pxs@lanl.gov (Patricia Snider) (09/04/90)
i'm thinking of driving the alcan highway through Canada to Alaska. Can anyone give me information on this? Also want to do some bird- watching on the way? Know of any good places? pat snider 2435-C 45th St. Los Alamos NM 87544 .
atdhb@acad2.anc.alaska.edu (BOWDEN DON H) (09/04/90)
In article <61988@lanl.gov>, pxs@lanl.gov (Patricia Snider) writes... > >i'm thinking of driving the alcan highway through Canada to Alaska. >Can anyone give me information on this? Also want to do some bird- >watching on the way? Know of any good places? > >pat snider >2435-C 45th St. >Los Alamos NM 87544 >.. The Alcan is a terrific trip--I've made it several times. Road conditions vary, especially in areas under construction. Some parts are still gravel, and there are interesting alternate routes such as the Cassiar and Campbell highways (it was on the Campbell that I saw a rare Barren-Ground Grizzly). You might want to equip your vehicle with headlight protectors (for the flying rocks) because of the truck traffic. I've only suffered one windshield ding in thousands of miles of travel through Alaska, Yukon, B.C., Alberta, and the North West Territories, but it's always a possiblity. Fuel and repairs are readily available and campgrounds in Canada are clean and pleasant. You may want to take an extra spare tire just in case. I've only done a little birdwatching in Canada but quite a bit here in Alaska. I would recommend, as a guide, the new, expanded _Guide_to_the_Birds_of_Alaska by Robert H. Armstrong (Alaska Northwest Publishing Company, Box 4-EEE, Anchorage, AK 99509). It's the definitive AK birder's guide--it has all the commons and breeders and the incidentals--it "covers the 405 species of birds known to have occurred in Alaska as of February 1, 1983" (from my 1985 edition--I presume the newest edition has been updated). Send me a note before you start out--and have a great trip! Don Bowden atdhb@acad2.anc.alaska.edu atdhb@alaska.Bitnet