baking bread and cooking salmon chowder to warm up.    En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
    Mt Denali,view from Savage Campground in the national park
    Mt Denali,view from Savage Campground in the national park1Off trail hiking1PtarmiganWildflowers abound1Mt Denali viwed from the Denali State parkDog sled summer training

    The Ancient One

    18 juillet 2023, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    It's easy to get infected with the mystique, that surrounds the highest mountain of North America, Denali. At 20310 ft (6190 m ) it creates its own weather and when he reveals itself, it's always an heightened experience. This morning , after our 3rd night in the national park, while raindrops drum on the camper and the near mountains are all clouded in , Denali shines in a window of sunshine .
    It's the untouched , unspoiled nature we celebrate here, the park protected for its wildlife, before humans could settle in. Transportation is mostly with Buses and hiking is off trail, get off the bus and hike. We see our first Caribou and Dall sheep and Porcupine and Moose are crossing the road. The Ptarmigans , looking like wild chickens and also the state bird of Alaska , herd their offspring with their loud chatter. What a beautiful wilderness!    En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
    1Chena river paddlers
    1Chena river paddlers1Taking our Kayak through town on the Chena river1Chena Hot springs about 50 miles outside the city1The ice museum in Chena Hot springsHot spring heated greenhouses produce bumper cropsConcert and dance at the old breweryAt one of the many rivers outside town2Sunset at birch lake

    Around Fairbanks

    24 juillet 2023, États Unis ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    The most northern larger city in Alaska surprised us....suddenly summer , we pulled out the shorts and paddled down the Chena river that runs through the town . It's easy to get connected here , after attending the local music festival in an old brewery and camping at the community garden we already meet familiar faces at the farmers market. The beauty of the area surrounding Fairbanks really wins us over . Chena Hot springs , the Steese hwy with remote mountain passes and the many free river and lake campsites are just wonderful. This is as far north as we go and on our way south east we see our first sunset in Alaska just outside Fairbanks ,more then a month after the solstice and the all light nights. Today it's more like 11 pm now and we are still up to witness it.En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
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    Top of the world

    30 juillet 2023, Canada

    The roads are narrow and mostly gravel , but whoever came up with the name " Top of the world Highway" definitely created an attraction . This road gets you from eastern Alaska to the northern most border crossing into the Klondike region of Canada. At the end , just before Dawson city (of gold rush fame) we reach the mighty Yukon river , the crossing is enabled by a small ferry ...no bridges here. Until the mid 1950's most of the goods and people came in via Stern Wheeler Ships down the Yukon and we admire some of the narrows they had to navigate in order to reach Whitehorse for supplies.En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
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    Northern Rockies

    4 août 2023, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Back on the Alcan Highway the wildfire smoke clears up and we are excited to find Mountains again ....the northern part of the Rocky mountains. It's quiet here and it's mainly RVs and Campers and some commercial trucks. We hike what is highlighted as the northern Rockies most popular trail and meet only 9 people and 1 grizzly on the 11 km hike . Wild life viewing is back, here in Canada , stone sheep, black bears , buffalo herds and a grizzly also jumped into the lake and had a swim close to our campsite.En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
    1The glacier was calving heavily and ice washed to the beach
    1The glacier was calving heavily and ice washed to the beach1The elk especially like the grass in the campground1The rental RV fleets indicate a lot of German tourists1First breakfast outdoors....before it was always too wet or we got up too early1Mount Robson Berg lake trail

    Jasper

    17 août 2023, Canada ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We arrived in the central Rockies - the famous Jasper national park. Right next to it is Mt Robson , the highest peek in the Canadian Rockies at just under 4000m . We did a nice backpacking trip and were positively surprised about our tents performance in the 🌧️. Jasper is full of German tourists and we have a chance to practice our native language on the campgrounds and on the lovely hikes in the surrounding mountains.En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
    2Lake louise
    2Lake louiseMirror lake at 8amLake LouiseLake Agnes with tea house1Peyto lake, trying to cross the inflow streams ...brrrhh1Bow lake3Lake MoraineGrizzlies insist to cross our trailJealous bighorn sheep... everyone looks at the bears1Bow lake

    The most beautiful lake !?

    30 août 2023, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We have seen so many lakes on our trip, but here in the small town of Lake Louise , in the Canadian Rockies, the competition, ...."which is the fairest of all"... ramps up.
    After spending a week along the Icefields parkway, we have to get used to masses of people again. We especially enjoy seeing so many students and young adults on our hikes , and may it be the Insta moments and YouTube stars that get them out here, nothing wrong with that ( especially remembering our video game generation kids...when our concern was "will they ever come out of their rooms again ? "). So you be the judge, which one is the most beautiful one?En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
    Banff pedestrian zone
    Banff pedestrian zone6Radium HotspringsFairmont Banff from the late 19 the century1Bighorn sheepSuch a pretty ptarmigan!2"dumm glaufa" as we say in Swabia in the nightly rocktower competition12Emerald lake1Revelstoke

    Banff

    6 septembre 2023, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    The definite center of the national parks in the Rockies is Banff , a nice little town . Overrun from tourists, driving can be slow and we move with the free bus system between campground, town and trails.En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
    Apple orchard in Washington
    Apple orchard in WashingtonFixing some equipment in the Cherry shedGrass valley farms MissoulaRanchers lecture about soil healthWinery in Kelowna Canada2Osoyoos, the only desert in CanadaDiary in Salmon Arm

    Farms and Ranches

    21 septembre 2023, États Unis ⋅ 🌧 7 °C

    What a joy to see some farms and fields again! Coming into the okanagon valley and then into northern Washington and Idaho, we starting to find Harvest Host sites again where we spent the night. Diary farms with wonderful aged Gouda, Quark and fresh milk . Wineries with tastings and organic cattle Ranches with great beef for sale.En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
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    11Bike ride in Sun valleyRestaurant entry in Park City, UtahPark city1The original Sundance Mountain resort, where the film festival started (near Provo)White pine lake near Logan ,Utah3

    Fall colors

    2 octobre 2023, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    The trees have turned and the shades of yellow and red are astonishing. Despite being busy resort towns , we do enjoy the relaxed Sun valley/Ketchum , Idaho vibe and the Park city, Utah surroundings. The Utah locals seem to be all out with picnicking mormons, mountain bikers , hikers and hunters. You need to get up early to get a parking spot in nature!En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
    2Arches at sunrise
    2Arches at sunriseLandscape Arche1Arches national Park1Canyonland national parkOrchards in Capitol Reef National Park1Cathedral room with spring next to our campsite near MoabFremont tribe dwellingsGrand Staircase EscalanteBryce canyon2Grand canyon North rim (200 miles drive away from main park)

    Rocks and Canyons

    16 octobre 2023, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    The lower part of Utah consists of a string of famous National parks . Red rocks, multicolored Mountains , Spires and Hoodoos interrupted by deep canyons mark the landscape from Moab to the Grand canyon in Arizona.En savoir plus

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  • Panamericana North to Alaska
    A Van life community/campground in Joshua tree
    A Van life community/campground in Joshua treeMalibu beachesMountain biking in Arroyo grande with my daughterGrandkids getting ready for Halloween

    Back in California

    27 octobre 2023, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Entering Southern California, we are greeted with summer like temperatures and enjoy walking the empty beaches in Malibu . After a stop at our kids homes we made it back to our starting point , Nevada City.
    Here are a few stats :

    Total miles driven 9050
    Average miles per day 52
    Average spending per day 110$
    Total miles hiked (half or day hikes) 371    En savoir plus

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    Fin du voyage
    27 octobre 2023