Nome to Vancouver

Nome is located on the edge of the Bering Sea on the southwest side of the Seward Peninsula. Unlike other towns which are named for explorers heroes or politicians Nome was named as a result of a 50 year-old spelling error. In the 1850's an officer on a British ship off the coast of Alaska noted on a manuscript map that a nearby prominent point was not identified. He wrote "? Name" next to the point. When the map was recopied another draftsman thought that the “?” was a C and that the “a” in "Name" was an o and thus a map-maker in the British Admiralty christened "Cape Nome." The area has an amazing history dating back 10 000 years of Inupiaq Eskimo use for subsistence living. Modern history started in 1898 when "Three Lucky Swedes” Jafet Lindberg Erik Lindblom and John Brynteson discovered gold in Anvil Creek…the rush was on! In 1899 the population of Nome swelled from a handful to 28 000. Today the population is just over 3 500. Much of Nome's gold rush architecture remains.

Remote St. Matthew Island is part of the Bering Sea Reservation (including Hall Island and several rocks around St. Matthew) since 1909 –it was one of America’s first wildlife refuges- and is now managed as part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. From the Glory of Russia Cape in the north to Cape Upright in the southeast, the island has a length of 51 kilometers and an area of 35,700 hectares. Beaches with black sand and gravel lead to a somewhat depleted tundra as introduced and uncontrolled reindeer roamed the island for close to 40 years. After their disappearance some of the plants are again covering the island and Field Chickweed, Pacific Silverweed, Purple Saxifrage, Polar Willow, Arctic Wormwood, Langsdorf’s Lousewort, Chukhchi Primrose and Marsh Marigold can be found. The rye-grass areas along the coast are inhabited by the endemic St. Matthew vole –and care has to be taken to not trip because of their entrance holes or to destroy their tunnels. In some parts massive cliffs reach a height of over 300 meters. These are favored by Glaucous Gulls, Brünnich’s Guillemots, Parakeet Auklets, and Horned and Tufted Puffins; Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches and McKay’s Buntings are better seen in the tundra. Several lakes are found close to the coastline.

The city of Saint Paul is located on a narrow peninsula on the southern tip of St. Paul Island the largest of five islands in the Pribilofs. These islands are located in the middle of the Bering Sea between the United States and Russia. St Paul’s lies 240 miles north of the Aleutian Islands 300 miles west of the Alaska mainland and 750 air miles west of Anchorage. The city of St. Paul is the only residential area on the island. The first non-natives to ‘discover’ St. Paul were Russian fur-traders in the late 1780’s led by the navigator Gavriil Pribylov. Today this small city has one school (K-12) one post office one bar one small general store and one church a Russian Orthodox Church that is registered National Historic building. In summer this island is teaming with wildlife including about 500 000 northern fur seals and millions of seabirds including tufted puffins.

Russian traders following Vitus Bering in the mid-1700s would have been some of the first non-native explorers to visit Kiska Harbor on Kiska Island in the Aleutian chain. The Japanese occupied the island during WWII and relics of war have been left behind in the harbor including a Japanese two-man submarine. The occupying force of 6 000 soldiers also left a Shinto shrine behind whose remains can still be seen today. Ashore there are ptarmigans Lapland Longspurs and Bald Eagles. At a distance the cliffs of Sirius Point can only be described as “magical” and are home to Least and Crested Auklets Peregrine Falcons and Laysan and Black-footed Albatrosses.

With Bald Eagles soaring overhead, emerald-green volcanic peaks chafing the clouds, and raw ocean scenery as far as the eye can see, this far-flung destination is the definition of remote and wild. Part of the outlying Aleutian Islands archipelago, which spirals out across the Bering Sea into the wilds of the Pacific, Dutch Harbor offers a dramatic backdrop and rich military history - as one of the few pieces of US soil to be directly attacked by the Japanese during World War II. The town settles into the embrace of a vast deepwater harbour, which helps to protect from the unpredictable churn of the Bering Sea. Enjoy hikes along coastal trails to birdwatch among more than 100 different species – and look on as huge clouds of cawing seabirds float on gusts of wind, filling the air with their raucous calls. Dutch Harbor is famous for its crab fishing industry – a dangerous, challenging pursuit - and the town is well known to many Americans as the setting of the television show Deadliest Catch. The Aleutian WWII Visitor Center and the Museum of the Aleutians provide extensive information on WWII in the Aleutians, prehistory, the Russian period, Unangan (Aleut) culture and recent history. A visible reminder of the Russian past is the Holy Ascension Cathedral, the oldest cruciform-style Russian Orthodox church in North America and a National Historic Landmark.

With Bald Eagles soaring overhead, emerald-green volcanic peaks chafing the clouds, and raw ocean scenery as far as the eye can see, this far-flung destination is the definition of remote and wild. Part of the outlying Aleutian Islands archipelago, which spirals out across the Bering Sea into the wilds of the Pacific, Dutch Harbor offers a dramatic backdrop and rich military history - as one of the few pieces of US soil to be directly attacked by the Japanese during World War II. The town settles into the embrace of a vast deepwater harbour, which helps to protect from the unpredictable churn of the Bering Sea. Enjoy hikes along coastal trails to birdwatch among more than 100 different species – and look on as huge clouds of cawing seabirds float on gusts of wind, filling the air with their raucous calls. Dutch Harbor is famous for its crab fishing industry – a dangerous, challenging pursuit - and the town is well known to many Americans as the setting of the television show Deadliest Catch. The Aleutian WWII Visitor Center and the Museum of the Aleutians provide extensive information on WWII in the Aleutians, prehistory, the Russian period, Unangan (Aleut) culture and recent history. A visible reminder of the Russian past is the Holy Ascension Cathedral, the oldest cruciform-style Russian Orthodox church in North America and a National Historic Landmark.

Unga is a ghost town on the southern end of Unga Island in the Aleutian Islands. It was once a bustling town of over 100 people originally settled by Aleuts in 1833 and named Delarov, for Evstrat Delarov, the first Greek explorer and merchant to visit Alaska. In 1836 it had a name change to Ougnagok, and the post office was established in 1888. The name was changed again to Unga in 1894. Life was challenging in Unga, and the population decline gradually over time. The post office closed in 1958, and the last family left in 1969. Today, many ruins remain giving some idea of what life was like to live in such a remote, isolated place.

Elfin Cove sits snugly on the southern shore of Cross Sound, which leads in eastwards to the Inside Passage. Northwards and across the Sound from the small community lies Glacier Bay National Park and the Fairweather Mountain range. Elfin Cove is a quaint little harbor clustered with attractive timber houses built into the wooded hillsides on stilts. The population swells to about 200 during the summer months, from a rather meager 6 or so during the snowy and isolated winters. Its commercial hub consists of a Post Office, mini-Museum, a General Store, the Coho Bar and numerous sports fishing businesses. In the summer months Rufous-backed Hummingbirds visit feeders scattered around the community.

On the northern tip of Chichagof Island Point Adolphus, is a well-known area for humpback whale watching. Enjoy an aperitif or a hot cup of tea while you are on the outer decks, looking for humpback whales as well as orcas, or simply enjoying the landscape.

It's hard not to like Sitka, with its eclectic blend of Alaska Native, Russian, and American history and its dramatic and beautiful open-ocean setting. This is one of the best Inside Passage towns to explore on foot, with St. Michael's Cathedral, Sheldon Jackson Museum, Castle Hill, Sitka National Historical Park, and the Alaska Raptor Center topping the must-see list.Sitka was home to the Kiksádi clan of the Tlingit people for centuries prior to the 18th-century arrival of the Russians under the direction of territorial governor Alexander Baranof, who believed the region was ideal for the fur trade. The governor also coveted the Sitka site for its beauty, mild climate, and economic potential; in the island's massive timber forests he saw raw materials for shipbuilding. Its location offered trading routes as far west as Asia and as far south as California and Hawaii. In 1799 Baranof built St. Michael Archangel—a wooden fort and trading post 6 miles north of the present town.Strong disagreements arose shortly after the settlement. The Tlingits attacked the settlers and burned their buildings in 1802. Baranof, however, was away in Kodiak at the time. He returned in 1804 with a formidable force—including shipboard cannons—and attacked the Tlingits at their fort near Indian River, site of the present-day 105-acre Sitka National Historical Park, forcing many of them north to Chichagof Island.By 1821 the Tlingits had reached an accord with the Russians, who were happy to benefit from the tribe's hunting skills. Under Baranof and succeeding managers, the Russian-American Company and the town prospered, becoming known as the Paris of the Pacific. The community built a major shipbuilding and repair facility, sawmills, and forges, and even initiated an ice industry, shipping blocks of ice from nearby Swan Lake to the booming San Francisco market. The settlement that was the site of the 1802 conflict is now called Old Sitka. It is a state park and listed as a National Historic Landmark.The town declined after its 1867 transfer from Russia to the United States, but it became prosperous again during World War II, when it served as a base for the U.S. effort to drive the Japanese from the Aleutian Islands. Today its most important industries are fishing, government, and tourism.

Painstakingly sculpted by the slow grind of colossal glaciers the fjords of Rudyerd Bay are some of the Inside Passage’s most spectacular and humbling. Gouged to the south-east of Alaska just 40 miles from Ketchikan hordes of salmon splash in the region’s streams while basalt pillars - left behind by ancient volcanoes - puncture the slow flow of the waters. A litany of plunging waterfalls gives sheer monolithic cliff faces added life and vitality. With crowds of pine trees and snow-tipped mountains surrounding you everywhere you look Rudyerd Bay is one of the Misty Fjords' most precious and inspiring locations. One of the best ways to survey this magnificent landscape is to take to the skies in a floatplane. Look down as you skim just below the clouds over an immense scene of snow-coated mountain peaks and deeply etched fjords. If you’d rather stay grounded cruise through the majestic setting on a boat journey to be dwarfed by the gigantic granite walls and cascading waterfalls. The abrupt cliffs of Punchbowl Cove rocket upwards 900 metres above sea level with forest clinging on desperately and smudging various shades of green across them. Cloudy-blue glacier lakes add to the spectacular palette of natural colours. Be sure to keep an eye out for the area’s majestic wildlife - as orcas surface and black bears and wolves slip between the dense banks of forest on the shore.

Since the late 19th century Metlakatla has been the major settlement of the Metlakatla Indian Community of the federally recognized Annette Islands Reserve the only remaining reservation in Alaska. It is located on Annette Island and in 2010 had 1 405 residents. Membership in the community is primarily by lineage and is comprised primarily of Tsimshian people. Metlakatla comes from a Tsimshian word meaning "Salt Water Passage." In 1886 William Duncan an English tannery employee and lay member of the Church Missionary Society along with a devoted group of Tsimshian followers decided to leave his home village in British Colombia. Duncan went to Washington D.C. asked the U.S. government to give his group land in Alaska. The U.S. gave them Annette Island after a Tsimshian search committee in seagoing canoes discovered its calm bay accessible beaches and abundant fish. The group arrived in 1887 and built a settlement laid out in a grid pattern like a European town. They named the town New Metlakatla after the town they had left behind but later dropped the "New."

Boasting mountains, sea, culture, art and so much more, many cities claim to have it all, but few can back it up like Vancouver. Famously livable, just visiting this highrise city - surrounded by staggering natural beauty - is a thrill. Offering all of the creature comforts of an ultra-modern, worldly metropolis - even downtown has a hint of mountain-freshness to its air - and part of Vancouver's appeal is how easily you can swap the skyscrapers for whale-filled oceans and mountain-punctured skies. Head up to the Vancouver Lookout Tower for the ultimate 360-degree views of the city glistening, amid the beautiful embrace of the beckoning wilderness beyond. But what to see first? Art lovers might choose the Vancouver Art Gallery or the Contemporary Art Gallery. Nature lovers might rush for the ferry to visit Vancouver Island - where they can encounter grizzly bears, whales and orcas. Culture vultures, on the other hand, will probably head for the sights and sounds of Canada's biggest Chinatown. From steaming dim sum for lunch to Chinese apothecaries offering herbs to soothe any illness, it’s all here thanks to the migrant workers of the 19th century. The one-of-a-kind treasure of Stanley Park brings wild wonder and natural beauty to this cosmopolitan city's doorstep, and the pine-tree clad park offers isolated trails and amazing views. Wander the Seawall that encircles it - a 20-mile coastal path, full of joggers, whizzing skaters and wandering couples. Grab a bike and cycle between Coal Harbour and Kitsilano Beach. You can top up your tan on the shore, as you soak in the glorious views of the mountains and cityscape from the sands.