Overwhelming scenery. Overwhelming distances. Overwhelming daylight.
Overwhelming adventure.
ABQ to Alaska: Animals
Bear in Alaska.
Happy Trails sled dog BC watches her 4-week-old pups in their kennel June 13.
Baby wood bison in Canada along the road. First Nations people have reintroduced the bison.
Four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser takes his team for a summer training run at his Happy Trails Kennel in Big Lake, Alaska. Happy Trails is open for tours and also has a bed and breakfast where you can interact with the huskies.
A caribou along the road in Denali National Park and Preserve.
Dall sheep in Denali National Park along the Savage River Loop trail. Denali was originally created to protect the sheep, who were being slaughtered during the Gold Rush.
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Denali was originally created to protect the Dall sheep, who were being slaughtered during the Gold Rush.
Elk along the Icefields parkway in Jasper National Park, Canada.
Fox near Carcross, Yukon.
Gladys, a member of the Denali working sled dog teams, rests before tourists arrive for ranger-led shows. The teams are working dogs used in the winter to haul materials, rangers and scientists into the park during the winter months.
Happy, a member of the Denali working sled dog teams, greets tourists arriving for Ranger-led shows. Tourists can pet the dogs as part of a free show three times a day near the Denali park headquarters. It can be reached by a free bus.
Moose
Moose
Moose along the Cassiar Highway in British Columbia.
Mountain goat in British Columbia’s Kootenay National Park.
Otter eats fish near pier in Seward, AK., a fishing village south of Anchorage.
Otter performs for tourists and eats a fish near the pier in Seward, AK.
Iditarod racer Riley Dyche offers sled dog rides at the Iditarod Museum in Wasilla, Alaska. He says the cart rides are a good summertime workout for his racing dogs, who finished tenth in the 2025 Iditarod.
Stone sheep in Jasper National Park, Canada.
Skinned and harvested bear at Susitna Landing recreation area in Alaska.
A sign warns visitors to watch out for sled dogs exercising in Denali National Park.
Volunteer walkers take sled dogs for extra exercise along the Denali Park Road.
Trumpeter swans soar near Pickhandle Lake in the Yukon.
ABQ to Alaska: the Roads
Sign along the Alcan welcomes Donn Friedman and Rebeca Zimmermann to Alaska.
Sign marks the start of the Alcan highway in Dawson Creek, BC.
Road construction on a bridge in British Columbia, Canada.
Rebeca Zimmermann at the border between Alaska and the Yukon. This sign was miles before the U.S. border checkpoint.
At the border between Alaska and Canada on the way to Tetlin Wildlife Refuge. Selfie with Rebeca Zimmermann and Donn Friedman.
Bridge in British Columbia.
Sign at the entrance to Denali National Park in Alaska.
Stop sign in a First Nations language.
Canada / U.S. border crossing at Oroville, WA, to Osoyoos.
The Trans-Canada Highway leading into Prince George.
Signpost Forest in Watson Lake, Yukon. People from around the world leave markings to recall their travels. The tradition started with soldiers building the Alcan during WWII, marking the distance to their homes. The visitor center in Watson Lake has a supply of signs, nails and hammers to leave your mark. Here is a parking pass from Highland High School in Albuquerque.
Hollywood and Vine intersection in Big Lake, AK.
Rainy road along the way to Alaska.
Vault toilets at Bijou Falls. Clean well stocked toilets were a hallmark of our journeys in Canada.
One-lane Portage, AK, tunnel to Whittier, AK, is used at alternating times by trains and cars.
Road work in Alaska.
Some days you can view Denali from Savage River campground in Denali National Park.
Signpost Forest in Watson Lake, Yukon. People from around the world leave markings to recall their travels. The tradition started with soldiers building the Alcan during WWII, marking the distance to their homes. The visitor center in Watson Lake has a supply of signs, nails and hammers to leave your mark.
A stop sign in a First Nations language.
Tim Horton's in Prince George. Horton's are known for its coffee and maple doughnuts across Canada.
Road near Muncho Lake in the Northern Rocky Mountains.
Alcan border. The border with Alaska along the Alcan highway: milepost 1,221.8, still more than 50 miles to the first town: Tok, Alaska.
Pre-organizatio inside our campervan.
Looking front and back along the Alcan highway.
ABQ to Alaska: Unreal scenery you can see from the road
Angel Peak BLM recreation area and campground near Bloomfield, NM.
Bear Glacier near Stewart, BC, Canada.
Rebeca Zimmermann photographs Bear Glacier near Stewart, BC, Canada, during a bucket list trip from Albuquerque to Alaska in June 2024.
Boya Lake
Carcross sand dunes in the Yukon.
Denali Peak can sometimes be seen along the only road in Denali National Park from about mile marker nine. This is from June 8.
Denali emerges on June 7, 2024, along the Denali National Parks road.
Bruce Sohn of Phoenix photographs Denali, rising in the distance, on June 7, 2024.
Denali on June 8, 2024.
Denali Peak, the tallest mountain in North America, emerges from the clouds on June 7, 2024. NPS rangers say only about 20 percent of visitors to the park get to see the peak. It makes its own weather, which usually shrouds it in clouds.
Around mile marker nine on the Denali Park road on June 9, 2024.
Denali looms in the in the distance, dwarfing the landscape in the foreground on June 7, 2024.
A bridge allows hikers to cross a raging stream near the visitor's center in Denali National Park.
Matanuska Glacier in Alaska is only accessible by tours lead by native people.
One-lane Portage, AK, tunnel to Whittier, AK, is used at alternating times by trains and cars.
Portage Glacier from a trail just west of Whittier, AK.
Donn Friedman photographs Portage Glacier from Portage Pass, just west of Whittier, AK.
Portage Pass.
Mt. Robson, the second highest peak in Canada, with Mountain Lupines.
Kenai Lake near Seward Alaska.
Canadian Rockies in Jasper National Park along the Icefields Parkway.
Icefields Parkway in Jasper, Alberta, Canada, National Park.
Salmon Glacier, just past Hyder, Alaska, is in Canada. During summer months a road leads directly to the toe of the glacier.
Smith Falls recreation area in British Columbia along a 2.5km, bumpy dirt road. It was a user-supported area with a rickety staircase and rocky trail to the base of the falls. The parking area provided this view.
Sightseeing train arriving at Denali National Park. Viewers can sometimes see Denali Peak from the train that runs from Anchorage to Fairbanks. Until the 1970s, it was the easiest way to get to the park.
Boya Lake campground in Canada near the Cassiar Highway.
