We could only think: California could sure use a rain like this. Fully aware of the weather forecast, we left Prince Rupert in a steady, driving rain. All told, the rain would cover several thousand square miles of the local land mass, continuously, for more than 30 hours. Even the locals were surprised.

Heading east back towards Terrace, the Skeena was swollen to bursting, roads sopping wet. (Fortunately, Howie’s smashed windshield did not tear up the windshield wiper blade.)

Turning north at Kitwanga, we skirted the edge of the rainy area while we picked up some fuel.

Not even five minutes after leaving TransCanada 16, going north on 37 (Cassiar Highway), we started to see wildlife. The next driving hour took us past three single black bears, plus one mom and cub pair. We were really feeling like we had entered a more wild area. The road was narrower and less traveled, not much for signage, and very few services, typically only every 100 miles or so.

Ninety miles north, we turned west again, back into the weather and the coastal mountains on the way to Stewart. Even more impressive than the Prince Rupert area, including a sneak peek at the glaciation for which this region is famous.

But the real treat near Stewart is the self-tour drive up to the Stewart Glacier. The visitors’ center told us that the road has just been opened a few days previous, so we were in luck. [Many times, we’ve discovered that late May and early June are very early in the Northern travel season. Things reportedly really get hot-and-heavy in the July-August timeframe.] Fortunately, Monday dawns gloriously rain-free and cloud-speckled, and we launch out toward the glacier.

The visitor center is right next to a pretty cool estuary-walk – a boardwalk affair that goes way out into the river estuary to view bird life and the surrounding area.

While we were there, some local kids were busy pulling out a stuck quad from a muddy drainage channel. Living and learning, early style. Must be pretty cool to have a couple of square miles of ATV playground in your backyard.

A short distance up the road, we cross the Canada-U.S. boundary to enter Hyder, AK.

Hyder is a once-grander township, with lots of closed businesses/buildings to be seen. Even this St. Paul’s Orthodox Church (you can just barely make out the signage) has seen much better days.

A remaining, and thriving business, serves excellent fresh fish (grilled or sautéed) with chips. It’s called Seafood Express but is simply known as The Bus. The bus is the kitchen, and you can eat inside or out.

After Hyder, the driving tour begins in earnest. First major stop is the bear-viewing area at Bear Creek. They’ve built a great wooden walkway along the creek, and bears come from miles around during the salmon runs. Hmmm, like I said, we are the early birds and not always earning the worms. The fish, and the bears, typically don’t show up until July or so. So today, we see a black bear or two in the roadside brush, but no grizzlies chomping on salmon – not this visit.

Great viewing platform (above) to watch scads of bears feeding on fish (below, 4 weeks from now).

We knew the deal before we came, and honestly, with four months of traveling we do expect to see bears in other locales. So we were not hugely disappointed.

A few more miles up the road, and we got our first view of the Salmon Glacier. Yeah, we’ve seen ‘em on TV and heard and read a lot – but getting up next to one of these huge beasts is pretty impressive. And we couldn’t ask for better weather, clear, crystal-blue skies, almost no wind, 60F. What a day.

Closer still, and the “toe” of the glacier shows its characteristic turquoise-blue.

At the road’s highest point, you can see the glacier turning left up to its source in the higher-still mountains. It’s about a mile wide in this view. The tiny little cracks that you can barely see would swallow a semi-truck whole. It’s too bad that this tiny photo simply cannot convey the grandness, the power, and the massive size of this mass of ice and snow.

And the glacier is only part of this excellent drive. All along the way, smaller features delight the eye. There is a seemingly endless series of small waterfalls, driven by the substantial snow pack and no doubt aided by the recent rains. Even before the current drought, Californians would hike an arduous ten miles just to see a 20-foot waterfall. Along the road we are treated to one every quarter-mile or so.

We took an old mining road up a gnarly grade, and would have kept on going but for a modest wash-out. We had the tools and skill to get past it, but – – – we were just too lazy. Kinda fun turning around on a road with a 60-degree drop-off on one edge.

Way downstream, below the glacier, the river spreads out and leaves multiple gravel and sand bars. Evidence of its previous high flows is everywhere. The mountains are, of course, patiently unimpressed.

Some flowers and big, bright-orange bees entertain us by the roadside before we finally head back to camp.

Splendid weather, splendid day, splendid drive. I’m simply out of superlatives here….

• Miles driven (Howie): 2,620
• Miles driven (Ralph): 608
• Days traveling: 24
• Miles from home: 1,841