CANADA WEST, ALASKA & YUKON ADVENTURE

JUNE 25 - AUGUST 3, 2010

Day 1. We begin our great adventure as we leave the Maritimes, stop at the Woodstock Duty Free store, travel through Maine and overnight near the New Hampshire - Massachusettes border.

Day 2. We stay at one of our favorite hotels in central Pennsylvania and enjoy an Amish-style dinner buffet with time to browse through the extensive gift shop on site.

Day 3. Travelling past Cleveland and Toledo, our journey takes us to western Ohio, where we stay at one of our favorite hotels with a delicious dinner buffet ‘in the barn’.

Day 4. Breakfast under the ‘oak tree’ this morning, then we travel into Indiana, go south of Lake Michigan and Chicago, Illinois, north into Wisconsin, America's dairyland, with its numerous farms, past Madison and to the community of Tomah for overnight.

Day 5. We cross the Mississippi River to Minnisota, through rolling hills, and flowing rivers, the state of Paul Bunyan and Tall Trees, pass the twin cities of Minniapolis - St. Paul to our hotel for the night in the midwest in Fargo, North Dakota.

Day 6. Travelling north, through the RedRiver Valley into Manitoba, to Winnipeg, west past Portage La Prarie, on the Assiniboine River, amid rich farm lands, Brandon, centere of Manitoba's farmland with miles of sunflowers and wheat, spend the night in Virden.

Day 7. We journey west along the Trans Canada, past flax fields of blue and canola fields of bright yellow into Saskatchewan. Past Moose Jaw, Canada's largest jet training base, and home of the aerobatic team, the Snowbirds, with its underground tunnels, and Swift Current, into Albertya and arrive in the rodeo city of Medicine Hat for the night. We'll see the Saamis Teepee, the worlds tallest monument to the native people.

Day 8. Travelling west, past the stampede city of Calgary, to the foothils of the Rocky Mountains, we arrive at Banff National Park and enjoy a short drive to see the emerald waters of Lake Loise and the beautiful Chateau in all its grandeur, shadowed by Mount Victoria. Later We'll check into our downtown hotel in Banff for 2 nights.

Day 9. Enjoy a ‘day on your own’, Restaurants, shopping and many attractions are within walking distance of our hotel in this busy little community, where the elk are found along the streets. Take a gondola up the mountain, or visit the local museums.

Day 10. We'll journey up the scenic Icefields Parkway, stop at Sunwapta Pass, the boundary between Banff and Jasper National parks and the highest elevation on this magnificent drive in the central Rocky Mountains. We'll see the tumbling waters of the Athabaska Falls, and stop at the Icefields Center. We'll have lunch here, later boarding a ‘sno coach’ for an excursion to walk on the mantle of ice 12 feet thick, part of the giant Columbia Icefield. Later we'll spend the night near Jasper.

Day 11. We travel along one of the most scenic drives in North America, the Yellowhead Highway, to the Yellowhead Pass as we cross into British Columbia, past Mount Robson, highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. We travel along the Fraser River, on the watch for bear, past Prince George to Smithers, known as Little Switzerland, dominated by the Hudson Bay Mountain, for overnight.

Day 12. We'll arrive in Prince Rupert early afternoon, have som free time before we board the Alaska State Ferry to begin our cruise on the Inside Passage, in the Gulf of Alaska. We stop at various ports along the way. Our ports today should include Ketchikan, famous for its totem poles, Wrangell, famous for salmon fishing and Petersburg, where whales are sighted. Because of the high demand, singles may have to share a cabin on the ferry. Our cabins are guaranteed, but depend on bookings and names, so the earlier everyone books the better it will be.

Day 13. Our route today will take us to Juneau, the state capitol, nestled below snowcapped mountains, and Haines with its native culture and eagle preserve.

Day 14. We'll arrive in Skagway this morning. On arrival, a guide will meet us for a tour of the area, seeing the quaint Gold Rush Cemetary, giving us an overview of many of the historic buildings. We'll spend time in the downtown area for boarding the narrow guage White Pass & Yukon Railway for a memorable breath-taking journey over skyhigh trestles, past rippling waterfalls and craggy cliffs, one of the world's most scenic train rides. We'll arrive in Fraser, B.C., board our coach, travel the south Klondike Highway, with beautiful views of the Tormented Valley, a rocky desolate ‘moonscape’ of stunted trees and small lakes. We'll se the  ‘Welcome to Yukon’ sign and watch for goats and dall sheep on nearby mountains. We'll stop in Carcross, at the historic Mountie Barracks, which has native crafts. We pass Whitehorse, on the watch for grizzlies and elk an on into Haines Junction for the night, stop to take a picture of the village wildlife monument.

Day 15. We watch for elk and open range livestock, as the rugged snow-capped peaks of the Kluane Icefield Range comes into view. Then we'll make a stop at the Sheep Mountain Visitors Center, past Kluane Lake and Beaver Creek, crossing into Alaska and on to the busy crossroads community of Tok for overnight.

Day 16. We travel south on the Glenn Highway past Menasta Lake and Mountains, along the Wrangell St. Elias National Park, pas Glenallen and Sheep Mountain, home of the Dall Sheep, to Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska, for three nights. We'll see the Chocolate Waterfall with dinner at the Sourdough Mining Restaurant. A guide will join us for an Anchorage Highlight tour, including Lake Hood, the world's largest seaplane base, Log Cabin Vistor Center, the ‘Crossroads of the World’ signpost, and more!

Day 17. We'll drive on the Seward Highway, along the waters of the Turnagain Arm, through Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, the longest highway tunnel in North America. We arive in Whittier, and cruise the calm waters of Prince William Sound, which has the densest concentration of tidewater glaciers in the world. Enjoy commentary by guides as we cruise through iceberg spotted waters, past spectacular waterfalls, towering glaciers that groan and creak, and maybe see otters, puffins, sea lions and whales.

Day 18. Enjoy a leisurely day ‘on your own’, shopping and restaurants ar just a short walk away, or explore the diverse attractions in this colourful city.

Day 19. We travel the Parks Highway along Denali National Park, known for its numerous wildlife, and Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America, stopping in Wasilla to visit the headquarters of the famousIditarod dog-sled race, on to the city of Fairbanks for two nights. We'll stop at Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska, and browse through their extensive gift shop. For dinner, we'll go to Alaskaland for a delicious salmon, halibut or cod dinner, and the Golden Heart Review ath the Palace Theater.

Day 20. We'll board the authentic sternwheeler ‘The Riverboat Discovery’ for a leisurely full narrated cruise on the Chena and Tanana Rivers. Meet some native Alaskans at the Chena Indian Athabascan village, watch a bush pilot take off from a grassy strip along the river. See Susan Butcher's home and sled dogs that won the famous Iditarod Racw, see the native fish wheels. Visit the Discovery Trading Post, an extensive gift shop. Later we'll enjoy a guided tour of the higlights of this famous Alaskan city.

Day 21. We travel the Richardson Highway, along the Tanana River, stopping in Delta Junction, see the Pipelin as it follows the highway and take in the‘End of the Alaska Highway’ sign. Then we'll drive across the  ‘Top of the World’ higway, a mountain highway above the tree line, stopping at the quaint community of Chicken. We'll take a ferry across the Yukon River to gold rush country where the gold rush began in 1898, in the heart of the Klondike, Dawson City, where we'll stay for 3 nights. This evening we'll visit the Dome viewpoint overlooking the city, with incredible views of the Klondike and Yukon River valeys, and enjoy the Midnight Sun.

Day 22. This morning weel enjoy a tour, see the cabins of Pierre Burton, Jack London and Robert Service. We'll ‘pan for gold’ at a local mining claim site. This evening, join the fun at Diamons Tooth Gertie's Saloon, Canada's oldest and most unique casino, complete with a honkytonk piano and cancan girls.

Day 23 Enjoy the day to do as you wish in this town of restored historic buildings and board sidewalks. When gold was discovered near here in 1896, one hundred thousand stampeders set out to make their fortune in the northern goldfields. Shop for gold nugget jewellery or attend a recital of poetry by Robert Service, all within walking distance of our hotel.

Day 24. We'll make a stop at the historic Moose Creek Lodge, Carmacks, on the Yukon River, to view the dangerous Five Finger Rapids, and Lake Laberge, made famous by Robert Service's poen ‘The Creation of Sam Magee’. We arrive in Whitehorse where this evening we'll enjoy the famous Whitehorse Frantic Follies.

Day 25. Enjoy today to do as you wish, visiting museums or shopping for local crafts.

Day 26. We travel the Alaska Highway along the Cassiar Mountains. We pass The Inn on the Lake where ‘Martha Stewart Living’ was filmed. We'll stop at the overlook of Miles Canyon, called the Grand Canyon by highway workers. We pass Teslin, which has one of the largest native population in the Yukon. We'll stop at the pullout for the Continental Divide sign, before arriving in Watson Lake for overnight. While here, see the Sign Post Forest started by a homesick soldier in 1942 while building the Alcan Highway. Bring your own sign from home and leave a part of yourself in the Yukon.

Day 27. Our journey takes us along the Liard River, through the northern Canadian Rockies, stopping at beautiful Muncho Lake, where the Northern Rockies Lodge sits as the largest and newest log building on the Alaska Highway. We pass Summit Mountain Provincial Park, on the watch for buffalo, caribou and stone sheep, on our way to Fort Nelson, which began as a fur trading post, for the night.

Day 28. We pass several natural gas wells and pipelines, Trutch Mountain, Fort St. John and Peace River Valley past rolling farmland on our way to Dawson Creek, B.C., for the night. We'll take a picture of the Mile 0 Marker for the Alaska Highway, and stop at the Alaska Highway House that has exhibits of the building of this famous highway.

Day 29. We'll stop at Beaver Lodge and see one of the most spectacular views of the Rocky Mountains and river valleys in Canada, and take a picture of the 15 foot high metal beaver on a 19 foot log, pass Grande Prarie and Whitecourt on our way to Edmonton, Alberta, with 2 nights at the Fantasyland Hotel at the huge West Edmonton Mall.

Day 30. Enjoy this day to do as you wish exploring the world's largest shopping and entertainment complex. With a waterpark, an indoor skating rink, deep sea adventure, and hundreds of stores, numerous restaurants, there's lots to do.

Day 31. We travel east, stopping at Vegreville, whose Ukranian culture is symbolized by a giant colourful pysanka egg. We travel through Lloydminister on the Alberta and Saskatchewan border, which is the longest straight surveyed line in North America, the 4th meridian. We cross the province's longest bridge over the North Saskatchewan River to the community of North Battleford for the night.

Day 32. We travel past the prarie city of bridges, Saskatoon, past praries dotted by tall grain elevators. We stop in the capitol city of Regina at the RCMP Heritage Centre, on our way to overnight in Weyburn, a thriving community surrounded by the wealth of oil, grain and cattle industries.

Day 33. Travelling south we cross into North Dakota, travel through the Theodore National Park, stopping at the scenic badlands overlook, before stopping in the little cowtown of Medora. This evening we'll enjoy the Pitchfork Fondu (a delicious steak dinner) followed by the Medora Musical in a natural outdoor amphitheater. 

Day 34. We travel south to the scenic Black Hills, stopping at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, where the faces of four presidents carved in rock loom over the landscape. We'll look at the Crazy Horse Memorial, which will be the world's largest sculpture, before stopping for an overnight in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Day 35. Travelling east, through the badlands, we stop at the famous Wall Drugstore, the world's largest drug store, which has become a huge gift shop. We'll be crossing the Missouri River and stopping at the Moorish style Corn Palace, decorated with 3000 bushels of corn and grasses each year. We'll overnight in southern Minnesota.

Day 36. We'll stop in Blue Earth to see the tall statue of the Jolly Green Giant, cross the Mississippi River to Wisconsin, travel south and overnighting at a historic and scenic Lodge in central Illinois. Enjoy a delicious dinner and browse through the gift shops.

Day 37. Our eastward journey takes us south of Chicago, into Ohio, past rolling farmlands and fields of corn, past Toledo and Cleveland to Ashtabula for the night.

Day 38. We travel through New York State, along the scenic Mohawk River and Erie Canal to our favourite hotel near Albany beside the Cracker Barrel Restaurant & Old Country Store.

Day 39. We'll travel into Massachusetts in the Berkshire Mountains, stop at some of our favourite shopping venues on our way to Waterville, where we'll have our farewell dinner.

Day 40. Homeward bound with memories of our exciting adventure to the Canadian Praries, Northern British Columbia, Alberta, Alaska and the Yukon.

CANADIAN FUNDS: INCLUDED: ALL TAXES, ACCOMMODATIONS, TRANSPORTATION, ATTRACTIONS AS LISTED, BAGGAGE HANDLING, ALL BREAKFASTS & 25 DINNERS.

PRICE PER PERSON
TWIN - $6800
TRIPLE - $6200
QUAD - $5300
SINGLE - $8000

$600.00 FIRST DEPOSIT DUE WHEN BOOKING.
$2000.00 SECOND DEPOSIT DUE DECEMBER 1, 2009.
BALANCE DUE APRIL 1, 2010.

BOOK BY JULY 1, 2009 AND SAVE $200.00 PER PERSON.

BAGGAGE: ONE LARGE SUITCAS PER PERSON AND ONE CARRY-ON. COIN LAUNDRIES AVAILABLE AT MANY HOTELS.

---

Copyright © 2010 O'Brien Motor Coach Tours