Travels of The Mercury: Alaska – Canada Travels 2014, Stewart, Hyder and Salmon Glacier, August 17th to 18th.

On our way down the Cassiar Highway to visit Stewart and Hyder we stop at the Cassiar Mountain Jade Store, in the middle of nowhere in northern British Columbia, where some of the world’s finest jade is mined. The jade is shipped to China and carved into the jewelry and statues which are then shipped around the world. So BC is where a lot of jade comes from, what a surprise!

The Cassiar Mountain Jade Store where you can purchase jade jewelry and carvings.

You can also purchase raw jade.

A chain saw eagle carving watches at the outside the door of the store.

Driving down the Cassiar Highway toward Stewart.

On the way to Stewart we pass Bear Glacier, one of the film locations for “Insomnia”.

Bear Glacier where "Insomnia" was filmed.

The main street of Stewart.

Stewart and Hyder are small coastal towns on an inlet at the end of the Stewart Highway. Stewart is in BC and Hyder in Alaska so there’s a small border crossing between the two. These aren’t ports so they don’t have all the activity of the coastal towns on the Kenai Peninsula.

Glaciers crouch ominously in the valleys above Stewart.

These two quiet little communities are stretched out along a narrow misty shore between the sea and steep mountains. Glaciers hang ominously above clinging to the crags, lost in swirls of clouds as they send waterfalls down to the sea.

A walk out to the estuary to look at birds. Aren't these coastal mountains amazing?

A poster of photos from the movie "Insomnia".

A poster from the movie "The Thing" with Kurt Russel.

A movie poster from "Iceman". If you haven't seen these movies, they're all good.

We visit the Historical Society Museum in Stewart to see their display of posters of movies made here in this somber landscape. These include “Insomnia” with Robert DeNiro and Robin Williams, “The Thing”, “Ice Man” and “Bear Island”. This gloomy, misty landscape certainly creates the atmosphere for these films.

On the way to Salmon Glacier. Water flows from the toe of the glacier to become the Salmon River.

A view of one of the many glacial valleys along the road to Salmon Glacier. Fireweed is in bloom. The ice field is high above.

At the view point overlooking the Salmon Glacier.

Next we visit Hyder where the road to Salmon Glacier begins. This is one of our bucket list items for this trip. The drive takes us up a 28-mile gravel road to a mountain slope overlooking Salmon Glacier, the 3rd longest glacier in North America. It’s the only glacier you can drive to and get a view looking down on it.

The glacier flows out of the ice field above . . .

. . . and down the valley below us.

There are many waterfalls along the road to Salmon Glacier.

The glaciers’ mass of ice and moraines flow in serpentine curves from the shrouded ice fields above and down through the valley below us. It’s a living thing on the move and we can see evidence of its slow crawl as our eyes sweep down the valley.

See the water pouring inside the ice cave at the toe of the glacier?

On the way back we stop at the forest service bear viewing area but it’s too early to see bears. Lots of people with big camera lenses are waiting patiently on the boardwalk. We have bear-sized appetites and don't wait for them to make an appearance.

Waiting for bears on the Bear Walk.

We watched Chum and Pink Salmon in their spawning frenzy, always an amazing thing to witness.

Watching male Salmon battle each other in the spawning frenzy.

Mew Gulls are always in attendance at the spawning waiting for easy meals.

A Great Blue Heron fishes at a pond at the Bear Walk

Going back through Hyder we stop to have a rare dinner out at the Bus Seafood Express, a brightly painted bus that’s a local favorite and serves fresh sea food. A friendly place to chat with other visitors and locals.