PHOTOS

Despite the snow, I couldn't resist this shot of bison in the wild. There are millions of trees in northern Canada because logging is limited by lack of accessibility to markets.   We find some of the Alaska Highway cleared by snowplow, other areas covered in salt or dirt and some parts a sheet of ice and snow, not cleared at all. Clouds hung heavy over much of our drive today through the Canadian Rockies.   The forest and mountains stretch out as far as the eye can see along the Alaska Highway. This caribou seemed as curious about us as we were fascinated by her. The barren-ground caribou are migratory animals, and, throughout the year, they form again and again into groups smaller than a hundred to ones totaling more than 100,000.   This is the wilderness and people are far outnumbered by animals, such as caribou, moose, bison and bears. Barren-ground caribou are common along the Alaska Highway, especially during dawn and dusk.     PAIGE'S NOTES   24 November 2001 – This is simple, but glorious country out here in nowhere, British Colombia. I know we're crazy to drive the Alaska Highway in the winter, but the countryside is just spectacular, and I can't imagine driving it during a more beautiful time of year. Man has not messed up much along this part of the world, and when we do occasionally run into people – in small towns with none having more than a few thousand, and many with just a few hundred – they are laid-back, interested and generous. I've had more small gifts offered to me from workers at motels and gas stations than ever before.