In and Out, In and Out

We left Watson Lake at 7:30 a.m. It was dark. Pitch black but we were on our way anyway. Our accomodations were very rustic, but clean and warm, and I guess that's all we can ask for at this point in the game. Certainly no reason to complain. The above photo is the 2nd pic of the day. It was taken about 9:00 a.m. The first photo was just too dark. Bummer.

The roads today weren't necessarily better, however the turns weren't nearly as sharp, and the hills weren't nearly as steep, up or down. All in all, today was a better day. However, 2 days of straight through driving has been hard on Brent and his back. He's threatening to make me drive some tomorrow. We'll see who wins.

This photo is taken of the sunrise about 9:30 a.m. It was absolutely gorgeous. Definitely made the 6:00 a.m. wake up call worth it. We continued to travel with Adam & Jennifer as it is a relief and a joy for all of us. We have a very similar travel style which makes it that much easier.

Today was fairly uneventful in the way of animal life. We did, however, manage to see one little gray fox who had buried himself in a bison track. He was hard to see so I didn't get a pic of him. All you could really see were his ears and face. However, the views continued to be marvelous. The pink sheen on the left of the picture is the sun starting to peak over the horizon.

Before we left we received great gifts of crossword puzzles, word games, word searches, Mad Libs, etc. However, way too many hours in the car leaves you searching for something new and exciting. As members of the Brain Trust know crossword puzzles aren't my strength, so I'm leaving those for "later". Ha! I decided it would be a great idea to write a poem. So I submitted 3 words, then Brent, then I, and you get the point. Unfortunately he was feeling snarky, so we can't publish our creation. However, I thought this might be a good place for him to live in his mood (above pic). In seriousness though, he's done a great job getting us through the mountains, and I cannot complain.

This was a very, very long bridge we had to cross today. It seemed never ending, and after the bridge collapse in Minnesota a year ago, I wasn't overly excited to cross the jallopy. We managed to survive. How? I'll never know.

Since the driving has been so hard on the guys we decided to stop for lunch in Teslin, Yukon Territory today. It was nice to actually eat a meal on the road, we haven't been stopping for lunches as we packed a cooler to eat along the way. Ches decided to take over my nice, warm heated seat. I can't blame her. She's been an absolute trooper. Such a good girl.

The Alaska Highway travels in and out of British Columbia and the Yukon Territory for a portion of today's journey so you'll have to forgive me if I sound confused. We'd see a sign welcoming us to one province or the other and finally I just stopped paying attention. Eek.

This is a photo of our descent into Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. We are spending the night here and then heading to Tok, Alaska. WOOT!! Finally. We're planning to travel on to Delta Junction on Saturday a.m. I cannot wait to actually see our new home, and just be able to put our stuff in one place and not have to haul it in and out anymore.

Thanks for following along...I hope you're enjoying the ride! By the way, feel free to comment. :)

The real experience begins

Before we even started out the most common phrase we heard was "what an experience". It has been a journey to the experience until now. I dare say that neither of us really knew what we were getting into. I dare say I would have sold or shipped everything and hopped a plane. The journey to Alaska has been emotional, but fairly easy, until today.

We left Dawson Creek, British Columbia at 9:15 a.m. just before sunrise. We had a nice, semi-leisurely morning. At breakfast Brent was chatting with a local on his way to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory who was putting chains on his truck. Brent decided that we didn't need to put ours on yet, but would if, or when, we needed them.

Two miles out of Dawson Creek we saw our first moose of the day. I, however, had not had enough caffeine yet, so I missed a great photo op despite the fact that my camera was literally in my hand. Grrrr.

Shortly before entering Fort St. John we crossed the bridge in the above photo. I normally am a good sport about heights, I don't like them, but if I feel safe I can handle it. I didn't feel safe. It could have something to do with the fact that the bridge seemed like it was 10 miles long, although in actuality it was only 1/2 mile long, I literally got nauseated. The picture does nothing to show the depth of the drop. Nothing.

Long gone are the nice flat roads that I was claiming to be "boring" just a couple days ago. The roads turned to true mountain roads as we entered the Northern Rockies of Canada early on in the day. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking and beautiful. But the roads are good in some spots, not so good in other spots. Slow going and smart driving was the name of today's game.



We stopped to give Ches a potty break at mile marker 148 on the Alaska Highway. As you can see it was named Suicide Hill at the time the road was put in. It received its name for being the most treacherous hill on the road. I'm really happy that they waited to tell us until we reached the top! In early days travelers received the warning "Prepare to meet they maker" before they headed to the top. Happily we made it up, and down, the hill without incident.

Later in the day as I took over driving the last 60 miles of the day we saw a HUGE moose. S/He lumbered across the road in front of us before trudging through the ditch, as s/he came to tree line s/he became panicked and started to trot before barging through the trees. It was a great sight and I hope we can share it with you all soon.

All in all it was pretty stressful day. Due to the altitude we traveled in and out of snow. A lot of powdery white stuff causing white out conditions for portions of the trip. Other parts we had sun, and we entered the ditch at one point. Luckily Brent was quick thinking and managed to get us out of the snow and out of the middle of the road just as a semi came barreling over the hills. It was scary enough to make me cry for a just a second.

Tonight we are relaxing in Fort Nelson, British Columbia. We checked in early and have been trying to relax despite a water issue. That seems to be corrected now so I'm hoping for a hot bath and a warm bed before we hit the real mountains tomorrow.

On a fun note we ran into a couple from Denver on their way to Anchorage. They're moving as well, and are driving because of their dog. I thought it was neat coincidence, and it's nice to know that there are fellow crazy people out there.

So, if you're the praying kind...please pray for continued safe travels for us. God is good.

Moose Row

Sorry Folks. No pictures tonight. I took a lot, but I can't get them to load. The wireless connection here in British Columbia is sketchy. So, I'll post for now, and update the photos later.

We left Saskatoon at 6:20 a.m. in the dark. Our goal for the day was Dawson Creek, British Columbia for a total miles of 687. The roads continued to be good today, and we even saw the sun for a great period of time. Sunrise was at 9:30 a.m.

The highlight of the morning was seeing a coyote outside of Edmonton. Edmonton, on the other hand, was a disappointment. The portion of the town we saw was dirty and old, and not well taken care of. A lot of industrial, just not at all what I was expecting. But it was good to see a larger town.

In Vegreville we stopped a wayside rest to give Ches a chance to take a potty break. There wasn't much there, but it was nice, and the giant egg was a bonus! Ches loved it, and we let her explore a little while Brent checked over the trailer and tires.

The afternoon brought us the Alaska Highway in Alberta. Moose Row is where the trip really got interesting. The sign of the day- which I didn't manage to get a photo of the sign- said "Preserve our wildlife and your life- please drive carefully".

Unfortunately the majority of the moose we saw were lying dead along the road. We did see one guy peaking out of the woods about 100 miles South of Grande Prairie, Alberta. It was beautiful day and we enjoyed the rolling hills and the spirally, skinny pine trees. We even reached a temp of 31 degrees ABOVE zero.

Just South of Dawson Creek, British Columbia we lost our light. The sun seems to set faster here. So the last 100 miles were driven in darkness. The roads got slippery as the temps plummeted to -4 degrees F. But all in all, it was a good day.

We're bedded down for the night at Dawson Creek, and plan to leave sometime tomorrow a.m. We probably won't leave at 6:30 a.m. again, but we'll head out before sunrise. The sunrise here is 10:30 a.m. with sunset hitting at about 5:45 p.m.

Gas continues to remain reasonable at approximately $3.00-3.25/gallon. Tomorrow our goal is to reach Fort Nelson, British Columbia. Hopefully the weather will hold off. The trip is only about 300 miles so it should be a much shorter day.

Happy Day!