Hyder, Alaska

Our next stop will be Hyder, Alaska.  Getting there isn't exactly a straight line but that's part of the fun. We will travel back to British Columbia and Yukon Territory before crossing the border crossing the border at Stewart, BC. A 700 mile drive that will hopefully take us to a salmon filled river and some up-close views of Grizzlies.

Just a few miles from Skagway, we spotted the White Pass & Yukon Railroad train heading north.

We saw a sign along the road for a bakery advertising sourdough bread so we stopped in Carcross to stock up. The scones and sourdough bread were AMAZING and we enjoyed everything for several days.

We took Hwy 8 from Carcross which is a small shortcut over to the Alaskan Hwy then south on Hwy 37, the Cassiar Hwy. 

We stopped to take a couple photos of this gold mine. The trammel had the name of the mine, Holloway Bar, so I checked the internet and found the owners had made YouTube videos in 2011. Click on the link below to go to the first of four videos.

Holloway Bar Gold Miners

A few miles down the road, we came across the Cassiar Mountain Jade Store. At first, it seemed to be a typical tourist trap it have to admit it was interesting watching a stone cutter working in the outdoor work-shop. Inside the store, there was some very nice jade products. Even though we didn't purchase anything bit it turned out to be a fun stop.

Next stop...Hyder, Alaska. Hyde is in the far southeastern corner of Alaska and home of Fish Creek, a bear watching area operated by the U.S. Forest Service. We continue south in Hwy 37 and turned westbound 37A at Meziadin Jct.  for the 40 mile drive to the Salmon River area and Hyder, Alaska. 

We spied a nice black bear eating beside the road...

and stopped to check out Bear Glacier...

and made it to Hyder around 3PM.

A bucket list goal was to photograph a grizzly. Last year, we looked in the Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone Nation Park with no luck. We did spot a grizzly in Denali but it was a few hundred yards away. With any luck, this portion of the trip will yield REAL results and we can get some photos of a nice grizzly.

The Fish Creek observation site is about four miles north of Hyder on recently blacktopped road. The station is a small building along the road with parking for 20 to 30 vehicles. The admission to the viewing area is $5.00 per day of $10 for three days. We decided to go for the three day pass.

The NFS constructed a boardwalk overlooking the river in an area that draws lots of spawning salmon (and hopefully bears) each summer. Black bears and brown bears (grizzly) fish for salmon in the shallow waters as they spawn. The number of bears that come to this area is different each year – sometimes there are several bears. Eagles, beaver, wolves and other critters are regular visitors to the site.

Once on the boardwalk, it's not hard to understand why this is a favorite area to hunt for salmon. They are plentiful and the water is clear and shallow. Sometimes the salmon almost get stuck on gravel bars.

During our visit, there was a female grizzly that shows up each day between 5pm and 7pm.  Here are a few photos of her fishing and enjoying her catch. 

A beaver was working hard...

and the eagles were close by looking for pieces of salmon the bear left behind.

This eagle found a leftover salmon carcass.

Video of salmon, grizzly and eagles

We didn't know about the Salmon Glacier before arriving at Fish Creek but learned it was only a 15 mile drive up a narrow dirt road. Salmon Glacier is the fifth largest glacier in North America and since it is at 4,300 feet, it is not melting as rapidly as many other glaciers.

The top of Salmon Glacier from the lookout. It comes toward us and makes a right turn to flow down the valley.

The bottom of Salmon Glacier and it flows down the valley.

Our 12,000 year old souvenir. We brought a piece of Salmon Glacier home with us.

Hyder turned out to be a fun stop along the way. There was a lot of sitting and waiting for the grizzly but she did and she provided a fun show watching her fish for salmon. There was also some bonus photos of a beaver and quite a few eagles. Finally, Salmon Glacier was a great bonus and something that shouldn't be missed for anyone who visits Fish Creek.

Leaving Alaska for the last time.