Red/Cyan 3D glasses are needed.
There are two highways into Northern British Columbia(north of Prince George). Highway 97(The Alaska Highway) and Highway 37(the Stewart-Cassiar Highaway). Both head into the Yukon, and meet up west of the Yukon town of Watson Lake. Highway 37 is the more scenic of the two, in my opinion. It’s also much less densely populated, so be prepared for long drives between communities(not so long that you need to bring your own gasoline, though).
Branching off of Highway 37 is Highway 37A. It is a short 60km highway descending from the mountains to the to the coastal inlet town of Stewart, BC. The town has a number of beautiful heritage buildings, a beautiful view of the Portland Canal, and… okay. I’m going to be honest here. I’ve been to Stewart four times. I have had the sun shine for a whole five minute period one of those times. Be prepared for damp coastal weather- lots of clouds, fog, and rain. The scenery is spectacular, when you get chance to see it through the rain. If you like the outdoors, hiking, wildlife, or boomtown history, there is plenty to keep you occupied. If you’re just looking for great landscape photos, however… maybe check the weather forecast first.
One of the highlights of the drive to Stewart is the Bear Glacier, easily visible from the road:
Stewart itself has a number of turn-of-the-century buildings, and is an interesting place to explore.
With a population of about 500, it is the largest town on Highway 37 north of the Highway 16 junction(which runs East/West across BC at about 54° latitude). There’s a number of trails, including a well maintained accessible boardwalk over the estuary(as seen at the top of the post), and a nice small museum devoted to local history.
Just past Stewart is the community of Hyder, Alaska. It’s on the southernmost road into Alaska. Hyder has a population of less than 100, and there is no access into the rest of Alaska. As far as services go… Stewart is probably where you’ll get the necessities. The road gets increasingly rough as it continues past Hyder, eventually returning to BC near a viewpoint of Salmon Glacier(no photos- I’ve never had weather good enough to visit it myself). Ice from the glacier washes down Fish Creek- I took these photos on a gravel bar near Hyder in August:
Since I began taking 3D pictures, I’ve seen many black bears. However, I didn’t take a good 3D photo until this past summer. They’re usually very timid. When I see one on the road, by the time I have the camera ready, they’re gone. Even slowing the vehicle down is usually enough to cause them to bolt. When I’m hiking, they usually know I’m nearby and move away- If I’m lucky, I’ll catch a glimpse of them in the brush. Given the requirements of a 3D photo, I either have to get close to a bear to get a good photo, or separate my cameras to get an increased parallax, and try to focus them on the same small bear(when you’re 100 m away, even bears look small unless you zoom in)
Highway 37 and 37a are great places to see bears(both black and grizzly). The coastal rainforest is ideal for them, and Hyder has a safe boardwalk for watching the salmon run and (hopefully) spotting bears catching salmon. However, it is easy to spot bears all along the road (I counted 5 black bears on my last trip). So, to finish this post up, my best photo of a black bear(so far):
Parallel Views 