[Klazu]

Our next day trip took us to Prince Rupert which is known to be Canada's wettest city.

Fortunately for us, the day was anything but rainy and the morning view over the calm Lakelse Lake was amazing.



We would be driving the remaining 144-kilometre stretch of Highway 16 to Prince Rupert on the coast through some rugged coast mountains.





In late June there was still snow on the mountains which made for some superb scenery all along the route.





Highway also has busy train tracks running parallel to it which are used by long cargo trains.









Skeena River gets wider and wider the closer to the ocean it gets.











Many crystal-clear rivers feed into Skeena River.



Waterfalls are plentiful along Highway 16.



Just before Prince Rupert we made a stop in small town of Port Edward. Unfortunately for us, the national historic site of an old cannery was closed due to COVID-19.







Finally, after few hours of driving, we reached Prince Rupert on the pacific coast.









Most Alaskan cruises call port in Prince Rupert which brings hundreds of thousands of tourist into town. This year has been really tough for the city's tourist industry after the cruise season was cancelled.















Prince Rupert has several ferry connections in all directions. There is a ferry to the south to Port Hardy (Vancouver Island), west to Haida Gwaii and north to Alaska. The Alaskan border is only 40 kilometres north of the city.



The revival of Port of Prince Rupert has been a lifesaver for the city and it is the 3rd deepest natural harbour in the world. It is also the closest North American port to Asia, which offers a two-day advantage over Port of Vancouver and several days over American ports. For this reason the port's capacity rivals the Port of Vancouver as the only other entry point into Canada and east coast.



It's a long way back to Vancouver from here. Taking the ferry to Port Hardy would save one 1000 kilometres of driving.



Just outside of the city there is a short hiking trail to Butze Rapids.









The rapids are caused by the strong ocean tides and can grow pretty impressive.





With a scenery like this, we didn't mind at all having to traverse the same road back to Terrace.







And there you have it. Next set of photos will have us make our way back home in Vancouver.