Skip Larsen 1966 Travelogue

Dateline: October 5, 2024.

    The photos of Alaska and British Columbia below were shot on Kodachrome slide film by Skip Larsen during a 6-week trip through the Yukon Territory and Alaska in 1966 - see the link above for more information about that trip and many more photos from it.

    We have posted all 18 of the photos in this part of the collection.

    Click on each image to greatly enlarge it.

It appears to have been an evening departure for the 9-10-hour sailing from Juneau to Sitka.

St. Michael's Russian Orthodox Cathedral, built in 1844-48, had no doubt been very high on Skip's list of places to see in Alaska, but this is all that was left of it when the group arrived on about July 16th.

A fire 6 months before, on January 2nd, had left a a large section of downtown Sitka in ruins. This was the front page of Sitka's newspaper the next day.

The group is seen exploring more of downtown Sitka.

A side view of The Prospector statue at the Sitka Pioneer Home, sculpted by Alonzo Victor Lewis and erected here in 1949.

The Baranov totem pole at Totem Square, with part of the Sitka Pioneer Home in the background.

Sailing from Sitka, they got near-perfect weather conditions.

Meeting another Alaska ferry.

Passing that ferry, the Malaspina, which had just been launched 3 years before.

Passing a seiner at work.

Arriving at Prince Rupert first thing in the morning, Skip got two photos of BC Ferries' brand-new Queen of Prince Rupert, which had just gone into service on May 20th, running between Kelsey Bay on northern Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert.

A few miles east of Prince Rupert on Highway 16, a stop was made at the Oliver Lake Picnic Site.

Oliver Lake is on the opposite side of Highway 16 from the Prince Rupert Rod & Gun Club.

The Quesnel Tourist Bureau and Museum.

Taking a break from the highway.

A stop was made at the Historic O'Keefe Ranch on Highway 97 north of Vernon.

After 6 weeks and about 6,000 miles of driving, they arrived back home at Parkland, Washington.