Alaska to Las Vegas
A NORTH AMERICAN ADVENTURE FROM THE ARCTIC WILDERNESS TO THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF LAS VEGAS!
45 DAYS = £795 + £295 Local Payment (LP)
Tour start date in Anchorage: 21 May 2008
Tour end date in Las Vegas: 04 July 2008
Overview
ALASKA - CANADA - USA
From the frozen arctic tundra to bear watching in Yellowstone National Park, from orca spotting in the Prince William Sound to the snow capped peaks of Banff and from the Grand Canyon to the bright lights of Las Vegas, this expedition shows you the best of Alaska, Canada and the USA!
If you have a love of the outdoors then this is definitely the expedition for you!
Click here to see a detailed route map with highlights
You can also download the route map as a PDF
Highlights
- Prince William Sound
- Denali National Park
- Arctic tundra
- Jasper & Banff National Parks
- Calgary
- Hells Canyon NP
- Yellowstone NP
- Grand Canyon
- Las Vegas
What's Included (and What's Not)
We of course realise that not everyone is going to visit every ruin, raft every river and hike every trail along the way so we have left most of these activities as optional and therefore kept the kitty payment to a minimum.
Included
- Services of your expedition leader/ driver
- Use of expedition vehicle and equipment
- Diesel, mechanics, shipping and any other costs relating to our truck
- An average of two meals a day while camping (usually breakfast and the evening meal)
- All camping and hotel costs
- Compulsory ferry tickets
- All entry fees to National Parks that we visit in the truck as a group including Denali, Glacier, Hells Canyon, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Jasper, Banff and Grand Canyon.
Not Included
- Personal travel insurance
- Personal spending money
- Visas
- Border taxes
- Lunch
- Meals while in hotels
- Entrance fees to optional sites and parks
- Any optional activities
- Any unforseen contingency route expenses
- Any flights
- Tents
Proposed Itinerary
Our proposed itinerary is here to give you a rough idea of where we will be going and what we will be doing during our expedition. This itinerary is the ideal route we would like to take providing all political and environmental situations are acceptable during the time of our travels. Obviously things can change and we may have to take an alternative route at some stage which is easily achieved in the Americas.
Day 1 -12 : ALASKA
Nowhere on earth conjures up such vivid images as Alaska. The natural
splendour and abundant wildlife make Alaska the perfect place to start
our expedition through the Americas.
Anchorage is our meeting point and is Alaska’s only true city, but even
here wild moose still chomp through suburban flower gardens and graze alongside
the highways. A short drive away the tiny port town of Whittier is set impressively
amongst mountains, glaciers and a glistening fjord from where we have the chance
to explore the Prince William Sound by cruise boat. Breaching humpback whales,
pods of orcas, porpoises, seals and sea otters are all common-place here as well
as over 200 species of birds. Keep an eye out for bears on the shore!
We now head north for the interior heart of Alaska taking in the dramatic remains
of the Independence Mine along the way.
A thousand lakes and tundra capped hills line our way to the wonderful Denali
N.P., alive with browsing bears, lone wolves and herds of grazing moose and caribou.
We base ourselves here for a couple of days allowing time to explore the magnificent
hiking and biking trails on offer.
We feel that our journey through Alaska would be incomplete without a visit to
the far north so we continue on to the town of Fairbanks where we prepare and
provision ourselves for the Dalton Highway. This desolate road will take us into
the arctic circle, onto the tundra and up to the town of Deadhorse where you
have the option to take a tour around the US’s most productive oil fields
and stand on the frozen Arctic Ocean. This northern route has proved to be a
wildlife viewing highlight with grizzly bears, musk ox, arctic fox, caribou,
moose and black bears being spotted.
Returning to the south we head towards the Canadian border and find the quirky
settlement of Chicken. Fewer than 20 people reside here but travellers are well
catered for at their infamous bar. Remember ‘What happens in Chicken stays
in Chicken!’
The Top Of The World Highway now takes us east to Canada.
Day 13 – 27 : CANADA and ALASKA
Our first stop in Canada, Dawson City, made famous by the Klondike
Gold Rush, remains evocative of it’s past and is well worth exploring.
From here the Klondike Highway takes us along a wonderful road running
through almost utter wilderness (8 black bears spotted in one day on
this route) before returning to Alaska’s south-east and basing
ourselves in the picturesque town of Skagway.
From here you have the option of undertaking the 3 day Chilkoot Trail which leads
you through a giant wilderness museum tracing the steps of the Klondike bound
prospectors. You can return to Skagway via the White Pass and Yukon Route Railway,
undoubtedly the most stately way to see the dazzling scenery hereabouts.
The glorious river and mountain landscapes of the Skeena Valley now take us south
towards the Canadian Rockies.
Jasper N.P. offers us wonderful hiking and stunning camping amidst craggy peaks
and the worlds 2nd largest glacier fed lake, Maligne.
Banff N.P. is good for rafting, kayaking, fishing, wildlife viewing, walking
and hot springs. Lake Louise has to be seen to be believed!
We continue on to Calgary for a taste of city life before crossing over into the lower 48.
Day 28 – 45 : USA
Glacier NP offers a good introduction to US Parks and lives up to
its name by offering stunning glacier-filled landscapes.
Dropping down into the state of Oregon we explore Hells Canyon National Recreation
Area. At nearly 8000ft deep this is the deepest canyon in North America and the
Snake River has been flowing through it since the beginning of time. Jet boat
tours through the canyon are awesome!
We continue on to Yellowstone NP, prime Grizzly Bear country! Bison are also
common around here. This park also accommodates more than half the world’s
geysers which put on an amazing display.
Just south of here we enter Grand Teton NP, a fantastic surprise with great camping,
crystal lakes and dramatic jagged peaks. Wildlife is also abundant here.
A days drive away is Salt Lake City, the Mormon’s H.Q., offering us a good
insight into the way of life around here and also the possibility of catching
a Utah Jazz basketball game.
We continue south along the scenic central corridor and reach the fabulous Bryce
Canyon N.P. Hiking through the canyons and Grand Staircases (a series of step-like
uplifted rock layers) is amazing with pink cliff formations, wondrous pinnacles
and points, steeples and spires, cliffs and crevices and odd formations known
as hoodoos ,all well worth exploring.
Crossing into Arizona we arrive at the north rim of the Grand Canyon and spend
a few hours marvelling at this massive slice carved into the desert floor. However,
the multi-coloured rocks and cliffs are best appreciated by hiking down to the
canyon floor from the south rim where you get to camp overnight alongside the
Colorado River.
On our way to Las Vegas we have the chance to visit the Hoover Dam where we can
take a fascinating tour through one of the world’s tallest dams.
A short drive away we enter Nevada and reach the gambling capital of the world,
Las Vegas. Whether you gamble or not, this city is an oasis of bright lights
that should not be missed. This city is our final destination on this expedition
and will leave you reeling!
