Things to visit on the return trip from Alaska

We stopped at the Spam Museum on the way to Alaska in 2013!

We traveled west on I-90 and crossed into Alberta north of Great Falls, Montana. We stopped at Banff and Jasper on our way north. On our return trip we went south on the Cassier Highway and crossed back into the states in Oroville, Washington. We were anxious to return home but we are so glad we took the time to stop in Loveland, Colorado for a visit to Rocky Mountain National Park.

We didn't decide on the way we were going home until we were in Washington State.

Check out our blog at WanderingDawgs.com to read about our Alaska adventure, see maps of our route, and a list of campgrounds where we stayed.

PM me if you have questions. You will have the trip of a lifetime!

Personally, we wouldn't spend a lot of time siteseeing in the lower 48 on the way up to Alaska such as Yellowstone, etc. Save the major siteseeing on your way up for Canada, Yukon and Alaska - places you probably won't go often.

Then on your return, hit the lower 48 sites. You may find the weather better in late Aug/Sept and crowds lighter. Plus, you may be exhausted from the Alaska trip and just want to head home. You can easily spend three months once you cross into Canada.

Murphsmom wrote:
And for heaven's sake...don't forget the Spam Museum in Austin MN!

Actually, I agree with this! We have taken out-of-town visitors to the Spam museum and they have loved it! You can also get specialty flavors of Spam there not available anywhere else in the country! It is actually a well-done museum!

Then, if you're in Minnesota, head north. You should visit Paul Bunyon and Babe the Blue Ox in Brainard, MN. Then, head over to Itasca State Park and spend a day there hiking. You can walk across the headwaters of the Mississippi River, take a boat tour on the lake that sources the Mississippi, or rent some bicycles and ride trails along the river.

If you're in South Western Minnesota, check out the Pipestone National Monument. There is a very soft red rock, Pipestone, that native americans used to carve peace pipes, turtles, and other items. We totally enjoyed the ranger programs there and it was a real teat to visit with the artists that dig the pipestone and then sculpt it. (A cool thing happened....we were visiting with an artist and admiring his work - he was just as nice as could be - talked about capturing the essence of a persons spirit... then, later, the ranger told us this artist was leaving tomorrow to be recognized by the Smithsonian Museum for his talent!)

Enjoy your trip! Sounds like it will be a great lifetime memory!

Just a few odds and ends to add. If you didn't stop at Fort Steele in BC on the way north, it is worth a half day to visit. It is a restored RCMP fort and they have done a most amazing job of restoring the place. If you are on the east side of the hills, in Alberta, a stop at the Edmonton Mall is fun as is the Dino museum in Drumheller, AB. One trip we stopped there, planning to stay a few hours and ended up being there for about 3 days.

Getting back into the US, the town of Medora and the T. Roosevelt NP area are worth a couple of days. This past summer we spent some time around Wind Cave NP and Mount Rushmore on our way to Colorado from Florida. When our daughters were young and we were traveling round trip out of Alaska, they each got to pick one major stop, so one summer we hit the San Diego Zoo, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in the Springs, the Oklahoma City Zoo and the Zoo in Edmonton, AB.

On our trips to Alaska, which we try to do every two or three years, we keep a notebook of places we wish to return to on future trips the alternate summers. I go to northern Canada and Alaska to spend time in those places, not along the way. Along the way we go back to visit.

Waterton NP in Canada, that we share a common boundary with our Glacier NP is fun. To stop in at the Prince of Wales Hotel in the afternoon, for tea and to listen to live chamber music, life just doesn't get much better. But since I grew up on a ranch in southern Oklahoma, I tend to be somewhat cultured and couth. Beings that part of Oklahoma is the cultural heart of the country. The Hotel is one of the old ones built by the railroad and it is grand, to say the least. Nice campground there on the lake, that can get a bit windy in the late afternoons, so put the awning up if you are leaving to do some sightseeing.

The Dino museum in Vernal Utah is another great place to visit for a few days. One of my daughters taught me to appreciate dinosaurs, I guess.
One direction or the other, stop at Yoho NP in BC, and drive up to the falls just out of the town of Fields, BC. Another breath taking wonder of nature. Never can remember how to spell the name of the falls so won't try.

one of the grandest stops we made this past summer was to spend the day in St. Louis at the City Museum. It is a happening, part theme park, part museum, just a great experience. The person that envisioned that place was a genius in my opinion.

And for heaven's sake...don't forget the Spam Museum in Austin MN!

Do a Google search for `_____ tourism' and put the State or City or area in the blank for the experts suggestions on what to see in their area.

We traveled north on the yellow head and carrabu then Alaska highways, then south using top of the world, Klondike Alaska and cassiar highways. Provides the best look at the wonders of BC and opens up possibilities in the northwest like Olympic Nat. Park, cascades, mt. Rainier grand coolie, flaming gorge and Rocky mtn nat park. Just something to think about.
Good luck and have a great trip / skip

Have you considered some of the spectacular sights in BC, Alberta and the Yukon, or do you want to travel through these areas as quickly as possible?