Prince Rupert in a Can

After a seven-hour drive through the Yellowhead Parkway, which captures what I would guess most people imagine when they think of Alaska and its environs -- unspoiled wilderness, snowcapped mountains with long rivulets of waterfalls, pristine rivers, and crisp air -- we arrived in Prince Rupert yesterday evening. It looks like plans have changed -- ferries are more sporadic than we had been led to believe, and recent woes with the local ferries have tempered the frequency even more, so we are probably not going to make it up to Ketchikan, Alaska and beyond, and instead are eventually going to take a long ferry ride down to Vancouver Island and make our way from the northern to the southern tip toward Victoria. Either way, we will be in Prince Rupert for three days. Our hotel room looks out over the bay, the town is a quaint little seaside village, and I am relieved not to be driving for five, six, or seven hours for at least another few days.

Thanks to many of you for advice both in the comments and via email. Forgive me for not responding to each personally or in a timely manner, but I imagine you understand.

From Sea to Sky

Yesterday we left Vancouver via the Sea-to-Sky Highway, which took us to Central British Columbia and a tiny little stopping off point, Cache Creek. The drive was slow and winding and at times treacherous, but also gorgeous. The route goes from Vancouver and its port setting through the mountains, including Whistler, where the nordic events in the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held (Vancouver is hosting the rest of the events). Whistler Village was ersatz and pricey, nowhere near as organic or characterful as Lake Placid, to be sure. We stopped a lot to take in various views and to take pictures, and the whole 250-or-so kilometer journey took more than six hours. BC is spectacular, sparsely populated, and vast.

Today we will travel due north to Prince George, where we'll spend another night before heading due west toward Prince Ruppert and, hopefully, our debarkation point for Southeastern Alaska.