Explore the journey — one trail, museum, meal, and memory at a time.

River Beauty and Rough Roads
Canada, Travel Journal, Van Life Greg Ott Canada, Travel Journal, Van Life Greg Ott

River Beauty and Rough Roads

A simple drive from Whitehorse to Tok turned into a nine-hour day of coffee shops, grocery store adventures, faulty gas pumps, roadside naps, wildflower photography, rough sections of the Alaska Highway, international bicycle travelers, and rabbits that seemed determined to stand in the middle of the road. The scenery was spectacular, even when the weather refused to cooperate.

Read More
Toward Haines Through Clouds

Toward Haines Through Clouds

After a quiet morning beside Kluane Lake, I headed south through Haines Junction and onto Haines Road. With clearer weather than the day before, the snow-covered mountains finally emerged from the clouds. Frequent stops for photography, vast open landscapes, and the strange experience of daylight lingering late into the evening made for a rewarding day in the Yukon.

Read More
Kluane Lake

Kluane Lake

After waking to snow and an empty Alaska Highway north of Haines Junction, I headed toward Kluane Lake, visited the surprisingly good Kluane Museum of History in Burwash Landing, discovered a touching memorial to Douglas Richard Twiss II, and spent the afternoon photographing mountains, ice, and changing weather along one of Yukon’s most dramatic landscapes.

Read More
North From Whitehorse, YT

North From Whitehorse, YT

A short drive from Whitehorse turned into a day of unexpected discoveries. I followed a side road to historic Mendenhall Landing, photographed one of the largest beaver lodges I've ever seen, explored the Kluane National Park Visitor Centre, and learned about the Southern Tutchone people. With rain, wind, and low clouds hiding the mountains, Yukon reminded me that conditions can change quickly.

Read More
Whitehorse May 27–28

Whitehorse May 27–28

A planned stop in Whitehorse turned into two days of unexpected discoveries. Between a glassblowing event, Yukon history at the MacBride Museum, a potentially dangerous wheel problem, and conversations with surveyors, nurses, travelers, and locals, the city revealed itself through the people who call it home. Sometimes the most memorable travel days aren't planned at all.

Read More
Whitehorse, YT

Whitehorse, YT

After five days of heating problems in the van, I drove north to Whitehorse, Yukon. What began as a routine travel day turned into the discovery of a developing wheel issue, a visit to the Robert W. Service memorial, an evening exploring the territorial capital, and a reminder that summer nights in the North seem to last forever.

Read More
Signpost Forest

Signpost Forest

I arrived in Watson Lake, Yukon without realizing how much history was packed into one small stop along the Alaska Highway. From the massive Sign Post Forest and the Northern Lights Centre to the wartime history of the Alaska Highway and a quiet walk through the local cemetery, the day turned into something far more interesting and reflective than I expected.

Read More
Muncho Lake & Liard River Hot Springs

Muncho Lake & Liard River Hot Springs

I continued north along the Alaska Highway into one of the most beautiful and remote sections of northern British Columbia. At Muncho Lake I photographed shifting blue lake ice before continuing to Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park, where warm wetlands, dense vegetation, mineral-rich springs, and unusual tufa formations create an ecosystem unlike anywhere else along the highway.

Read More
Stone Mountain Provincial Park

Stone Mountain Provincial Park

The Alaska Highway north of Fort Nelson quickly transforms into something far more remote and rugged than most travelers expect. This section through Stone Mountain Provincial Park, Summit Lake, and Muncho Lake offered injured bears along the roadside, abandoned highway relics, emerald glacial lakes, lingering spring ice, mountain wildlife, and some of the most beautiful scenery of the trip so far.

Read More
Drive To Fort Nelson

Drive To Fort Nelson

A long driving day north on the Alaska Highway through remote northern British Columbia brought endless forests, wetlands, rough road repairs, wildlife sightings, and eventually Fort Nelson. Along the way I saw bears, a dead moose, and reflected on how different northern travel feels compared to the American West. The day ended down a quiet ATV trail under the lingering northern twilight.

Read More
Mile 0 Alaska Highway

Mile 0 Alaska Highway

After visiting Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek, I continued north through Fort St. John and into Rose Prairie, British Columbia. The landscape shifted between rolling prairie farmland, boreal forest, and large oil and gas operations. Along the way I photographed the northern evening light, learned about conservation farming techniques, and explored the region where the massive Chinchaga Fire began in 1950.

Read More
Chetwynd, BC

Chetwynd, BC

A long drive through northern British Columbia turned into an unexpectedly interesting day of frozen lakes, roadside conversations, drifting logs, small-town cafés, and hours exploring the massive chainsaw carvings of Chetwynd. What started as a simple drive north toward Dawson Creek and Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway became one of those travel days where the unplanned stops became the story.

Read More
Prince George

Prince George

I spent the day exploring Prince George, British Columbia, from the disappointing lighting and strange mix of exhibits at The Exploration Place Museum to hours wandering Cottonwood Island Nature Park along the Fraser River. The day became less about destinations and more about conversations, wildlife photography, wood carvings hidden in the trees, and the people I met along the trails.

Read More
Quesnel, BC

Quesnel, BC

After a long drive north through British Columbia, I arrived in Quesnel expecting a quiet river town and instead found something far more complicated. River trails, old industrial bridges, homeless camps, a Sikh temple rebuilt by the community, silent downtown streets, and strange moments that made me stop and think about where small towns may be headed in a rapidly changing world.

Read More