960 June 18, 2023 Summit Lake

It rained all night and this morning the skies were leaden.  I put on lots of layers and then wore Tim’s bright yellow raincoat; prepared to walk in the rain.  There were a few drips, but by the time I got back, the sky was turning blue.

We drove out of town and it wasn’t long before I saw a mother black bear and a cub down the bank and on the edge of the forest.

We saw a second solitary black bear along the roadside.

As we climbed, the mountains began to appear in the distance.  The views were spectacular.  This was a pretty ride. 

We stopped at the Testa River to stretch our legs.

We had intermittent rain and as we reached higher elevations, the rain was slushy.

We had stayed at Stone Mountain Provincial Park at Summit Lake 5 years ago on our last trip to Alaska.  This is the highest point on the Alaska Highway.  It was such a special place that we decided that we wanted to celebrate our 40^th anniversary here. 

We took the Jeep for a ride.

We got out to hike in Baba Canyon.  This trail required crossing the water on large boulders.  The rushing water was crystal clear.  The trail was a little challenging but fun.  We hiked until the trail required rock scrambling and then we turned back.

View on the way back.

Lady slipper orchids.

We hiked again at the Erosion Pillars Trail.  It began to rain fairly hard and we turned around.  We were wet when we got back to the Jeep.

We rested awhile and waited for the weather to improve.  We were up in the clouds and the mountain peaks seem to have their own weather system.  It was 44 degrees and nippy!

We went back out to hike the Summit Peak Trail across from the campground.  We went about ¾ mile when it began to rain again.  We did have a really cool view of the campground and the lake below.

Or our dinner we had a nice meal of tilapia with a garlic lemon butter sauce with capers and mushrooms.

We went back out on the Jeep to look for critters.  The sky was gorgeous.

We saw this pair of young caribou walking in the road.

This evening, we toasted: “To so many things.”  We are so blessed to be together, to have worked together for the past 40 years to raise a family and run a business.  We are grateful to be able to travel together and share this grand adventure.  Isn’t that what life is about after all?  We are lucky to have one another and we are happy to be enjoying this ride!