Category: #AtoZChallenge2025

H: High Level Bridge Streetcars

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In Edmonton, Alberta they have made a tourist attraction from the former Canadian Pacific Railway tracks. (CPR). It is only a short ride, four stops in all and travels across the high level bridge and through the only tunnel built on the Canadian Pacific. We boarded at Whyte Avenue, Old Strathcona and took the return journey to Jasper Plaza.

The High Level Bridge Streetcars are all run by volunteers. During our ride the Driver and Conductor were full of information. They are part of a team that restores all of the historic Streetcars as well as run the attraction. On the day we were riding they were training a new driver so it was interesting to hear him talk about everything involved in his training to drive these historic Streetcars.

There are nine operational Streetcars in the fleet as well as 17 others in various stages of restoration. We were surprised to discover that one of the Streetcars came from Melbourne, Australia and another from Osaka, Japan. (Where our daughter-in-law is from). Unfortunately for us, we weren’t travelling on the day the museum opened as I’m sure it would have been fascinating.

G: Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve

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One of my favourite days on our Alaskan cruise was the one we spent cruising around Glacier Bay. It was spectacular. It started with lectures from the National Parks rangers who had come on board to educate us on the history and all things relating to Glacier Bay. I was fascinated as we have nothing like this is Australia. Mother natures grandeur was amazing.

On the day we were visiting the rangers told us that two brown bears were walking along the shoreline. I didn’t see them but many others did. I did however see some otters floating on some ice as we cruised past.

We stopped at three glaciers throughout the day. Lamplugh Glacier and John Hopkins as well as Margerie Glacier. All were different and spectacular in their own way. We were able to hear calving but I personally didn’t see any of the ice come crashing off the glaciers.

The major disappointment we had was that the weather was turning bad so the Captain cancelled our trip to the Hubbard Glacier the next day, which I am told is the most spectacular. Oh well that just means that we have to go on another Alaskan cruise.

F: Flight From Fairbanks

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Prior to our flight to the Artic Circle I had never flown in a small bush plane. I was fortunate enough to sit in the front seat so I could see all the pilot’s dashboards. It was fascinating to see him be constantly adjusting the knobs. I also loved that the pilot has to jump into his seat through his window from on the wing.

During the flight we were required to wear ear phones that meant that we could hear all the conversations the pilot had with the control tower and the other pilots flying in our group. They also helped shut out some of the noise. It was a perfect Spring day and we could see for miles. It was amazing.

The ice-capped mountains, Yukon River, isolated communities, remote wilderness, Dalton Highway and the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline looked spectacular from the air.

E: (West) Edmonton Mall

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For more than the first two decades of my adult life Edmonton Mall (officially known as West Edmonton Mall) was the largest indoor mall in the world. And I always wanted to visit it. Last year was my time. I planned my trip to Edmonton staying close to WEM to maximise my visits. I was very glad I did. It was amazing. When we arrived we were mesmorised. It was unlike any shopping centre in Australia. Everywhere we went was something new and exciting.

Many of the stores were very unique. Or had some different in them we hadn’t seen before. Bubba Gump was our favourite. We spent time both in the gift shop and wandering around the restaurant. We were fascinated by all the movie takes and how cleverly they were put together. Our son loved the cheeky T-shirt we bought him. In the Lindt Chocolate store, more than half of the flavours, we had never tasted before.

On entry the first thing we saw was the Sea Life Experience. This included seals and a relica of the Santa Maria. We spent time investigating this area and watched the seals antics. Galaxyland powered by Hasbro was our next stop. It is the world’s largest indoor amusement park. I loved seeing the games I played as a child, came to life as amusement rides. Such creativity.

Next on our tour was the shooting gallery. This blew me away. It was filled with guns of all sorts. Many of which are banned in Australia. So I had never seen them before. In hindsight I wish I had taken my first shot here, but at the time I was so overwhelmed.

The Ice Palace-indoor ice skating even had a senior skate option. We did consider giving it a go however we ran out of time.

West Edmonton Mall is also the home of the worlds largest indoor wave pool. Again, sadly we had no time to enjoy it. We were fascinated by the number of activities in this one area.

We had a great time in the Dragon’s Tale. A Blacklight Mini Golf Experience. It was a first for us and totally took minigolf to a new level.

While we wandered around the shops, we heard of a young couple who went to West Edmonton Mall for their honeymoon. They stayed the week in the Fantasyland Hotel attached the mall. And everyday enjoyed one or more of the special activities found there. I thought this was a fantastic idea.

I would have loved to have ridden around the mall on these. I saw a group of 20-30 year olds doing so and it looked like so much fun. But I thought there may have been a weight limit.

D: Dalton Highway

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Also known as the Haul Road and Ice Trucker Road is often described as the loneliest road on earth. This highway runs from 84 miles north of Fairbanks at Livengood to the Artic Ocean. It is 414 miles long and travels through some very remote wilderness and over the Yukon River.

The Dalton highway is a dangerous for even for the experienced driver. It is mostly has unpaved, uneven surfaces that change dramatically depending on the extreme weather. It has multiple potholes and a many very large trucks that take supplies to the oilfields.

Our bus driver who drives the road regularly was able to tell us many stories of the unusual safety rules of the road and how all the drivers who drive it regularly, do their best to keep everyone safe as their is minimal phone coverage along the route.

Plant life on the tundra
Digging to the water table
The last of the berries the animals eat. We also tasted them they were yummy.

Plant life on the tundra Digging down to the water level Last of the berries the animals eat

Our trip on the Dalton was from Coldfoot, north of the Artic Circle back to Fairbanks. We were lucky enough to stop off and look at the Artic tundra. It was very spongy underfoot. Our bus driver showed us many plant s that live there and how they support the local environment. The Dalton highway was originally built to support the communities along the Trans Alaskan Pipeline which we were lucky enough to see reasonably closely.

C: Captain James Cook Statues

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Captain Cook claimed the east coast of Australia for Britain in 1770. He came ashore and named it New South Wales. I have known this most of my life. What I didn’t realise until last year was that he was also the first to explore the body of water now known as Cook Inlet at Anchorage, Alaska. At the time he was looking for the north-west passage which he believed joined the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. He never found the passage. To honour this important discovery a statue was built of Cook overlooking Anchorage Harbour. There is also a statue of Captain Cook in Hyde Park Sydney, Australia. According to our guide the Alaskan sculpture was built so that both statutes could look each other in the eyes. I don’t know if if its true or not but if it is it’s a great piece of detail.

B: Benalla

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Benalla is a rural city in North-East Victoria, Australia. It is the Regional Street Art Capital of Australia and it’s slogan is “see art in everything.” My husband and I visited by accident last week and we were very impressed. Everyone we spoke to clearly loved the town and were very happy to help gude us.

The city is covered with around 80 street art murals. They are everywhere and make the place look alive and welcoming. The murals have been painted by recognised national and international artists during multiple Benalla Street Art Festivals.

The city is RV friendly and has a great free camp within walking distance to the city. We parked there early and then went to and fro with the shopping we bought in town. On the Saturday morning we awoke to find the local markets were on, in the carpark next to our camp.

This ceramic tiled mural is on the lake and an amazing structure with many different aspect to it. Unfortunately it is currently under repair so we were unable to fully explore its nooks and crannies.

A: Artic Circle

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To start this years A-Z Challenge I thought I would take you to the top of the world. Or at least that’s what it felt like to me when I visited the Artic Circle last year. I was so excited. I live in Newcastle, Australia which has a latitude of 32.9283 degrees South. The Artic Circle is 66.33 degrees North. To me that is hugely different.

We went in late September and to my surprise there was no snow or ice on the ground. I’m sure however it wasn’t far away. We flew from Fairbanks, Alaska and landed in Coldfoot above the Artic Circle for lunch.

It is a small community 34 people at the 2020 census. With lunch I enjoyed having a beer in the Farthest North Truck Stop in America.

We then boarded a bus to the Artic Circle sign. It felt so special and almost unbelievable.

2025 A-Z Challenge Theme Reveal

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This years A-Z Challenge seems like the best reason to get back to blogging. For anyone who isn’t aware during April a large group of bloggers get together and challenge each other to write a blog post for every letter of the alphabet. Each blogger choses a theme that connects their blog posts.

I have been busy traveling this year so I am going to expand my theme from Australian travel to include all places and things that I have experienced during my recent travels.

While my list is not yet complete complete it could involve travel by road, air or sea. The main areas will be a mixture of Australia, Canada and Alaska although I have also had some journeys in the South Pacific so they may make an appearance.

I hope that you enjoy my travels and I look forward to also taking a virtual journey to the blogs of other bloggers participating in this years challenge.