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!

Hello from Saskatchewan! We're spending the night in Saskatoon after traveling about 750 miles. We left Grygla at 6:20 a.m. and the roads were less than desirable. The temperature was a balmy -14F. We just drove slowly and carefully and made our way. By the time we reached Lancaster the temp had fallen to -19F.

Next came the border which I was terrified about. No worries. We pulled in and the guard checked our ID's and travel purposes. He had us park and bring in our paperwork for the guns. We did so, along with Ches' paperwork and our passports. He didn't even look at the passports OR Ches' paperwork. I figure "safe than sorry" is good. 10 minutes later after we stopped we were on our way. Woohoo.

From there we just relaxed and went with the flow. The roads improved about 10 miles into Canada, as you can see in pics below.

This is what most of the in-town roads look like. The above photo was taken in Winnipeg, but most of the towns are a little slick. Luckily all drivers slow down, so we haven't had any incidents. All in all, travel is going well.
This is a photo of what the roads look like on the highway. In the ditches we've seen signs of lots of deer, but only saw 5 fat ones along the roadside around dusk. Most of the roads are clean and open.

A cute little town in Manitoba. And I liked the name. It's interesting to read the names and sometimes I manage to catch a sign.

This is a photo of sunset in Saskatchewan. We're settled in with Ches and she's traveling like the champ we know she is. Though she's stressed out and shedding like a madwoman. She might want to keep some of that hair, it's -36F without the windchill tonight.

We did manage to take some video as well, but I'm having issues loading the video, so I'll have to come back with that at another time. Tomorrow will be another long day. We're hoping to cover about 800 miles and end up in Dawson Creek, BC. We'll post if we have time and energy.

'Til Later,

B&K

And we're off...

We officially have 300+ miles behind us. But we've made that trek dozens of times before. Tomorrow the real adventure begins. I'm excited and NERVOUS. The past few days have been so busy that I've had nary a minute to have the reality of the situation set in. Until last night. Now I'm a constant mess. Not overly emotional, or anything semi-psychotic like that. But I'm always thinking about what could be, and I'm nervous which tends to make me bitchy. Yep, I said it. (Kyle- no comments.)

The unknown is very scary for me. Very. I'm a planner. Things in life work best for me when I can put them in perspective and make them make sense. That situation has rarely worked for me, but it's how I function best. The morning is likely to be tension filled. Because I get cranky. But I'm hoping that we pass through the border without incident. This is what I'm most nervous about. I mean really, it could take us hours to get across the border. Hours. Then what? That will screw up the whole plan. Ha! I've learned long ago to go with the flow, what else can we do?

So hopefully I'll be updating you from somewhere in Lloydminster tomorrow night. We'll see how far we get, what the weather holds for us, and if we make it the first leg of the journey without incident. Holy buckets. Could someone out there say a prayer? I'm thinking we could use one or two. WHAT WAS I THINKING? Ha!

"Til Tomorrow Sometime...

Stress, heartache and snow

They all have a little do to with the other. It really is crazy. We are really stressed these past few days. Between knowing that a daunting drive is ahead of us, or that everything we've known is behind us. It's stressful. On top of that Northern MN (where we're hiding for now) is slated to be hit with snow in rather large proportions. Great. Just great. But I'm sure this is not the worst that we will see, so we'll trudge forward, hoping for good roads and some peace.

It's been a fun, crazy, sad last few days. We rang in 2009 with two of my oldest friends. We had so much fun that I had a hard time recovering on Thursday. But the laughter and memories of old, and some new, will carry us along our journey. It's always nice to just be. A couple cocktails, some good and not-s0-good music, and a lot of road ahead. It was great.

Thursday brought more goodbyes. My older brother and his wife took their day off to come and say good bye. It was so nice of them to brave the snowy roads and winter weather. It was short, but sweet, and we're hoping they plan a trip to see us in Alaska.

Today was filled with more visitors. My younger brother, his girlfriend, and Hondo (his dog) came by to say Hi. Again another long drive on wintery roads, but I guess we should all be used to that by now. I managed to get out with Ches some and play in the snow. It was fun to just watch her run. I kept instructing her to "hunt 'em up" and hunt she did. I think the best thing she may have found was her ball, but she was happy.

And now, the anticipation, nervousness, excitement are all starting to set in. It's nearly 1 a.m. and I'm having a hard time finding sleep. It's quiet, so I decided to write and get it off my chest.

I will miss everyone. But I'm really going to miss my dad. We talked nearly every day, and while his advice is sometimes annoying, I will miss it, and him. I know with distance, long distance and the time change we won't talk as much. That's going to be tough.

Homeless

We finished packing up, and cleaning up around 7 p.m. last night. It was a long, exhausting day. However, it felt good to just be done. Ches took off for one last night of spoiling at Cindy & Rick's and we headed to Darryl & Audrae's for a little pampering of our own.

This morning we woke at the bright and early hour of 3:30, much to my dismay. It seems that Brent was particularly restless last night and glanced at the wrong clock that read 5:30. He woke me, and I was starting to get dressed when he realized his error. We did go back to bed, but sleep eluded us both until morning.

Darryl & Audrae came with to our house to help Brent with the trailer. I just don't like to show off my She-Ra strength that early in the morning. Chessa returned home from her sleepover, we packed up, said our good-byes and headed out on the road.

We had great roads until the Hutchinson area. The snow started to fall and the roads just weren't great. We took it slow and easy, assuming that this won't be the worst we see in the days/weeks to come. So we kept trucking. Luckily we managed to drive out the snow and roads North of Akeley, and the rest of the way was clear sailing.

I was supposed to have pics to show you, but I can't find my USB cable so I'll have to share them later. It's been a long day, and I'm wiped. I'm off to find a shower and a bed. Ches and Brent are happily snuggled.

Heart on a Platter...Coming Right Up

Did you know the words "But I don't want you to go" can physically tear your heart out and serve it to you on a platter? It can. Especially when issued by the cutest 3 year old I know. I have known her since long before she came to be laid in her mother's arms. I have loved her just as long.

Tonight I tucked her in, and she gave me the biggest bear hug ever, and a big ole sloppy kiss. It seems like a simple ritual, but it's a privilege. I read her a book, and we talked a little. I told her to take care of her baby brother and her mommy for me. We tucked, I put on her music, left the room, and as I came back, I whispered I love you. From the dark I heard "I love you, too. I think at that particular moment, my heart left my chest, and fell to my toes.

I will miss her. She is a very special girl, not because she can read the dictionary upside down, or recite Chaucer, though she is marvelously smart, but she's special for so many reasons. She loves, and laughs, and I love when she pulls open the door and hollers "Kahla's here!!!" It always makes my day. Always.

I'm sad that in time she may not remember me. But I remember the way her black hair laid like a thick wool cap on the day she was born, or how she loved to curl up on my chest and I could hold her for hours and kiss her head, or how she loved the Itsy Bitsy Spider sung over and over. I know she loves Polly Pockets and Noggin. She loves her baby brother, and her pink blankies. She's a little naughty and a lotta smart and sassy.

Savannah, I love you. I'll miss you. And your mommy and RJ too. :)

Good Byes

When we packed up and moved to Colorado in 2001 saying Good Bye was easy. I remember lying in bed, both of sleepless with anticipation. I would close my eyes and try to sleep, and then they'd pop open to find Brent looking at me as if to say "how can you sleep at a time like this"? The truth was, I couldn't. We jumped out of bed, threw our clothes into bags and stumbled down the steps to break the news to Brent's parents. I know they weren't happy with our decision, not because they were'nt happy for us, but just a little sad to see us go. But go we did. Without looking back.

This time is different. I have stronger bonds with those in my life. And this time the leaving is truly bittersweet. Being so far away will inevitably cause us to miss important events in our loved ones lives. I just hope we don't miss too many. We will certainly try to come for some, but all will not be possible.

Today we started our rounds of Good Byes. I think I'm still kind of numb to it all really. I don't think it's hit me. I truly don't feel as though it's good bye. It feels to me like I'll see them all at the next holiday or event, even though I know that's not true. The first event will take place on the day we are hoping to arrive in Delta Junction. That will hurt, for just a little while.

So we said good bye, and hugged our hugs, but it still doesn't feel real for me. Brent isn't saying much, though I suspect the Good Byes are just as hard for him. He usually keeps that kind of thing a little more to himself. I know it's affecting our loved ones too. It's hard for them to say good bye, and to watch us go. But we'll be back, at least to visit, and we have email, and phones, and texts, and blogs...

We love you. We'll miss you. Come and visit!