ADIOS Twin Falls........... ALOHA Alaska
After a full month of stressing that our belongings would never fit into the largest UHAUL, all was loaded and safely secured with a ton of space to spare, The 17th Ward came to our assistance. (Almost too much assistance as we had more helping hands than objects to load. We owe them a ton!) I even had room to load in a lawnmower after this picture!
On my way out, I thought I would stop by the fabled bridge for some parting photos as the sun was setting nicely.
The next day I worked 4 hours for reasons still beyond my own understanding. Then stopped in Rupert to grab the pre-loaded UHAUL. And away we went. We, meaning Fenway and I.
Fortunately I was able to outrun this summer thunderstorm that came across the radio warnings repeatedly with damaging 60 mph cross-winds that could have stopped my big truck driving for some time. It was a stressful 1 hour going well above recommended speeds.
After 10.5 hours, I made it to the Canadian border and passed through with a dog and 2 guns with no trouble at about midnight. They didn't even ask to see my guns. A lot easier than anticipated.
The sign says Day 2, Welling, 697 miles, 11.5 hours
I stopped and slept at Paul's house and picked him up as co-driver. Boy was I grateful for his efforts on day 2. I was so tired my soul wanted to sleep.
Best moose sign ever in northern Alberta
As we drove near Grand Prarie, Paul was very excited to see Jordan's old company that he was working for recently. Paul thought we should snap some driving pictures and then call Jordan to ask if he knew who they were. It was quite amusing. It was a good break from the monotony of northern Alberta.
Second province in 2 days. Fortunately we made it to Dawson's Creek "mile ) of the Alaska Highway" with just enough light to get some pictures in.
Sign says Day 3, Fort St. John B.C. 1,438 miles, 25.5 hours (drive time)
After 12 years of arguing with Danielle about the existence of a "borrow pit" I was excited to see that her motherland provided visual proof that we Idahoans are not crazy with our vocabulary.
Passed a recent forest fire burn area. Danielle would not have been nearly as good to talk to about forest fires and conservation etc than Paul was. After this much time driving, any topic for conversation will suffice.
Paul and I only really wanted to stop and see maybe 4 things for sure on our whole journey. With our luck, we pulled up to destination #1 "The Trapper's Den" only to find it closed on Sundays.
Paul amazed me with his ability to eat a black banana. Waste not, want not is a true motto.
Fortunately we did not get shut out on our wildlife viewing. We saw a caribou licking salt from the road and a group of mountain sheep nt to far away.
The "tender mercy moment" of the trip was when Paul and I decided to not get gas at Fort Nelson (oops) as we assumed there would be something a little farther up the road. Well, as we were nearing Toad River Lodge (known to have gas) and about 30 miles away, the gas situation got interesting. Out of nowhere popped up a run down looking mom and pops gas station that accepts only cash and was not listed in our Milepost guide to the AK highway. Needless to say, that much gas in the picture was not going to get us 30 more miles in a huge UHAUL. We dodged a bullet, and we knew it.
Toad River Lodge has the famous hat collection. Something over 10,000 hats in this place.
Muncho Lake = very very blue/turquoise
Some buffalo and mountain sheep near Liard Hot Springs which our wives absolutely loved and insisted we stop. Paul and I stopped alright, and got out of the hot water in the summer about as quickly as we got in. 80 degrees outside does not justify getting into scalding hot water. Paul and I were certainly on the same page for this one.
The sign now says Liard Hot Springs, Day 3, 1863 miles, 34 hours drive time
British Columbia road block
B.C. seemed to never end and yet it did. We made it to the Yukon. Never thought I'd say that in my life.
I left my mark at the sign post forest in Watson Lake. Not sure I'll ever stop by there again to make sure it's still hanging up
Day 4, Teslin Yukon, 2153 miles, 41 hours.
Little did we know, we would now have the longest day in history ahead of us. Not before we got 30 miles down the road and Paul thought he left his glasses and tablet in the hotel room, that would not be opening until 2 hours later. Luckily, it was stowed away just inside the back door of the UHAUL.
S.S. Klondike in Whitehorse, Yukon
The mountains of the Yukon are quite baron of trees it seemed.
Kluane Lake
The largest gold pan in the world in Burwash Landing, Yukon. This isn't too interesting, but it was the one thing I found out about that Danielle did not. Her pre-trip research was far more extensive than mine for sure.
Uuuummmmm ......... antlers anyone?
Finally on home soil again of sorts. Home soil, but very foreign. Fenway and I had almost conquered the Alaska highway and worked our way into Alaska. I didn't realize how far Anchorage is from the Canadian border, but would soon figure it out.
Day 4. Tok, Alaska, 2560 miles, 50 hours. We had our first real meal in 4 days at this restaurant. We decided to actually sit down to eat for once and relax for a few moments.
It rained THE ENTIRE section from Glenallen to Eagle River (5+ hours). Frustrating because there was a lot of scenery to see. However all we saw was endless rain, clouds, and fog. In the end, my initial impression of Alaska is that everything is BIG. Big mountains, big rivers, big sky, big mountain valleys. I'm very impressed with the landscape of this place. It is hard to describe without seeing it for yourself.
We finally made it to Eagle River, AK on August 17th at 2 am. In all, our final day was 19 hours of driving. Had to take my picture the next day with the UHAUL. In the end 4 whole days, 2,940 miles, and 60 hours of drive time. I could not have done it without co-travel captain Paul. What a life saver and great travel partner. The guy can drive like a machine. To quote my dad "If I had to go to battle, I would want that guy in my foxhole".......even with a black banana.
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